EUROPE IN CRISIS: A QUESTION OF BELIEF OR UNBELIEF? PERSPECTIVES FROM THE VATICAN1

For Joseph Ratzinger, elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, modernity has transformed Europe into a continent without God. As a result, Europe's self‐understanding is flawed. This outcome puts serious doubts on the Church's resolution, expressed in Gaudium et spes, to dialogue with the modern world. Moreover, the present pope was among the first to warn both church and society against the erosion of modernity. Also more recently, e.g. in his Values in a Time of Upheaval, he argued that only a Europe firmly rooted in Christian faith can survive the nihilism and moral crisis with which it is confronted. As a creative minority Christians should help Europe win back the best of its heritage and use it to the service of all humanity. In this contribution Boeve presents the evolution and primary features of Joseph Ratzinger's thought in this regard and concludes with a number of critical observations.     

THE INTERACTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE IN CATHOLIC SOUTHERN EUROPE (ITALY,SPAIN, PORTUGAL)

Reviewing the last fifty years of interaction between religion and science in Catholicism in Southern Europe, common traits are clearly evident: a late awareness of the importance of this interaction and a theological reluctance to address science or to account for its progress. Early signs of the engagement between religion and science appear as a consequence of the work of the French anthropologist and theologian Teilhard de Chardin. In Italy and Spain in the last fifteen years, we see a substantive growth in the rise of research centers and academic activities devoted to exploring the common ground between science, philosophy, and theology. However, despite all these efforts and the many positive signs, there remains a long way to go for theology to consider science as a true challenge and an inspiration and to integrate it into the theological curriculum.     

Dialogical journal writing as ‘self‐therapy’: ‘I matter’

Aim: This case study of one woman's (Jane's) experience of dialogical journal writing presents a way of finding a ‘compassionate image’ for self‐therapy. Various theoretical analyses are indicated with Mindfulness‐based conceptualisations at the forefront. Methodology: Based on three recorded interviews, the narrative inquiry took place over a year. Methodologically, this paper is also one contribution to an ongoing debate about different research approaches in therapeutic writing research. Participants: This study took place in Aotearoa New Zealand, where both Jane and I are migrants. Discussion: This account draws on a report of self‐directed writing for well‐being, seen as an alternative to counselling or medication for depression and anxiety. It focuses on how a particular style of writing evolved and how the motivation to write continues.     

‘BORN AGAIN’ JEWS IN ISRAEL: THE DYNAMICS OF AN IDENTITY CHANGE*

Fifty-nine Israeli men who had switched to Orthodox Judaism and fifty-nine Israeli men who remained secular were the experimental and control groups of this study. The two groups, matched for several personal background variables, were interviewed and then filled out a biographical inventory and two questionnaires. Thirty measures were extracted and the two groups were compared on them. Significant differences were found in 14 of the measures. Those who had turned Orthodox showed higher scores on the F scale, and less identification with their parents. They were also lower in self-esteem and level of aspirations, and higher in their readiness to seek help. The findings are mostly consistent with results of research in other times and places, as reported by other authors.