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Catholic political identity and engagement defy categorization. The
complexities of political realities and the human nature of such
institutions as church and government often produce a more
fractured reality than the pure unity depicted in doctrine. Yet, in
2003 under the leadership of then-prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
(now Pope Benedict XVI), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith issued a "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the
Participation of Catholics in Political Life". The note explicitly
asserts, "The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is
incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of
the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single
isolated aspect of the Church's social doctrine does not exhaust
one's responsibility toward the common good". "Catholics and
Politics" takes up the political and theological significance of
this "integral unity", the universal scope of Catholic concern that
can make for strange political bedfellows, confound predictable
voting patterns, and leave the church poised to critique narrowly
partisan agendas across the spectrum. "Catholics and Politics"
depicts the ambivalent character of Catholics' mainstream "arrival"
in the U.S. over the past forty years, integrating social
scientific, historical and moral accounts of persistent tensions
between faith and power. Divided into four parts - Catholic Leaders
in U.S. Politics; The Catholic Public; Catholics and the Federal
Government; and, International Policy and the Vatican - it
describes the implications of Catholic universalism for voting
patterns, international policymaking, and partisan alliances. The
book reveals complex intersections of Catholicism and politics and
the new opportunities for influence and risks of cooptation of
political power produced by these shifts. Contributors include
political scientists, ethicists, and theologians. The book will be
of interest to scholars in political science, religious studies,
and Christian ethics and all lay Catholics interested in gaining a
deeper understanding of the tensions that can exist between church
doctrine and partisan politics.
Unaccompanied migrant children are the most vulnerable group of
migrants and refugees. Their experiences, their contested legal
status in the host countries, and their treatment before, during,
and after migration call for an ethics of child migration that
places unaccompanied migrant children at the center. This volume
gathers international experts from the fields of social work,
social science, law, philosophy, and Catholic ethics. Social
science, psychological, and social work studies, analyses of US and
international law of child migration, refuge and asylum policies,
and several case studies regarding law enforcement highlight the
more recent shifts in policies both in the United States and
Europe. The current policies are confronted with two major
normative frameworks that go beyond migration laws or the
international refugee and asylum provisions: the United Nations
Convention of the Rights of the Child, and the approach of the
Catholic social ethics of migration. The authors address the
challenges of childhood under the conditions of migration: the
uprooting of lives, the journey and transition into foreign
countries and cultures, and the transition into adulthood. They
discern the legal provisions and obstacles of the immigration
process, the securitization of the borders, and the criminalization
of unaccompanied migrant children. Catholic social ethics, the
theological authors argue, must offer more than its pastoral call
for charity, solidarity, and compassion that is already in place,
inspiring multiple Catholic organizations, groups, and individuals.
The Christian emphasis on family rights and values, originating in
the story of the Holy Family, is necessary, yet insufficient when
children are separated from their parents-instead, children must be
recognized as vulnerable agents in their own right, and the moral
dilemmas families sometimes face be acknowledged. US and European
policies must be informed by the interpretation of justice, and the
principle of the common good must be held against the firewalling
of the West. As a political ethics, Catholic social ethics must
critique and reject the use of the Christian religion for
nationalist policies and depictions of migrant children as a threat
to the cultural identity of Western societies.
The failure of current immigration policies in the United States
has resulted in dire consequences: a significant increase in border
deaths, a proliferation of smuggling networks, prolonged family
separation, inhumane raids, a patchwork of local ordinances
criminalizing activities of immigrants and those who harbor them,
and the creation of an underclass - none of which are appropriate
or just outcomes for those holding Christian commitments. "Kinship
Across Borders" analyzes contemporary US immigration in the context
of fundamental Christian beliefs about the human person, sin,
family life, and global solidarity. Kristin Heyer expertly
demonstrates how current US immigration policies reflect harmful
neoliberal economic priorities, and why immigration cannot be
reduced to security or legal issues alone. Rather, she explains
that immigration involves a broad array of economic issues, trade
policies, concerns of cultural tolerance and criminal justice, and,
at root, an understanding of the human person. In "Kinship Across
Borders", Heyer has developed a Christian immigration ethic -
grounded in scriptural, anthropological, and social teachings and
rooted in the experiences of undocumented migrants - that calls
society to promote concrete practices and policies reflecting
justice and solidarity.
The United States was founded on a commitment to religious
tolerance. Based on this commitment, it has become one of the most
religiously diverse and religiously observant liberal democracies
in the world. Inherent in this political reality is the question,
"What is the appropriate relationship between religious beliefs and
public life?" This is not a new question, but in contemporary US
politics it has become a particularly insistent one. In this
intelligent, wide-ranging book, Kristin Heyer provides new and
nuanced answers. Prophetic and Public employs the discourse of
public theology to consider what constitutes appropriate
religio-political engagement. According to Heyer, public theology
connects religious faith, concepts, and practices to their public
relevance for the wider society. Her use of public theology
concepts to address the appropriate possibilities and limits for
religio-political engagement in the United States is both useful
and enlightening. Heyer approaches the relationship between public
morality and religious commitment through the example of the
Catholic Church. She looks at two prominent Catholics-Michael
Baxter and Bryan Hehir-as a way of discussing norms for practice of
public theology. Heyer also analyzes case studies of three US
Catholic advocacy groups: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops,
NETWORK, and Pax Christi USA. Through her analysis she shows the
various ways that the organizations' Catholic identity impacts
their social and political efforts. From her investigations come
norms that define possibilities and limits for political actions
based on religious conviction. This deeply thoughtful book examines
what is truly fundamental and inescapable about public life and
private religious belief in the United States. In doing so, it
makes skillful use of the tools of theology, philosophy, law, and
advocacy to demonstrate that the Catholic Church reveals great
diversity in its public theology, providing legitimate options for
a faithful response to urgent political issues.
Unaccompanied migrant children are the most vulnerable group of
migrants and refugees. Their experiences, their contested legal
status in the host countries, and their treatment before, during,
and after migration call for an ethics of child migration that
places unaccompanied migrant children at the center. This volume
gathers international experts from the fields of social work,
social science, law, philosophy, and Catholic ethics. Social
science, psychological, and social work studies, analyses of US and
international law of child migration, refuge and asylum policies,
and several case studies regarding law enforcement highlight the
more recent shifts in policies both in the United States and
Europe. The current policies are confronted with two major
normative frameworks that go beyond migration laws or the
international refugee and asylum provisions: the United Nations
Convention of the Rights of the Child, and the approach of the
Catholic social ethics of migration. The authors address the
challenges of childhood under the conditions of migration: the
uprooting of lives, the journey and transition into foreign
countries and cultures, and the transition into adulthood. They
discern the legal provisions and obstacles of the immigration
process, the securitization of the borders, and the criminalization
of unaccompanied migrant children. Catholic social ethics, the
theological authors argue, must offer more than its pastoral call
for charity, solidarity, and compassion that is already in place,
inspiring multiple Catholic organizations, groups, and individuals.
The Christian emphasis on family rights and values, originating in
the story of the Holy Family, is necessary, yet insufficient when
children are separated from their parents-instead, children must be
recognized as vulnerable agents in their own right, and the moral
dilemmas families sometimes face be acknowledged. US and European
policies must be informed by the interpretation of justice, and the
principle of the common good must be held against the firewalling
of the West. As a political ethics, Catholic social ethics must
critique and reject the use of the Christian religion for
nationalist policies and depictions of migrant children as a threat
to the cultural identity of Western societies.
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