5. Catholicity: A Hermeneutic Model for Intercultural Theological Ethics?

This article proposes the concept of “catholicity” as a hermeneutic model for intercultural theological ethics. For this a precise definition of “interculturality,”geared towards processes of encounter and learning, will be required, as well as a clarification of “catholicity” along the lines of Lumen gentium 13 as a relationship between global unity and local particularity —one which involves growing together (rather than in opposition to each other). This “character universalitatis” will be able to inspire discussions of theological ethics, as independent positions are viewed in the light of the universal church as a whole, and theological contributions from other cultural traditions are taken seriously, leading to a process of learning and change on a global and local level without actually harmonizing different theologies. In this way, intercultural theological ethics can make a contribution to “intellectual synodality,”so that—as the document on the Church of Vatican Council II says—“the whole and each of the parts are strengthened by the common sharing of all things and by the common effort to achieve fullness in unity.”