Veritatis Splendor and the Renewal of Moral Theology

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Summary: A Splendid Guide to Veritatis Splendor
Review: This book is one of the few positive reflections on the Papal encyclical "Veritatis Splendor". Most of the books about the encyclical are slanted to the left, written by the same theologians and moralists that the Holy Father is warning the Bishops to reign in. Not so with this book. The contributors, who include Frs. Avery Dulles SJ, Romanus Cessario OP, J. A. DeNoia OP, Servais Pinckaers OP and Mr. Alasdair MacIntyre, are faithful Catholic theologians who write from a viewpoint of appreciation for the Holy Father's teaching.

The book is divided into three parts: Perspectives on the encyclical, Issues raised within the encyclical, and the Reception of the encyclical. The Perspectives section is aimed at helping the reader to unpack the structure and meaning of the encyclical itself. The Issues section discusses in-depth the different questions that the Holy Father has addressed, from Natural Law to the true meaning of freedom to the concept of moral absolutes within a relativistic society. The third section has two essays that examine the press and the academic commentaries that were published within the first five years of the encyclical's publication. Finally, Pio Cardinal Laghi, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, provides a reflection on how Veritatis Splendor can be used within the educational environment to teach moral theology.

This is a superb book to read alongside the encyclical, especially when the technical language begins to weary. The subtitle, "Studies by Ten Outstanding Scholars", is quite an apt description of the contents of the book. As Fr. Servais Pinckaers explains in his essay, Veritatis Splendor is truly an "Encyclical for the future". This book will help mine the riches present in the Holy Father's teaching.

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Summary: Great Book - Not at all about Veritatis Splendor
Review: This is more of a correction than a review. Whatever book the above review refers to, it is certainly NOT "The Instructed Heart" whose author was long dead before Veritatis Splendor was ever written. Sheed's book is well worth reading for the first section alone, which unpacks the Biblical idea of the heart - it's much more than merely the affections. Fans of the Sheeds will also be interested in his very tender reflections on one particular heart, that of his wife, Masie Ward, who co-founded the publishing house of Sheed & Ward which, during their lives, was at the center of the Catholic Literary Revival.