Includes vita. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 258 pages. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The overarching goal of this study is to suggest that Alexander Pope did not abandon his project for a "system of ethics in the Horatian way," but rather that in his final days he did find a way to unite the parts at hand into a viable whole. Constructing such an argument, however, requires a similar building up from the parts, and so the core focus becomes a study on the way the image of an arch can serve as a metaphor for Pope's reconciliation scheme in his Moral Essays as he "steers betwixt" seeming opposites. To justify this approach, I note the works of critics who have studied Pope's use of the sister arts, the works of architectural theorists and historians, as well the works of critics who focus on various reconciliatory strategies. Perhaps more importantly, I look back to Pope's correspondence and Joseph Spence's record to establish not only Pope's interest in architecture, but also his actual architectural endeavors. / ABSTRACT: From this foundation, I relate Pope's intentions for his opus magnum and indicate the connections that can be drawn between the four epistles of Essay on Man and the four epistles that Pope selected to comprise the "death-bed" edition of his ethic work, namely To a Lady, To Cobham, To Bathurst, and To Burlington. Finally, I examine Pope's method of reconciling the extremes he presents by exemplum in the Moral Essays by comparing the personal and societal pressures that form the basis of Pope's satire to the vertical and lateral thrusts that enable an arch to stand, even as they threaten its destruction should the forces become unbalanced. From such an architectural perspective, one can trace Pope's conception of man in his middle state as he makes the transition from the abstract plan established in Essay on Man, through the pendentive formed by the arches of the Moral Essays, and ultimately to the ideal state of existence that is represented by the dome. / ABSTRACT: The final result can be conceived of as no less than a monument to Pope's life and art. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This study examines painted leaves and fragments that were extracted from a set of choir books created in the last decade of the fifteenth century for the basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome. These remnants are currently housed within various library and museum collections throughout Europe and the United States. The set is agreed upon generally by scholars to have been commissioned by Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia, 1431-1503), who was pope from 1492 to 1503, as a gift to the church during his time as pontiff. The choir books for Santa Maria in Aracoeli contain the bulk of the known body of work by the enigmatic illuminator Fra Antonio da Monza. The best known items from this set of choir books are a complete gradual (or book of chants for the Mass) currently housed in the Getty Museum, called the Ludwig Aracoeli Manuscript, and a montage of cuttings in the Albertina Museum, Vienna, that features a miniature of the Pentecost. These are studied in the context of the artistic patronage of Alexander VI, and political and diplomatic gift cultures in papal Rome during the last decade of the Quattrocento. Alexander VI's gift to Santa Maria in Aracoeli served multiple functions. It advanced church music, but is also an example of a pontiff using custom luxury books for cultural diplomacy. The intent of the choir books was to build social relationships and augment the prestige of Alexander VI's regime with a local audience. Alexander VI sought to acknowledge the symbolic resonance of Santa Maria in Aracoeli and attempted to recuperate the site's importance for his reign through the gift. This study argues that the choir books were commissioned by the pontiff to promote his cultural and religious authority through abbellimento or "embellishment", the practice of commissioning ostentatious liturgical objects and additions to religious ceremonies for the purpose of developing esteem for an ecclesiastical office. This thesis argues that another purpose of the bestowment was to appease the Observant Franciscans in charge of the basilica in anticipation of Alexander VI's reforms of the Franciscan order.

This thesis reviews the available literature on Pius XII and his relationship with the Third Reich and the atrocities against the Jews during World War II. The types of literature explored in this study are standard texts; histories of the Church; biographies of Pius; available documents and memoirs; and studies of two special topics: The Ardeatine Massacre and the play, The Deputy. The purpose of this bibliographical review is to discern the various attitudes of authors and historians and reveal the diversity of their views stemming from their interpretation of documents and circumstance. Special attention is given the important play, The Deputy, not only as a literary masterpiece, but also as a catalyst in prompting the writing of other books.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

The thesis deals with the Czechoslovakia - Vatican relationships in the 1960's with an emphasis on the 1968 Prague Spring time. It summarises the importance of the 2nd Ecumenical Council of the Vatican and demonstrates the transformation of the papacy starting with early 1960's. The core of the thesis is an analysis of the political relations between Czechoslovakia and Vatican in 1968, and the attitude of Pope Saint Paul VI. (1963-1978) to the events in Czechoslovakia, with added emphasis on the personalities of Czech and Slovak bishops, negotiations between the Church and the state, as well as the metamorphoses of the Czechoslovakia-Vatican diplomatic contacts. The diplomatic negotiations present an interesting bonus primarily from the Radio Vaticana archive, which is available, in a digital version, at the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes website. Keywords Communism; Vatican II - Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican; Pope St. Paul VI.; Catholic Church; Vatican.

The thesis named: "The human dignity in the writings of Pope John-Paul II." tries to give a general overview of the theological-anthropological viewpoints of the teaching of the Pope John Paul II concerning the protection of the dignity of human being. The thesis begins by touching the life stages of the Polish priest, bishop and cardinal Karol Wojtyla and later the pontificate of the pope John Paul II. The thesis looks on particular events which had made an impact on his personality orienting his whole being to the protection of human rights and dignity of every human being. The second part of the thesis looks at particular theological- anthropological aspects and statements which make up the corner stones of John Paul II's teaching. The third part then goes on to focus on certain impulses given by the signs of the times and serious topics which lead the pope to raise his voice to call for protection of human rights and dignity of every single human being.

In June 2015, the Vatican released Laudato Si’, Pope Francis encyclical focused on environmental issues. Pope Francis acted as an advocate for a binding agreement on climate change at the United Nation (UN) Convention conferences of the parties 2015 (COP21) citing the scientific consensus on the existence and human causes of climate change. This call for action by the Pope raised the question on the role of religion in the political sphere considering whether a religious authority could influence political matters. By building on the analytical framework drawn from the work of Corell and Betsill (2008), on assessing the influence of NGO in international environmental negotiations, this thesis developed an analytical framework for accessing the influence of Religious non-governmental organizations (RNGO) to examine the influence of RNGO on COP21. The findings also shed light on the secularization debate in International Relations.

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[pt] A noção de casa comum, termo usado pelo atual Papa católico para despertar o cuidado com o planeta em que vivemos, remete também ao ideal da fé cristã de que todas as pessoas, em harmonia com toda a criação, sob o cuidado e direção de Deus, viverão relações alegria, paz e justiça, segundo o propósito original da criação. Por ter este projeto como parte integrante de sua fé, cabe aos cristãos buscar colaborar de maneira decisiva para a realização concreta dele. E, como sinalização deste propósito, é preciso testemunhar a possibilidade de expressões de unidade visível, a começar dos próprios cristãos. Da mesma forma, o cuidado com o planeta evidencia a esperança cristã da renovação do mundo todo e, assim, devem os cristãos ser protagonistas nesta questão urgente deste tempo. Este trabalho aproxima a temática da unidade dos cristãos com a da ecologia, enxergando-as como questões da casa comum, e busca na questão da santidade um fundamento de fé e espiritualidade motivador para a reflexão e engajamento prático nessas questões. Como expressão mais concreta disso, relacionará as abordagens de John Wesley e do Papa Francisco sobre a santidade, de maneira a verificar como ela, de fato, pode promover essas questões da casa comum, o que aponta para a viabilidade dessa relação em outras tradições cristãs. / [en] The notion of common home, a term used by the current Catholic Pope to call for care for the planet we live in, also refers to the Christian faith s ideal that all people, in harmony with all creation, under God s care and guidance, will live in joyful, peaceful and just relationships, according to the original purpose of creation. Having this project as an integral part of their faith, it is up to Christians to seek to collaborate in a decisive way for its concrete realization. And, as a sign of this purpose, it is necessary to witness the possibility of expressions of visible unity, beginning with Christians themselves. In the same way, the care for the planet evidences the Christian hope for the renewal of the whole world, and thus Christians must be protagonists in this urgent issue of this time. This work brings Christian unity and ecology together, seeing them as issues of the common home, and seeks in the issue of holiness a foundation of faith and spirituality to motivate reflection and practical engagement on these issues. As a more concrete expression of this, it will relate John Wesley s and Pope Francis approaches to holiness in order to see how holiness in fact can promote these issues of the common home, which points to the viability of this relationship in other Christian traditions.

[pt] A presente pesquisa se propõe a investigar o modo como o problema do Mal é abordado em grande parte do chamado Catolicismo Midiático brasileiro. Este conceito abarca as expressões do movimento carismático que, nas últimas décadas, começaram a se utilizar dos meios de comunicação para ampliar o raio de alcance da sua ação evangelizadora. A partir desse alcance, essa vertente do catolicismo brasileiro oferece consolo e uma proposta de Salvação diante dos males experimentados por milhões de brasileiros e de brasileiras. Além disso, tendo presente a atual conjuntura eclesial, a pesquisa leva em conta o momento novo vivido pela Igreja Católica com o pontificado do Papa Francisco. Este deseja fomentar uma reforma da Igreja em chave missionária, a fim de que a instituição eclesiástica redescubra, como sua função primordial, o anúncio e o testemunho da Salvação integral em Jesus Cristo. Sendo assim, após uma análise históricosociológica do processo de modernização do campo religioso brasileiro (o que permitiu o surgimento do Catolicismo Midiático), bem como dos textos selecionados produzidos por essa religiosidade e que são objeto da pesquisa, o estudo pretendeu também analisar criticamente o material coletado à luz da teologia do Papa. O objetivo é investigar as contribuições e contradições do Catolicismo Midiático para a proposta de Salvação anunciada pelo Papa Francisco, além de apresentar alternativas que permitam uma maior colaboração com o seu pontificado. / [en] This research focus on investigating the way that the problem of Evil is conducted in the largest part of what is called Brazilian Media Catholicism. This concept embraces the expressions of the charismatic movement that, in the last decades, have begun to use the means of communication to expand the reach of its evangelizing action. From this point of view, this aspect of the Brazilian Catholicism offers comfort and an idea of Salvation against the evils experienced by millions of Brazilians. Furthermore, according to the current ecclesial situation, the research takes into account the new moment experienced by the Catholic Church with the pontificate of Pope Francis. This man wishes to encourage a reform of the Church in a missionary way, so that the ecclesiastical institution can rediscover, as its main role, the proclamation and witness of whole Salvation in Jesus Christ. Therefore, after a historical-sociological analysis of the modernization process of the Brazilian religious field (which allowed the emergence of Media Catholicism), as well as the selected texts produced by this religiosity and which are the object of research, the study also intended to critically analyze the material collected in the light of the pope s theology. The goal is to investigate the contributions and contradictions of Media Catholicism to the Salvation proposal announced by Pope Francis, besides presenting alternatives that allow for greater collaboration with his pontificate.

[pt] Na presente pesquisa, o objetivo é apresentar uma contribuição da espiritualidade cristã para a redescoberta do sentido da vida. O estudo está estruturado em três partes. Na primeira, foram analisadas a Modernidade e Pós- Modernidade com seus desdobramentos, desafios e provocações para este tempo. Adentrou-se também na temática da espiritualidade, propondo-a como uma via de abertura ao transcendente, apresentando uma definição de espiritualidade cristã e o perigo de uma espiritualidade intimista. Na segunda parte, foram abordadas a espiritualidade inaciana e seus fundamentos basilares, analisando-se parte por parte o Princípio e Fundamento, suas contribuições e aplicações para os dias atuais. Na terceira parte, o foco foi para a atualização da espiritualidade inaciana por meio de parte da reflexão teológica de Karl Rahner e de alguns documentos do Papa Francisco. Ambos apresentam, na prática, algumas contribuições que a espiritualidade de Santo Inácio pode oferecer. Por esse caminho, propôs-se a contribuição da espiritualidade cristã para a redescoberta do sentido da vida, tendo como referência principal uma de suas vertentes: a espiritualidade inaciana. / [en] In this research, the objective is to present a contribution of Christian spirituality to the rediscovery of the sense of life. The study is structured in three parts. In the first one, Modernity and Post-Modernity were analyzed with their consequences, challenges and provocations for this time. The theme of spirituality was also explored, proposing it as a way of opening to the transcendent, presenting a definition of Christian spirituality and the danger of an intimate spirituality. In the second part, Ignatian spirituality and its basic foundations were addressed, analyzing the Principle and Foundation, its contributions and applications for the present days, part by part. In the third part, the focus was on updating Ignatian spirituality through part of Karl Rahner s theological reflection and some documents of Pope Francis. Both present, in practice, some contributions that the spirituality of St. Ignatius can offer. In this way, the contribution of Christian spirituality to the rediscovery of the sense of life was proposed, having as its main reference one of its aspects: Ignatian spirituality.