Nouvelle Theologie - New Theology: Inheritor of Modernism, Precursor of Vatican II

Description

This is an introduction to the most influential movement in Catholic theology in the 20th century which prepared the ground for the Second Vatican Council. It sheds new light on the theological movement that led up to and inspired the Second Vatican Council and is a most needed contribution to the ongoing heated discussions about the 'hermeneutics of the Council'.

Dr Jurgen Mettepenningen is a research fellow in the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

'A highly informative survey of the historical development and catalytic texts of nouvelle theologie. By drawing on lesser-known figures and extensive research, Mettepenningen sheds new light on its inner dynamics and diversity. A significant and timely contribution to the understanding of a key movement in modern theology whose principles and contradictions continue to shape the church today.' - David Grumett, Department of Theology, University of Exeter, UK. -- David Grumett 'In a virtuoso performance of the historical theologian's art, Jurgen Mettepenningen brings into play both published and unpublished sources in at least five languages. He offers English-speaking readers as rich an acoount of nouvelle theologie as the present state of the archival sources allows. From its origins in France between 1935 and 1950, he brings the story of nouvelle theologie up to its subsequent internationalization and then assimilation at the Second Vatican Council. He joins an historian's eye for relevant detail with a theologian's religious sensibility. His often provocative judgments are always rooted in the sources. Nouvelle Theologie - New Theology is a timely and important contribution to the story of Catholic theology in the twentieth-century.' - William L. Portier, Mary Ann Spearin Chair of Catholic Theology, University of Dayton, OH, USA -- William L. Portier 'This work by Dr Jurgen Mettepenningen, a Louvain-trained theologian, represents a valuable contribution to the history of twentieth century Catholic theology.It carefully charts the development of nouvelle theologie from the crisis of Modernism to the Second Vatican Council. An important study, it should be of interest to theologians and historians of the period and will undoubtedly contribute to ongoing research on nouvelle theologie and the history of Vatican II.' - Gabriel Flynn, Dublin City University, Mater Dei Institute, Ireland -- Gabriel Flynn Reviewed in The Tablet 2nd October 2010 (UK) '[The author's] exhaustively documented research recreates the issues at stake back then. As he obviously expects us to see, they remain on the agenda' This us a demanding and interesting book. Its author sets out to explore the phenomenon of the New Theology that developed in France in the years that followed the Modernist Crisis and preceded the Second Vatican Council. One merit of this work is its clarity of organisation. One of the outcomes of Mettepenningen's book is a sense of the strenuous labours they undertook. This book will be of most use to people who already have a grasp of theological questions and their history or who about to embark on postgraduate theological studies. - David Evans, Liverpool Hope University -- David Evans 'A demanding and interesting book.' -- Theological Book Review In this comprehensive exposition of historical theology, Jurgen Mettepenningen has done all of us a great service... Crucially Mettepenningen shows how diverse the movement really was and how difficult it might be to collect all of its voices into a tidy package. -- Expository Times The book is useful and important as an historical account; it is also tantalizing as a morality tale illuminating the modus operandi of regressive forces that are far from dead in the Roman Curia. . . . Mettepenningen tells this story well, adding welcome detail to a period of theological development whose fruitfulness is still unfolding-and still contested. -- Worship