One of my former professors was a follower of CL and introduced me to the writings of Msgr. Giussani, its founder. The group and its founder have received praise from the current and previous popes. I think GodSpy, which has not been updated in more than three years, was also associated with CL in some way? (Or maybe it just published essays by Msgr. Alcabete.)
I have some of Msgr. Giussani's books, but I must admit that I have not really read through most of them. I tried to read through one but stopped, as it was too dense for me at the time. Having grown a little, maybe I would comprehend it better now and thus profit from it. Or maybe I'm too simple-minded to appreciate it. My first impression was that its literary style of presenting the Faith was not for me. (Or the style of the English translation, at least.)
I also know that study groups are very popular with CL; they read the writings of Msgr. Giusanni plus other texts. This reminds me of the study groups of Jacques Maritain. (How many conversions did Maritain facilitate?) I've been invited to a CL study group, but never attended. It may have a better reputation than some of the other ecclesial movements. I think its apostolate is more directed towards university faculty and students and professionals? The key to understanding it better for me would be to see how they define culture and education (and how this relates to community, both the local Church and the political community). How is it different from John Senior's IHP at the U. Kansas? Its sort of ecumenical outreach reminds me of Sant'Egidio, but their apostolates are different? For the big cities I tend to favor something more radically simple like the Catholic Worker movement, which was not anti-intellectual, far from it. (iirc, Dorothy Day had her own study groups.)
What are the philosophical/literary sources upon which CL texts rely? Maybe I'm not steeped enough in recent European intellectual culture to fully appreciate the texts, but is there a danger of over-intellectualizing the Gospel?
There is actually a CL group at the local parish. If things ever settle down, maybe I'll check it out.
Related:
The Risk of Education
Traces
The "Right Way" of Fr. Luigi Giussani
International Institute of Culture
Crossroads Cultural Center
New York Encounter
A Festival of Faith and Reason
More with Msgr. Alcabete:
Frontline interview
REFLECTIONS ON HUMANAE VITAE'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY
Younger than Sin
Some appearances on Charlie Rose.
Msgr. Alcabete on the salvation of non-Christians - he is correct that salvation is not works-righteousness; it is your stand to the Other. But it seems rather muddled. Maybe it's my preference for "scholastic distinctions." Truth and Love can be names for God, yes. And we must know and love Him to be happy.
3 comments:
Msgr. Giussani's writings are of doubtful orthodoxy. I think this is because he's a phenomologist.
Click here for comparisons of Msgr. Giussani most popular book with magisterial documents. Let me know what you think.
By the way, I like how you compare CL's Schools of Community to the Thomistic groups Maritain organized. However, there is a vast difference between Msgr. Giussani's writings and the Angelic Doctor's.
I quickly glanced through the document comparing The Religious Sense with magisterial documents. With the exception of the first comparison I do not think what he writes is so problematic; I think he is writing more from a "philosophical" point of view, dealing with human nature (or human subjectivity) while showing how it is open to the transcendent. As for the first, there is definitely the inward turn - might it be comparable that of St. Augustine? I'd have to read the rest of that section to fully grasp what he is talking about.
Certainly the vocabulary or diction is not that of a scholastic, and his account of human reason may be flawed. If you would like I could examine those passages more carefully and type out how they might be reconciled with a Thomistic account.
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