Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Pope John Paul II was the second longest serving pope in history and the longest serving pope of the last century. His presence was influential not only to Catholics, but also throughout the world. The Encyclicals of John Paul II is the first book to focus in depth on the pope's fourteen encyclicals, through which he communicated many of the key themes of his papacy.

The first part of the book includes helpful background information--a brief biographical sketch of John Paul II's life, his intellectual formation, and central theological themes of his papacy, including some of the major controversies of the 20th century. The first section of the book also provides invaluable background on the nature of an encyclical, including the history of this papal document.

The second part of the book provides a thorough commentary on these encyclicals. The encyclicals are grouped by theme, introduced individually, and analyzed to trace broad themes through John Paul II's work and theology. The Encyclicals of John Paul II provides an important discussion of these key documents from John Paul II's papacy.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Spinello (Boston College) has written the first general introduction to all of John Paul II's encyclicals. The book does not discuss the pope's other works except in passing, but Spinello devotes useful space to describing the pre-papal writings and their relation to the encyclicals. Written from the viewpoint of a convinced conservative partisan of John Paul II, the focus of this book is on the pope's anthropology, ethics, and relation to contemporary philosophical and theological currents. Spinello sees John Paul II's thought as a whole, resting on Thomistic metaphysics and a strong commitment to personal freedom and responsibility grounded in truth exercised in relationship to others. All of this is viewed through Saint John of the Cross's notion that love is self-gift: "Man finds himself through a sincere gift of self" (Dominus et Vivificantem, 1986). The result is not easy for those unversed in philosophy to follow. Even Thomas Aquinas had some theological and philosophical weaknesses, and Spinello's failure to spell out questionable areas of John Paul II's thought makes the book less convincing. Still, it is a useful introduction. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. L. S. Creider New Mexico State University Library

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Richard Spinello is associate research professor at Boston College. He is the author of The Genius of John Paul II: The Great Pope's Moral Wisdom.