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Ross’s latest column discusses the ways in which Catholic social teaching challenges our usual partisan alliances: … Catholics are obliged to take seriously the underlying provocation of the papal message — namely, that our present political alignments are not the only ones imaginable, and that truth may not be served by perfect ideological conformity. So [...]
What does it mean for love to be in truth? And why should it matter whether it is? By my lights, the central claim of this introductory section is that, just as the loving articulation of truth makes it credible and appealing, so it is the truthful proclamation and practice of the nature of love [...]
Filed under: Caritas in Veritate, reading groups, religion
So … anyone out there interested in reading the new encyclical together, a chapter or two at a time? I should acknowledge right away that I’m no expert on Catholic social teaching (though I did once research and write a long but unsigned encyclopedia article on the topic, and came away with very few sympathies [...]
Filed under: religion
Joe Carter asks how Catholics determine whether and to what extent they’re obligated to concur with papal encyclicals. If I may be permitted a moment of deepest cynicism, the obvious answer is that it depends on how nicely the relevant teachings comport with their partisan political affiliations and other preexisting biases, which is how we [...]
Can anyone tell me what Michael Novak means by this? The Catholic tradition—even the wise Pope Benedict—still seems to put too much stress upon caritas, virtue, justice, and good intentions, and not nearly enough on methods for defeating human sin in all its devious and persistent forms [emphasis mine – JS]. What in the world [...]
Filed under: religion
The only parts of the Pope’s new encyclical that really matter are the ones that line up neatly with the Republican Party’s political agenda; all the rest is incomprehensible and quite possibly stupid. Update: Freddy has a wonderfully nuanced discussion of Caritas in Veritate up on the main blog. Update 2: This is truly brilliant.
Kyle Cupp reflects on his daughter’s in utero diagnosis with anencephaly: Prior to this experience, when pondering the meaning of fatherhood, I would have thought of showing my children affection, forming their character, teaching them their parts of speech, instructing them in the faith, or playing games of all sorts. I have been able to [...]
by JL Wall While I was home last week I had the opportunity to see (and use) the new Reform siddur, “Mishkan T’Filah.” And, quite frankly, it’s gorgeous. In terms of design, printing, typeface, paper quality, understanding of how to use blank space (using blank space for effect in a prayerbook!) it simply blows every [...]
Filed under: media/culture, religion
Both of them elsewhere, though. First of all, I’m honored to have been invited to contribute to the Commonweal blog, and my first post over there takes on Joe Carter’s recent criticisms of “theistic evolution”: If God is omniscient, then his knowledge of the course of evolution is eternally perfect – and whether the evolutionary [...]
Filed under: environment, personal, religion, science/tech
If encouraging parishioners to bring their guns – and a canned good for the local food bank! – to church on Sunday is an instance of “Christianism”, can anyone tell me what isn’t?
Filed under: religion