There's No Deterring the Catholic Bishops

1989 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 277-296
Author(s):  
J. Bryan Hehir
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Moral Debate ◽  
The Church ◽  
Catholic Bishops

This article uses two episcopal texts published by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops during the 1980s as a case study of the role of ethics in the foreign policy process. No longer a topic for theologians, philosophers, and lawyers alone, as in past decades, the morality of foreign affairs is now a matter of public discourse and political strategy. The size and social diversity of the Catholic church, the convergence of its stands on anti-communism and anti-nuclear weaponry, and the cosmic nature of the nuclear threat allowed the bishops to make transnational references reaching into all corners of the globe. The church-state exchange introduced the ethics of consequences and promoted moral debate about strategic foreign policy and deterrence.

scholarly journals Prophetic witness and public discourse in European societies – a German perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
Pluralistic Societies ◽  
Prophetic Witness ◽  
The Church

The role of prophetic witness of the churches in the public discourse of modern civil societies is analysed on the basis of three public memorandums of the German Protestant churches on economic questions and their impact on the public. Among the ten systematic conclusions which are drawn from this case study is the importance of the specific context for the role of prophetic statements. The article tries to show how prophetic witness is a necessary element of a public theology, which is not based on fundamental criticism, but develops both critical and constructive perspectives for politics and society. If such public theology is liberation theology for a democratic society it is the task of the church to get involved in the public debate in a ‘bilingual’ way, that is, on the basis of its biblical-theological sources but at the same time with the ability to engage in the secular language of pluralistic societies.

Genome Editing or Genome Cutting? Communicating CRISPR in the British and German Press

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-66
Author(s):  
Yoo Yung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Word Processor ◽  
Public Science ◽  
German Press ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
British Press ◽  
Legal Frameworks

AbstractIn this paper, I analyze the role of metaphors in public science communication. Specifically, it is a case study of the metaphors for CRISPR/Cas9, a controversial biotechnology that enables scientists to alter the DNA of any organism with unprecedented ease and has raised a number of societal, ethical and legal questions concerning its applications – most notably, on its usage on the human germline. Using a corpus of 600 newspaper articles from the British and German press, I show that there are striking differences in how these two European countries construe CRISPR in public discourse: the British press promotes the image of CRISPR as a word processor that allows scientists to edit the DNA, replacing spelling mistakes with healthy genes, whereas the German press depicts CRISPR as genetic scissors and thereby underlines the risk of mutations after cutting the DNA. I suggest that this contrast reflects differences in the legal frameworks of the respective countries and may influence the attitudes towards emerging biotechnologies among the British and German public.

Institutionalization and Evangelization in the Argentine Church: Córdoba Under Zenón Bustos, 1905-1919

1989 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-381
Author(s):  
Arthur R. Liebscher
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Pastoral Care ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Central City ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
The People ◽  
National Leadership ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Church

To the dismay of today's social progressives, the Argentine Catholic church addresses the moral situation of its people but also shies away from specific political positions or other hint of secular involvement. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the church set out to secure its place in national leadership by strengthening religious institutions and withdrawing clergy from politics. The church struggled to overcome a heritage of organizational weakness in order to promote evangelization, that is, to extend its spiritual influence within Argentina. The bishop of the central city of Córdoba, Franciscan Friar Zenón Bustos y Ferreyra (1905-1925), reinforced pastoral care, catechesis, and education. After 1912, as politics became more heated, Bustos insisted that priests abstain from partisan activities and dedicate themselves to ministry. The church casts itself in the role of national guardian, not of the government, but of the faith and morals of the people.

China's New Foreign Policy Team

2013 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 5-16
Author(s):  
Lance L P GORE
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Defining Moment ◽  
Hands On ◽  
International Role ◽  
The Military

The new foreign policy team is more professional and with an Asian focus than its older counterpart. Although still fragmented, it may have stronger leadership and better coordination. This is critically important because China is at a defining moment as to its international role. Xi Jinping's closer ties with the military and his hands-on style may encourage assertive nationalism and more active role of the military in foreign affairs.

The Awakening of a New Form of Christianity? Catholicism in the Cariri Region (Brazil)

Exchange ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-397
Author(s):  
Jan Joris Rietveld
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
The Awakening ◽  
Evangelical Churches ◽  
Rural Zone ◽  
New Form ◽  
Short Time ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Catholic Church

AbstractThe Cariri region is the most isolated and poor part of the rural zone of the diocese of Campina Grande in the Paraiba state of Brazil. The Catholic Church has been present here for a relatively short time: 335 years. Moreover the region has an isolated context and this favors conservatism so that only fundamental changes have an impact. These facts make the Cariri an interesting region for a case study about how Catholicism develops. I distinguish five periods, which are described with religious key words and situated in the socio-cultural context. This classification is a schematization: different types of Catholicism often exist together. It is obvious that the dominant features of Catholicism change with time, but in the mainstream of the fifth period we see a small revolution. Now there are not only influences in the socio cultural context and factors in the Church itself that cause changes, but there are also influences of powerful newcomers, the evangelical churches. Their main impact is that many people have left the Catholic Church and are going to live their old faith in a new form. The Catholic Church is searching for adequate ways to respond to this phenomenon.

scholarly journals „Nie popadajmy w przesadę z tą równością” – płeć mózgu, heteronorma i mistyka naukowości

Adeptus ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludmiła Janion
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Significant Aspect ◽  
Popular Book ◽  
Scientific Justification ◽  
The Brain

„Let’s not be too eager about equality” – brain sex, heteronormativity, and the scientific mystiqueThe article analyses the role of brain sex in Polish public discourse of the last years. The authors of a popular book Brain Sex claim that differences between women and men stem from differences in the brain structure, and because of that they are universal and unchangeable; feminism is based on misrepresentation of science. This thesis was overtaken by right-wing journalists, as it gave scientific justification to conservative gender politics and contemplementarity – the gender ontology of the Catholic church. However, in the rightwing journalism a significant aspect of brain sex theory is silenced, namely, the claim that homo- and transsexuality result from disorders in brain development; they are unchangeable and should be accepted. Despite its conservative roots, brain sex was popularized in liberal media as well. The aura of science that accompanied this popular theory allowed to naturalize its anti-feminism and heteronormativity. This phenomenon is discussed on the basis of media activity of two Polish scientists who are popular both in right-wing and liberal media: Anna Grabowska and Jerzy Vetulani. Both present brain sex theory as objective, universally accepted truth, which is attacked in the name of the leftist ideology by ignorant activists who deny science. „Nie popadajmy w przesadę z tą równością” – płeć mózgu, heteronorma i mistyka naukowościArtykuł analizuje rolę płci mózgu w polskim dyskursie publicznym ostatnich lat. Autorzy niezwykle popularnej w Polsce książki Płeć mózgu twierdzą, że różnice między kobietami i mężczyznami wynikają z różnic w budowie mózgów, a przez to są uniwersalne i niezmienne, feminizm zaś jest oparty na fałszowaniu nauki. Teza ta została podchwycona przez prawicowych publicystów, ponieważ nadawała naukową legitymację konserwatywnej polityce płci oraz komplementaryzmowi – ontologii płci przyjętej przez Kościół katolicki. W prawicowym piśmiennictwie przemilcza się jednak istotny aspekt płci mózgu, mianowicie twierdzenie, że homo- i transseksualność wynikają z wad w rozwoju mózgu, są niezmienne i powinny być akceptowane. Mimo swoich konserwatywnych korzeni płeć mózgu była popularyzowana także w mediach liberalnych. Nimb naukowości, którym otaczany był popularny pogląd, pozwalał naturalizować związane z nim antyfeminizm i heteronormatywność. Zjawisko to omówione jest na podstawie działalności popularyzatorskiej dwojga naukowców, cieszących się popularnością zarówno w prawicowych, jak i liberalnych mediach: Anny Grabowskiej i Jerzego Vetulaniego. Oboje przedstawiali płeć mózgu jako obiektywną, powszechnie uznawaną naukową prawdę, z którą w imię lewicowej ideologii próbują walczyć nieakceptujący ustaleń nauki aktywiści.

The Church Ascendant, 1831–1967

2021 ◽  
pp. 16-40
Author(s):  
Tom O’Donoghue ◽  
Judith Harford
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
School System ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Irish Society ◽  
The Third ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Great Famine ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Church

In the latter half of the eighteenth and early decades of the nineteenth century the priests’ leadership role in Ireland increased, aided by the relaxation of the Penal Laws and the eventual granting of Catholic Emancipation throughout the United Kingdom in 1829. Concurrently, a new generation of reforming bishops shook off the approach of caution of their predecessors towards government and became increasingly assertive about Catholic interests, including in education. That assertiveness is central in the considerations of this chapter. Developments in relation to the role of the Catholic Church (the Church) in Irish society from the decades prior to the Great Famine of 1845–48 are outlined. Relations between the Church and the State on education from the establishment of the Irish National School System in 1831 to the advent of national independence in 1922 are then examined. In the third section the activity of ‘the triumphalist Church in Ireland’ for the period from 1922 to the introduction of ‘free second-level education’ in 1967 is detailed.

Democratic Politics and Foreign Affairs

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-36
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Democratic Peace ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy

Whether foreign policy should be exempted from democratic politics has been discussed since the early days of modern democracy. While this debate has oscillated between executive-friendly and democracy-friendly positions, it has neglected the role of political parties as essential actors in democratic decision-making and in providing cues to the public more broadly. Institutionalist and ideational theories of the so-called Democratic Peace in particular have neglected political parties, even though they silently assume that foreign and security policy is a matter of party-political contestation. Therefore, the theoretical framework outlined in this chapter also draws on scholarship in Foreign Policy Analysis that examined the role of ‘government ideology’. It suggests two propositions to inform the empirical analyses, namely 1) that foreign affairs are systematically contested, rather than shielded from democratic politics; 2) that party-political contestation is structured along the left/right dimension.

Ethics in Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Bulley
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Ethical Norms ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
The Way

Ethics and foreign policy have long been considered different arenas, which can only be bridged with great analytical and practical difficulty. However, with the rise of post-positivist approaches to foreign policy, much greater attention has been paid to the way that ethical norms and moral values are embedded within the way states understand their own actions and interests, both enabling and constraining their behavior. Turning to these approaches raises a different question to whether ethics and foreign policy can mix, that of how best to understand, analyze, and critique the role that ethics inevitably play within foreign policy making? What are required are perspectives which, instead of constructing an ethical theory in the abstract and applying it to a concrete situation, start from the ethics of the foreign policy arena itself. Two ways of looking at ethics are especially useful in this regard: a virtue-ethics approach and a relational-ethics approach. These can be best explored by observing how they work in a particular foreign policy context, such as the highly controversial U.K. decision to join the invasion and occupation of Iraq from 2003. This was a policy where ethics came particularly to the fore in both the decision-making process and its justification. The case study can therefore help show the types of questions virtue and relational ethics ask, the way they work as analytical and critical frameworks, and the problems they raise for the role of ethics in foreign policy. They also point toward important future directions for research in the area.

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