God in the Global City

Antoni Nadbrzeżny

doi:10.18290/rt.2017.64.2-5

Published : 2017-02-28

Vol. 64 No. 2 (2017)

God in the Global City

Antoni Nadbrzeżny

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rt.2017.64.2-5

Abstract

The global city became a significant symbol of radical secularization as well as a sign of God's eclipse in contemporary society. The experience of the absence of God seems to be one of the pivotal problems for the ecclesiology of communion, which interprets the mission of the Church in the light of the “signs of time.” In this paper the author presents the city as a life space where people of all nations and cultures can find the presence of God in both secular and religious realms. Using the correlation method typical of contextual theology, he describes the phenomenon of the secular city with some of its features and potentials. Then he identifies the signs of God's presence in the global city in the light of the teaching of Pope Francis. Further on in the article, the author describes the Church as a sacrament of liberation in the context of so called “experience of contrast” characteristic for a metropolis. Finally, he formulates some pastoral implications.

Keywords:

God's presence, global city, Church, liberation, signs of time, secularization, hope

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