THEO 103 Roman Catholicism
Bro. Edward van Merrienboer, O.P.
Phone 573-449-5424 ex 205
Jan. 22-May 14, 2014, MW 3:30-5:00 PM
Email: edvan.op@comonewman.org
Offered by Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois
Mission Statement: As a Sinsinawa Dominican sponsored institution, Dominican
University prepares students to pursue truth, to give compassionate service and to
participate in the creation of a more just and humane world.
Course Outline and Assignments
Course Description: This course surveys the central beliefs and practices of the
Roman Catholic tradition from theological and historical perspectives. Through texts and
other means, we will trace the development of distinctive Catholic theologies of
fundamental Christian beliefs (e.g. revelation, Christ, sin, grace) and life (e.g. the
sacraments). Topics of contemporary interest will be addressed throughout.
Objectives and Learning Outcomes: Students in the class can expect to achieve at
the end of their study the following: 1) a broad survey knowledge of the Roman Catholic
tradition; 2) an understanding of common theological terms used in the Roman Catholic
conversation; 3) an understanding of how Catholicism develops it’s teachings in the
context of human history; and 4) a Catholic understanding of conscience and the moral
life.
Learning Methods: Lectures, readings, small group guided discussion.
Course Requirements: Students are expected to attend all classes and fully
participate; read the assigned materials; write two (4-6 page) essays on assigned topics
and take one exam.
Office Appointments: Please contact me before or after classes to arrange
appointments.
Grading and Evaluation: Class participation will constitute your grade 25%; papers will
constitute 50% of your grade (25% for each paper); the exam will constitution 25%.
Academic Integrity
As in any other class, the highest level of academic honesty and integrity is expected.
This includes use/misuse of the internet. Instances of plagiarism or other violations of
academic honesty will result in a grade of F (with 0 points awarded) in that instance,
with a report of the incident sent to the Dean of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences
(Dominican University). It is left to the discretion of the instructor whether further
penalties are warranted. If you are at all unsure as to what constitutes plagiarism or
other kinds of academic dishonesty, do not hesitate to ask the instructor. [NB: This is a
sample statement. Your own may differ somewhat.]
Course Evaluation
Near the end of the semester you will be asked to evaluate this course in an
anonymous online form. We all, students and instructors alike, rely on feedback so that
we might grow and improve. Dominican instructors are always looking for ways to
improve student learning and we can’t do it without your feedback and comments. Since
the course evaluation is electronic, it can be completed at your convenience, outside of
class. All responses are submitted anonymously. Course instructors are not provided
access to their course evaluation reports until after final course grades have been
submitted to the Registrar’s Office, so you should feel confident in providing candid
feedback, knowing that your evaluation will not affect your course grade.
Required Readings:
Cunningham, Lawrence S. An Introduction to Catholicism. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Hellwig, Monika K. Understanding Catholicism. Second Edition. New York: Paulist Press, 2002.
Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
2012.
The Bible, any recent translation.
Assigned articles.
Class Date
Topics and Assignments
Jan. 20
Course Introduction: Are Roman Catholics Christians?
Read: Cunningham, Introduction
Jan. 22
Who is God? The Divine Nature
Read: Hellwig, ch 1 and 11, Compendium (hereafter Comp) #1-5, 37-58, we will
use the book as a reference and will not read it as a text.
Jan. 27
Creation: God Awesome Genius
Read: Hellwig, ch 2 and Genesis 1-2, Comp # 6-11
Jan. 29
Humanity: God’s Masterpiece
Read: Hellwig ch 3 and Genesis 3-4, Comp # 25-32, 358
Feb. 3
Jesus-the Incarnate God
Read: Hellwig ch 4 and Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, Comp # 78-135
Feb. 5
What is salvation?
Read: Hellwig ch 5 and Mark 14:43-15; John 18-19
Feb. 10
The Pascal Mystery
Read: Hellwig ch 6 and 10
Feb. 12
The Holy Spirit: Giver of Gifts
Read: Comp # 136-146
Feb. 17
Doctrine of the Holy Trinity –its development.
Read: articles on the great Councils of the Early Church
Feb. 19
The Church as People of God
Read: Cunningham, ch4, Comp. # 147-176
Paper I Due
Feb. 24
The Sacramental Life: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist
Read: Hellwig, ch. 8, Comp.# 218-249
Feb. 26
The Sacraments of Vocation and Healing
Read: Cunningham, ch 5, Comp. # 250-350
Mar. 3
Sources of Revelation
Read: assigned section of Vatican II: Divine Revelation # 1-10
Mar. 5
Role of Church Authority: Pope, Bishops and Councils.
Read: Cunningham ch 2, Hellwig, Introduction, Comp # 177-193
Mar. 10
Conscience and the Moral Life
Read: Cunningham, ch 9
Mar. 12
Grace, Sin and Forgiveness
Read: Hellwig ch 9, Cunningham ch 10
Mar. 17
Exam
Mar. 19
The Ethics of Interpersonal Relations
Mar. 24- 28
Spring Break
Mar 31
Sexuality and Morality
Apr. 2
Marriage and Family
Apr. 14
Social Justice: Place of the Poor, Liberation Theology
Read: TEN BUILDING BLOCKS OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING. William J. Byron,
S.J. This article is available on line at www.americamagazine.com/education
Apr. 16
Peace Ethics: Historical Development and Recent Shifts
Apr. 21
Bio-Medical Ethics: An evolving field
Apr. 23
Public Discourse and Religious Freedom
Apr. 28
The Spiritual Life
Read Hellwig, ch 7
Apr. 30
Mystics and Saints
Read: Cunningham ch 3
May 1
Divided Christians: Causes and Content
Read: Cunningham ch 7
May 5
Ecumenism
Read: Nostra aetate Vatican II
May 7
Visit Islamic Center
May 12
A Missionary Church
May 14
Class Summary Paper II Due
Select Bibliography on Roman Catholic Theology
(Consult references and bibliographies of these texts for further resources.)
Carmody, John and Denise Carmody. Roman Catholicism: An Introduction. New York: Macmillan, 1990.
Carmody, John and Denise Carmody. Contemporary Catholic Theology: An Introduction. San Francisco:
Harper, 1980.
Cunningham, Lawrence. The Catholic Faith: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1987
.
Cunningham, Lawrence (ed.). The Catholic Faith: A Reader. New York: Paulist Press, 1988.
Cunningham, Lawrence. An Introduction to Catholicism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
DiNoia, J. Augustine, Gabriel O’ Donnell, Romanus Cessario and Peter John Cameron. The Love That
Never Ends: A Key to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1996.
Donovan, Daniel. Distinctively Catholic: An Exploration of Catholic Identity. New York: Paulist Press, 1997
Groome, Thomas H. What Makes Us Catholic: Eight Gifts for Life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers,
Inc., 2002.
Hill, Brennan R. Exploring Catholic Theology: God, Jesus, Church, and Sacraments. Mystic, CT: Twenty
Third Publications, 1995.
Hill, Brennan and Paul Knitter and William Madges. Faith, Religion & Theology: A
Contemporary Introduction. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1991.
Himes, Michael J. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, OH: Saint Anthony
Press, 2004.
The Holy See. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. New York: Doubleday, 2003.
McBrien, Richard P., ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. San Francisco:
Harper SanFrancisco, 1995.
Nichols, Aidan. EPIPHANY - A Theological Introduction to Catholicism. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical
Press, 1996.
Nicols, Aidan. The Shape of Catholic Theology: An Introduction to Its Sources, Principles, and History.
Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991.
O’Collins, Gerald and Mario Farrugia. Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity. Oxford and New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
O’ Collins, Gerald. Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Rausch, Thomas (ed.). The College Student's Introduction to Theology. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press,
1993. 1993.
Rausch, Thomas P. Catholicism at the Dawn of the Third Millennium. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996.
Schussler Fiorenza, Francis and John P. Galvin. Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives (2
vols). Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1991 (new edition due soon).
Strange, Roderick. The Catholic Faith. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1996.
Sullivan, Francis A. The Magisterium: Teaching Authority in the Catholic Church. New York : Paulist Press,
1983.
Sullivan, Francis A. Creative Fidelity: Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the Magisterium. Eugene,
OR. : Wipf and Stock Pub., 2003, 1996.
Select Web Resources on Roman Catholicism
General Resources
http://www.vatican.va/
Official site of the Roman Catholic church. Wealth of information: texts of
encyclicals, council documents, Vatican collections, church history, liturgy, calendar,
etc.
http://www.shc.edu/theolibrary/index.htm
Links to Internet resources on theological topics within Catholicism.
http://www.library.nd.edu/colldev/subject_home_pages/catholic/ames_bibl.shtml
“Catholic Studies: A Selected Bibliography.”
http://www.saintmarys.edu/~incandel/cst.
html Catholic social thought and ethics.
http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe/htm
Church Documents and other Primary Texts
http://www.newadvent.org
Catholic Encyclopedia (somewhat dated in sections), Summa Theologica by
Thomas Aquinas, Patristic writings, papal encyclicals and all manner of other
Catholic documents and resources.
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/
As name suggests—papal encyclicals and official documents (e.g., Council texts, etc.).
http://www.stjosef.at/c
ouncil/ Vatican II
documents.
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
Second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
http://catholic-resources.org/
Materials related to biblical and liturgical studies.
http://www.catholicliturgy.
com/ Liturgical texts.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_I
NDEX.HTM Code of Canon law.
American Catholicism
http://www.americancatholic.org/
Information about the contemporary Catholic church in the
United States.
http://cushwa.nd.edu/
Site of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.