different sources, but in the relationship of the sources to each other. When she says scripture is the ultimate authority, she echoes Pope Saint John Paul II when he writes about the relationship between Scripture and Tradition. He calls Sacred Scripture “the highest authority in matters of faith, and Sacred Tradition, as indispensable to the interpretation of the Word of God.” (Ut Unum Sint, no. 79) There is an interesting conversation Catholics need to have in our own house about whether in our discomfort with sola scriptura we have neglected to grant scripture the highest authority. Dr. Sung’s argument about methodology, even if we disagree in the end, is an occasion for mutual enrichment. She herself is certainly looking for such mutual enrichment. In developing her exploration of Agape and Eros, she analyzes the work of three bishops and a philosopher. Two are Protestant (a Lutheran and an Evangelical) and two are Catholic (both Bishops of Rome). Dr. Sung’s own contribution comes in the synthesis she offers from her method of scriptural discourse. In the end, she takes us to the point of understanding more deeply what it means to flourish in God’s love for humankind. The third and fourth essays in this issue are my own. They were delivered as lectures at the Diaconal Convocation of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, at Saint Paul the Apostle Parish in Racine, Wisconsin, March 11, 2017. The represent some theological issues around the restored diaconate. I have been involved with promotion of the restored diaconate since I was a deacon. As an ecclesiologist with interests in Eastern Christianity, I have always envisioned the sacramental ministry of the Church as three-fold. As I first read the Documents of Vatican II the teaching on the diaconate as a permanent order resonated with what I knew from Eastern Orthodoxy. It seemed to me to be an example of the sister churches mutually enriching each other. When I was ordained a deacon as part of formation for priesthood, I personally discovered the depth and richness of this order, such that when asked “When were you ordained?” I always answer saying “I was ordained a deacon in 1979 and then to the priesthood in 1980.” Throughout my priestly ministry I have served in parishes with exemplary deacons. In fact, I am always somewhat surprised to go to a parish that does not have the ministry of deacons. Yet, the understanding of the diaconate is a developing idea. Unlike the Eastern Church, which never abandoned the diaconate as a permanent order, the Western Church had to re-learn how a permanent diaconate fit into the sacramental life of the Body of Christ. In my two essays, I try to offer a different approach to the theology of the diaconate shaped by my study of Eastern Christianity from one side and the developing theology of the baptized from the Western side. From these two vantage points, I focus on a rarely articulated fact: The Catholic Church chooses her priests, (presbyters and bishops) solely from the order of deacons. Any theology we have needs to make sense of that fact.
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