There is an influential narrative regarding the reception of Vatican II that divides the postconciliar history into two periods separated by the 1985 Extraordinary Synod. In the first period the reception of the council yielded a rich ecclesiology grounded in the people of God metaphor. It stressed both the active participation of all the baptized in Christ's threefold office (priest, prophet, and king) and the church's mission to scrutinize the signs of the times. However, this ecclesiology was criticized at that synod by influential prelates who insisted that it was the theological concept of communion that formed the real foundation for the council's ecclesiology. Communion ecclesiology would dominate the ecclesiastical reception of the council from 1985 to the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate. Bradford Hinze's monograph builds on this narrative, reserving his harshest criticisms for the official communion ecclesiology's reassertion of the lay/clergy distinction and its ecclesiastical centralization and control under John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Hinze proposes the critical retrieval of the people of God metaphor but then constructively extends it, developing a robust, dialogical ecclesiology marked by prophetic obedience. This obedience is not the simple acquiescence before the will of another, but a communal listening that recognizes the reality of ecclesial impasse and carefully attends to the laments, conflicts, and disappointments of the people of God. One of the dangers of an ecclesiology of communion, he contends, is the way it privileges unity and harmony and ignores the reality of ecclesial dysfunction. Communion ecclesiology conceives of ecclesial obedience within a Trinitarian framework that emphasizes the Son's obedience to the Father. Here is where Hinze makes one of his most original contributions. He is careful not to reject this option but argues that it must be complemented by an alternative Trinitarian framework, one marked both by God's “obedience” to the Spirit in the groanings and chaos of Creation and by Christ's “obedience” to the Spirit in attending to the laments of the broken of this world. In a sense, Hinze is retrieving an ecclesial analogue of Schillebeeckx's negative contrast experience. Within this alternative schema the exercise of the sensus fidei must expand beyond an active reception of the apostolic faith to include listening to the laments of God's people. Consequently, Hinze's commitment to prophetic obedience creates a space, not only for harmony and unity, but also for the agonistic and conflictual dimensions of social and ecclesial existence. Conflict and disagreement have constructive roles to play in the life of the church.
Hinze also challenges communion ecclesiology's suspicion of individualism and the legitimate autonomy of local communities. He offers a rigorous defense of “individuation in communion” in which conflict and lament also play important roles in the formation of both the individual self and the individual community.
Finally, Hinze's constructive project is further distinguished by an inductive methodology that tests his ecclesiological insights through a careful consideration of the local church in New York. He offers a richly documented history of how the local church of New York initially implemented key elements of the people of God ecclesiology before shifting away from it in accord with changes in Vatican leadership. He will return to the local church of New York to identify concrete examples of prophetic obedience in action. Local parishes, intentional communities, and activist groups exemplified prophetic obedience in their recourse to pastoral councils and practices of ecclesial discernment, social advocacy, and community organizing.
Hinze's creative reconsideration of the Trinitarian foundations of ecclesial obedience, his inductive methodology, and his insistence on the value of the agonistic dimension of ecclesial and social life all confirm his place as one of the most important voices in American Catholic ecclesiology today.
