Thursday, August 14, 2008
Chaput on Catholics and citizenship
Archbishop Charles Chaput has just published a book called "Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life." Here is a review by Fr. Robert Imbelli, a theologian at Boston College. He writes:
. . . Archbishop Chaput has written a book that is informed, measured, civil, and pointed. It should be read, discussed, taken to heart in the United States and beyond. In many ways his message is simple, though certainly not simplistic. He puts the question forthrightly: “What needs to be done by Catholics today for their country?” and his response is equally forthright: "The answer is: Don’t lie. If we say we’re Catholic, we need to prove it. America’s public life needs people willing to stand alone, without apologies, for the truth of the Catholic faith and the common human values it defends (p. 197).
I find here a clear echo of what the Apostle Paul says to the Ephesians as a requirement of their union in Christ. “Therefore, put away all falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (Eph 4:25).
For some reservations about and objections to Archbishop's approach to these matters, you can go to this Commonweal post, and the attached comments.
Have any MOJ bloggers or readers read the book? Any thoughts, reactions, reviews?
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2008/08/chaput-on-catho.html