An Ecumenical Priesthood

“Jakob Karl Rinderknecht has proven to be one of the most important and respected voices in ecumenical relations in the post-post-conciliar church. This critical edition and translation of Karl Rahner’s An Ecumenical Priesthood not only validates this warranted reputation, but also represents an indispensable contribution to Anglophone discourse about the neuralgic themes of ministry, ordination, and sacramental theology that continue to plague our scandalous state of division within the Christian family. It belongs on every established and emerging ecumenist’s bookshelf.”

Michael M. Canaris

“Rahner’s essay on ministry is a valuable and underappreciated contribution to ecumenical theology. Moreover, it’s a gift to our own day as so many of us struggle to navigate disagreements more generally. How can we remain true to ourselves and our own traditions without just dismissing others? Rahner offers a window into his strategy for building bridges: digging for analogues, framing new questions, and making sure that the bridge in fact touches the two lands it seeks to connect. Jakob Rinderknecht has performed a great service by translating this work into English and offering such a helpful introduction.”

Brandon R. Peterson

“The publication in English of an untranslated work by Karl Rahner is a notable event. An Ecumenical Priesthood is especially welcome since its theme remains a ‘live’ issue for the church. As is true for his theology in general, Rahner addresses ordination and ministry in ways that are stimulating and challenging. Jakob Rinderknecht has given us a fine translation and an engaging introduction, bringing into relief Rahner’s enduring importance.”

Richard Lennan

“Jakob Karl Rinderknecht has done a great service by making this intriguing 1973 work by Karl Rahner available in English. It offers a fascinating peek into Rahner’s thought processes as he lets his imagination experiment with possibilities for an ecumenical priesthood that go beyond church structures as they are and allow the Spirit to blow where she will. Grounded in the Catholic tradition and his understanding of the universal offer of grace, Rahner depicts an understanding of sacrament that can explicitly recognize the presence and activity of grace in Protestant ordinations. Although not a widely studied trajectory in Rahner’s thought, ecumenism is both an explicit and implicit theme that culminates in the discussion of mutual recognition of ministries in the 1983 Unity of the Churches: An Actual Possibility. “Rinderknecht’s excellent critical introduction invites the reader to continue exploring the implications of this work for today’s other pressing ecumenical issues that have intensified since the 1970s, such as ordination of women. The introduction also offers a lucid guide through the sometimes-meandering progress of Rahner’s thought experiment. “This is but a brief glimpse into a work that remains surprisingly timely for the ecumenical and ecclesial issues that continue to occupy us. Both the Rahner work and the Rinderknecht introduction introduction merit the attention of all those engaged in these issues.”

Mary E. Hines

“In this exploratory work, Rahner reflects on the church’s own life and sacramental practice, carefully distinguishing between the ius divinum and the ius humanum in order to allow the Catholic Church to recognize sacramental and saving grace outside its own canonical norms. Rahner’s work on this question of ecumenical importance is a timely resource for thinking more expansively, creatively, and flexibly about the norms governing ordained sacramental ministry within the Catholic Church today. Rinderknecht’s introduction to his translation is an indispensable map guiding the reader through Rahner’s ‘journey into the blue’ on this quaestio disputata.”

Elyse Raby

“Adding this newly translated work to Rahner’s English corpus will hopefully reignite an ecumenical conversation that feels stalled for Catholics. Rahner gives Catholics an analogical path forward to recognize the reality of the ministry done by those ordained in other Christian denominations. The reason Rahner’s works stand the test of time is that he is able to creatively reimagine solutions to issues such as the validity of ordination to the priesthood, while grounding his response in the tradition of the church.”

Heidi Russell

“This work shines a light on the inadequacy of approaching the vexing question of the recognition of ministries through the classical categories of sacramental theology and canonical norms, and points to the need for new thinking that honors the graced reality present in the ecclesial life and ministries of Protestant communities. Rinderknecht’s introduction helpfully contextualizes Rahner’s reflections in the early stages of interchurch dialogue and argues convincingly for the need to better appreciate the extent to which his work is informed by ecumenical concern. The availability of this monograph in English translation is a welcome addition to contemporary discussion, coming at the precise moment when the issue of mutual recognition is emerging with even greater urgency, given advances in agreement on once church-dividing doctrines and the pressing need for shared witness in a deeply divided world.”

Catherine E. Clifford

“With his insightful critical introduction and his crisp, accessible translation of an important work of Karl Rahner that has received too little attention in scholarly circles, Jakob Karl Rinderknecht has rendered a great service to the Christian community. Theologians, pastors, and those engaged in ecumenical dialogues will find in these pages an esteemed voice echoing across the decades to answer one of the most critical questions facing Christians today: what ministry ought to and can look like in the church of the twenty-first century.”

Peter Folan