Among the many developments spawned by the progressive teaching of the Second Vatican Council has been the tremendous growth in critical biblical scholarship. However, along with this advance a somewhat invidious corollary has arisen, namely the practical denigration of all previous methodologies. Specifically, the present boom in critical exegesis has highlighted several inadequacies in the he...

As a chaplain, I try to offer patients the opportunity to express—and hopefully relieve—the spiritual angst that might often accompany their physical distress. It requires sensitive listening and letting the patients reveal how they can be helped. I kept this in mind, last year, as I entered a hospital room on one of my regular chaplaincy visits. A young woman was in one of the beds being atten...