https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1187&context=jrbe
Although I am a Protestant Christian, in this paper I will approach the
concept of Shalom from a perspective informed by Catholic Social  thought, and particularly, as an entrepreneur who participates in the Economy of Communion (EoC) movement. The aim of this paper is to seek to support the project of seeking Shalom through business practices by suggesting EoC as a model. I will here bring the principles of the Economy of Communion as a vision and a means to practice business in a way which leads to Shalom. To engage in current discussions on shalom, I will first provide a brief account of Shalom in business from some of the
existing literature. I will then explain the Economy of Communion approach. Finally, I will compare and contrast this EoC view of business with two prominent views, namely the BAM view (Russell 2009; Johnson 2009), and the Reformed view as described in Quatro (2014) and others, namely the business-as-business approach, supposedly derived from the separate spheres view of Kuyper (Baus 2006, Kuyper 2021). I will build on friendly criticisms from Quatro (2014) of the shortfalls of the BAM view of business, but argue-- pace Quatro (2014) and Weinberger (2010) --that the ‘separate spheres’ approach of Kuyper et al. should avoid appearing to promote a view of business which is akin to Albert Carr (1968) and popular representations of Milton Friedman’s viewpoints—that business is
business, and that it should not be directed or confused with one’s  religious or personal ethics. Rather, even if we accept a sovereign-spheres approach, not only should faith definitely speak into how we practice
business towards shalom, but business itself can be an opportunity for spiritual practice which helps us to grow in our faith, and also to come into closer communion with others. Ultimately by doing so, we establish shalom, and I will provide a few concrete examples from my business and others as well.

When engaging in a philosophical analysis of body and corporeality in a political context, it is essential to ask to what extent, under what circumstances, and in accordance with what moral norms the state performs actions that have the bodies and lives of citizens as their object. This issue was already discussed in ancient philosophy, examples of which can be found in the writings of Plato and Aristotle, but also in ancient jurisprudence, especially in the law and the legal doctrine of ancient Rome.
Aware of such a previous history of studies on this topic, this analysis will discuss the three main ways in which state power over the life and health of citizens is manifested. Namely: (i) capital punishment (ii) policing and (iii) warfare. In addition, it will be indicated, based on Thomistic philosophy, what moral norms govern these state actions. The fundamental differences between the three main state powers — judicial, police, and military — will also be shown in the context of lethal actions undertaken on their basis.

Revista Cultura Económica 121 La responsabilidad social empresaria (RSE) a la luz de Caritas in veritate Revista Cultura Económica Año XXVII• Nº 75/76 Agosto-Diciembre 2009: 121-127 RICARDO F. CRESPO Ante todo se debe señalar1 que las cuestio-nes de la empresa y ...

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Theological Studies at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theological Studies Faculty Works by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please get in touch with digitalcommons@lmu.edu. Repository Citation Fredericks, James L., "Survey of Catholic Social Teaching" (2024).

Abstract: Linking Norbert Elias’s concept of the triad of controls, to Andrew Willard Jones’ analysis of the ‘complete act’, the paper outlines the relation between culture and personality and the implications of this for any project of localization and the re-embedding of the economy. Re-iterating the reality that degrowth cannot be a liberal project, the paper goes on to explore the relation between Western individualism and Judeo-Christianity. Shorn of the overarching ontology and orienting architecture of Christianity, individualism has become corrosive, unstable and, in the end, self-destructive. The socially conservative preoccupation with a decline in virtue is linked to eroding social capital, anomie, and unhappiness arising from a surfeit of freedom. Hyper-social and -spatial mobility is linked to the suppression of the domain of Livelihood, with its bottom-up, communitarian and family-based forms of social regulation; and a corollary expansion of both top-down collectivist regulation by the State and the transactional logic of the Market. Livelihood is a function of embedded individuals enmeshed in relations not only with other individuals and groups, but with God. In contrast, the materialist metaphysics of Market and State both depend on disembedded, free-wheeling citizen-consumers, severed from any relation to transcendent values. But these same phenomena are also the principal drivers of consumption and ecological degradation. On this basis it is argued that any culture of ecological restraint predicated on the re-embedding of markets must also entail an ontological re-embedding of the sacred conception of the individual (the Imago Dei) into a relation with the divine. Such a project implies a very different understanding of freedom predicated on an external, legitimate authority; a freedom that is ‘fullest not when it serves itself but when it serves truths freely held” ([1], Loc. 419). Applying Christopher Alexander’s theory of pattern languages, the paper goes on to explore what such a sustainability project might look like.

Анотація. Стаття присвячена  дослідженню  філософсько-релігійного  феномену  релігійна  етика. Актуальність дослідження обумовлена тим, що  з визначенням поняття «релігійна етика» спостерігається цілий ряд труднощів, зокрема неоднозначність трактування цього поняття в сучасному релігійному русі, соціально-гуманітарних  науках  і  в  теології.  Актуальності  даному  дослідженню  додає  факт  того,  що  в умовах глобалізації світу є необхідність знаходити порозуміння між різними етичними парадигмами, а для цього  потрібно  розуміти  сутність  та  специфіку  релігійної  етики,  яка  навіть  в  рамках  однієї  релігійної парадигми у різних спільнот може мати певні відмінності: різні тлумачення, пріоритети та акценти. Автор вказує  на  цілу  низку  проблем,  які  ускладнюють  розуміння  сутності  релігійної  етики,  робить  спробу об’єднати різні визначення цього поняття та виявити специфіку релігійної етики. У статті автор також звертає  увагу  на  ідеї  Г.  С.  Сковороди,  які  є  дотичними  до  теми  даного  дослідження.  Філософсько-
методологічне  підґрунтя  роботи  склали  антропологічний,  аксіологічний,  діалогічний,  феноменологічний підходи та світоглядна інтерпретація відомих філософських, релігійних, теософських концепцій та досвіду екзистенціальної взаємодії суб’єктів різних релігійних культур. На рівні загальнонаукової і конкретно-наукової методології  використано  методи  структурного  і  функціонального  аналізу,  теоретична  реконструкція, контент-аналіз  та  певні  когнітивні  процедури.  Перелічені  методи  дозволили  актуалізувати  інтерес  до дослідження поняття «релігійна етика»; виявити ряд проблем, які ускладнюють розуміння цього поняття; виявити,  узагальнити, систематизувати  та  інтегрувати  визначення,  які  зустрічаються  в  сучасних
наукових публікаціях; на прикладі християнської етики показати специфіку релігійної етики.
Ключові  слова:  релігійна  етика,  світська  етика,  моральна  теологія,  антропоцентризм, теоцентризм.

As the far right is surging throughout the world, Chile's 9/11 of 1973 may hold lessons for us. In this article, I pay hommage to Rev. Bill Smith who leaked the secret Christmas message Chilean bishops sent to their fellow Catholic bishops throughout the world three months after the military junta overthrew Salvador Allende. Key excerpts of this message are presented, following by my scathing critique of this message.

Religion came from the Latin word religio which can mean “devotedness” or “felt obligation,” and referred to the observance of duties. It encompassed a wide range of social groups and worship practices during earlier times. In the Middle Ages, it came to refer to monastic orders and sincere devotion. Although its meaning changed over time, it remained broadly and adaptably associated with devotion and worship to a common god or a multitude of gods. Modern practices of religion are often ingrained in a people’s culture as well, including their beliefs, values, and behavior.  

Qualche politico ciarlatano, qualche imbonitore ideologizzato ci inducono a pensare che la nostra forma di società sia la migliore possibile. La più equa. Forse anche la più cristiana. Molti inoltre asseriscono che il motore dell'economia sia il consumo. E fanno di tutto perché si consumi il più tanto possibile, per il bene, dicono, dell'economia del paese. Ma è vero tutto ciò? E soprattutto: ha qualcosa ha che fare con i valori cristiani oppure assolutamente no? 1) Beni egoici La società dei consumi spinge costantemente in ogni modo, come via verso la felicità, all'acquisto dei prodotti che il mercato propone. Educato da ogni tipo di condizionamento mediatico all'idea che tutto ciò che si presenta come ottenibile sia un sacrosanto diritto ad avere, il singolo si convince facilmente che l'esercizio della sua libertà coincida con la realizzazione dei suoi desideri di consumo. Ogni ostacolo a questa soddisfazione viene interpretato come ostacolo alla libertà. Un diritto inalienabile, di fronte a cui tutto il resto passa in secondo piano. Pensare per sé, pensare a sé, nella costante ricerca della felicità consumistica, è l'orizzonte di valore della società moderna. La persona si abitua a considerarsi soprattutto soggetto di diritti di consumo. Meglio ancora, del diritto al possesso di cose ed oggetti acquisibili attraverso il potere economico, vale a dire il denaro. Ciò che conta può essere acquistato. Lo dice il mercato, lo dice la pubblicità, lo dicono i modelli che la società dei consumi propone costantemente. Questo bombardamento di suggestioni che pian piano divengono verità accettate da tutti, ovvie, naturali, oscura prepotentemente ogni altro valore che afferisca a visioni diverse dell'essere umano, a diverse concezioni della felicità, della relazione con gli altri, insomma, per dirla con la filosofia cristiana, a diverse concezioni del buono, del giusto, del bello. La dimensione della gratuità, ad esempio, che sta alla base della relazione umana di amore ed amicizia, non ha cittadinanza in questo sistema. Il fare, l'agire, l'esistere per motivi differenti dal tornaconto personale non sono compresi o vengono considerati con sospetto. La capacità di relazione con l'altro, la cui espressione somma consiste nell'amore, che è gratuita autodonazione, in questo modo si atrofizza e muore. L'uomo vive così in maniera sempre più egocentrica, narcisistica, intento ad una felicità solitaria ed equivoca, perché concentrata sui suoi desideri e sui suoi diritti al godimento di beni privatistici. "L'acquisizione dei beni materiali può condurre alla cupidigia, al desiderio di avere sempre di più e alla tentazione di accrescere la propria potenza... Avere di più, per i popoli come per le persone, non è dunque lo scopo ultimo. Ogni crescita è ambivalente. Necessaria onde permettere all'uomo di essere più uomo, essa lo rinserra come in una prigione, quando diventa il bene supremo che impedisce di guardare oltre. Allora i cuori s'induriscono e gli spiriti si chiudono, gli uomini non s'incontrano più per amicizia, ma spinti dall'interesse, il quale ha buon gioco nel metterli gli uni contro gli altri e nel disunirli. La ricerca esclusiva dell'avere diventa così un ostacolo alla crescita dell'essere e si oppone alla sua vera grandezza: per le nazioni come per le persone, l'avarizia è la forma più evidente del sottosviluppo morale". 1 E', questo, un benessere che si può definire egoico. I beni egoici non sono da condividere. Sono essenzialmente privatistici, come gli ideali che ne stanno alla base. Si possono riassumere in quattro forme di desiderio: 1) desiderio di ricchezza, 2) desiderio di potere, 3) desiderio di prestigio/successo/celebrità, 4) desiderio di piacere. La loro affannosa ricerca trasforma la società intera in una folla di individui 2 in corsa per accaparrarsi il maggior numero possibile di oggetti. La corsa però implica anche una gara dove gli altri sono concorrenti,

This article offers a close reading of the six reports from the 4th Assembly of the WCC in Uppsala 1968. The assembly was keenly in tune with the worldwide upheavals of the year. It indeed sought to discern the signs of the time and produced a number of creative suggestions, for example by emphasizing the aspect of inclusiveness in catholicity, by stressing the multilateral dimension of mission, and not least by highlighting the churches' inherent responsibility to be agents of justice and peace in a fractured world. Uppsala 1968 named in a prophetic way crucial issues that remain on the agenda for worldwide Christianity: class, economy, isolationism, racism, the arms race. But today the churches are also confronted with new and renewed challenges such as post-colonialism, migration, ecology, gender, and a theological grounding of the church's existence in the world. The article concludes by proposing table fellowship as a possibility for such theological grounding.

In this globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference. We have become used to the suffering of others: it doesn't affect me; it doesn't concern me; it's none of my business! … Let us ask the Lord for the grace to weep over our indifference, to weep over the cruelty of our world, of our own hearts, and of all those who in anonymity make social and economic decisions which open the door to tragic situations like this."

The United States is a racially diverse nation that also is saturated with severe racial injustice. At the same time, it is a nation within which countless residents seek full flourishing for all peoples despite the hazards of a racialized hierarchy. In this context of prejudice and distrust, how is it possible to nonviolently cross racialized boundaries to approach some measure of dignity and justice for all human beings? This chapter argues that a Spirituality of the Precious Blood is one resource that can form women and men to become ministers of reconciliation and social healing in this context.

This article presents an analysis of the reality and the way of transmitting education based on the teaching of the Catholic faith in a culture or this secular as a sign of justice in a world of discard, taking into account the cultural value of education in our country, as well as his contributions to society, covering historical and modern characteristics of this political polemic in relation. The article consists of a bibliographic and exploratory research, with a view to raising concerns in situations presented with certain practical solutions in the application of learning in the seminar on a topic of paramount importance. In this way, the research provides a comparison between the characteristics of teaching or education starting from the educational process today in a certain place close to the parish where I am working; addresses themes inherent to the educational process regarding the origin of knowledge, the relationship between faith and science, teaching methods, worldviews, the role of religion in society and its implications for public and private education and culture, going over the Christianity's action in the History of Education and addresses this as social justice. Demonstrating that Christianity itself, not only maintains a relationship with education, but also constitutes an educational process, with objectives similar to the objectives of secular education.

While Fratelli Tutti adheres to recent magisterial teachings on Catholic social morals, this contribution makes the case that the encyclical is related to the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace. This essay, relying on the critical rhetorical communication theory, concludes that several stated tasks outlined in the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Fratelli Tutti have not been realised in Nigerian Catholicism. The article argues that Fratelli Tutti's contact rhetorical symbolism must be domesticated and allowed to challenge Nigerian Catholicism if the Catholic Church in Nigeria is to demonstrate its fidelity to Catholic social imagination and thought. There are many choices, but not all of them need to be hierarchy-driven.

The encyclical Veritats splendor is a theological writing but contains many philosophical and ethical ideas. It undertakes many fundamental moral issues and, in this way, gives answers to some progressive tendencies in the moral Catholic theology, particularly operating in Europe and America. This article traces some of these issues, e. g. new proposals on the relation between truth and freedom, the fundamental option, or new tendencies in understanding the structure of the moral act. Then, it shows that papal corrections and critical comments present in the document have deep roots in his philosophical writings, particularly in his main anthropological treatise Person and Act. This article confirms, more generally, that many ethical investigations, including those belonging to theological ethics, have their background in metaphysical and anthropological assumptions. Consequently, there is, in principle, an interplay between reason and faith, philosophy and theology. That is what makes Catholic thought strong and attractive.

This article examines Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler’s (1811-1877) biography, published works, and correspondence to demonstrate his relevance for CST in five points: First, Ketteler’s primary identity and loyalty was uncompromisingly Christian, rooted in Thomistic natural law, and thoroughly consistent with the church’s scriptural, theological, and ecclesiological commitments. Second, Ketteler’s legal education and experience informed his social writings. He respected and often incorporated secular and Protestant intellectual insights, including especially the “historical school” of jurisprudence—a branch of German Romanticism. Third, Ketteler’s dignitarian defense of individual human persons is consistent with contemporary discourses of human dignity and human rights. Fourth, Ketteler’s practical reasoning was ordered towards a theologically informed conception of human dignity and the common good. He sought prudential paths, which he called corduroy roads, to deal with this period’s social challenges. And fifth, Ketteler’s resourceful participation with representational forms of government demonstrates the rich potential for the church in public life where religious freedom is constitutionally protected. His social action took place in a context of an increasingly secular public discourse where Roman Catholics were a minority in the national structure formed in 1870 Germany. Ketteler confronted threats from the political left attempting to privatize religion and from the right that tried to nationalize church activities. He identified religion as politically essential while respecting structurally independent public spheres for both church and state.

for the helpfiul comments I received in presenting a version of this paper to colleagues from disciplines other than law. I am especially grateful to David Ingram for his thorough comments on the piece. I also wish to thank Mark Osler at Baylor Law School who was the principal organizer behind the Sixth Conference of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools held at Baylor in March 2006. The invitation I received to speak at this conference served as the genesis for this article. I am also grateful to Amy Uelmen and Gregory Kalscheur, S.J.

am very grateful to my research assistants, Maura K. Frickel and Patricia Corwin of the Columbus School of Law, for their assistance, and to my friends and colleagues who commented on earlier drafts. 1. Many philosophers, theologians, and historians have written about Catholic social thought. For deeper insights into and further treatment of, this thought-provoking area, see, e.g.,

In the writings of the Vatican, the United States and Latin American bishops, and various theologians since the 1950s, Catholic social thought has generally failed to understand the pernicious depth of the system of racial classification, discrimination, and violence in the Americas. Catholic social thought still sees racism as based on the pre-existing, valid category of "race," requiring individual conversion and social effort. What is required instead is seeing the very concept of "race" as what must be rejected as the product of a racist ideology of politicoeconomic oppression and developing an anti-racist theological response that overcomes and eliminates this deadly ideology. It involves a re-imagining of the Imago Dei as the image of Jesus on the cross, of Mary and the women at the foot of the cross, as a direct confrontation with the principalities and powers that are invested in racist ideology, where the human and divine are connected through the cross and affirmed in the resurrection. It invokes a re-imagining of Laudato Si' as an anti-racist teaching, using many of the same ideas Pope Francis uses for his integral ecology to overcome the racist ideology that is inextricably tied up with modern capitalism and environmental despoliation.

Books are usually written to express one's ideas or opinions or to address some problems or situations. This is the reason why books must always be read and understood within the intellectual, social, and political contexts during which they were written. But there are books written in the recent or distant past, within different intellectual, social, and political contexts, that continue to be partly or fully relevant because the contemporary context has a continuity and a similarity with the past of the books. I have been thinking about three such books that made an impact on me when I read them in the past, but which I am reminded of because of what is going in the Church, in American society, and in the world.

Just war theory is predicated on a realist interpretation of the causes of war and the possibility of moral defense for state-orchestrated violence. Making use of Buddhist resources, this short paper uses the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a gate for reflecting on the deeper origins of war in our everyday ways of life, on its marriage of bodily and temporal violence, and on its dysfunctional, cyclic alternation with peace and on how to break it.

This document includes a summary of the theme, links for registration and hotel information, the schedule, and invited speaker information for the 46th annual Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Convention, to be held at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, from September 27-29, 2024. Please join us!

Distributism would be of little practical use if it could not provide useful answers to practical problems of the type we face practically everyday. I believe distributism does indeed provide a useful set of tools to analyze these problems and to devise useful solutions. But the

Globálna kapitalistická ekonomika čelí mnohým závažným problémom. Adekvátny proces riešenia týchto problémov je preto nevyhnutný. Mainstreamový prístup reprezentovaný medzinárodnými inštitúciami má sklon poskytovať radikálne riešenia, aké presadzoval napríklad Medzinárodný menový fond v prípade gréckych ekonomických problémov: rozsiahle škrty vo verejných financiách, programy úspor v sociálnych službách a extenzívna privatizácia. 2 Na druhej strane, čoraz viac hlasov odborníkov zaznieva v prospech hľadania akceptovateľných alternatív a inovatívnych prístupov nielen na mikro a makroekonomickej úrovni, 3 ale aj v oblasti vládnutia. 4 Niektorí ďalší akademici idú ešte ďalej a volajú po tom, aby sme sa obrátili "od dominantnej koncepcie trhovej spoločnosti smerom ku konceptu pluralitnej ekonomiky, teda ekonomiky, ktorá siaha za oblasť trhu, aby tak v sebe zahrnula ďalšie ekonomické koncepty," 5 a to aj napriek faktu, že v procese globalizácie "poháňanom neoliberálnou utópiou trhovej spoločnosti sa situácia javí byť obzvlášť náročná". 6 1 Tento text bol vytvorený v rámci Programu rozvoja vedných oblastí na Univerzite Karlovej v Prahe (PRVOUK), P17 Vědy o společnosti, politice a médiích ve výzvách doby, ktorý prebiehal na Inštitúte politologických štúdií Fakulty sociálnych vied Univerzity Karlovej v Prahe. Predchádzajúca verzia tohto textu bola prezentovaná na "Medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencii 170 rokov družstevného hnutia na Slovensku (25. 11. 2015, Bratislava). Rád by som poďakoval dvom anonymným recenzentom za ich hodnotné a konštruktívne pripomienky a návrhy, ktoré výrazne prispeli ku skvalitneniu tohto textu. Tiež by som rád poďakoval Jozefovi Klingovi za jazykovú korektúru anglickej verzie a editorke časopisu za jej trpezlivosť v priebehu recenzného procesu.

Hoci svoju osobitnú ekologickú víziu mal už sv. Tomáš Akvinský, 1 predovšetkým v priebehu ostatných troch pontifikátov, teda sv. Jána Pavla II., Benedikta XVI. a Františka, sa v rámci katolíckej sociálnej náuky (ďalej len KSN) výraznejšie rozvíja jej environmentálna rovina. Dochádza teda k čomusi, čo by sme mohli nazvať akýmsi "zelenaním sa" tejto náuky. Prejavuje sa predovšetkým zdôrazňovaním kvality a čistoty životného prostredia v najširšom zmysle slova, ako aj zodpovednosťou jednotlivca i celej ľudskej rodiny za zachovávanie a ochranu stvorenstva pochádzajúceho od Boha, ako povedal pápež František: "Ekologická dimenzia je nevyhnutnou súčasťou zodpovednosti každej osoby a každého národa". 2 Konkrétne sa tieto akcenty stávajú súčasťou učenia cirkvi, vrátane jej riadneho Magistéria, prostredníctvom rozličných textov rôznej miery záväznosti pre veriacich. Tento korpus tvoria tak príhovory a posolstvá spomínaných pápežov, ich encykliky, ako aj iné magisteriálne dokumenty, vrátane Kompendia sociálneho učenia cirkvi, vydaného na žiadosť sv. Jána Pavla II. Pápežskou radou pre spravodlivosť a pokoj v roku 2004. Dôraz kladený na túto problematiku nie je prekvapujúci, keďže napríklad "biodiverzita a ochrana prírody je často kontroverznou otázkou, ktorou sa už nezaoberajú len odborníci a správcovia chránených území. Stáva sa predmetom širších diskusií naprieč rôznymi sfé-* Text vznikol v rámci programu Progres Univerzity Karlovy Q18-Společenské vědy: od víceoborovosti k mezioborovosti.

The text explores the evolution of anthropological perspectives within Christianity, specifically focusing on the concept of rights. It traces the historical shift from a pre-modern emphasis on the social nature of humans to the emergence of individualistic anthropology in the 17th century. The tension between freedom and justice becomes a central theme, with human rights seen as a means of protecting individual autonomy from social coercion. The text explores the concept of personhood in Christianity, emphasising its central role in understanding the Trinitarian identity of God and its significance in Christology. It examines the classical definition of a person as an individual substance of reasonable nature, highlighting its limitations when applied to social aspects of human life. The author expresses scepticism about reconciling the concept of human rights with Christian anthropology, asserting that the rights-focused ethics is rooted in a non-Christian philosophical framework. The conclusion acknowledges the contemporary dominance of the rights-focused ethics but warns against the temptation to create a new "Christianity" compatible with this framework, urging a recognition of the anti-Christian nature of the ethical foundations of the modern Western society.

The 'common good' is tantalizingly elusive. The concept is also a contested one, the 'common' is perhaps not so common after all. Contested, that is, within the tradition of Catholic Social Thought, a rich mine of theological wisdom and insight, but one which also reveals the complexity of the idea. The rooting of the common good within Catholic Social Thought raises the question of whether the concept is restrictively located within the Roman Catholicism rather than being of broader application. Certainly, from an ecumenical perspective, Catholic Social Thought can be both attractive and impenetrable at the same time. The presence of a body of social doctrine within the Roman Catholic Church, however contested, is not, and indeed in many traditions, cannot be replicated. However, that is not to say that the Protestant traditions contain no doctrine or even that they lack bodies of systematic theological thought; they contain both. The difference lies in the authority which is attached to each. Equally, the way in which common good ideas within Catholic Social Thought have been grounded in concepts of Christian theology such as the nature and dignity of the human person cannot simply be dismissed as narrowly Catholic, more of a gift of Catholicism to the whole of Christianity. The question is whether Catholic and Protestant traditions can be brought into a more effective dialogue around the common good. That requires awareness not only of the nature of the concept itself, but also about the language of the common good. Perhaps the inscrutable nature of Catholic Social Thought has led to some superficiality in the adoption of the concept both not only in secular thinking but also by Protestants. Yet, Protestantism too, despite the lack of a magisterium, does provide a range of systematic resources to explore this topic. However, the task must be done. The outcome could be an even richer understanding which might even, as James Hanvey has argued, provide 'avenues for reconceptualising the relationship between the domains of the 'sacred' and the 'secular.'' Hanvey's observation reminds us of the potential for the common good to bring about new and deeper reflections upon business and the economy. At its heart the common good is neither the adoption nor the rejection of a market economy. In reality, the common good is a living tradition. If the common good is at all about human flourishing then the economy has a central role to play. Markets and competition both contribute to the common good and yet the idea cannot be reduced to either individual rationality or purely contractual relationships. How precisely does the common good relate to the nature and role of government, the nature of the civil economy of intermediate institutions, property rights and the rule of law? In this endeavour Catholicism and Protestantism 2 can be effective dialogue partners. The common good is not simply an aspiration, in either Catholic or Protestant thought. The common good in ecumenical dialogue There is remarkably little by way of substantive contributions to debates around the common good within either formal or informal ecumenical dialogue. However, that is not the same as asserting that Protestant traditions are failing to engage or that there are no initiatives. In Anglican Social Theology, although most contributors to the volume tend to assert rather than analyse the common good, Anna Rowlands, in her chapter seeks to explore something of the theological communality. She makes three important points about Anglican and Catholic Social Teaching. First, she argues that both traditions lay doctrinal weight on the inalienable nature of human dignity, alongside the social nature of humanity, freedom and rights. Second, the gospel carries a distinctive social and political character. Third, prominence is given to the role of intermediate institutions. 1 These reflections are important in thinking more widely about Protestant contributions. The grounding of common good thinking in human dignity is an argument concerning the nature of God and the imago dei in humanity. This idea is firmly established in the biblical narrative as well as the theological tradition. It involves an appeal to creation which links the idea to the creation narratives and also to evangelical Protestant political thought. Hence, the foundational dignity of the human person is a building block of the common good across traditions not simply within Catholicism. Similarly, Anna Rowlands third point on the importance of the intermediate institutions. Voluntary societies, the family-the institutions of the civil economy-are the historical bedrocks of Protestant evangelical approaches to society and the common good. The more contested area would be Anna Rowland's second category of the social and political nature of the gospel. If this means that the common good is both individual and corporate then this also builds upon the Protestant approach to the Christian faith. Clearly both in Geneva with Calvin, in the evangelical social and political action of nineteenth-centry Britain and in the Kuyperian understanding of Christian democracy the common good was expressed in both individual flourishing and corporate, societal good. However, the potential, and lazy, link of common good thinking with a socialistic or corporatist approach to political life and society will also encounter some resistance. Catholic and a wide range of Protestant and other non-Catholic writers came together in 2015 to produce Together for the Common Good. This volume covered a wider range of contributors than Anglican Social Theology and was brought together largely by Jenny Sinclair, the daughter of Bishop

This article grapples with the justifiability of nuclear deterrence in the aftermath of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Disillusioned about the failed promise of nuclear disarmament, as well as other ethical issues inherent to nuclear weapons, Pope Francis has attached the immorality label not just to the use of the Bomb but also to its very possession. This step, which his predecessors hesitated to take during the Cold War and the quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, has received considerable attention. However, these assessments precede the war against Ukraine. Given that the regime of Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made nuclear threats in the context of this war, and a Cold War 2.0 of sorts has returned, there is reason to reappraise Francis's argument on nuclear weapons for a post-2022 era. I argue with regret that in light of the contemporary security environment it would be a sign of irresponsible statecraft to abandon the nuclear deterrent unilaterally. At the same time, I hold that a renewed and genuine effort needs to be made not just to avoid nuclear war but to create a culture that one day will lead to complete nuclear disarmament.

Reviewed by Father Thomas Kocik Debuting in 1952, this book by the English Jesuit Clifford Howell (1902-1981) originated as a series of articles in the journal Orate Fratres (renamed Worship in 1951) published by The Liturgical Press. Father Howell states in his preface that he set out to write an engaging introduction to the subject of liturgy for people with no liturgical background. We have here no technical theological treatise. Instead, Howell supplies the raw material needed to develop a "liturgical outlook," a way of seeing the Catholic Faith as more than "just a list of obligations" but "something for which you will thank God continually, with joy and gladness in your heart" (10). Written in an engaging and conversational style, the book is divided into two parts, each consisting of eight chapters. Part One ("Of Sacraments") begins with a question one might expect from those-and they are legion-who equate religion with being nice: Why worship? Howell likens people who do not worship God, but who are morally upright on the whole, to "children who are pleasant with brothers and sisters and schoolmates, who…do all sorts of things which their father wants them to do. But they take no notice of their father." Inversely, people who say their prayers and go to church but are unrepentant evildoers "are like children who talk to their father, praise him, thank him for all he has done, 'take due notice of him' in fact; and yet they don't do what he wants" (5-6). It is one thing to worship God from the fact that we are his creatures and are therefore duty bound to adore and obey him. But it is something else, much more wonderful, to exceed the powers of human nature and put into our praise, thanksgiving, and supplication all the power of God. Yet that is what characterizes the prayer of the Christian. What makes this kind of worship possible is participation in the "supernatural life," meaning a type of life that belongs to a nature above (super) our human nature with its limitations, indeed a "sharing in God's own life and powers" (17). Since God's divine life transcends the three kinds of natural life known to us (vegetable, animal, and human), the question then arises: How do we mortals obtain our personal share in this life, which is beyond the natural capacity of any creature to attain? It would be impossible, unless God makes us "part of a grace-filled organism already living with divine life" (25), and that organism is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, fully realized in the Catholic Church. This new life incorporated into the Mystical Body, this life "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3), is a gift of God received and sustained through grace. And it is the very basis of what the Church calls "liturgy." Sacramental Notes But what is the liturgy? Before defining the term, Howell puts to us one more principle of the liturgical outlook. Namely, he expounds what theologians call the "sacramental principle," a way of seeing the world as-in the words of another English Jesuit, Gerard Manley Hopkins

Karen Brewer is unique among Australasian opponents of Freemasonry. She believes Freemasonry is a conspiracy and a controlling influence on Australian and New Zealand society, from the judiciary to the legislature to the public service and all of the professions. Freemasonry, she believes, promotes paedophilia. She frequently uses the term "filthy freemasons." Brewer appears on social media using the title Bush Telegraph. In today's talk, before examining the claims and actions of Ms Brewer, I will firstly look at Freemasonry itself and its incarnations, the objections made to Freemasonry by its opponents. These are different from Ms Brewer, in that they are normally for reasons of religion or the supernatural. Freemasonry is an old-age fraternity of men, established in the Middle Ages, purportedly among stonemasons. It claims to be a society with secrets, but is popularly called a secret society. Members are supposed to believe in a Supreme being, not necessarily a Christian God, and this is represented by the letter G for Great Architect of the Universe in Masonic Temples. Muslims, Hindus and Jews and adherents of other religions are often Freemasons. A friend of mine, who is English, told me that his opinion of Freemasonry is that it is a social club for mainly middle-class men who like playing

If we are to understand the nature of the relationship between a culture and its economy it is necessary to trace out the logic that informs the apparently disparate currents that make up that culture and its economy. There are any number of loci by reference to which this relationship might be discerned, but none are so important or profound, or for that matter so telling, than our body. Following on from two previous articles this essay approaches the subject by way of Foucault’s understanding of the ‘biopolitical’.[1] Through the issues of sexuality and eugenics we see how the logic informing early modern liberal philosophy worked itself out, coming to its full realisation in what is today referred to as ‘anti-essentialism’. The rise of anti-essentialism is concomitant with, if not identical with, the rise of capitalism proper. Antiessentialism, both as a cultural and economic phenomena, is necessary for the rise to global dominance of capitalism. Although anti-essentialism is of...