On Valuing Truth in Practice: Rome's Postmodern Challenge

Abstract:  This essay probes whether there can be any real and fruitful dialogue between Roman Catholic self-understanding in relation to truth and postmodern questioning of the value of all such truth-talk, at least as traditionally conceived. After an introductory section situating the essay in context, the exploration moves through four phases. First, there are some initial reflections on the place of truth in Catholic self-understanding and the significant shaping force this exerts on Catholic structure and practice. Second, attention shifts to asking after the motivating factors behind Rorty's trenchant disavowal of 'objectivity' in favour of 'solidarity', or localized agreement, as the only viable basis for interpreting and acting within the world. Having noted the challenges the Rorty's concerns pose to Catholic self-understanding, attention turns in the third part to review the counter-case that can be made for the lasting significance of a revised aspiration for truth as the articulation of reality. The final section further probes the challenge that this position in turn holds for the concern that Catholicism give appealing, inspiring, convincing, and, in this sense, authoritative witness to the task of discerning together the truth in love.     

THE CONCEPT OF CONTINUOUS CREATION PART I: HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY USE

The concept of continuous creation is now widely used in the context of reflections on the dialogue between science and religion. The first part of this research work seeks to understand its meaning through a twofold elaboration: (1) the historical setting of the three philosophical trends in which this concept was developed: scholastic (conservation), Cartesian (conservation through repetition of the creative act at each instant), and dynamic (interpreting the emergence of radical and contingent novelty in nature as a sign of the continuity of creation); (2) a philosophical and theological critique of the concept of continuous creation regarding the question of the relationship between change and creation, in the light of its highly polymorphous contemporary use, and, in opposition, its absence within the Catholic Magisterium. This work opens the field a further step toward reflection on a renewed concept of continuous creation.     

Consumerism as a moral attitude

In this theoretical and explorative essay, from an analysis of Pope Francis’, Cornel West's, and William T. Cavanaugh's works, it is argued that it is possible to construe a specific understanding of the concept of consumerism within the political theological discourse. From the analysis, consumerism is imagined as a fundamental attitude of remaining morally indifferent towards suffering. Accordingly, the proposed definition for consumerism is understood as the act of trivializing the good and remaining indifferent towards suffering. Furthermore, the article highlights how this definition of consumerism challenges the idea of consumerism as an “ersatz” religion, which is an understanding of consumerism that is often used within a Christian theological context.     

RELOCATING THE SIKH SUBJECT

In 1993 a number of Sikh Canadian veterans were barred from entering a Legion Hall in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada because they refused to remove their turbans. Using a postcolonial lens to explore this meeting and the historical factors leading to it, this paper offers some important reflections on both the evolution of Canadian multiculturalism and the nature and meaning of Sikh identity in a seemingly postcolonial context. The paper suggests that the Sikh veterans involved in this event were effective at strategically constructing a subject position that relocated them simultaneously at the centre of Empire and Canada's multicultural order.     

Credo Unam Sanctam Ecclesiam: The Relationship between the Catholic and the Protestant Principles in Fundamental Ecclesiology

Abstract

This article treats of characteristically Catholic and Protestant ecclesial principles and reflects on Anglicanism within this context. Where the Catholic ‘principle’ is concerned for the structural unity of the Church, the Protestant ‘principle’ focuses on the Church as a dynamic, Spirit-given reality. In turn, Anglican comprehensiveness is assumed to reflect the concern to achieve a harmonious balance between these principles. Having traced key developments that brought Catholic and Protestant principles into creative relationship in the 20th century and more recent developments, that threaten once again to oppose them, this article argues – through reflection on the unity and holiness of the Church – for their necessary interrelationship and concludes that realising this in practice represents the central ecumenical challenge of our age. En route, attention falls on the relationship between the local and the universal Church, on the importance of keeping communion with the breadth of the tradition and on the doxological dimension of ecumenism.     

A noble quest: cultivating Christian spirituality in Catholic adolescents and the usefulness of 12 pastoral practices

The essay considers the process of cultivating Christian spirituality in Catholic adolescents. It will integrate and document official Catholic Church teachings on the subject and also unofficial scholarly reflections. The exposé briefly defines adolescent spirituality and situates the process of cultivating adolescent spirituality in Catholic youth ministry. The concentration of the inquiry is predominantly single‐minded – addressing briefly – 12 Catholic spiritual virtues, traits, practices, and disciplines that cultivate adolescent spirituality in US Catholic young people.     

Bound to be Free: Evangelical Catholic Engagements in Ecclesiology, Ethics, and Ecumenism

Book reviewed:
Bound to be Free: Evangelical Catholic Engagements in Ecclesiology, Ethics, and Ecumenism by Reinhard Hütter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004) x + 313 pp. Reviewed by Jean Porter Department of Theology The University of Notre Dame 130 Malloy Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA     

Intrinsic Religiosity and Volunteering During Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison of Mormons with Catholics and Non‐Catholic Christians

Emerging adulthood is a period when religious beliefs are likely to be shaped. Studying the influence of religious culture on prosocial behavior among emerging adults aids our understanding of the process and effects of religious socialization. Mormon religious culture places a particularly strong emphasis on caring for family and fellow Mormons. Because intrinsically religious individuals internalize their religious community's values, we hypothesized that the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and volunteering would be stronger among Mormons than among Catholics or non‐Catholic Christians. We tested this hypothesis using a sample of Mormon (N = 118), Catholic (N = 304), and non‐Catholic Christian (N = 542) emerging adults (18–29 year olds) across three volunteering contexts (religious, family, and secular). Controlling for extrinsic religiosity and worship attendance, the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and frequency of volunteering was greater among Mormons than Catholics and non‐Catholic Christians in the context of religious and family volunteering. However, intrinsic religiosity was not a significant predictor of secular volunteering. Our findings suggest that Mormon culture influences the frequency and type of volunteering engaged in by young Mormon adults.     

“Our Sister,Mother Earth”: Solidarity and Familial Ecology in Laudato Si’

Laudato si’, with its articulation of a familial ecology reflecting Francis’s Latin American context, expands the subject of solidarity in Catholic social teaching and thought. Yet, this ecological vision of family fails to attend to the problem of gender subordination latent in Catholic social teaching, including in its approaches to ecology. A vision of solidarity that eradicates gender and ecological subordination must elaborate a familial ecology characterized by both mercy and equality.     

The Bible, Knowledge of God and Dei Verbum

How may an inquiring person fittingly look upon the Bible? In what manner can a person's attention to the Bible assist them to knowledge? For a Catholic Christian analysis, what ideas are suitable about the place of the Bible in relations between God and humans, and in appropriation by a person today of whatever divine disclosure or revelation is at hand? This article outlines reflections on these matters. Links are apparent with key points in Vatican II’s Dei Verbum. The first of four sections concerns a fundamentalist outlook. Section II has to do with certain limited but significant ways in which a person may look on the Bible: ways similar to ways in which a person may look on other texts. Section III pauses on inquiries into ‘deep, inner’ matters of life where the person inquiring does not proceed from a perspective of Catholic Christian faith. Section IV surveys a broad range of thoughts that may aptly be endorsed from within a perspective of Catholic Christian faith. The thoughts concern the nature of the situation by which a Catholic Christian person today can advance in knowledge of God: in appropriation of divine disclosure. Ways in which a person may look on the Bible that go beyond those exhibited earlier are now made explicit. (The article fully allows that numerous views held by one or another follower of Jesus who does not adhere to Roman Catholicism may, in respects at stake, harmonize with a Catholic Christian faith‐perspective.)     

Consultation and the Introduction of Social Problem-Solving Groups in Schools

Social problem-solving programs for withdrawn and hyperactive children within a school context were developed and implemented in a day care center, a Montessori nursery school, a Catholic elementary school, and a Catholic high school. This article describes the program implementation for each of the four schools and some of the effects on the consultative relationship.     

Emigration,Nationalism and Church Identity in Europe: The Legacy of the German St Raphael Society in International Catholic Migration Assistance

At the very time that historians have pin-pointed a turn to hyper-nationalism in Germany, a nationalist German Catholic association for emigrant care (St Raphael Society) started its gradual transformation into an international support network. Migration as concept and reality reminded the German Catholic nationalists that a) the nation resides outside its political borders and b) one must show empathy for all strangers in strange lands. The article situates the Society within the context of the German Caritas Association and International Catholic Migration Commission.     

Racism,Xenophobia, and Migration in Italy,a Post-Catholic Country

This paper looks at the present situation of xenophobia and racism in Italy through the lenses of land and displacement. It examines the relationship between the homeland and the phenomenon of migration – internal and international – from the beginning of the unitary unified state of Italy (1861) and the Catholic identity of Italian society. Colonialism opened the door to disdain for Black people, while fascism decreed racial laws against Jews without opposition from the Catholic hierarchy. After the Second World War, the Italian Republic banned any form of racism; but more recently the fear of the stranger has led to intolerance of migrants arriving in Italy because of war, violence, hunger, and poverty in their homelands. While Pope Francis, Italian bishops, and many Catholic associations and individuals have called for an attitude toward migrants based on the gospel, sentiments of racism and hate against foreigners are widely present among the population of a formerly Catholic country.     

Life,Joy, and Love: Together towards Life in Dialogue with Evangelii Gaudium and The Cape Town Commitment

This article offers reflections on key themes and missiological significances of the WCC's Together towards Life in dialogue with the other evangelical and Roman Catholic documents, specifically, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and the Lausanne Movement's Cape Town Commitment. Organizing his reflections around the significant words in each document – life, joy, and love – as well as other meaningful and powerful words that arise in analysis, the author finds that these three new mission statements cover much of the same ground and are quite complementary, with concern for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the forgotten and disregarded playing a central role in all of them. The article concludes that it is important to study these three documents together, as each has the potential to be a friendly yet challenging ecumenical dialogue partner to the others.     

The Relationship Between Personality,Burnout, and Engagement Among the Indian Clergy

This study examined the relationship between the Big Five personality dimensions, burnout, and engagement among 511 Indian Catholic diocesan priests. We expected that Neuroticism would be positively associated with burnout and negatively associated with engagement. Moreover, we expected Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness to be negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with engagement. Hierarchical regression analyses largely confirmed these expectations. Results are discussed in the context of the broader literature on burnout and engagement, as well as the literature on priesthood.     

Political consumer behaviour among university students in Brazil and Germany: The role of contextual features and core political values

This study investigates the relationship between political consumerism and core political values (CPVs) among university students in Brazil (N = 414) and Germany (N = 222). Despite the prerequisite to endorse values that are compatible with political consumerism, contextual features of one's immediate environment might affect overall levels of political consumerism. Our results show that political consumerism is significantly associated with higher income in Brazil (but not in Germany). After controlling for income, political consumerism was practised more frequently in Germany than in Brazil, in urban compared with rural areas, and was not dependent on gender. The urban–rural split was stronger in Brazil than in Germany. These results confirm our hypothesis that contextual features are associated with political consumerism. Furthermore, the political value Equality positively predicted political consumerism in both countries. In contrast, Traditional Morality and support of Free Enterprise negatively predicted political consumerism, although the effect sizes of these relationships were only small. These results suggest that political consumerism among university students is widespread in Germany but not in Brazil. Interestingly, regardless of its low prevalence in Brazil, political consumerism is positively associated with the CPV of Equality among university students in both countries.     

Scientology and Catholicism Do Mix: A Note on Teaching New Religions in a Catholic Classroom

Abstract. This note from the classroom explores teaching new or alternative religions within the context of a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College. The essay will specifically focus on a section of a course entitled “Modern Religious Movements” in which students were asked to consider different methodological approaches to the teaching and study of Scientology and the Catholic cult of the Virgin Mary. This note from the classroom details how this rather unexpected comparison prompted students to reconsider the category cult and argues that encouraging self‐reflexivity in a largely Catholic classroom can become a crucial means for engaging a broader discussion of new religions, cult discourse, and the academic study of religion itself.     

The effect of price discounts on green consumerism behavioral intentions

Green consumerism encourages consumers to demonstrate environmentally friendly behavior for protecting the environment and health of human beings. For example, if consumers wish to purchase take‐out beverages, they are encouraged to bring their own cups or water bottles rather than use disposable cups. This study, through 2 experiments, discussed the use of price discounts for encouraging green consumerism behavioral intentions. Experiment 1 examined the relationships among a green promotion setting, perceived nonmonetary and monetary sacrifice, and purchase intention toward the list price. The results of hierarchical regression models based on 120 valid questionnaires showed that perceived nonmonetary sacrifice fully mediated the relationship between a green promotion setting and the purchase intention toward the list price. Experiment 2 investigated the relationship between price discount levels and frames and a green or general promotion setting used by take‐out beverage shops. The results of the analysis of variance based on 900 valid questionnaires demonstrated that (i) the variation in consumer purchase intention in response to green consumerism promotion was lower than that in response to general promotion; (ii) the price discount threshold used in green consumerism promotion was 20%, which was higher than that in a general promotion setting; and (iii) consumers preferred a percentage discount offered during green consumerism promotion; however, they preferred a discount with a specific dollar amount in a general promotion setting. These results provide suggestions for improving green marketing and green consumerism. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ecumenical commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Western Europe

This article explores why the Lutheran/Roman Catholic commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 is an ecumenical challenge par excellence. In particular it contrasts the context of the 2017 commemoration with that of previous centenaries and goes more deeply into this by analysing the dialectics of centenaries both in general and with respect to this very special centenary. It also describes major changes in the relationship between Protestants and Catholics, presenting other main aspects of the new context in which that commemoration is taking place in 2017, and addressing different aspects of commemoration. It offers an analysis of how the Catholic/Lutheran Commission on Unity overcame the hindrances to a common commemoration and celebration in its document ‘From Conflict to Communion’, opening the way for a twofold commemoration, both in joy and gratitude, and in lament and confession of guilt. The article also focuses on five ecumenical imperatives which this document offers, not only looking back, but also looking forward, committing Catholics and Protestants to continue their way from conflict to communion. It concludes by describing the highly remarkable service of Common Prayer, which took place in Lund Cathedral, with Pope Francis, for which the above document prepared the way and formed the basis. It becomes clear how theological preparation and the Common Prayer in Lund concurred in making possible a historic ecumenical commemoration and celebration of the Reformation.