/library/oar/handle/123456789/41954 Sat, 23 May 2026 17:57:24 GMT 2026-05-23T17:57:24Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/15161 Title: Studying at the Faculty of Theology : a study of student data 2003-2011 Authors: Gellel, Adrian-Mario Abstract: Not only is Theology one of the oldest disciplines taught on the Maltese islands but it is also among the very few disciplines to have been taught in various local higher education institutions. The permutations of the discipline have always very much depended on the social and economical milieu of Malta and of the Catholic Church. The future prospects for the studying and teaching of the discipline still depend mainly on external factors. An introspective study should help the Faculty to identify measures that may lead to a maximisation of its output. Furthermore, one hopes that this paper might stimulate similar research conducted by other theological faculties and initiate comparative studies. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/15161 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/15160 Title: The wounded Nietzschean-Theresian spirit : an exploration of the similarities and not between Nietzschean and Theresian anthropologies Authors: Attard, Glen Abstract: We seem to be faced by an urgent need to discern the important contribution spirituality can make at providing man today with a terminology and a horizon by which the twenty-first century human person can examine, first and foremost, the historical roots that shape the kind of anthropology he embraces today; secondly, the utmost need for dialogue (not just inter-religious but also beyond), and; thirdly, the nature and dynamics of the kind of anthropology that characterises being “wounded”, which we shall later define. We feel it superabundantly necessary to seek new language – and with it new horizons and insights – in this regard even within our Christian faith so as to really read the signs of the times. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/15160 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/15151 Title: Moral norms and the forgotten virtue of Epikeia in the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried Authors: Virt, Günter Abstract: The virtue of epikeia is relevant for many issues that arise in contemporary society, including pastoral concerns in our parish communities, among which, a particularly diffcult one is the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried. is article will include two parts. First, I will focus on how the understanding of epikeia developed historically in order to present its various nuances systematically. I will clarify the different nuances of the understanding of this virtue in three key authors representative of the tradition. Second, I will raise a number of questions for the further examination of the issue of the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/15151 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/15150 Title: The Church as a reconciling community Authors: Shockenhoff, Eberhard Abstract: As in these past forty years divorce has been legalized in many countries, a vast number of baptized Catholics who were (and are) divorced and remarried have been living in a state that Canon Law classifes as “irregular”. This status implies that they are all permanently expelled from the sacraments of Holy Communion, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick. Even conservative estimates reveal that several million Catholic Christians are being affected today. Hence, the problem of how to deal with divorced persons who have remarried is tantamount to a state of emergency in the present life of the Church - a pressing issue whose magnitude is not recognized by many. The Church expressly urges divorced persons who have remarried to participate in ecclesial life by listening to the Word of God, praying on a regular basis, raising their children in the Christian faith, supporting the Church in its social endeavours and celebrating Sunday mass with their congregation. However, being continuously denied participation in the Eucharist during the lifetime of their first spouse, the divorced and remarried are expelled from what the Second Vatican Council calls the actual “source and summit” of the Christian life. Thus, should we be surprised that many devout Catholics feel that they are labelled as “second-class” Christians and turn their backs on the Church? Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/15150 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z