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The Papacy and the Development of the Church in Rome

Dr. David Dawson Vasquez

Spring 2009
 

 
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Since the fourth century, Rome has been a city of the Christian Church, the center and embodiment of the Roman Catholic Church. The history of the city is tied to the history of the Church and is intimately connected with its leaders, the popes. Students in the course will study the development of the meaning of the papacy throughout history. They will critically examine the interaction between theory (the understanding and theology of the papacy) and reality (the actual lives of the men who filled this role and often fell far short of the ideal, the places they walked, and the buildings and artwork they inspired). Through a study of the historical development of the papacy, students will reflect on the Roman Catholic understanding of Church and its commitment to the Pope as the successor of Peter, Vicar of Christ, and Servant of the Servants of God.

Required Books

  • To purchase

    How to order: These books are available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. When visiting the Amazon website, place the ISBN into the search field and the books will come up. If you prefer to have your books shipped to Italy, order them through Amazon.co.uk and have the shipped to Your Name, The Catholic University of America, Via Marcantonio Colonna 21a, 00192 Roma, ITALY.

    • Holy Bible, Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Version (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001, ISBN 081462796X), other acceptable translations: New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible

    • Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, second or third edition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006, ISBN 0300115970). There is no need to purchase this book as there are enough left over copies from previous semesters.

    • Ignatius of Loyola, Autobiography. This can be found in Personal Writings (New York: Penguin, 1997, ISBN 0140433856).There is no need to purchase this book as there are enough left over copies from previous semesters.

    • Christopher Hibbert, Rome: The Biography of a City (New York: Penguin, 1985, ISBN 0140070788). This book is out of print in the US and only available used. It is available new from Amazon.co.uk.



  • To print out

    These should be printed in advance and brought with you to Rome; you may request a photocopy packet instead by emailing the professor by December 10 (payment for the packet will be made on the first day of class, if requested, it must be paid for).

    Clicking on each of the below will open a pdf file with the text that can be printed out. Translations are drawn from material in the public domain found on the internet. If the student prefers a more modern translation, purchasing more recent additions is encouraged.

    NOTE: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print these files. It can be downloaded for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/reader