Read the summary of the next issue NRT 146 - 4 October - december 2024

Antoine Vidalin

Before the Law... mercy. What Jesus wrote in Jn 8:2-11

Jesus wrote nothing. Except in the Temple, where, according to Jn 8:2-11, he bent down twice to write on the ground an inscription that the Gospel of John does not reveal. Following the most recent exegesis, we consider this text here from a historical point of view and also in its Gospel context, placing the episode in the overall movement of the Gospel text and taking a close look at what is at stake in the discussion on the relationship to the Law and to Moses. The same applies to the relationship between justice and mercy, of course.

P.J. Turck

Justice, mercy... and hope

Continuing his reflection on the accompaniment of clerics and religious guilty of abuse (cf. NRT 144, 2022, p. 593-603), the author meditates on their possible forgiveness. Does human justice have to wait for divine mercy to be exercised? Drawing on his experience as a counsellor and based on the thought and prophetic work of Blessed Jean Joseph Lataste, he bears witness to the possible path of consent to the memory of evil committed and the role of the Church on this path of hope.

Arnaud du Crest

agronomist, involved in employment aid for migrants, CLC Laudato si referent for Nantes

Some social aspects of the Jubilee

The celebration of the Jubilee of Hope takes us back to the social principles of this institution. Arnaud du Crest, an agricultural engineer committed to the ecological transition and social justice, recalls the origins of this tradition and its deep social meaning. He uses three examples to illustrate its social relevance: the ownership and distribution of land, industrial capital and the value of labour, the forgiveness of debts, and slavery.

Stéphanie Bonnasse

teaches Sacred Scripture at the École Cathédrale, Collège des Bernardins and the Séminaire d'Issy-les-Moulineaux.

«Joy is the mission way». Augustinian insights into the role of joy in evangelisation

St Augustine’s De Catechizandis rudibus invites us to evangelise and catechise with joy. This missionary joy is the subject of a rigorous and pointed analysis in this little pastoral treatise, which finds an echo in the frequent calls to joy, proposed to the disciples-missionaries, by Pope Francis. This joy of divine source, «slow to come», thus becomes the matrix of evangelisation and catechesis. Evangelisation has become an urgent task, and this article is an opportunity to explore the notion of joy and its Christian specificity, in order to define its impact in the first proclamation and in the first catechesis.

Laurence Bur

Former student at École normale supérieure, agrégée in philosophy, doctorate in philosophy (L'Expérience de la liberté selon Edith Stein, un chemin entre deux abîmes, Paris, Cerf, 2023). Contract teacher-researcher at the Catholic theology faculty of the University of Strasbourg, associate member of UR 4377 Catholic Theology and Religious Sciences.

Edith Stein at Europe's bedside. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Motu Proprio proclaiming Saint Brigid of Sweden, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Thérèse-Bénédicte of the Cross as Co-Patrons of Europe

At a time when the European Union is largely facing scepticism from its inhabitants, but when the war in Ukraine shows the need for unity, what spiritual resources does Europe have at its disposal to enable it to once again become an area of hope? Edith Stein, Saint Thérèse-Bénédicte of the Cross, declared co-patroness of Europe twenty-five years ago, can help to rekindle the great dream of peace of Europe's founders. Her life was passionately marked by openness to others and dialogue, both in terms of her philosophical quest and her life of faith, deeply marked by her Jewish origins. This makes her a spiritual resource for building the ‘Europe of dialogue’ that Pope Francis called for in his address to the Council of Europe in 2014.

Géraldine Karcher

agrégé professor of philosophy

Desire in Thérèse of Lisieux

The suffering of St Thérèse of Lisieux makes it clear that thought is desire, and that this desire leads suddenly to truth. There is certainly a paradoxical link between the impetus of her desire and the reality of Thérèse's powerlessness. But the very structure of this torn ego leaves room for trust. We have to enter into this order of trust to grasp that it leads to an Other. The experience of this relationship, in surrender, then opens up a path towards reality.

Emmanuel Decaux

A doctor of theology, he is Vicar General of the Diocese of Grenoble-Vienne and teaches at the Centre Théologique de Meylan-Grenoble.

The struggle of Henri de Lubac and Pope Francis against ‘spiritual worldliness’

Pope Francis regularly relies on Henri de Lubac to denounce what they both call ‘spiritual worldliness’: what is the meaning of this expression, the meaning of this ‘spiritual worldliness’ in de Lubac's mind? What link can we see between the current pope and his predecessor that would support the interest and topicality of such an expression?

Jacques Scheuer s.j.

Fasting practices in history and space. about M.H. Benkheira, S. H. De Franceschi (dir.), La dîme du corps. Doctrines et pratiques du jeûne (2023)

Fasting and other dietary restrictions have not been ignored, but historians of religion have not given them the attention they deserve.