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Title: Van antropofobie tot antropocentrisme?
Subtitle: De ontwikkeling van christelijke antropologie tussen Humani generis en Gaudium et spes (1945-1965)
Author(s): BOSSCHAERT, Dries
Journal: Tijdschrift voor Theologie
Volume: 57    Issue: 1   Date: 2017   
Pages: 20-38
DOI: 10.2143/TVT.57.1.3200335

Abstract :
One of the main characteristics of the pastoral constitution Gaudium et spes is definitely its further development of a Christian anthropology. This was not merely the result of decisions taken during the Second Vatican Council itself, but also the recognition of the theological shift that had taken place between 1940-1950. This contribution to the history of theology presents that shift in three movements. First, some post-war projects for a renewal of Christian anthropology are discussed. Although the Louvain project ‘L’homme nouveau’ was much more modest than the French ‘Hexagone’ project, both were intended to be a serious theological reconsideration of human existence. These attempts ended with the promulgation of the encyclical Humani generis (1950). At the same time this meant the start of a second movement, a new phase in the attempts at a renewal. Theologians like Albert Dondeyne, Charles Moeller and Marie-Dominique Chenu each developed their own strategies for continuing their theological quest for humanity, despite the restrictions of the encyclical. They looked for ways to continue their attempts at an approach to existentialism. From now on, their ideas about humanity needed to be framed in either an updated Neo-Thomism, literary-theological reflections or a theological ressourcement. When, in the third movement, with the work on Gaudium et spes at the Second Vatican Council, the quest for the theological meaning of humanity was suddenly officially opened, they were ready to lend their expertise. Their ideas about a Christian anthropology met with relatively little resistance and were adopted in the pastoral constitution itself.

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