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First Thoughts on Caritas in Veritate, #3

In paragraphs 5 and 6 comes the turn: “Development, social well-being, the search for a satisfactory solution to the grave socio-economic problems besetting humanity, all need this truth. What they need even more is that this truth should be loved and demonstrated.” We need to see the . . . . Continue Reading »

Weigel on the Encyclical

George Weigel writes : “Those with eyes to see and ears to hear will concentrate their attention, in reading Caritas in Veritate, on those parts of the encyclical that are clearly Benedictine, including the Pope’s trademark defense of the necessary conjunction of faith and reason and his . . . . Continue Reading »

Gays, Non-Discrimination, and the USCCB

You gotta love the political lobbying arm of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Their 2009 legislative round-up provides an insight into the priorities of Catholic officialdom. One item is particularly interesting. The report sums up Barney Frank’s bill, H.R. 3685, The . . . . Continue Reading »

First Thoughts on Caritas in Veritate, #2

The role of reason remains central through the opening of the encyclical: Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective . . . . Continue Reading »

Class, Status, and American Leninism

Now, I really, really, really hadn’t intended to post anything on Palin. I have nothing to add that hasn’t already been said. And most of what has been said would have been better unsaid: the delight in speculation without the slightest basis in evidence is among the worst tendencies of . . . . Continue Reading »

First Thoughts on Caritas in Veritate, #1

The first thing to ask about Caritas in Veritate , Charity in Truth, is why the in truth ? “Charity is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine,” the second paragraph of the new encyclical declares, to no surprise, at all: What else could a Christian account of the social realm . . . . Continue Reading »

The Beauty of Montana

Glacier National Park and environs are proof of God.  The beauty and vastness is a true wonder.  Here are a few shots I took for your hoped for enjoyment:Cho was a great horse:The mirror quality of the lakes took your breath awayThe turquoise of the water comes from glacier action11:00 PM . . . . Continue Reading »

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