A Theology of the Face

Dawn Eden delivers a much needed "review" of Christopher West's work, even if they delayed running it for over a year.  One of the things she mentions in the review is how West's theology ignores entirely the importance of the face in John Paul II's writings.  This got me kinda thinking.  Might write something more formal on this now, but for the time being, here are a few notes:

The Death of "Conservative Catholicism'

In the August/September 2013 issue of First Things, editor R.R Reno celebrates the end of theological liberalism being a "force in the churches."  The damage in Protestantism has already been done, and the better crop of bishops in Catholicism means that, if nothing else, we won't see a massive rebellion akin to Humanae Vitae again.  Eric Cohen offers a response that, while talking about Judaism, could just as easily be talking about Christianity, and specifically the experiment of First Things to wed Christianity very closely with the great American experiment known as conservatism.

Why This (Semi) Capitalist Wants a Social Justice Pope

On Facebook and various other venues, there has been something a lot of people have noted when talking about Pope Francis.  They note his general skepticism of a lot of the way capitalism is practiced today, and wonder what the political right in America will think of that.  While it is still far too early to tell, there is a chance (so the story goes) that Pope Francis will be far less friendly to free market capitalism than one like Blessed John Paul II.

There are quite a few ways to respond to this, outside of the obvious that they probably don't know much about either Francis or John Paul II.  First and foremost, whatever happened in Argentina, a military dictatorship known for its rank nepotism could hardly be viewed as a capitalist entity.  Yet this misses the point entirely.  Quite simply, the Pope is no economist.

Now before everyone thinks I'm going to say we can just safely ignore his teaching if you end up not liking it, no, we really can't.  While there is a difference in weight one might place on issues like the immorality of contraception or abortion and the amount of government involvement in an economy, his voice should carry great weight for Catholics.  The Holy Father is a pastor of souls, and the care of souls is his primary concern.  This leads to a truth that might shock you, so take a deep breath.