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The current issue of Verba Theologica is being published at a time of significant change in the life of the universal Church. Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate builds on the legacy of his predecessors, particularly Pope Francis’s synodal impulse, while also introducing new emphases in the areas of social engagement, a culture of encounter, the formation of the Christian conscience, and the renewal of Christian hope. He systematically develops these themes in his latest encyclical Magnifica humanitas, in which he reflects on the Church’s social teaching in the age of artificial intelligence.
Looking at the contents of the current issue of the journal, it is impossible to overlook the fact that the individual studies—although written independently of current events—enter into a remarkable dialogue with themes that resonate today throughout the universal Church. The common thread running through several of the articles is the question of the reception of the Second Vatican Council. This remains one of the most significant challenges even sixty years after its conclusion.
The philosophical-theological dimension of this issue is represented by Petr Volek’s study on moral proofs of God’s existence as presented by selected authors of the Second Scholasticism. The author brings us back to the fundamental questions regarding the relationship between reason and faith, which remain relevant even in today’s culture marked by skepticism, neoconservatism, and relativism. He reminds us that Christian theology has always understood reason not as an adversary of faith, but as its partner in the search for truth. Gabriela Genčúrová’s article analyzes the implementation of the Council’s vision for religious education and instruction into pedagogical practice in Slovakia. The study notes that the Council’s renewal was not merely a liturgical reform, but above all a new perspective on the human person, human dignity, freedom, and the process of maturing in the faith. Particularly relevant today is the emphasis on dialogue between faith and culture, on the active participation of the laity, and on the need for a personalized approach to catechesis. In the context of the current crisis in passing on the faith to younger generations, this is a topic of extraordinary urgency.
Current developments in the Church are also shed light on by Michal Černý’s study of the concept of critical thinking in Pope Francis’s theology. The author demonstrates that, from the Pope’s perspective, critical thinking cannot be reduced to the analytical ability to evaluate information. It is a deeper attitude of discernment that connects knowledge with ethics, truth with responsibility, and reason with wisdom. In the age of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and information manipulation, this topic is becoming one of the key tasks of theological reflection and Christian formation. The study offers an interesting resonance with one of the central themes of Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas, which repeatedly emphasizes the need for a new critical awareness in the use of artificial intelligence, the protection of truth in the public sphere, the fight against manipulation, and the cultivation of an “ecology of communication.”
A prominent feature of this issue is the study by Martin Novotný and Vladimír Juhás on the German Synodal Path and the forum “The Life of a Priest Today.” This topic transcends the German context and concerns the entire Church. Questions regarding the credibility of Church structures, the identity of priestly ministry, lay participation, and the consequences of the abuse crisis are among the most pressing challenges of our time. This article demonstrates that synodality is not merely an organizational model, but above all a form of communal discernment—one to which Pope Francis has repeatedly called the Church and which Pope Leo XIV continues to promote.
A study by Andrej Botek and Beáta Polomová on the adaptation of sacred interiors in light of the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council shows that liturgical reform is not a closed chapter in church history, but a living process of interpretation and inculturation. The authors convincingly highlight the tension between the demands of contemporary liturgy and respect for the historical heritage of church spaces. This is an issue that touches on the very identity of the church community and its ability to express faith in the language of the present.
The common thread running through all the articles in this issue is the question of the human person—the human person as a believer, a citizen, a member of a community, and a bearer of dignity and responsibility. If, according to Leo XIV, the greatest risk of our time is replacing the logic of service with the logic of power, then the task of theology remains to protect the truth about the human person and about his or her calling to communion with God and with others. Theological reflection thus does not become an escape from the world’s current problems, but an essential part of responsibly discerning them. This is also why we offer our readers the current issue of Verba Theologica as an invitation to reflect on how to build “a city where God and humanity dwell together” (Magnifica humanitas, 1)—not only within the realm of technical possibilities, but above all within the realm of faith, hope, truth, and love.
Peter Olexák
