Holy See on Human Rights and Freedoms

Holy See on Human Rights and Freedoms

"Progress in Dialogue Is a Positive Development"

NEW YORK, OCT. 31, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a statement by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered Monday to the 62nd U.N. General Assembly, on the topic of the promotion and protection of human rights.
* * *

Mr Chairman,

At the outset, I wish to thank the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief for her report on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance.

My delegation notes with interest the two substantive issues which have been raised within the context of the Special Rapporteur’s activities: first, the particular situation of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons, and second, the issues relating to blasphemy laws, education, and equality legislation.

We share the Special Rapporteur’s concern for the particularly vulnerable situation in which refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs, as well as women and religious minorities, find themselves in the exercise of their right to freedom of religion or belief. In this vein, my delegation underlines that the right to freedom of religion or belief applies to all human beings everywhere. International refugee law clearly affords refugees specific rights in their country of refuge in the exercise of their freedom of religion or belief.

Blasphemy laws existing in some countries or regions have caused much suffering especially among religious minorities, either by the punishments inflicted which include death, or by the indirect consequences of destruction of places of worship or summary justice. In places where such laws are still in force, my delegation urges the public authorities concerned to safeguard those accused of blasphemy and to grant full respect of all their human rights. Religious minorities are fully entitled to enjoy the right to religious freedom, equal treatment before the law and the same civil rights as the general population and members of the majority religion.

My delegation is aware of the laudable initiatives to foster debate on the delicate balance between freedom of speech and expression and respect for religion and religious symbols. Finding a common ground would greatly boost mutual understanding. But while we are still engaged in an honest search and dialogue, everyone must exercise responsibility and respect. My delegation remains convinced that to encourage peace and understanding between peoples, it is necessary that religions and their symbols be respected and that believers not be the object of provocations that vilify their religious convictions. Further, respect for religion does not exclude dialogue and debate among religions and with those who do not adhere to any particular religion, aimed at deepening the search for a common and solid ground. Moreover, intolerance and violence as a response to offences can never be justified, for this type of response is incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion and the effective respect for human dignity.

Mr Chairman,

My delegation continues to be seriously concerned that freedom of religion does not exist for many in different parts of the world. That the Special Rapporteur had to send one communication per week on this matter is indicative that there is still much more to do. Forced conversions, executions, desecration of places of worship, expulsion of religious minorities from their communities and other forms of religious persecution mentioned in the Special Rapporteur’s report are violations of the right to religious freedom as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and allied international instruments, such as The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief. These legal instruments provide that religious freedom includes the right to believe, to worship, to propose one’s faith to others, to accept a faith in total freedom, to associate freely with others in expressing religious convictions, as well as the right to change one’s religion.

Progress in the dialogue among world’s religions is a positive development. It becomes an occasion to exhort one another to a deeper faith, to peaceful coexistence and mutual enrichment, especially when dialogue is practiced as both witnessing to one’s faith and respecting the religious convictions of others. This progress in dialogue among religions has been accompanied by increased interest on the part of civil society, multilateral and national institutions. The Holy See hopes such interest will contribute to a greater respect by all for religious freedom everywhere.

Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Zenit: Holy See Statement on the Rule of Law

Holy See Statement on the Rule of Law

"Guarantees Respect for Even the Smallest of Nations"

NEW YORK, OCT. 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a statement by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered Friday to the 62nd U.N. General Assembly, on the topic of the rule of law at the national and international levels.

* * *

Mr. Chairman,

The mutually reinforcing values of peace, development and human rights are both the guiding principles and the goals of this organization. Their nexus and effectiveness is guaranteed by the proper implementation of the rule of law. It is the rule of law that creates the mechanisms to promote justice and peace, ensures predictability and security to allow for the foundation of a stable economy, and protects the dignity of every person regardless of one’s social, economic, or political status.

In an increasingly globalized society, where people from different cultures meet more frequently, migration occurs on a global scale and international trade propels rapid global development, regulating the relations between and among states is of utmost importance to ensure peaceful coexistence.

At the international level, the rule of law guarantees respect for even the smallest of nations. It safeguards the ability of all states to voice their legitimate concerns as equals in a forum of equals. Its rule restrains powerful nations from lording it over the weaker ones. These principles are very relevant to the ongoing reform of the Security Council and the revitalization of the General Assembly.

The role of the United Nations in the creation and implementation of international treaties is vital. By ensuring that the principles of free consent, good faith and "pacta sunt servanda" are respected, this organization guarantees that relations between states are regulated by applicable international treaties and governed by reason, justice and fair negotiations, rather than by fear, force or manipulation.

In enforcing these treaties, the United Nations must be a neutral arbitrator and must respect the contracting intent and desire of the parties. A treaty body system that becomes opaque and unaccountable to states parties runs the risk of undermining the basic tenants of the rule of law and diminishes the credibility and legitimacy of the United Nations as a promoter and guarantor of international law.

Surely states have a primary duty to ensure that treaties are respected. Selective enforcement and selective observance of treaties are antithetical to the rule of law. It would be preposterous to claim observance of the rule of law at a national level if international treaties and international law are not observed.

Moreover, the benefits and value of faithful treaty implementation go beyond the rule of law. Respect for treaties is also an excellent confidence-building measure, as it promotes trust among parties. This is particularly true in the area of disarmament, in which the fear of treaty noncompliance on the part of even just one state party paralyzes the disarmament and nonproliferation agenda. In fact, it is easier to make others comply with their commitments if one complies with one’s own.

However, not all states have the technical capacity to cope with all their international obligations. There is a growing gap between the development of international law and the capacity of individual states to incorporate it into national legislation and implement it. Thus technical assistance to these countries is of utmost importance if observance of international law and treaties is to be had. To this end, we note with interest the establishment of the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and we look forward to following its work in promoting the rule of law.

Mr. Chairman,

The struggle against terrorism is necessary, but at the same time it must be established through the drafting, adoption and effective enforcement of juridical instruments designed to tackle this violent menace with right reason. The rule of law at times is difficult to apply to terrorists who have little or no respect for it. However, states must not engage in measures antithetical to the very principles that give them legitimacy through the rule of law.

The last few years have seen a greater focus on the rule of law at all levels. Though this focus has not always been accompanied by action, some progress has been achieved, particularly in the area of international criminal justice. Individuals and peoples whose rights have been violated, such as in cases of crimes against humanity, are given access to a justice system that serves the truth and banishes fear, revenge, impunity and inequality before the law.

In the same vein, further progress has also been made in the World Summit Outcome Document by which, among others, all member states affirmed the collective international responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and their willingness to take timely and decisive collective action for this purpose, through the Security Council, when peaceful means prove inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to do it.

My delegation believes there is need to pursue the debate and juridical codification along this very line, wherein sovereignty is not understood as an absolute right and used as a shield against outside involvement, but as a responsibility not merely to protect citizens, but also to promote their welfare. Through the creation of legal norms, arbitration of legal disputes and the establishment of safeguards, especially when states fail in their responsibility to protect, the United Nations is called to be the propulsive forum for the rule of law in all corners of the globe.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[Text adapted]

Zenit: A Turn to the Fathers: Interview With Father Robert Dodaro

A Turn to the Fathers: Interview With Father Robert Dodaro

ROME, OCT. 28, 2007 (Zenit.org).- There is a need to bridge a gap between the Fathers of the Church and the modern developments in theology, says a patristics scholar.

Father Robert Dodaro, director of the Augustinian Patristic Institute at the Pontifical Lateran University, sees cause for optimism in this field, as he detects a trend toward more scholarly attention on the Church Fathers.

In this interview with ZENIT, Father Dodaro says that the study of the Fathers is the way to discover the answers to the problems the Church faces today.

Q: What are the difficulties limiting the number of students at the Augustinian Institute?

Father Dodaro: The greatest problem is the insufficient knowledge of Greek and Latin, and the lack of familiarity with classical studies. To prepare the students to take on the texts of the Fathers in their original languages, we began a prerequisite course of intensive Latin and Greek three years ago.

This year there are also supplementary classes on ancient Roman history, classical literature and ancient philosophy. As you can imagine, students do not study these subjects adequately in institutes and universities. Thus, the low levels in classical studies are for us the greatest challenge.

Q: What do you think about the relationship between patristic and modern theology?

Father Dodaro: During Vatican II it was decided that the updating of theology and Church praxis demanded a turning toward the wise patrimony of the Fathers of the Church. For this reason, the Servant of God Pope Paul VI wanted an institute of patristic studies in Rome. But today's theology seems to have set out on another path distinct from the ever-more-distant gate of tradition and, therefore, while the scholars of the Church Fathers investigate the historical context of the theology of the Fathers, today's theology withdraws from its origins. The Church today needs to confront the question of the relationship between patristic and dogmatic theology.

Q: Perhaps the Fathers existed too long ago?

Father Dodaro: No, the Fathers are very current. Theirs is a beautiful spirituality, and a liturgical and theological fashion. The general public is fascinated with it, and sales of the patristics -- even with translated texts -- are high. There is a living interest. The problem is that the theologians are unconvinced about the Fathers' teachings.

Q: You confirm that, among readers, there is an interest in the Church's origins and especially in the patristic era, although many of these works are academic and little known. The challenge is, perhaps, maintaining a high academic level while making the content of the Fathers accessible?

Father Dodaro: This is another of the challenges to which we are trying to respond. The question is how we can offer the treasure of Patristic theology and spirituality to Catholics. From this point of view, I feel proud when I see many of our graduates dedicated to translating, even after earning licentiates and doctorates.

These students and alumni work with publishing houses well-known for these types of works. I'm also surprised at the blooming of patristic studies in Italy. Today, Italy is on the forefront in researching, studying and disseminating the patristic authors not only because we find in Rome the Patristic Institute, but also because there is widespread interest among the state universities, where we have friends and collaborators.

For example, Italy's Città Nuova publishes a collection of patristic books, something that doesn't exist in all Western countries, although the trend is spreading throughout the world. Some alumni are dedicated to translating patristic texts even into Korean. I think the spread of these works can help local Churches respond to pastoral demands.

Therefore, we need texts translated into the many languages so people can study and deepen their knowledge of the Fathers. Then, courses are needed in the various spirituality and theology institutes. Bishops should challenge seminarians and young priests to study the Fathers of the Church.

Q: If you had to persuade youth to study the Fathers, what argument would you use?

Father Dodaro: I would speak about St. Augustine. But apart from that example, I would say: Take the 10 greatest and most difficult problems in today's Church, choose whichever ones you want, and then try to compare them to those the Church Fathers develop. In the classic patristics, you will find the roots and responses to whatever controversy the Church must confront today. This is the importance of the Church Fathers.

Pascendi Dominici Gregis

The Encyclical Against the "Modernists" Turns 100 – But Without Fanfare
No official celebrations for the centenary of the "Pascendi" encyclical. The "unworthy methods" used to fight this battle have been discarded. But the questions at the center of that controversy are still open. And the book "Jesus of Nazareth" is proof of this

A bad idea? Even a holy pope is not exempt from prudential mistakes (St. Pius X and the reform of the Roman office?)... But did the offensive against Modernism fail? If so, was it because it was too top-heavy, and reliant upon a overly-centralized papacy? If it didn't fail, then how do we explain its apparent re-emergence later in the 20th century?

Pope Hails von Hildebrand Project

Pope Hails von Hildebrand Project

Conference Remembers Catholic Philosopher

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI, expressing his appreciation and support for the work of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, said that it will have fruitful consequences for the evangelization of contemporary culture.

The Pope said this in a letter written to John Henry Crosby, the founder and director of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.

Crosby read the letter from the Holy Father during a conference hosted by the legacy project at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, held Oct. 12-13. Some 150 participants from eight countries gathered to honor the philosopher on the 30th anniversary of his death.

Alice von Hildebrand, widow of the German philosopher and keynote speaker at the conference, commented, "I was extremely happy to see that so many new people are discovering the importance of my husband's message."

Dietrich von Hildebrand was born in 1889, the son of a famous German sculptor. He studied philosophy under the phenomenologist Edmund Husserl and was profoundly influenced by his close friend, German philosopher Max Scheler, who aided von Hildebrand's conversion to Catholicism in 1914.

Von Hildebrand openly criticized Nazism from within Germany and Austria, earning him the contempt of Adolf Hitler. He is also known for his religious and spiritual writings, and his passionate defense of truth and beauty.

Distinctive contribution

Benedict XVI said in his letter: "Following my recent meeting with you and Mrs. Alice von Hildebrand, I wish to express my appreciation for the efforts of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project to promote greater knowledge of and esteem for Professor von Hildebrand's distinctive contribution to Christian philosophical thought.

"Drawing inspiration from the Augustinian tradition and its Thomistic reception in the light of Aristotelian philosophy, von Hildebrand sought to advance that tradition by creatively reinterpreting it in the context of modern thought and its concerns.

"He was far from a 'petrified' vision of the teaching of Thomas, based on a narrow and uncritical devotion to the 'words of the Master,' and could well make his own the classic dictum: 'Amicus mihi Thomas, magis amica veritas!'"

"It is this 'legacy' which has motivated your project," the Pontiff added.

Benedict XVI continued: "Grounded in the rich philosophical movement which stretches from the Pre-Socratic's through Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus, to Augustine, Thomas and the great thinkers of the modern age, and taking up the challenge set forth in the encyclical 'Fides et Ratio,' the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project aims to enter into reasoned dialogue with contemporary currents of philosophy, bringing the full scope of reason to bear on fundamental human questions and contributing to the recovery of the sapiential dimension inherent in the 'philosophia perennis.'

"Without such a commitment to the philosophical enterprise, Christian faith would fall prey to a 'fideism' which would deprive it of its grandeur as man's free submission of intellect and will to the splendor of God's truth, and gravely compromise its missionary dynamism, whereby believers are called to offer to all a reasoned account of the hope that is within them.

"I therefore express my appreciation and support for the work of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Project, and my confidence that this praiseworthy initiative will bear abundant fruit for the evangelization of contemporary culture."

2 from Fr. Z

Mutiny on the Loggia of Pontifical Ceremonies
An SSPX priest opines on whether TLM and Novus Ordo are really same Rite: I respond

And from Fr. Schall: On Saying the Tridentine Mass | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | August 16, 2007

Lifework

I remember coming across a book that was popularizing Grisez's account of the 7 basic human goods, but I can't remember if it is this, or if it was another book. I suppose I'll have to take a peek at one of the Lifework books to see... maybe I'm thinking of a different book, one published by OSV... or Scepter? I don't think so...

LifeWork Press
Lifework - Rick Sarkisian, Ph.D. @ Just Catholic
Lifework: Finding Your Purpose in Life - Google Books Result
LifeWork Reviews

Germain Grisez and Catholic Moral Theology

Forthcoming from Alethes Press

website

Vol. 6 of The Works of John Taylor of Caroline

November 2007: The Meaning of Evil // Charles Cardinal Journet
December 2007: The State in Catholic Thought // Heinrich Rommen

Nicholas of Cusa, Learned Ignorance

Jasper Hopkins
intro to his translation


Masters of Learned Ignorance: Eriugena, Eckhart, Cusanus. By ...
The Philosophy of Nicholas of Cusa
old Catholic Encyclopedia

Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon

The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor: A Medieval Guide to the Arts - Google Books Result
Columbia University Press:
The Didascalicon of Hugh of Saint Victor; A Medieval Guide to the ...
The Latin Library edition

Henry of Ghent website

at UNC Ashville

DSPT Symposium on Albert the Great

Albert the Great, Educator

Symposium in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of College of St. Albert the Great
In 1932, the friars of the Western Dominican Province formally incorporated in the State of California their new seminary in the Rockridge section of Oakland, which they called the College of St. Albert the Great. Today it is known as Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. Join us as we celebrate seventy-five years of ministry and study in the service of truth.

November 27, 2007
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

at the

Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
2301 Vine Street Berkeley, CA 94708

Admission is FREE, but registration is required

Click here to REGISTER

Program

Hmmm... maybe I'll try to attend, but isn't that the week of Thanksgiving?

Zenit: Holy See on Tolerance and Nondiscrimination

Holy See on Tolerance and Nondiscrimination

"Human Rights Must Be Grounded in Human Nature"

WARSAW, Poland, OCT. 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of an address delivered by the Holy See's representative, Monsignor Anthony Frontiero, to the annual meeting of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The meeting was on the topic "Human Dimension Implementation," and it took place Sept. 24-Oct. 5.

Monsignor Frontiero, an official of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave the address Sept. 25 on the theme of tolerance and nondiscrimination.

* * *

Mr. Chairman,

The delegation of the Holy See joins the previous delegations in congratulating you for chairing this session, and expresses its gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this important discussion.

In particular, the Holy See welcomes the addition of the new Web page on Discrimination Against Christians that the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE has recently posed on TANDIS (Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System). Be assured that the Holy See will do its part in assisting the ODIHR in following and updating this new and important resource in the fight against the discrimination of Christians.

In this regard, the Holy See would like to recommend that the OSCE continue to advance its pro-active concern for this important matter in clear and concrete ways, including monitoring and reporting data on incidents of discrimination and intolerance against Christians, and by sponsoring upcoming data to address this issue among the participating states of the OSCE.

The consideration of tolerance and nondiscrimination at the outset of this meeting is a positive indication of the political will in the OSCE region to face squarely the problems between the interaction of cultures and peoples, which constitute serious political and security issues, and ultimately enables us to relate to one another peacefully and contribute to the advancement of the human race.

The delegation of the Holy See continues to be concerned with the all-too-often and flagrant violations against the right to freedom of religion throughout the OSCE region. Despite the decisions adopted by OSCE participating states to ensure and facilitate the freedom of the individual to profess and practice a religion or belief, alone or in community with others, through transparent and nondiscriminatory laws, regulations, practices and policies, the realization of this commitment remains yet to be seen.

Recent examples of such violations include: the unacceptable intolerance demonstrated in an OSCE country, where some months ago three Christians were brutally murdered; the condemnation, and in many cases detention and arrest, of "unauthorized" religious minorities for "illegal religious activities" because believers pray or go to church; and state-introduced restrictions on religious freedom, including restrictions on missionary activity. In some cases, despite the indications of religious-motivated violence, local police forces fail to intervene to stop attacks on religious minorities.

These episodes of religious violence highlight the underlying tension in the OSCE region around religious freedom. They also are evidence of a certain discrimination and intolerance against Christianity, and in some cases a mockery of Christianity.

Deliberately mocking and undermining central tenets of the Christian faith as a means to promoting the rights of other groups is a flagrant contradiction to the religious freedom and mutual respect that all people should enjoy, not to mention to the work of building a more just and peaceful community. Such practices attempt to dismantle the progress made thus far in the promotion of tolerance and nondiscrimination.

In his message for the celebration of the 2007 World Day of Peace, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the urgent need, even within the framework of current international difficulties and tensions, for a commitment to a human ecology that favors the promotion of mutual respect and understanding among peoples, which is a key to ending intolerance and discrimination, and, ultimately to peaceful coexistence.[1] Such a commitment must be guided by a vision of the person untainted by ideological and cultural prejudices or by political and economic interests, which can often instill hatred and violence.

Notwithstanding the reality of differences that exist within the various cultures of man, one element that cannot be admitted is the cultivation of seeds of hostility and violence against fellow human beings. "Equally unacceptable are conceptions of God that would encourage intolerance and recourse to violence against others."[2]

Peaceful coexistence among people is not only threatened by the conflicts between ideologies, but also by indifference as to what constitutes man's true nature.[3] Many in contemporary society actually deny the existence of a specific human nature, which only adds to confusion and, in many cases, hinders authentic dialogue. Clarity in this regard is needed so that a weak vision of the person will not open the door to authoritarian impositions and leave people defenseless and easy targets for oppression and violence.

A true human community where people can live together in peace and security presupposes respect for human rights. Yet, if these rights are grounded on a false conception of the person, how can they promote and safeguard a society built on mutual respect and understanding? Relativistic notions of what it means to be a person offer insufficient justification and defense of human rights; because if rights are absolute, how can they be founded on a notion that is merely relative?

Human rights, therefore, must be grounded in the objective requirements of human nature. Otherwise, in some cases the human person is marked by a permanent dignity, and rights that are always and everywhere valid; in other cases a person may not have a permanent dignity, and negotiable rights.[4] This state of affairs is what we witness everyday in acts of intolerance and discrimination.

Without a clear and strong awareness of who we are as persons, it will always be easier to claim that some people are worthy of respect and others are not; some people have the right to life, liberty, and religious belief, and others do not. Objective truth about the dignity of the human person created by God, and the rights and subsequent duties and responsibilities that flow from that dignity, must be the basis for any authentic discussion of every issue that is facing the human family.

Yet, the task at hand is not simply to condemn actual injustices in the light of an adequately understood concept of the human person and human dignity, but to work together for a meaningful new future.[5]

Somehow, hopefully in part through our discussions in these days, we must break through the collective individualism that so often fuels discrimination and intolerance, and find our way to a new imagination based on solidarity. Such a new imagination will lead to a fundamental reinterpretation of social frameworks enabling them to truly foster mutual respect and understanding, and authentically defend human rights as basic conditions for life in community with others.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[1] Cf. Benedict XVI, 2007, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, No. 10.
[2] Ibid.

[3] Cf. Ibid., No.11.
[4] Cf. Ibid., No.12.

[5] Cf. John Paul II, "Sollicitudo Rei Socialis," No. 42.

[Original Text: English]

[Text adapted]

Zenit: Address of Holy See on Religious Liberty

Address of Holy See on Religious Liberty

"There Are Needs That Find Fulfillment in God Alone"

WARSAW, Poland, OCT. 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of an address delivered by the Holy See's representative, Monsignor Anthony Frontiero, to the annual meeting of the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The meeting was on the topic "Human Dimension Implementation," and it took place Sept. 24-Oct. 5.

Monsignor Frontiero, an official of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, gave the address Sept. 26 on the theme of religious liberty.

* * *

Mr. Chairman,

The Holy See reiterates its firm conviction that the dignity of the person and the very nature of the quest for God require that all people should be free from every constraint in the area of religion. Society and the state must not force a person to act against his conscience or prevent him from acting in conformity with it.[1]

This said, the Holy See stresses that the right to religious freedom ought to be part of the juridical order and recognized as a civil right. The Holy See also wishes to stress that such norms are required by the need for the effective safeguarding of the rights of all citizens and for the peaceful settlement of conflicts of rights, also by the need for an adequate care of genuine public peace, which comes about when people live together in good order and in true justice.[2]

Although a religious community may, because of historical and cultural ties to a nation, be given special recognition on the part of the state, such recognition should never create discrimination within civil or social order for other religious groups. Unfortunately, however, such a vision of relations between states and religious organizations seems not always to be shared by all and the right to religious freedom is, as we have seen, being violated, "even to the point that imparting catechesis, having it imparted, and receiving it become punishable offences.[3]

In his recent address to the Executive Committee of the Centrist Democratic International (CDI), Pope Benedict XVI recalled that the right to religious liberty is fundamental, irrepressible, inalienable and inviolable. Moreover, the exercise of this freedom includes the right to change religion, which should be guaranteed not only legally, but also in daily practice.

"In fact, religious liberty corresponds to the human person's innate openness to God, who is the fullness of truth and the supreme good. An appreciation for religious freedom is a fundamental expression of respect for human reason and its capacity to know the truth. Openness to transcendence is an indispensable guarantee of human dignity since within every human heart there are needs and desires that find their fulfillment in God alone. For this reason, God can never be excluded from the horizon of man and world history! That is why all authentically religious traditions must be allowed to manifest their own identity publicly, free from any pressure to hide or disguise it."[4]

As we witness the varied religious reactions to the social problems of our day, there is evidence that the significant world religions, including Christianity, are promoting peace and justice as essential dimensions of their religious commitment. Men and women involved in these movements recognize an intrinsic connection between their religious faith and the active concern for the wellbeing of society. There is evidence of a universal solidarity on the horizon.

Christian discipleship and the quest for personal holiness include responsibility for the world. Faith traditions and religious experience based on reason and truth offer the promise and hope that the spiritual life is to be realized in a sustained, practical involvement for the well-being of God's world.

In 1971, in his apostolic letter "Octogesima Adveniens," Pope Paul VI argued that utopia can be an unrealistic dream that prevents people from effective action. But utopia, rightly understood, is a positive vision that criticizes the existing order, generates a forward-looking imagination, recognizes the as yet unrealized possibilities of the present, and supplies energy for the creation of a new future.[5]

Religion will continue to serve as a meaningful, substantial and positive part in the quest for such a new future, especially if religions are delivered from their possible shortcomings and failures, and if they respect authentic aspirations. Religion, in the service of peace, human rights and social justice will be effective to the extent that it embraces the Holy Spirit's inspiration to be faithful to its deepest values.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

* * *

[1] Cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 421.
[2] Cf. Ibid.

[3] Ibid., No. 423.
[4] Benedict XVI, Address to the Executive Committee of the Centrist Democratic International, Sept. 21, 2007.

[5] See Paul VI, "Octogesima Adveniens," No. 37.

[Original text: English]

[Text adapted]

Matthew Roberts, The Wrongs of "Rights"

The Wrongs of “Rights”

Posted by Matthew Roberts on October 16, 2007

Is this akin to the criticism of ideology by conservatives (such as Russell Kirk)? Or cannot [at least some] rights be grounded in laws universally applicable? What is missing in the article is the connection between right and justice and law, and the historical argument seems to have been overthrown by the research of people like Brian Tierney and Annabel Brett. I will have to finish Fr. Lachance's book on droit and find out what he says about subjective active right.

The necessity of the elements

Elements as understood as referring to whatever is most basic, that which cannot be broken down further, and out of which all higher-level substances are constituted.
("Atom" as understood in its original sense, and not referring to a certain kind of substance that is made of protons, electrons, and neutrons.)

If it cannot be broken down, then it cannot be destroyed. And if it cannot be destroyed, it must exist? The only way it would go out of existence is if the First Cause were to withdraw His act of conservation. However, even if it exists necessarily, and cannot be destoyred by natural agents, it cannot be therefore concluded that it is eternal? It seems not.

So what is the permament substrate that underlies all material things? Matter-energy is what contemporary physicists refer to, but are they mistaken in putting energy on the same level of reality as substance?

Is it possible for there to be more than one type of element? It would seem so, in order to account for the diversity of things in the world--if there were only one type of element, how could there be difference? Is it possible for one kind of element to be transformed into another kind of element? (If so, how, if there are no parts? How can there be changes in quality without subordinate parts? --How can there be accidents inhering in a substance if there are no parts?)

New website for the Societas Scholasticorum

via NLM

website

Apparently it is the same Societas Scholasticorum, first brought to our attention by Ite ad Thomam--just a new url and look for the website.

Locke Lectures by Christine Korsgaard

From the SEP entry for Practical Reason and Structure of Actions:


Korsgaard, C., The Locke Lectures 2002:
Lecture One: The Metaphysical Foundations of Normativity [PDF]
Lecture Two: Practical Reason and the Unity of the Will [PDF]
Lecture Three: Autonomy, Efficacy, and Agency [PDF]
Lecture Four: Expulsion from the Garden: The Transition to Humanity [PDF]
Lecture Five:The Constitutional Model, and Bad Action [PDF]
Lecture Six: Integrity and Interaction [PDF]


Harvard page; interview; Philosophy Dept. page
Fellow Creatures: Kantian Ethics and Our Duties to Animals


(Ok so I did see her at the Broadie lectures this past Spring. I did wonder if she was a hippie in the 70s, or if she picked up her look being an academic at Harvard in Cambridge, MA.)

New name for CAI

Catholic Apologetics International has been renamed the Bellarmine Theological Forum. Same url though.

Why St. Robert Bellarmine? Apologist... and also because of the geocentrism connection?

Letter from Cardinal Bellarmine to Galileo (May 1616)
The Galileo Affair
The Galileo Project | Christianity | Robert Cardinal Bellarmine

The book by Robert Sungenis and Robert Bennett can be found here:
www.geocentrism.com
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Zenit interview with Fr. Schall, part 3

Regensburg Revisited (Part 3): Interview With Father James Schall

WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's Regensburg lecture not only pinpoints the heart of the current international situation, but also reality itself, says Father James Schall.

In the third and final part of this interview with ZENIT, Father Schall, a professor of political philosophy at Georgetown University, comments on what he says is one of the most important discourses of modern times.

He is the author of "The Regensburg Lecture," published by St. Augustine's Press. Part 1 of this interview appeared Tuesday, Part 2 on Wednesday.

Q: How do you see the Regensburg lecture in relation to John Paul II's encyclical "Fides et Ratio"?

Father Schall: What Benedict XVI sees is the fundamental importance of "Fides et Ratio" on a world scale, not just with Islam, which was something new in John Paul II's time.

John Paul II was rightly taken up with fascism, Marxism and the moral status of the West. John Paul did collaborate with Muslims in several U.N. conferences -- Cairo, Beijing -- especially about the family, in spite of the differences between Muslim and Christian views on what the family is.

"Fides et Ratio" is the consequence, as it were, of the other two stages of de-Hellenization in Western thought. The second step was with von Harnack who took the consequences of denying that Jesus was divine. He was just human, a nice man. He was a leader or prophet or voice, but he was not the God-man, not the incarnate "Logos." Thus we did not need theology to understand him; rather, we need the social and historical sciences.

Benedict XVI, as he indicates in his book "Jesus of Nazareth," is often concerned with the claim of scholarship to unearth the fundamentals of faith by science's own methods alone. All it can unearth is what is known by the methods, so more and more fundamental things are left out as such scholarship claims priority.

"Fides et Ratio" is a long, incisive analysis of modern philosophy alongside of the question of what kind of philosophy will enable us to understand what is really revealed.

The very notion of a "Christian philosophy" arises from the need to understand in terms of reason just what was said in revelation. The use of a Greek word, not a scriptural word, at the Council of Nicaea, as the Pope said, indicated that under the pressure of understanding revelation, the philosophical experience could be fundamental.

Faith and philosophy are not in contradiction, but are related to grasp the whole of reality. Both are necessary. This is why pure Scripture is not enough even to understand Scripture's own positions. As Chesterton remarked at the end of "Heretics," it would be revelation, not reason, which, in the end, said that the grass is green, that reason in faith alone would affirm the ordinary things of reality that the modern philosophers could no longer comprehend.

Q: In your book, and in the Holy Father's lecture, there is no effort to "turn back the clock" and deny the achievements of modernism. In what ways do you see an integration of the old and the new?

Father Schall: First of all the term "modernism" is generally meant to be a declaration of independence of modern thought from what is past, Greek or scholastic. However, thought in modernity more and more loses its moorings in an ordered reality.

As the Pope points out, the third de-Hellenization is what we call "multiculturalism," a belief that there is no real truth in any culture so that there are no fundamental issues between civilizations or religions, only a kind of tolerance about truth's impossibility.

Despite the claim that multicultural tolerance does not involve violence, its very system contains within itself a tradition within history that does claim that violence is in fact justified by voluntarist premises. In other words, on a purely multicultural theory, there is no reason why voluntarism is not a legitimate position as there is really nothing to oppose it except power.

The Pope repeats several times that he does not want to "go back," but he does wish to distinguish what is good and what is not in modern thought and culture.

Rommen said that the natural law is perennial, that is, it keeps coming back when we reach positions within a culture that normal men of common sense can see clearly wrong. The objective standard keeps calling disorder and injustice to our attention. The Regensburg lecture is an intellectual challenge. This is why it is precisely an academic lecture and not an encyclical; it insists we face the truth and falsity in any culture on the basis of "logos," of reason.

You will notice that the Pope brings in the notion of the fascination with mathematics that we found in Plato. He addresses the scientific mind directly and tells it that its discoveries are based on the fact that mathematics and its many sophistications work in reality. There must be a correspondence between principles of reality and principles of mathematics.

Why is there this correspondence if there is not a realistic philosophy to explain why? And if there is this correspondence, why is there not an ultimate mind that orders all things found with mathematics as well as with its own systems? Much current literature is based on the claims of a new kind of atheism, one that often lacks the intellectual rigor of more classic forms. The confidence of modern atheism does not face the strange correspondences between mind and reality that even science cannot avoid.

The problem with science is not only what it is, but what are we going to do with it? The classic Greeks were said to have known all sorts of inventions but chose not to pursue them because they understood the dangers they might entail for human living itself.

The Regensburg lecture gives science and technology their due by pointing out that they are not everything, but what they do is valid for a certain aspect of things. They can only explain what falls to their competence.

Philosophy, ethics, theology and poetry all reach to realities that are not direct objects of science, to things that are essentially spiritual and nonmaterial. The human intellect transcends its own being to be concerned with all that is.

We are bewildered if we think that science can explain everything, but this does not mean that what it cannot explain is therefore not explicable. It rather means that other insights and ways of knowing have their own validity.

The word of the Pope to science is not "don't be scientific" in the proper sense. It is rather to stop limiting itself to only one concept of reason, a very narrow concept. This concept is good as far as it goes. But it is one that excludes by definition most of the important things men are concerned with.

The Regensburg lecture takes us to the heart not only of current events, but also to the heart of reality itself. Philosophy and revelation are not enemies of each other, but are directed at one another. The exaltation of man by revelation does not imply that he is not what he is created to be, a rational animal, one who does all he does by "logos," by reason.

Man is the glory of God in the sense that God can address his word to him and he can know and comprehend because he is created with the power to know the truth of things. The moral and political life of man is designed to enable us to know what is addressed to us from reason and even, if it happens, from revelation.

What seems clear about the Regensburg lecture is that the best place to understand our times is in the heart of Rome itself. Here, in the native tongues of recent Popes, in Polish, or German, and, yes, Latin, they speak to us of what it means to be human, to be beings addressed by God in both reason and revelation.