When the Magisterium Intervenes

In America magazine, Thomas P. Rausch, S.J., professor of Catholic theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, reviews When the Magisterium Intervenes: The Magisterium and Theologians in Today's Church:

The result of the work of a three-year “interest group” that brought together a remarkable number of theologians at the 2009, 2010 and 2011 conventions of the Catholic Theological Society of America, Richard Gaillardetz’s book is an effort to address what he calls the “pronounced magisterial activism” that began under Pope John Paul II and continues with Pope Benedict XVI. He shows in the Introduction that the contemporary magisterium is largely a product of the 19th century. The church of the Middle Ages recognized various modes of teaching authority and a diversity of voices. Theological faculties of the great universities like Paris and Bologna generally arbitrated theological disputes. Aquinas spoke of two magisteria, one of degreed scholars, the other the pastoral teaching office of the bishops. Popes and bishops for centuries played a relatively minor role.

The entire review is here.