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Dillon dissertation final format approvedl LW 12-9-13.pdf (1.4 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
From Painful Prison to Hopeful Purification: Changing Images of Purgatory in Selected U.S. Catholic Periodicals, 1909 - 1960
Author Info
Dillon, Timothy Gerard
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1386683388
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2013, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, Theology.
Abstract
Prior to 1960, U.S. Catholic periodicals regularly featured articles on the topic of purgatory, especially in November, the month for remembering the dead. Over the next three decades were very few articles on the topic. The dramatic decrease in the number of articles concerning purgatory reflected changes in theology, practice, and society. This dissertation argues that the decreased attention to the doctrine was the result of changing images associated with the doctrine. Throughout the history of the doctrine, images varied between those that emphasized purgatory as a painful prison for the dead and those images that emphasized hopeful purification or growth as an image of purgatory. The contrasting images tended to induce fear or hope and were associated with liturgical practices such as funeral liturgies and extreme unction As theologians of the twentieth century retrieved patristic and biblical sources of these and other practices, the images of souls in a painful prison were replaced with the more hopeful images. Changes in the understanding of and practices associated with purgatory over the course of two millennia are analyzed using five recurring themes: the nature of purgatory, the inhabitants of purgatory, time associated with purgatory, connections between the living and the dead, and practices associated with purgatory. The sources of material about purgatory are divided into five categories: official Church teaching, popular understanding, narratives, theological reflections, and practices. All of these sources and themes can be found in the periodicals of the twentieth century. America, Ave Maria, Ecclesiastical Review/ American Ecclesiastical Review, Liguorian, Homiletics and Pastoral Review, and Oratre Fratres/ Worship all contain articles about purgatory, especially in the month of November. Some of these periodicals addressed a predominantly lay audience and some targeted a predominantly clerical audience. The images of suffering souls are frequently used to encourage prayers to alleviate their suffering. As the hopeful images became more normative, the urgency of praying for the deceased lessened. The decreased attention to purgatory occurred prior to Vatican II. Concurrent with the changing images of purgatory was a changing U.S. Catholic identity. As Catholics become more affluent, the culture of suffering seemed irrelevant. As the upwardly mobile Catholics moved to the comforts of the suburbs from the challenges of city neighborhoods, the images of purgatory also changed. Practices evolved so that there was less need to pray for the dead and, therefore, less sense of connection with the dead. This seems to be an unintended consequence of the changing images. Theologically the retrieval of eschatology as central to the message of Jesus pushed the traditional notions of Last Things to the margins. The theology of Vatican II reflected a shift in eschatology from the next world to this world and from individual salvation to corporate salvation. Images of fire as hopeful purification at the moment of death become part of the theological discussion after Vatican II.
Committee
William Portier, PhD (Advisor)
Patrick Carey, PhD (Committee Member)
Dennis Doyle, PhD (Committee Member)
Anthony Smith, PhD (Committee Member)
Sandra Yocum, PhD (Committee Member)
Pages
352 p.
Subject Headings
Theology
Keywords
Purgatory
;
ressourcement
;
US Catholic Periodicals
;
Eschatology
;
Devotionalism
;
Religious Practices
Recommended Citations
Refworks
EndNote
RIS
Mendeley
Citations
Dillon, T. G. (2013).
From Painful Prison to Hopeful Purification: Changing Images of Purgatory in Selected U.S. Catholic Periodicals, 1909 - 1960
[Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1386683388
APA Style (7th edition)
Dillon, Timothy.
From Painful Prison to Hopeful Purification: Changing Images of Purgatory in Selected U.S. Catholic Periodicals, 1909 - 1960.
2013. University of Dayton, Doctoral dissertation.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1386683388.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Dillon, Timothy. "From Painful Prison to Hopeful Purification: Changing Images of Purgatory in Selected U.S. Catholic Periodicals, 1909 - 1960." Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1386683388
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
dayton1386683388
Download Count:
4,669
Copyright Info
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.