Secret Religious Documents

I just found Wikileaks, a good source for all sorts of secret documents, including in the area of religion. The following are interesting:

• Legion of Christ documents, including details on Legionary table manners
• Mormon Handbook of Instructions
• Scientology

Wedding Marches (and Dances)

You’ve no doubt seen “Jill and Kevin’s Big Day”–the current YouTube hit–in which a wedding party dances down the aisle of Christ Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN, to Chris Brown’s, “Forever.” If by some chance you haven’t, take a look.

Now, I don’t really want to rain on their parade (or dance), but I must confess I didn’t react positively. My first thought was that this would be better for the reception than for the wedding.

But then I got to thinking. What did my wife and I have as the entrance music for our wedding? Why, like millions of other couples for the past many decades, we used Richard Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus,” from his opera, “Lohengrin.” She was in a long white dress, and marched in on her father’s arm, following bridesmades in matching dresses and flower girls tossing petals. Wagner couldn’t have known that his chorus would be played for the next hundred years at weddings across the globe, on organ, piano, and kazoo. The dominance of this tune didn’t come without opposition from churchmen of all stripes, many of whom decried the use of a secular tune written by a raving antisemite. You can read the original lyrics and get a taste of the controversy at Wikipedia, and can listen to the full chorus on YouTube (of course).

Let’s come at this from a different angle. What is the purpose of the wedding ceremony? It is to provide a public form for the exchange of vows, in which a man and a woman declare their intention to be husband and wife. In a religious context, it will also include prayers and blessings over the couple, and an exhortation by a minister on the nature of marriage. Everything else is secondary.

So what do you think? Does the music of either Chris Brown or Richard Wagner highlight the main purpose of the ceremony? Does this dance? Does the traditional procession?

When I was Director of Young Adult and Campus Ministry for the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, I wrote a pamphlet for the Family Life Office, Getting Married in the Catholic Church, that discusses some of these issues in the Catholic context. There’s a lot in there that’s not going to be applicable to non-Catholic weddings, but one thing I think I’d want to retain is the belief that a Christian wedding ceremony is a celebration of the church (not just of the couple), and that as a service of the church principles of Christian worship should guide everything.

The most memorable wedding (besides my own) that I attended was that of my brother, Jim, and his wife, Jessica. Their entrance song (sung by all) was “He Is Exalted” ; their recessional was “Shine, Jesus, Shine.” I’d suggest something Christian couples follow a similar path–choose music glorifying God; make sure the service includes the congregation as participants, not mere spectators. Let this be a time when we may pray for God’s blessing on you–not a time for mere entertainment and amusement. There’s time for that at the reception.

Let everything in the service highlight the awesomeness of this moment, when two people stand before God and us, pledging their lifelong faithfulness–and let it call us to prayer, and to dedicate ourselves to support them.

Today at the Gym

I never thought I’d walk into a gym and have people gushing on my appearance. I’ve been working out about two months now, and have dropped from 220 to 196. I hadn’t seen the personal trainer who had set me up on my program for about ten days, or one of the desk workers, and they both were at the desk when I arrived today. He said he’s never seen anyone do so well on this program. They were very congratulatory.

I do 20-30 minutes of cardio and then a circuit of different machines, progressively adding weight and reducing time between sets.

But I’ve also been watching my diet. I’ve cut out refined grains, boosted fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts, cut out soda and candy (except for a dark chocolate once a week or so), reduced the amount I eat at each meal, reduced fat and eggs. I have some fish and, after workouts, have a protein shake with some fruit added to it. No fast food. No red meat. Lots of water.

Food, Inc.

My daughter and I went to see “Food, Inc.,” this afternoon–it’s playing at the Angelika in downtown Houston. If you are interested in food, where it comes from, and the politics of food production and safety, this is a must see. Have we come far since “The Jungle”? Yes–but in the wrong direction!

Eucharistic Exposition in Boston

The Boston Pilot has a story about the return of perpetual exposition of the Eucharist to the Archdiocese of Boston.  The article has some strange claims.

Tim Van Damm, coordinator of the effort, said the grace at the already vibrant St. Clement community will be multiplied.

“Anytime the Lord is present 24-hours a day, seven days a week, people are changed,” he said.

Even Catholics should raise an eyebrow to this. According to Catholics, the bread and wine of the Eucharist, when consecrated, become the “body and blood, soul and divinity” of Jesus.  The consecrated bread is retained in a box called a tabernacle, primarily for distribution to the sick, but also for adoration. So a Catholic should believe that Jesus is present Eucharistically “24-hours a day, seven days a week” in any tabernacle–it shouldn’t make a difference if it is metal or glass coming between you and the Eucharist.

And Catholics would also agree that Jesus is present apart from the Eucharist. He is present when we are at home, when we are outside–”Lo, I am with you always,” he says. “When two or three are gathered in my name, I am in their midst.” “In him we live, and move, and have our being.”

Protestants at the time of the Reformation rejected the practice of Eucharistic exposition because it is a late innovation. Luther noted, Jesus said, “Take and eat,” not “Take and show it to people, or bow down and worship.”

The Medjugorje Hoax Begins to Unravel

Pope Benedict XVI has laicized a priest at the center of the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje. More at Commonweal.

Here are some links I once had on my webpage (via Web Archive) about Medjugorje, many of which demonstrate that the alleged visions were part of the hysteria of nationalism and religious fanaticism that was at the root of the ethnic cleansing of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia.

Chaplain Shortage–Who’s to Blame?

A recent AP story notes that there is a severe shortage of chaplains in the National Guard. The shortage is most severe for Catholics (reflective of the shortage of priests generally) and mainline Protestant groups. Minority faiths are also drastically underrepresented:

The Army National Guard has just six rabbis and no imams for its 362,000 guardsmen. Clergy from smaller Christian denominations and other faiths also are needed.

Things are improving–some years ago it was said only 30% of chaplain slots were filled, but that has risen to 70%.

But why is there a shortage in the first place? Is it due solely to the shortage of Catholic priests? I think not.

Another factor is the liberalism of the mainline Protestant churches, which manifests itself in a hostility towards the military. This is a gap that has been filled by an increase of chaplains from evangelical and charismatic churches (which has had some detrimental effects as well, bringing in scofflaws who ignore the tradition of pluralism and engage in active proselytism).

But some blame must be shouldered by the military itself. The National Guard has been overused and abused by frequent deployments. The Vermont National Guard battalion I served in the early ’90s was deployed to Iraq a couple of years ago and is now preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan. Multiple year-long deployments is hard enough on active duty soldiers–it is not something that guardsmen signed up for nor their families prepared for. This makes clergy, their congregations, and denominational leaders much more reluctant to come on board.

And if the shortage is so bad, why does the Pentagon make it so hard? I don’t refer to education or ministry or security requirements–these are necessary. I’m talking about bureacratic delays, doubletalk, and dysfunction. That’s what I’m currently experiencing in my desire to re-enter the National Guard. My endorsing agent and the Texas National Guard worked tirelessly to get my packet together for the Pentagon’s June accessioning board. But when that board met, they adjourned without completing their work–no explanation, no apology, no adjustment of their schedule, no attempt to extend the board meeting by a few hours or a day or to add a July meeting–just a silent rollover of the uncompleted work to their August meeting. Yes, this is typical for the military (“Hurry up and wait”)–but it suggests that the Pentagon doesn’t take the shortage seriously, and isn’t really interested in getting qualified chaplains to the soldiers in a timely manner.

A Taste of Christian Zionism

A neighboring church hosted a pastors’ brunch this morning with John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. The purpose was to introduce Hagee’s organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Most of those attending were Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Baptist. I went mainly to get acquainted with my neighbors–I knew going in that my theology goes in a very different direction, and this was confirmed throughout the two hours.

I’m going to comment on two issues. First, the relationship between Israel and the Church. Through much of Christian history, the model of supercessionism, or replacement theology, was dominant (as illustrated by cathedral front depictions of two women, the triumphant Ecclesia and the humiliated Synagoga). In this model, there’s a radical separation between Israel and the Church, between Law and Gospel, with the Church and the Gospel something distinct from and superior to Israel. The Church’s mission is to convert Jews to Christianity; if they refuse to convert, they must be rendered voiceless and powerless. In the 19th century John Nelson Darby introduced another approach, Dispensationalism, which is also rooted in a radical distinction and separation between Israel and the Church. Only in this model, Israel is not humiliated. Instead, it is the focus of prophecy and of God’s plans. Those plans were disrupted by Israel’s refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah, so God had to come up with a Plan B, and created the Church. But God will fulfill his original plan; to do this he will take the Church out of the way before the end (the “Secret Rapture”) so that he can finish his plan for Israel. Thus, for Christian Zionists, Israel has meaning without regard to whether Jews accept Jesus; Christians are under no obligation to convert Jews, but they are obliged to support the secular state of Israel without question.

I don’t see either of these models in Scripture. Instead, I see the model in Romans of the single olive tree–unfaithful branches were cut out, while other, wild branches (the Gentiles) were grafted in. God has one people; Israel was the repository of God’s promises until Christ came; now God’s covenant, rather than being abrogated, is made universal, and all who have faith are heirs of the promise, whether or not they keep the Torah. The 144,000 sealed of Israel in Revelation are not a separate group of people than the great multitude of every nation, kingdom, tongue and people, but are one and the same. All of God’s promises meet their fulfillment in Christ and his Church–this is not an afterthought, a “Plan B,” but is the mystery of faith, revealed in the preaching of the Gospel. Law and Gospel are not opposed, but are both God’s word to men.

The other issue has to do with Hagee’s insistence that “Bible-believing Christians” (limited, he suggsts, to Baptists, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and some congregational Methodists) must uncritically support the secular state of Israel and its policies. Let’s suppose for a moment that modern Israel is the heir to the Biblical promises. If so, it is also subject to the conditions of the covenant, clearly spelled out in Deuteronomy and the rest of the Torah and in the Prophets. It is obligated to do justice, to love mercy, to care for the alien, the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor, the oppressed; God will judge it on its faithfulness to these terms of the covenant. This understanding of a covenantal faithfulness characterized by justice undergirds Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats–those rewarded are those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned. But Hagee takes that parable and twists it. In his distortion, Jesus is saying “the least of these my brethren” are the Jewish citizens of modern Israel. If we Gentiles care for and protect them and defend them and excuse them at all times, we will be blessed by God. This is a jaw-dropping, mind-boggling, perversion of the text.

It was an eye-opening morning.

Democrats Wax Apocalyptic

From the Boston Globe:

WASHINGTON — Massive crop devastation, melting glaciers, water shortages, millions of displaced people — all of these will drag the US military into conflict if global climate change goes unchecked, a Senate panel was warned today. …

“Addressing the consequences of changes in the Earth’s climate is not simply about saving polar bears or preserving the beauty of mountain glaciers,” retired Navy Vice Adm. Lee F. Gunn, president of the American Security Project, told the panel. “Climate change is a threat to our national security.”

Changes in Phoenix Catholic Campus Ministry

The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix is assuming control of the All Saints’ Newman Center at Arizona State in Tempe, replacing the Dominicans with diocesan clergy. There are a number of links to stories and blogposts on Google (link). Some say the center was “gay friendly,” and that this was the primary issue; others say the diocese wanted to be able to emphasize vocations to the diocesan priesthood. I noticed a “protest group” on Facebook; there’s a lot of anger in the blogosphere.

I was in charge of campus ministry for a major archdiocese for nine years. When I was hired, I was told the diocese was concerned that some of the campus ministries had some problems. I was asked to create a common vision (basing it on “Empowered by the Spirit,” the US Bishops’ pastoral plan on campus ministry) and to make sure that theology, catechesis, and liturgy were in keeping with Catholic norms. I asked the bishop his priorities. He said, “I have three: vocations, vocations, and vocations.”

Many Catholic campus ministry centers operated on the fringes of ecclesial life for a couple of decades. Priests were assigned to specialized ministries such as this who had problems in the parish. Or the centers were turned over to religious orders, who often “pushed the envelope” on liturgical and theological issues. Over the past dozen years, in campus ministry as in the larger Catholic church, there’s been a shift back to the center. This hasn’t just been a matter of JP2 and B16 appointed bishops demanding obedience–often the students themselves have been the leaders, asking for solid teaching and practice instead of the experimentalism imposed by the aging Baby Boomers staffing many Newman Centers (and filling the pews in some Newman Centers that have lost their focus on the university and have catered to non-university folk unhappy with typical parish life).

Diocesan officials and students alike are saying, these ministries are part of the church; they are ministries of the church to the students, staff, and faculty of a particular university. Let’s respect both the university identity and the ecclesial identity.

Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers Back in Print

LeRoy Froom’s magisterial series, Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, is back in print. “Ask and ye shall receive.” I asked. They did it!

Catholic Church Accused of Backpedaling on Relations with Jews

Back in 2002, the USCCB Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs issued “Reflections on Covenant and Mission,” which looked at the current state of Jewish-Catholic dialogue. Some controversy ensued, and the document was yanked from the USCCB webpage. Now, that USCCB committee (with new members and staff) and the Committee on Doctrine, have issued “A Note on Ambiguities Contained in Reflections on Covenant and Mission” (press release). The ADL has issued a response; they fear that the Catholic Church is backpedaling on advances in interfaith relations.  The document was also discussed at a recent meeting of Catholic and Orthodox Jewish representatives.

Robert Sungenis and the Jews–Again

Back in 2002 I demonstrated on this blog that Catholic apologist Robert Sungenis had plagiarized from many notorious antisemitic sources in a diatribe against a Catholic statement of dialogues with Jewish leaders. I combined those blog posts for this article.

I have just been sent a link demonstrating that Sungenis is still at it.

Greeks: “The Heresy of Ecumenism”

Touchstone’s “Mere Comments” posts an ENI story on hostility to ecumenism recently manifested by some clergy within the Greek Orthodox communion.

“The only way our communion with heretics can be restored is if they renounce their fallacy and repent,” the group said in a “Confession of Faith against Ecumenism” that they circulated recently.

“The Orthodox church is not merely the true church; she is the only church. She alone has remained faithful to the Gospel, the synods and the fathers, and consequently she alone represents the true catholic church of Christ,” says the document.

A group of Orthodox clergy in Greece, led by three senior archbishops, have published a manifesto pledging to resist all ecumenical ties with Roman Catholics and Protestants.

Don’t try talking to them about it:  they “avoid communication with those who innovate on matters of the Faith.”

They are especially upset about Roman Catholicism: “We proclaim that Papism is the womb of heresies and fallacies.” Among the “heresies” they decry (besides those which Protestants would join them in condemning) is the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist (hmmm … I think Jesus is to blame for that one) and the use of musical instruments in worship (I think David is to blame for those).

Ecumenism in Action

Report of some ecumenical relations between United Methodists and the ELCA. One bottom line seems to be that doctrine doesn’t matter. Another consistent element is that pastors of one denomination do their own thing even if called to serve a church of another denomination.

Hawaii Bans Corpse Shows

Hawaii has become the first state to ban the macabre spectacles of showing plastinated corpses for profit. ABC reports. Score one for morality and decency; may other states follow Hawaii’s lead.

LC Visitation Begins

The Vatican’s “apostolic visitation” of the Legion of Christ, founded by Fr. Marcial Maciel (now discredited in many ways), begins this week. Fr. Thomas Berg, a longtime priest of the movement, who recently left, has some insightful comments in an interview with Sandro Magister.

Communion Thoughts

It’s said actions speak louder than words. And yet actions can sometimes be ambiguous without some words of explanation. That was true when Jesus started to wash the feet of his disciples (John 13)—they didn’t know how to take it. And so he explained what he was doing.

Pay attention to what the text says about when Jesus washed their feet. According to verses 2 and 4 it was, depending on your translation, either during or after supper. I’ve heard sermons in which the preacher said that Jesus washed their dirty feet—that he did what a servant should have done for them, but for some reason didn’t. And some people, taking this to its logical extreme, say the symbol doesn’t work now, because we don’t come in sandaled feet caked with the dirt of the road—they say we should wash hands, or polish each other’s shoes, or do some other practical service.

But Jesus didn’t do this before they sat down to supper. He did it after they’d started eating. Dirty feet were washed when the guests arrived, before they reclined on the couches to eat. But Jesus did it later, showing clearly it wasn’t about dirty feet. He wasn’t demonstrating hygiene to them. He was engaging in a symbolic action–and he explains it, to make sure they understand.

On one level, it’s a lesson in love and humility: he’s telling them yet again that they shouldn’t argue about who is superior to whom, but should kneel and wash each other’s feet.

But there’s more to it than that. In verse 8, Jesus says to Peter when he objects: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” Peter then says to him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” And Jesus responds, “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

It’s a lesson about the necessity of forgiveness. Without forgiveness of our sins, without the washing of baptism, we can have no part with him. But once we’ve been baptized, once we’ve been washed, we don’t need to go through it again. It’s enough to have our feet washed.

I think we abuse baptism when we rebaptize people every time they have a new experience of God’s love. We cheapen it, and belittle it, and rob it of its significance. Baptism is the beginning of our walk with Christ. It’s our death and rebirth. It makes us a child of God. Now, as we go forward in that new life, we may stumble and fall—but these don’t negate our experience with Christ. We don’t need to be rebaptized. We just need at such times for our feet to be washed, and to get up and continue on our way.

We come to this ordinance now, remembering our baptism. Remembering that we are children of God. But we coming confessing we are sinners. We have stumbled. We have sinned against him and against each other, by things we have done, and things we have left undone. We have not loved him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

We need to hear the twofold message of 1 John 1:8-9

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

That’s the meaning of this first part of this service. It’s a time to confess our sins—to God, and, if we need to, to people here. And it’s a time to hear afresh the good news: we are washed. We are cleansed. We are forgiven. By the blood of Jesus Christ, and by the washing of water.

[The second part comes after returning from washing each other's feet]

Jesus gathered with his disciples in the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover, the great feast remembering God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. As celebrated by the Jews through the centuries, Passover is not a somber commemoration. It’s a feast of victory. It’s a time to rejoice in God’s salvation. It’s a time to tell the story of his mighty acts, and to praise his name. There is singing and feasting and joy.

We don’t know what all they did and said in those days—the Passover as celebrated by Jews today was developed in the Middle Ages. In Jesus’ day it was probably a simple ceremony, fulfilling the basic requirements of Scripture: eat the lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, telling the story. While they were eating he took the bread—the bread of affliction—he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them saying, “Take and eat; This is my body, given for you.” And after supper he took the cup, gave thanks, and said, “Drink from it all of you; For this is my blood of the new testament, shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

They didn’t know what this meant. They couldn’t believe what he said about having to suffer and die. It was only in light of his passion and his death and resurrection that they understood.

“Do this in remembrance of me,” he said. And the disciples did that in years to come. But when they came together it was not as it had been that night. It was not to mourn and sorrow and mutter in confusion—for the darkness of that night was dispelled by the light streaming from the empty tomb.

That’s the light that illuminates what we do here and now. We remember his death, his gift of himself. But he is not dead. Christ is risen, and is here with us. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.” He is here to bless and to forgive. He is the host of this supper, at which all are welcome. Are you a visitor today? Do you believe in Jesus? You are welcome at this table. It is Christ’s—it is not for us to say who can or cannot partake. Do you wonder at whether you are worthy? None of us is. We come here only because he has forgiven us. And he will still do so. Don’t doubt. Believe his words. Believe his promise. “This is my blood, shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.”

We are gathered here not as they were that night, fearful for the future—we gather in hope, knowing that the Jesus who died, who is risen, will come again, and will gather us to himself, and take us to his father’s house, and set before us an eternal banquet, the marriage supper of the Lamb. We gather in the joy of his forgiveness and the hope of that day, and so we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Gore Seeks “Global Governance”

Al Gore says a bill before the U.S. Congress on climate change will assist in bringing about “global governance.”

The Vatican, the US Bishops, and the President

The New York Times looks at the different approaches toward President Obama of the Vatican and the U. S. Catholic Bishops. Good analysis from Fr. Drew Christensen (who has much experience working in the Middle East):

“The pope is trying to engage America’s capacity for good in the world at a time when it’s really critical,” said the Rev. Drew Christensen, editor in chief of America magazine, a national Jesuit weekly, who worked for the church for many years in international relations.

“You’ll never get Rome to admit it,” Father Christensen said, but the Vatican has a different approach than the American bishops to working with governments. “Some of the critics of the president think you have to be at war, and the pope is saying, there’s a different way to proceed here and it’s very essential to the church’s approach, in that what you want is consensus.”

Bible Censored in Virginia Jail

The ACLU is going after a Virginia jail that censors Bible verses from inmate mail:

STAFFORD, Va., July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia today demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees.

In a letter sent today to the jail’s superintendent, Joseph Riggs, Jr., the ACLU asks for jail officials to guarantee in writing that the jail will no longer censor biblical passages from letters written to detainees and to revise the jail’s written inmate mail policy to state that letters will not be censored simply because they contain religious material.

“It is nothing short of stunning that a jail would think it okay to censor the Bible and other religious material for no reason other than its religious nature,” said David Shapiro, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. “Such censorship violates both the rights of detainees to practice religion freely and the free speech rights of those wanting to communicate with detainees.”

The letter was prompted by a complaint brought to the ACLU by Anna Williams, a devout Christian whose son was detained at Rappahannock beginning in June of 2008 until his transfer earlier this year. Williams wanted to send her son religious material, including passages from the Bible, to support him spiritually during his confinement. But rather than deliver Williams’ letters to her son in full, jail officials removed any and all religious material, destroying the religious messages Williams sought to convey to her son. For example, after jail officials excised biblical passages, a three-page letter sent by Williams to her son was reduced to nothing more than the salutation, the first paragraph of the letter and the closing, “Love, Mom.”

The Calvin Quincentenary

Tomorrow is the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. Geneva is hosting a quincentenary conference which has completed it’s fourth day. Some samples (the blogger was clearly typing fast):

“Piety in godliness is the result of attendance at public worship, preaching and the sacraments. It is meaningless to speak of righteousness without religion of which public worship is the highest expression. To avoid or neglect this is spiritual theft.” (wording not exact, but my notes from Clark.)

On the place of the sermon in the liturgy of the sevice [sic], “There is a doxological intention in preaching. Preaching is both an answer and a call to prayer. The word is an answer to prayer and the prayer is an answer to the word. The sacrament is like a signature on a letter or a seal on a charter. That is why the sacrament should [not] be administered without preceding word. Without the word preceding the sign, the sign has no meaning.” (wording not exacdt [sic], but my notes from Olds.)

The Vatican, the SSPX, and the Press

The AP says, “Pope orders reform after Holocaust denial flap.” Reuters says, “Pope shakes up office blamed for Holocaust denier.” Even John Allen’s headline says, “Pope removes officials seen as responsible for Holocaust-denying bishop row.”

But the discussion at Commonweal suggests that this interpretation is wrong. David Gibson notes, “This was all in the works long before the excommunications were lifted and l’affaire Williamson didn’t have much to do with it.”

John Zuhlsdorf concurs. The pope had said at the time he lifted the excommunications that he was going to do this. The issues involving the SSPX are doctrinal, and if the leaders are no longer excommunicated, it is the doctrinal congregation that will carry the ball from here. He also comments on John Allen’s piece.

See also Hermeneutic of Continuity.

“Caritas in Veritate”–With Teeth

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a new encyclical, Caritas in veritate. Catholics are divided on whether he is leaning left or right (See the discussion being carried on at Acton, Commonweal, America, NCR, National Review, and GetReligion); the proper perspective is to see that Catholic social teaching incorporates principles of both the left and the right.

He does not see justice and charity as irreconcilable, nor does he suggest that charity is the church’s job and justice the state’s. Rather, he argues, charity requires justice:

Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice. If we love others with charity, then first of all we are just towards them. Not only is justice not extraneous to charity, not only is it not an alternative or parallel path to charity: justice is inseparable from charity[1], and intrinsic to it. Justice is the primary way of charity or, in Paul VI’s words, “the minimum measure” of it[2], an integral part of the love “in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18), to which Saint John exhorts us. On the one hand, charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples. It strives to build the earthly city according to law and justice. On the other hand, charity transcends justice and completes it in the logic of giving and forgiving[3]. The earthly city is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God’s love in human relationships as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world.

Thus the Catholic Church, while engaging in acts of charity, will also advocate for justice. This is the consistent affirmation of Catholic social teaching since Vatican 2, building upon a tradition going back to Leo XIII.

True to that tradition, he sees a role for international solutions to global problems, and suggests that the time has come to create a “world political authority” with “teeth” that “conforms to the moral order”:

67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect[146] and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good[147], and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth. Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights[148]. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations. The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization[149]. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations.