Rebuilding Catholic Theology with and against German Liberal Theology.

Abstract This article examines the intellectual engagement between the Catholic scholar Ernesto Buonaiuti (1881–1946)—one of the foremost proponents of the historical-critical method in Italy—and the prominent German Protestant church historian Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930). This study adopts a transnational and transconfessional approach to church history, according to which religious thought develops not in isolation but through active engagement with other national and confessional traditions. It argues that Buonaiuti’s approach to Harnack was dialogical rather than merely antagonistic, showing that he not only addressed disagreement through the tools of the historical-critical method but also reinterpreted them in the service of Catholic renewal. In doing so, Buonaiuti anticipated the later Catholic endorsement of the historical-critical method.