So forgiveness pre-requires understanding the mistakes of the past? here hear re this opposing this me-first, America-first, white-first, male-first approach>…
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 1: Theology of the Spirit
Read MORE: Lesson 1: Theology of the SpiritMany of us think Pope Francis serves as a much-needed model of the faith in our time, at least in his words and personal examples. Obviously, some of his witness has been thwarted by the very institutional structures that he…
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Lesson 2: Liberation Theology
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Liberation TheologyThere is no doubt that Pope Francis’ theology of the spirit is an outgrowth of the liberation theology prominent during the middle of the last century in Latin America. He literally echoes the preference for the poor that they advocated.…
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Lesson 3: The New Evangelization
Read MORE: Lesson 3: The New EvangelizationJohn’s comment after last week’s lesson offered an important qualification. He observed that becoming a voice in the political conversation is essential in our time but serving the needy as caring individuals is still more important. That distinction accurately indicates…
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Lesson 4: Reform for a New Situation
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Reform for a New SituationI ended the last lesson reporting that the Latin American bishops with whom I associate Pope Francis’ theology of the spirit think the times call for institutional and pastoral reform. There are two ways to understand reform. The first sees…
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Lesson 5: Preference for the Poor
Read MORE: Lesson 5: Preference for the PoorI have been using long documents issued at the conferences of the Latin American bishops to illustrate Pope Francis’ thought. Both are heavily influenced by the theology of the spirit that primarily comes out of third world countries. I decided…
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Lesson 6: Preliminary Remarks about Christian Economic Thought
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Preliminary Remarks about Christian Economic ThoughtI was ready to leave this series. Usually a number of my friends will discuss the lessons either by email or face-to-face. This time I was hearing from nobody. That was a big disappointment, because I felt the perspectives from…
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Lesson 7: The Totalization of the Economic System
Read MORE: Lesson 7: The Totalization of the Economic SystemLast week, I claimed that Christians should always be prophetically critiquing the economic systems in which they find themselves, primarily asking if these protect the weak. I also suggested the form of global capitalism presently being practiced in our society…
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Lesson 8: Christian Influence in the Economic System
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Christian Influence in the Economic SystemMark, perhaps our only economist, suggests our present problems have more to do with sinful human nature and abusive political power than economic theory. While reading his comments,I realized John, a model in sustainable agriculture, has been saying pretty much…
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Lesson 9: Terrorism and Commodification
Read MORE: Lesson 9: Terrorism and CommodificationAs just about every US citizen is discussing the mass murders, I find it helpful to see them as a new form of terrorism found in our technological society. Placing the killings in this context gives me a realistic perspective…
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Lesson 10: The Spirit in Daily Life
Read MORE: Lesson 10: The Spirit in Daily LifeMy plan was to spend the summer casually examining Pope Francis’ theology. It seemed an easy assignment, simply posting summaries of readings I have been wanting to tackle. Those hopes for some quiet academic study quickly went up in flames.…
Recent Comments
An extremely timely topic. Thanks, Fritz!
yes we need to forgive our leaders yet make sure they do the right thing – which they aren’t.