Theology

The student will submit one paper. It will be between 1200 and 1600 words. The purpose of each paper will be to explain a specific point of Catholic doctrine (i.e., teaching), particularly answering the questions: What specifically does the Church teach on this topic? and Why does the Church hold this teaching? Papers should not be written on strictly moral teachings, that is, the teaching in question should not directly and principally concern what is right or wrong behavior (so euthanasia, abortion, contraception, capital punishment, or environmental ethics are not suitable topics). The paper will make use of ● at least one relevant patristic source (i.e., a Christian writing from before 750), ● at least one relevant passage of Scripture, ● at least one relevant magisterial document (i.e., an official Church document containing authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church other than a catechism, e.g., a document promulgated by a general council or a document issued by the pope acting as supreme teacher of the Church ● at least one approved theological “systematic” work covering the paper’s topic (a list of approved systematic works will be provided to the class, others may be approved on a case-by-case basis). ● In addition to these sources, the paper is to make reference to the relevant discussion of the paper’s topic in either the Catechism of the Catholic Church or in the “Roman Catechism” (1566). These are minimal requirements to complete the assignment; it is hoped that papers will use more than only these five sources. Further information relevant to this requirement is presented below in the section on policies