Methodological Introduction

Now that the critique in Part I has exposed the weaknesses in the Council’s pastoral strategy and conception of the lay apostolate, Part II (i.e. Chaps. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 ) aims to remedy those weaknesses by proposing an alternative framework by which the Catholic Church ought to be guided in its relations with political authorities. The purpose of this chapter is to set out the methodological parameters by which I intend to propose this framework. The framework to be proposed will be neither too specific with respect to place nor too general with respect to time. The framework will focus on the saeculum, meaning the age between the first and second comings of Christ, and will attend to the differences in church-state relations that follow from some political authorities continuing to bear signs of Christendom’s legacy. The ressourcement method will be used by returning to scripture, followed by an examination of how scripture was read by key figures in the history of Christian thought, in conversation with several non-Catholic theologians, thereby contributing to an initiative known as ‘receptive ecumenism.’