The Two Wings of Catholic Thought: Essays on Fides et Ratio

John Paul’s choice to yoke faith and reason together in an encyclical on the two sources of knowledge caught the world’s By stressing
the two wings
of Catholic thought, the pope captures in the lively image of a soaring bird the same point that theologians like von Balthasar communicate by calling truth symphonic. This work aims to deepen the appreciation for the stereophonic approach to truth that the Holy Father recommends. The essays are in three sections: doctrinal themes; contemporary implications; and historical aspects. In the first, Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., discusses the 20th century answers to a question that has long haunted Christians who felt the attraction of pagan philosophy: Can philosophy be Christian? In the second section, Bishop Allen Vigneron considers the significance of this encyclical for Catholic intellectual life today. David Foster discusses the implications of
Fides et ratio
for Catholic universities. The final section reviews the importance of biblical wisdom literature for the encyclical.