On Redemptor Hominis - An Introduction to the Life and Thought of St. John Paul II
"Redemptor Hominis" is about Christ and the message of Mercy."
-John Hittinger in On Redemptor Hominis
Pope Saint John Paul II was one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century. A recent biographer has described him as one of the “freest” men who ever lived, having had a clear sense of his mission and role within his own particular moment in history from a very early age. What animated this remarkable pope and saintly man? This course serves as an excellent introduction to the thought of Pope Saint John Paul II through a study of his first encyclical letter, Redemptor Hominis, “The Redeemer of Man.” It provides a context for understanding the encyclical, a section by section analysis, and explains how this encyclical--which Dr. Hittinger calls John Paull II's "Mission Statement"--provides a unique and important vantage point from which to understand the life and thought of this great pope.
16 30-minute lectures
- Poland – The Pope from a Distant Country
- Poetry and Theater – Beauty, a Profile of God
- Philosophy – A Noble Task
- Priesthood – Steward of the Mysteries of God
- Vatican II – A gift of the Spirit to the Church
- What the New Pope Inherits
- Who is the Redeemer?
- Divine and Human Dimensions of Redemption
- The Church’s Mission and Human Freedom
- Man is the Way of the Church
- The Twentieth Century: Progress or Regress?
- Do we have rights? Conscience and Religion
- Dynamic restlessness and man’s Supernatural destiny
- Prophet: Responsibility for Truth
- Mary and the New Evangelization
- Conclusion: Anticipating the Achievements of His Pontificate