Authority in the Church - Sen Mac Ramoinn

The word "authority" is far from being the most popular in the world, either secular or religious. It is seen too often as a dimension of power and, as such, hostile to freedom and free expression. In the Catholic Church, it has developed a peculiarly negative quality, and its exercise is seen as a restrictive and even stultifying force.;This volume is an attempt to examine a more positive and more creative approach. A view of authority as nurture, and an enabling force for growth and development, personal and social, is proposed by Mary McAleese in her introductory chapter. Father Bill Cosgrave looks at the actual situation in the Roman Catholic Church today; he considers the concept of moral authority without which, he points out, the authority of office can be destructive.;Focusing on a particular aspect of the subject, and one of considerable contemporary concern, Louis McRedmond writes about the controversial questions of the appointment of bishops, and points to some ways forward. Finally, three members of other Christian Churches, Gillian Kingston, Terence McCaughey and Catherine McGuinness, offer some alternative approaches to the exercise of authority with Christian communities. This book is the first in an occasional series which offers constructive responses to issues of the day in the Church as they arise.