Refounding the Church

Refounding the Church weaves together the basic dynamics of a lay incarnational spirituality, including synodality, a liberated theology, an informed conscience, local eucharistic magisteria, the sensus fidelium and a western theology of liberation. Making the case that only a radical refounding synodal Church can respond philosophically, theologically and practically to the signs of the times, this distinctive book makes an unapologetic work of apologetics in the traditional sense. The book is a work of a liberated theology, intended as a pathway to a postfoundational Church. Written to inform and liberate an educated laity and awaken a lay incarnational spirituality, it is not intended to appease hegemonic clericalism. This book is an important read for scholars of theology interested in Synodality and Church leadership.

Anthony Maher was the 2024 Crawford-Miller (Oxford-Australia) Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, Professor of Practical Theology and Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Canberra. He was the previous President of the Association of Practical Theology in Oceania and has also served as Academic Dean, theological consultant, and Director at various higher education institutions in the UK and Australia. Recent books include Theology and the People of God (2022); Faith and the Political in the Post-Secular Age (2017); The Forgotten Jesuit of Catholic Modernism (2017); and Bridging the Divide between Faith, Theology and Life (2015). His current research in post-secular, political theology includes his next book, ‘Refounding Australia’ (2026/7). Anthony is married to Lesley, they have four children and live in Sydney.

The whole Church owes Anthony Maher a great debt of gratitude for his Entanglement Ecclesiology: Refounding the Church, in which he lays out his vision for a future Church characterized by radical relationality, interconnectedness, and a shared responsibility for human flourishing. It is an urgent theological manifesto for our times and a pragmatic call to action to overcome the gripping crises facing the Catholic Church and our fractured world. No Church leaders and concerned lay Catholics can afford not to read Entanglement Ecclesiology if they want the Church to realize its role as a beacon of justice, peace, and ecological stewardship, and "refound" it on the principles of solidarity and liberation of the Gospel. They will find in this book a bold and hopeful vision for Church renewal inspired by Vatican II and Pope Francis.

 Peter C. Phan,

The Ignacio Ellacuria, SJ, Chair of Catholic Social Thought

Georgetown University