Lonergan’s Anthropology Revisited. The next fifty years of Vatican II

This book is based on contributions made to an international conference held in the Pontifical Gregorian University and presents reflections of authors from all five continents. The conference was held to acknowledge the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II, noting that during this time Lonergan was a professor at the Gregorian. The reference to “rediscovering Lonergan” in the title stems from a conviction that there is much in Lonergan’s thought that remains relevant to the globalizing world of today and that continues to be important for implementing Vatican II. The reference to anthropology in the title emerges from a conviction that philosophical and theological anthropology is central to the thought of Lonergan and, at the same time, that it is often the “issue underlying the issues” in debates today both within the Church and in society at large. The book has a three-fold structure, which echoes the structure of the conference on which it is based. Part 1 explores the anthropology of Lonergan in depth and the method that emerges from it. Part 2 explores three key areas of application: interreligious dialogue; an interdisciplinary approach to the social sciences; and the ethos of Catholic universities. Part 3 presents short summaries of workshops that were held during the conference, where participants describe how they are implementing Lonergan’s method. It concludes with by comments on overlaps between the thought of Lonergan and the pastoral vision of Pope Francis. Gerard Whelan is an Irish Jesuit who teaches fundamental theology at the Gregorian University, Rome. His interest in Bernard Lonergan is both theoretical and practical. He lived for fourteen years in Africa, taught pastoral theology at the Jesuit School of theology in Nairobi, Kenya, and was pastor of a poor parish on the outskirts of the city. From 2001-2006 he was an advisor to the delegation of the Holy See to the United Nations organization, UN-HABITAT. Currently, he is the Ecclesiastical Assistant of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Associations (WUCWO). He is author of the book: Redeeming History Social Concern in Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran.