VI. Examining Theological Appropriations of Problematic Historical Dissent. Issue 1 (23rd May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Slattery, John P.
• Is Part Of: Horizons. Volume 45:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 149
• Page End: 154
• Publication Date: 2018-05-23
• Subjects: Theology -- Periodicals; Doctrines -- History -- Periodicals; 230.205
• DOI: 10.1017/hor.2018.63
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-9669

Abstract

Abstract : This contribution will examine several theological methods used to understand morally egregious examples of historical dissent in the Catholic Church. From the 1600s to the late 1800s, large numbers of Catholics in the young United States dissented from the Holy See in one particularly egregious manner: their support for and defense of chattel slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. While chattel slavery is universally declared horrific and immoral, its vestiges have not been erased from church history, nor has its influence been eradicated in the modern experience of Christians in the United States today. After naming the contemporary problem caused by this historical example of dissent and analyzing theological approaches to ameliorate this problem, I will propose a theological-historical approach that may offer better solutions in the future.