The following is adapted from a speech on the occasion of the republication of Russell Kirk's Eliot and His Age, given to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute student group at Central Michigan University in September 2008.
In his much anticipated third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth), Pope Benedict XVI does not focus on specific systems of economics—he is not attempting to shore up anyone’s political agenda. He is rather concerned with morality and the theological foundation of culture. The context is, of course, a global economic crisis—a crisis that’s taken place in a moral vacuum, where the love of truth has been abandoned in favor of a crude materialism. The pope urges that this crisis become “an opportunity for discernment, in which to shape a new vision for the future.”
Recent press accounts of atrocities against Christians in the Muslim world too often point to mutual blame between the parties. In this issue, Nina Shea sets the record straight. Nina Shea, whom Christianity Today called “The Daniel of Religious Rights,” has committed her life to fighting for religious and political freedom across the globe. In this interview, Ms. Shea pays tribute to the ten-year anniversary of the demise of communism in Eastern Europe, an uprising that started in the fall of 1989.
There are many anniversaries related to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe this year. Those countries were appropriately referred to as the “Captive Nations.” What thoughts do you have as you look back at that time and remember some of the great figures who toiled for political and religious freedom?
Explaining the realignment of American Southern politics is often a favorite area of study among historians and scholars. A region that was once dominated by yellow dog Democrats, has for the most part continued to expand as a loyal region for the Grand Old Party. One of the earliest and most common narratives among liberal historians and writers is the belief that the realignment in the South had to do with a backlash against desegregation. Steven P.
America’s Religious Left, having invested decades in dialogue with and advocating accommodation of the Soviet Bloc, was flummoxed and uncelebratory about the momentous collapse of East European Communism in 1989-1990.
What role does blogging play into Acton’s communication mix? The Acton PowerBlog, the most popular feature of Acton’s growing web presence, marked its fifth year of faith-and-policy punditry in April. Written by a diverse group of scholars, writers, clergy, and businesspeople, the blog is a forum for a wide variety of social and economic topics. To date, Acton bloggers have published almost 3,000 posts and readers – who provide their own invaluable insights – have logged about 5,500 comments to these posts.
We cannot deal with people like human beings, we cannot deal with them on the high level of true humanity, unless we really know their origin—who they are. God tells man who he is. God tells us that He created man in His image. So man is some- thing wonderful.
How should health care in the United States be reformed? The principles of social justice outlined in Catholic social teaching can be considered by all those of good will as guidelines for ethical health care reform. Those principles, are the dignity of the human person, the common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity. These four social-justice principles provide a foundation for a virtuous and economically sound improvement in medical resource allocation; a Christian prescription for health care reform.
As the squabbling continues over various policy suggestions contained in Benedict XVI’s Caritas in veritate, there’s a risk that the deeper theological themes of the text will be overlooked. It’s also possible some of the wider implications for the Catholic Church’s own self-understanding and the way it consequently approaches questions of justice will be neglected.
For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.