THE SYNODAL EXERCISE OF POWER AND AUTHORITY:

a philosophical-theological dialogue between Hannah Arendt and Pope Francis.

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.001.DS02

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the proposals of Pope Francis on the theme of Synodality, based on a creative conceptual appropriation of categories of the German-Jewish thinker Hannah Arendt (1906-1975). In a first moment it will be shown that synodality, even being a religious principle, reverberates with the same meaning in other traditions, but with other terms. In a second moment we will approach Hannah Arendt's theoretical formulations around two fundamental concepts of her thought: power and authority, as exposed in her main works, namely: The Human Condition (1958) and On Violence (1968). The reflection examines both a theme that is decisive for the life and mission of the Church, and structuring categories of Arendt's way of understanding the Society of her time. We know that Hannah Arendt and Pope Francis are from different realities and historical moments, so our work will be dedicated to creatively explore the theoretical similarities between their thoughts in order to contribute to the theological debate that makes explicit the movements of an ongoing ecclesiological reform.

Keywords: Synodality. Power. Authority.

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Author Biographies

Anderson Pereira, PUC/SP

Mestrando em Teologia Dogmática pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP). Especialista em Sagradas Escrituras pela Faculdade Claretiana e Especialista em Ciências da Religião pela Faculdade UnyLeya.

Ney de Souza, PUC-SP

Doutor em História Eclesiástica pela Pontifícia Universidade Gregoriana (PUG-Roma). Professor da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC SP).

Carlos Fernando Silva Brito, UFMG

Doutorando em Filosofia pela UFMG. 

Published

2023-04-28

How to Cite

Pereira, A., de Souza, N., & Silva Brito, C. F. (2023). THE SYNODAL EXERCISE OF POWER AND AUTHORITY: : a philosophical-theological dialogue between Hannah Arendt and Pope Francis. Pistis Praxis, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.001.DS02