Studies Systematic and Critical

This eighth and final volume of the Collected Essays of Peter Damian Fehlner entitled, in the spirit of Fehlner's hero John Henry Newman, Studies Systematic and Critical, includes published and previously unpublished studies, spanning a wide range of years and topics. In his critical studies, Fehlner with his Scotistic subtlety wrestles with Karl Rahner over Trinitarian theology and the Kantian inflections within transcendental Thomism. Fehlner unmasks Hegelian undercurrents of Neopatripassianism. And he unravels sophistries in situational and sentimental ethics. Fehlner's systematic essays unpack Scotus's teaching on the person, grace, and justification. Seeing created personal perfection in the Immaculate Mother of God, Fehlner explores how Mary can be exemplar, mother, and teacher of Christians precisely as the most perfectly redeemed beneficiary of her Son's redemptive and salvific work. In a monumental and original study, Fehlner demonstrates the deep contours of thought between the two greatest Oxford theologians: John Duns Scotus and John Henry Newman. The essays in this volume give clear witness to the range and depth of Fehlner's theological and philosophical contributions as a critic and, more importantly, as the greatest Franciscan voice in constructive theology since the seventeenth-century "Golden Age" of Scotism.

"In this volume, Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, OFM Conv. (1931-2018), shows himself not only to be an expert in Mariology and Franciscan thought, but a profound philosopher and theological critic. Those who read this volume will benefit greatly from Fr. Fehlner's insights into philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger as well as his critique of some more recent theologians such as Karl Rahner and Catherine La Cugna."
--Robert Fastiggi, professor of dogmatic theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

"It is terrific to see these volumes appear in print. There is no greater authority on the Franciscan tradition than Fr. Fehlner, and these are certain to become standard reading for students of the history of theology and for interested readers more broadly speaking. Highly recommended!"
--John Cavadini, professor of theology, University of Notre Dame

"Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner was to me a friend, a teacher, a counselor, and a model of holiness and deep learning, and I am pleased that many more scholars and students can now share his company in the pages of his collected works and essays. Fr. Fehlner is a true master of the Franciscan theological tradition, worthy to share the intellectual company of Bonaventure, Scotus, Kolbe, and Bonnefoy, and has a profound contribution to make to a wide range of related fields, especially cosmology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, and Mariology."
--Scott W. Hahn, professor of biblical theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Peter Damian Fehlner, OFM Conv. (1931-2018), was a Franciscan priest and theologian. For nearly forty years he taught theology in Franciscan schools and seminaries in Italy and the United States. He is the author of several books and countless articles in theological and pastoral journals. His final work was published posthumously as The Theologian of Auschwitz: St. Maximilian Kolbe on the Immaculate Conception in the Life of the Church (2019).



J. Isaac Goff is an instructor of dogmatic theology at Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary. He is coeditor of A Companion to Bonaventure (2014) and author of Caritas in Primo: A Study of Bonaventure's Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity (2015).

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