Caritas in Veritate: The Truth about Humanity

This is part of a series by Jennifer Roback Morse. This installment focuses on the introductory chapter.

Many commentators read Pope Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate as if it were a think tank white paper, and ask whether he endorses their particular policy preferences. It is a mistake to read the encyclical in this way. A close look at the document’s introduction makes plain that Benedict is not a man of the Left or of the Right: He is a non-ideological man of God.

The opening sentence soars above any political platform: “Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal force behind authentic development of every person and of all humanity.” This is our first clue that we are not dealing with a technocrat or ideologue. “Authentic development” points away from the deliberations of politicians and policy wonks. Benedict does not define his objectives in material terms, such as maximizing GDP. Neither does he conduct focus groups or consult experts to figure out what people want. Rather in this encyclical, Benedict reflects on what it means to be authentically human and what the human good actually entails. That is to say, he seeks the truth about man in society.

http://www.acton.org/press/caritas_in_veritate_truth_about_humanity.php

Head Chef in the Cafeteria

By Brad Miner

When I think of Edward M. Kennedy (“Teddy” early on before the more respectful “Ted”), I first think of Terry Malloy, the character played by Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront.” Kennedy’s brothers got title shots (one was champ), but, like Terry, Teddy got a “one-way ticket to Palooka-ville!” Did he think, I coulda been a contender? Oh yes.

But unlike Terry, Teddy was no bum, and, despite some astonishing missteps, he got to hang out with the punchy Palookas in the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body, that Gleason’s Gym of blow-dried heavyweights, the United States Senate. Indeed, he became the longest-serving senator in Massachusetts history, second-longest in the current Senate (after Robert Byrd, for whom nearly everything in West Virginia is named), and the third-longest since Vice President John Adams pounded the gavel at the Senate’s first session on March 4, 1789. This is remarkable, since in the aftermath of July 18, 1969 the oddsmakers were wagering Kennedy’s political career had sunk as low as his Olds Delmont 88 (and, lest we forget, Miss Mary Jo Kopechne) into that dark Chappaquiddick tidal pool. Mr. Kennedy was thirty-seven when his career died. He announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 1972.

http://www.catholicthing.com/

Freedom, solidarity, subsidiarity

Martin Fitzgerald

Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical continues 120 years of Catholic social doctrine based on the dignity of the human person and his participation in society.

To understand Pope Benedict XVI’s recent encyclical, Caritas in veritatem (Charity in truth), you need to know something about the history of ideas. This is not a document which the Pope tossed off after a couple of months of reflection. It is the latest instalment of at least 120 years of major documents from popes commenting on social trends especially in the field of economics. Broadly speaking, this is called the “social doctrine” of the Catholic Church. It is a collection of principles governing social development while still respecting the integrity of the human person.

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/Freedom_solidarity_subsidiarity/

Primacy of Culture in "Caritas in Veritate"

Encyclical Offers Opportunity to "Think With the Church"
By Jennifer Roback Morse

SAN MARCOS, California, JULY 17, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's "Caritas in Veritate" is his contribution to the course of Catholic social teaching.

Many commentators seem to read this document as if it were a think-tank white paper, and ask whether the Pope endorses their particular policy preferences. I must say that I surprised myself by not reflexively reading it in this way. After all, I spent many years teaching free-market economics.

I distinctly remember reading "Centesimus Annus" for the first time, and mentally checking to see if I agreed with it.

But this is not the correct way to read papal documents. The papacy's prophetic role is to interpret the past, and provide guidance for the future, while avoiding the excesses of its own time. In "Caritas in Veritate," Benedict XVI argues for the centrality of moral considerations in both economics and politics. Without charity and truth, we cannot create a truly decent society, no matter how sophisticated our technology or how thorough-going our democracy. Benedict XVI stresses the centrality of the social, cultural sphere for several reasons.

http://www.zenit.org/article-26488?l=english

Pope’s letter calls for openness to human life

Carolyn Moynihan
Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical letter, “On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth”, discusses a wide spectrum of social realities, among them the need for openness to new human life, which, he says, “is at the centre of true development”, and protection of the family founded on “marriage between a man and a woman, the primary vital cell of society”.

http://www.mercatornet.com/family_edge/view/popes_letter_calls_for_openness_to_human_life/

Catholic hospital halts merger with pro-abortion group

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -

A Catholic hospital chain in Massachusetts has bowed to public pressure.

Jim Sedlak of American Life League (ALL) points out a pending merger between the hospital and a pro-abortion healthcare network sparked an outrage among pro-life supporters. "The Catholic hospital system in Boston, known as Caritas Christi, had already signed papers to enter into an agreement with a secular organization to provide a healthcare network that would cover abortions, contraception, and other things that are against Catholic teaching," he notes. The contract with pro-abortion Centene Corp would have gone into effect July 1, according to an ALL press release. ALL members and others around the country urged Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley to halt the contract.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=584754

Catholic diocese -- set to partner with abortion services?

Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow -
American Life League (ALL) is sounding an alarm over a potential abortion scandal involving the Archdiocese of Boston.
Celticare is a joint venture partnering the archdiocesan Caritas Christi Health Care network with another corporation, which will join Massachusetts' subsidized health program July 1 -- a program that mandates abortion. ALL spokesperson Katie Walker says the archdiocese is using an odd approach.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=563720

"Stop Funding Pro-Abortion Groups in Our Country": Peru Bishops to Canadian Bishops

By John-Henry Westen
LIMA, June 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a May 28 letter, the Bishops Conference of Peru has “formally” requested that the bishops of Canada cease funding pro-abortion groups in Peru via the Canadian Catholic Organization of Development & Peace (D&P). “It is very disturbing to have groups which work against the Bishops of Peru by attempting to undermine legal protection for the right to life of unborn children, be funded by our brother bishops in Canada,” says the letter.

The letter marks a major breakthrough in the D&P scandal that was first exposed by LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) in March with revelations of $140,000 in D&P funding for five Mexican groups that promote abortion.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09060911.html

Former U.S. Ambassador to Vatican Says No to Prestigious Notre Dame Award...and President Obama

David Brody

You know the famous saying, “Houston. We have a problem.” Well, how about a new slogan: “Notre Dame. We have a problem.” The speech by pro-choice President Obama at the Catholic Notre Dame has caused all sorts of trouble.

It now turns out that Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, will NOT speak at the Notre dame Graduation because of the controversy. The pro-life, Harvard professor was set to receive the Laetare Medal which is the annual award given in recognition of outstanding service to the Roman Catholic church and society. She was to speak to the students on the same day as President Obama. But President Obama’s appearance was just too much. She just posted the following letter to the university here.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/589636.aspx

Openly "Pro-Choice" Priest Asks Catholics to Stop Funding LifeSiteNews Over Development and Peace

By John-Henry Westen

MONTREAL, April 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An article in the Quebec daily Le Devoir, covering the LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) exposé on the fact that the official international development arm of the Canadian bishops is supporting numerous abortion advocacy groups has caused Quebec's most controversial priest to defend the agency.

Fr. Raymond Gravel, who was forced out of federal politics by the Vatican and has frequently criticized the Catholic Church's stands against abortion and homosexuality, called on Catholics to quit funding LSN over the issue.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042101.html

"We are at War!": Bishop Finn Delivers Rousing Clarion Call to the "Fight for Life" in America

By Kathleen Gilbert

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas, April 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Robert Finn of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph issued a powerful call to action to pro-lifers at the 2009 Gospel of Life Convention on Saturday. In his speech, Finn heavily criticized pro-abortion Catholic politicians who claim a "personal opposition" to abortion, stating that such persons are "warriors of death" who "have abandoned their place in the citizenship of the Church."

"As I speak a word of encouragement today I also want to tell you soberly, dear friends, 'We are at war!'" began Finn, who said that today's issues bring "an intensity and urgency to our efforts that may rival any time in the past."

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042113.html

Notre Dame Announces Homosexual-Themed Events for Easter Week

This is why students need to come to the Ruth Institute Summer Conference!

Cardinal Newman Society (www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/)
The announced agenda for the week indicates no effort to teach students about Catholic teaching on homosexual activity as gravely sinful.

StaND Against Hate Week to occur April 14 through 17 is co-sponsored by Notre Dame’s Gender Relations Center, student government and University Counseling Center.

MANASSAS, VA (Cardinal Newman Society) - “Christianity is under attack from within our own Catholic universities,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “The bad news continues, perhaps appropriately on the day when we recall Christ’s terrible agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. We need Catholics worldwide to draw the line, here and now, by joining more than 255,000 witnesses for the Faith at NotreDameScandal.com.”

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=33147

Notre Dame, Obama and the Catholic Brand

By Helen M. Alvaré

How Honoring the President Could Weaken the Catholic Voice
Supporters of Notre Dame University's decision to honor Barack Obama at its commencement employ elevated and even aspirational language in their attempt to characterize the meaning of the event. They invoke the language of "engagement" and "common ground" and "dialogue." But no matter their intentions or even their hopes, the very contents and structures of their argumentation ultimately denigrate the Catholic "brand" of speaking in the public square.

http://www.zenit.org/article-25616?l=english

Three Strikes at Vatican

James Morrison

The Vatican has quietly rejected at least three of President Obama's candidates to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See because they support abortion, and the White House might be running out of time to find an acceptable envoy before Mr. Obama travels to Rome in July, when he hopes to meet Pope Benedict XVI.
Italian journalist Massimo Franco, who broke the story about the White House attempts to find a suitable ambassador to the Vatican, said papal advisers told Mr. Obama's aides privately that the candidates failed to meet the Vatican's most basic qualification on the abortion issue.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/07/embassy-row-7410554/

African Americans Need Notre Dame

I just received an e-mail from a friend, with this subject line, "African Americans Need Notre Dame." The body of the e-mail is a letter written to Fr. John Jenkins, the President of the University of Notre Dame. The author of the letter is Fr. John J. Raphael, an African American Catholic priest. The letters, SSJ, after his name stand for the Society of St. Joseph, a religious order with a particular ministry to African Americans. I reproduce the letter here.

Dear Fr. Jenkins,

My name is Fr. John J. Raphael, SSJ. I am a member of ND's graduating class of 1989. I am currently the principal of St. Augustine High School in New Orleans, LA and a member of Notre Dame's Admissions Advisory Board.

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and grave disapproval of the decision to invite President Obama to give the commencement address and to receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame at this year's graduation.

I have spent eighteen years working with blacks and whites, Protestants and Catholics, to bring more African Americans into the pro-life movement. During the last two months the Obama administration has already begun to aggressively roll back the gains made in defense of life over the course of the last fifteen years.

I have written two articles which attempt to show how the historical significance of the first African American president is emptied of its meaning if this same president refuses to embrace the rights of the unborn. I share them with you if you are interested in considering the devastating impact of these pro-abortion policies on the African American community in light of this historic election:

Building a Bridge over Troubled Waters.

Symbol and Substance in Inauguration, life march

As an African American and a priest, as a principal of a Catholic high school and a member of the Admissions Advisory Board of the university, I cannot adequately express in words how deeply this action offends those who are committed to carrying out the task of Catholic education and witnessing to the Gospel of Life in the context of a Catholic school. Even if the university chooses to cooperate with certain policies of the president that are not contrary to the teaching of the faith, the conferral of this type of public honor is wholly gratuitous and incongruous with the mission of any Catholic institution

On this Laetare Sunday, I was happy to note this year's recipient of the Laetare Medal, Mary Ann Glendon, has eloquently and courageously served the nation and more importantly, the Church. How strange it is that at the same time the University chooses to publicly honor an administration with which the American Catholic bishops have already had to address major concerns about the lack of protection of the rights of the unborn in just two months.

Today's first reading from the book of Chronicles speaks as much to us today as it did to Israel during the Babylonian exile:

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity,
practicing all the abominations of the nations
and polluting the LORD's temple
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them,
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God,
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets,
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed
that there was no remedy (2Chr 36:14ff).

The voice of Notre Dame needs to be raised in defense of the unborn. The African American community in particular is being decimated by abortion on demand as currently supported by the Obama administration. Our Holy Father, mocked and despised by many in popular culture, has called upon all faith Christians to courageously bear witness to life.

By conferring this "honor" upon President Obama at this time, the University of Notre Dame muddies the waters of life and darkens the light in which we are called to walk.

Sincerely in Notre Dame, the Mother of Life,

Rev. John J. Raphael, SSJ, '89
Principal
St. Augustine High School
New Orleans, LA 70119

Sign the protest petition here.

Alert to Catholic Readers

Notre Dame University plans to honor the most pro-abortion president ever elected, by giving him an honorary degree and having him give the commencement address. If you wish to sign the Cardinal Newman Society's protest petition, you can go here.

Gov. Sebelius' Bishop Weighs In

Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of Kansas City is not happy with the appointment of the governor of Kansas to be Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama Adminstration:

earlier in her political career Governor Sebelius accepted political contributions from Wichita’s notorious late-term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller. When this was no longer politically opportune, Dr. Tiller established a political action committee through which he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the election and re-election of Governor Sebelius, as well as other equally staunch supporters of legalized abortion.

Kansas has one of the most restrictive laws regarding late-term abortions. Yet, it has become, in large part because of Dr. Tiller, the late-term abortion capital of the Midwest. How is this possible? It is possible because our current laws have not been enforced. Each time the Kansas Legislature has passed statutes in an effort to improve enforcement of late-term abortion restrictions, Governor Sebelius has vetoed these laws.

As you are aware, because of her long history both as a legislator and Governor of consistently supporting legalized abortion and after many months of dialogue, I requested Governor Sebelius not to present herself for communion. I did this in the hope that it would motivate Governor Sebelius to reconsider her support for what is an intrinsic evil – the destruction of innocent human life by abortion. I also took this pastoral action to protect others from being misled by the Governor’s public support and advocacy for legalized abortion.

The appointment of Governor Sebelius as the Secretary of HHS concerns me on many levels. With her history of support for legalized abortion and embryonic stem cell research, it is troubling the important influence that she will have on shaping health care policies for our nation. Having elected President Obama with his own record of support for legalized abortion, our nation should not be surprised by his appointment of a Secretary for HHS who shares his views. Though many people voted for President Obama, not because of his support for legalized abortion but despite it, voters in effect gave him the ability to appoint individuals who share his anti-life views to his Cabinet and even more troubling to the courts.

I am also concerned personally for Governor Sebelius. Her appointment as Secretary for HHS places her in a position where she will have to make many decisions that will in all probability continue her personal involvement in promoting legalized abortion and her cooperation in this intrinsic evil.

Read all of the Archbishop's statement here.

Traditional Anglicans Swimming the Tiber

A group of traditional Anglicans are seriously exploring joining the Roman Catholic Church.

The Traditional Anglican Communion formed in 1990 as an association of orthodox Anglicans concerned about what they considered the liberal tilt in Anglican churches, including the ordination of women. Members of the group are generally Anglo-Catholic, emphasizing continuity with Catholic tradition and the importance of the sacraments. The fellowship says it has spread to 41 countries and has 400,000 members, although only about half are regular churchgoers.

The traditional group aims to unify the Anglican and Catholic churches, according to Archbishop John Hepworth of Australia, who is the leader, or primate, of the Traditional Anglican Communion. They have accepted the ministry of the pope, but also want to maintain their Anglican traditions _ one of several potential impediments to unification. ...
The head of that Vatican office, Cardinal William Levada, wrote Hepworth in July 2008, saying he was giving "serious attention" to the TAC's proposal. But he noted that the situation within the broader Anglican Communion, with which the Vatican has an official dialogue, had "become markedly more complex." The Anglican Communion is on the brink of schism because of internal rifts over how it should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships and other issues.

The article helpfully notes the historical origins of the Anglican church.

Anglicans split with Rome in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment.

The Anglican Church was originally formed to provide religious protection to a heterodox sexual relationship. And now, the worldwide Anglican Communion is in dissray over the role of women and same sex relationships. It is not an exaggeration to predict the complete collapse of the Anglican church, with the remnants joining Rome. The delicious historical irony!

The Sebelius Nomination

George Weigel has an excellent analysis of the proposed nomination of Kansas Governor Katherine Sebelius.

President Obama’s first choice for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was former South Dakota senator Tom Daschle—a pro-abortion Catholic Democrat. President Obama’s second choice for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius—another pro-abortion Catholic Democrat, with what some would consider a public record even more disturbing than Tom Daschle’s.

The Sebelius nomination is fraught with danger on several fronts. The next secretary of HHS will be in a key position to shape policy on a number of crucial questions. Will conscience-rights protection for pro-life physicians and health-care workers be sustained, amended, or eliminated? Will over-the-counter abortifacients in the guise of “Plan B” contraceptives be available to minors without a doctor’s prescription or counsel? Will the government continue to sanction the sale and use of RU-486, the “abortion pill” that has killed seven women since the Clinton administration rammed its approval through the Food and Drug Administration shortly before leaving office?

These issues are grave enough, both for physicians and for women’s health. At the same time, there may be more than public policy at stake here. Vigorous, Internet-based support for Sebelius’ nomination is already being offered by many of the same Catholic intellectuals who argued that Barack Obama was the real pro-life candidate in 2008.

And this, despite the fact that Kathleen Sebelius is an abortion radical by any reasonable definition of the term, whatever occasional gestures toward pro-life positions she has made. In her years as a state legislator in Kansas, for example, she voted to weaken or eliminate modest regulations of the abortion industry, including parental notification, informed consent, and “reflection periods” for women considering their options in a crisis pregnancy.

read it all here.

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Catholic schools rebel against church doctrines

Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow
The president of the Cardinal Newman Society says that while Catholic universities are legally independent of the Catholic Church, embracing a Catholic identity brings responsibility.

A recent controversy erupted at the Catholic school Misericordia University. Officials there allowed homosexual rights advocate Keith Boykin to speak about Proposition 8, the California law that bans homosexual "marriage."

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