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Some Current Questions in Eschatology

International Theological Commission

Some Current Questions in Eschatology
International Theological Commission
1990 AD
Magisterial
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Document summary

The International Theological Commission grounds Christian hope in Christ’s resurrection and rejects both secular fear of extinction and an “innerworldly eschatology” that reduces the Kingdom of God to political progress. It presents the traditional twofold understanding of the afterlife: the conscious soul survives death and encounters communion with Christ, purification, or definitive separation, while the body awaits resurrection at the end of time. Against theories of total extinction, reincarnation, or self-redemption, the Commission affirms the unity and dignity of body and soul, the uniqueness of each earthly life, salvation as God’s gift through Christ, and the possibility of freely refusing divine friendship. Death is painful because it separates body and soul, yet “death in the Lord” participates in Christ’s paschal mystery. Burial customs, prayer for the dead, invocation of the saints, and the Eucharist express communion between the living, the departed, and the Church in heaven. The liturgy after the Second Vatican Council is presented as a witness to this eschatology of souls and to the future transformation of the body in Christ’s glory.

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Document details

Document name
Some Current Questions in Eschatology
Citation title
Some Current Questions in Eschatology
Author
International Theological Commission
Language
English
Year
1990 AD
Publisher
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Publisher Location
Vatican City
Document Category
Doctrinal Document
Corpus classification
Magisterial
License
Public domain