Fundamental theology /

Fries's work is a major contribution to contemporary Roman Catholic theology and ecumenical dialogue, both ecclesiological and cultural. With the decline of Neo-Thomism after Vatican II, it is taking time for a new theological consensus to mature. A book such as this reveals the outlines of the future. At nearly 700 pages it is encyclopedic in nature but still bears the stamp of a single author's well thought out principled positions. To arbitrarily select three issues of interest: (1) Fries's strong stand that theology today must be stated in the plural despite some nostalgia in Catholic circles for "one" theology, which in many ways never really existed historically; (2) his insistence that secularization as opposed to secularism is a positive modern development that flows out of Christian faith in God's good creation; (3) his full repudiation of the outrageous injustice of anti-Semitism, as well as his support for the movement from missionizing to dialogue between Christians and Jews. Robert Daly's translation (an edition as much as a translation) is excellent, accurate, and readable. A "must" work for any library or reader seriously interested in recent developments in Roman Catholic theology. General; upper-division undergraduate through professional. R. W. Rousseau; University of Scranton