No synod in modern times has grappled with so much contention and doubt from personages high in the church’s hierarchy. The author situates this in context, guiding the reader through the theological and canonical footprints leading from Vatican II to the Synod on Synodality and outlining the communio ecclesiology at the base of this Synod. The book studies the Synod documents, especially the Instrumentum laboris and the Synod Synthesis Report, drawing out certain implications for a synodal church renewed by the Spirit and becoming a “community of mutual empowerment” in mission.

This book focuses on the value and necessity of modern sociology to Pope Francis’s church reform project known as the Synod on Synodality. It explores the behavioral and research aspects of this latest synod, applying sociological perspectives and methods and drawing on secondary literature, media reports, and church documents. The author argues that sociology is crucial for translating the major theological concepts into behavioral and research indicators to empirically ground the overall theological framework of the synod as an ecclesial innovation rather than a revolution in the Catholic Church. The importance of sociological research methodology is emphasized to guide the synod’s complex and multi-stage qualitative data collection, which seeks to understand the synodal concerns of all Catholics in today’s world. The book addresses the need for scientific approaches to church reforms and for a nuanced complementarity between sociology and theology. It will be of particular interest to scholars of theology, religion, and sociology, as well as those actively involved in the workings of the Catholic Church.

Ad (Synodalem) Theologiam (Moralem) Promovendam M. Therese Lysaught ORIGINAL ARTICLES “And You, Africans: Who Do You Say Jesus Is?”: The Legacy of Laurenti Magesa for the Future of African Theology SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai A View from the Dunghill: Learning Forbearance in a Synodal Church Christopher McMahon Blade Runner’s Replicant Humanity: Self-Discovery and Moral Formation in a World of Simulation Jean-Pierre Fortin Afrofuturist Worlds: The Diseased Colonial Imagination and Christian Hope Adam Beyt Moral Exemplarism in the Key of Christ Noah Karger Power Literacy in Abuse Prevention Education: Lessons from the Field in the Catholic Safeguarding Response Cathy Melesky Dante, Mark A. Levand, and Karen Ross BOOK REVIEWS Andrew Blosser, The Ethics of Doing Nothing: Rest, Rituals, and the Modern World Keunwoo Kwon Erin M. Brigham and Mary Johnson, SNDdeN, eds., Women Engaging the Catholic Social Tradition: Solidarity toward the Common Good Sandie Cornish Charles C. Camosy, One Church: How to Rekindle Trust, Negotiate Difference, and Reclaim Catholic Unity Steven P. Millies Drew Christiansen, SJ, and Carole Sargent, eds., Forbidden: Receiving Pope Francis’s Condemnation of Nuclear Weapons Jacques Linder Stewart Clem, Lying and Truthfulness: A Thomistic Perspective James W. Stroud Daniel J. Fleming, James Keenan, SJ, and Hans Zollner, SJ, eds., Doing Theology and Theological Ethics in the Face of the Abuse Crisis Ramon Luzarraga Jennifer A. Herdt, Assuming Responsibility: Ecstatic Eudaimonism and the Call to Live Well Nicholas Ogle Mary Jo Iozzio, Disability Ethics and Preferential Justice: A Catholic Perspective J. Tyler Campbell James F. Keenan, SJ, A History of Catholic Theological Ethics Bernhard Bleyer D. Stephen Long, The Art of Cycling, Living, and Dying: Moral Theology from Everyday Life Jana Marguerite Bennett Eric Patterson and J. Daryl Charles, Just War and Christian Traditions Thomas Ryan

No synod in modern times has grappled with so much contention and doubt from personages high in the church’s hierarchy. The author situates this in context, guiding the reader through the theological and canonical footprints leading from Vatican II to the Synod on Synodality and outlining the communio ecclesiology at the base of this Synod. The book studies the Synod documents, especially the Instrumentum laboris and the Synod Synthesis Report, drawing out certain implications for a synodal church renewed by the Spirit and becoming a “community of mutual empowerment” in mission.

The publication of the ESCT (European Society for Catholic Theology) with the title „Synodality in Europe“ reflects on the synodal process in Europe and challenges of theological work in view of the learning process to become a „synodal church“. The different articles lay theological foundations of synodality, they present regional and world church perspectives, they show tensions and processes of pluralisation which are understood as a „laboratory“ of synodality related to the liberating and healing Gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of the authors are members of different sections of ESCT (in Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain). Integrated are also a protestant and two world-church contributions.