Abstract:

The four essays discuss various topics namely dissent, the imago Dei, homosexuality and the beginnings of charitable work in the Philippines. Each has its own main problem. In the first essay entitled “Healthy and Unhealthy Dissent in the Context of Catholic Education”, dissent is examined in response to a certain opinion which condemned and excluded all forms of dissent in the context of Catholic education. The second essay deals with the development of the Church’s teaching on the homosexual act in the light of recent developments. The third essay is an exegetical investigation of the meaning of the phrase imago Dei in Genesis 1:27, which has shaped Christian anthropology and has been invoked in discussions on homosexuality. The fourth essay is a historical paper that explores the beginnings of charitable work in the Philippines in Fray Juan Clemente’s Hospital de Naturales founded in 1578 in response to another opinion which made a blanket condemnation of the work of the Spanish friars in the Philippines. In conclusion, theology is a ministry which must always be exercised in the service of the Church in whatever form. In the theologian’s various tasks of explaining, asking, investigating, and clarifying among many others, the unifying element is a desire and effort to help people arrive more closely at the truth and so lead them more closely to the Truth.

Final Defense:

Board of Examiners: Fr. Eric Marcelo Genilo, S.J., S.T.D. (Principal Examiner), Markus Locker, Ph.D. and Joaquin Yap, Jr., S.W., D.Phil.

Proposal Defense: