Objectives: To identify the different theological methods in ecumenical dialogue and, on the basis of this, explore the role of dialogue in theological method in general.

Learning Outcomes: The student will gain a familiarity with the diverse ecumenical dialogues in which the Catholic Church is involved recognizing the importance of underlying questions of theological method, both within ecumenism and within theology as a whole.

Contents : The course surveys diverse dialogues in which the Catholic Church has been engaged since Vatican II and identifies diverse approaches, or methods, being employed. It explores how these experiences of dialogue are similar and different from each other and how, taken together, they help illuminate questions of the role that dialogue has to play in theological method in general. In exploring this last question, reference is made to the thought of Bernard Lonergan, author of Method in Theology . Within this context, some attention is also given to the question of what a “comparative theology of Christian traditions” might mean.

Methodology: Theoretical lectures and interactive work on the texts.

Means of Evaluation: An oral exam.