The Project: Faith
and Reason Institute Track
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Faith and Reason Colloquia
The Faith and
Reason Institute will organize a series of Washington Colloquia on
American Catholicism and Civic Life to be held in Washington, D.C.
The purpose of these seminars will be multifold.
First, they will
enable the investigators from the Institute and carefully selected
participants to discuss in depth a variety of issues already
raised or still to be raised in the common track. This will give
the whole project the constant refreshment of ongoing constructive
criticism and planning, as well as presentation, in a live forum,
of materials still being developed.
Second, these
gatherings will take advantage of a wide range of participants
from Washington and beyond – politicians, policy makers,
journalists, activists, and scholars – for the ongoing work of
this project. These people and the events in which they participate can
make strong contributions to the debate over public Catholicism in
their own right as well as provide valuable input into the
organization of the project’s other large-scale research and
events.
Finally, these
colloquia will help disseminate material and create a ready
audience for research results and conference publications among
those most immediately involved in shaping public opinion and
political action.
The Faith and Reason Institute will try to hold approximately one
colloquium every other month from September to June but skipping
the holiday season, which is a difficult time to hold events in
Washington or about four per year over the three-year period. In
the early part of the project in particular, the emphasis will be
on getting input into what kinds of things the project needs to
know about American Catholics. Other colloquia will look into
specific issues or will be keyed to complement or help further to
publicize activities in the Common Events and Commonweal
Foundation Track. Still others will try to get at how in concrete
terms Catholic influence on national government occurs.
The format
will vary, as appropriate, for the material. Some sessions will
feature only one speaker and focus closely on a specific topic
with a small group. Others (about two per year) may be more in the
nature of panel discussions where various viewpoints and
approaches will be represented. Still others may involve as many
as three or four presenters and a larger audience, almost
mini-conferences. Papers and other research materials will be
disseminated, when the Institute thinks it advisable, in pamphlet
or other informal publications as soon after the events as
possible to a list of several hundred influential opinion leaders.
These materials will also be directed towards a variety of
Catholic and secular periodicals as appropriate.
Potential topics (and
speakers) include, among others:
- Is
there, or could there be, an opening for Catholic concepts
like the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity, and
personalism in American political discourse and practice_ What
obstacles to such ideas exist in the American political
tradition_ What form, if any, might these notions take to
speak to contemporary American concerns_ (Potential speakers:
former Sen. Dan Coates, House Minority Whip David Bonior,
Reps. Henry Hyde, Christopher Smith, Ann Northrup, and Lee
Terry.)
- How do Catholic politicians
speak to the broad national public_ (Potential speakers:
Oklahoma Gov. John Keating and Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge,
both potential vice-presidential candidates.)
- Is the American tradition of
affirming certain self-evident truths dead_ Are its
connections with the Catholic natural law tradition,
therefore, ended and does this mean that faith groups that
make strong truth claims, like Catholicism, will inevitably
appear judgmental and somewhat fundamentalist in current
culture_ Are there any remedies_ (Potential speakers: Robert
George, Princeton University; Hadley Arkes, Amherst; Mary Ann
Glendon, Harvard Law School; Michael Uhlmann, Claremont
McKenna.
- How do American seminaries
form the social ethics of the clergy_ (Invitees might include
the professors of social ethics at the major seminaries such
as Mundelein, St. Charles Borromeo, Mount St. Mary’s, St.
Joseph’s, Kendrick, St. John’s in Boston.). A
separate event might look at how this formation is or is not
linked to the way homilists are trained to deal with social
issues.
- Are affluence and Catholic
social engagement at odds with one another_ Do relativism,
apathy, and alienation stem from the great security, financial
and physical, of modern America_ What are its other sources_
What can be done to respond to them_ (Potential speakers:
Michael Novak, William Bennett, David Schindler.)
- How do Catholic businessmen
see their faith as informing their economic roles (Mr. William
Burleigh, E. W. Scripps Co.; Legatus
members.) Do
businessmen have a special social role in Catholic social
thought_ Are there any specifically Catholic principles at
this moment in history that might guide management/labor
relations_ Can such principles lead to any different behavior
in the marketplace_
- What are the particular
problems of Catholic higher education in America_ Is it
possible to combine a high level of fidelity to Catholic
doctrine with American notions of academic freedom_ What are
the implications of these problems for Catholic presence in
law, medicine, and other culture-forming disciplines_
(Potential speakers: Gerald Bradley, Notre Dame Law School;
Edmund Pellegrino, M.D., Georgetown Medical Center; Fr. John
O’Connell, President, the Catholic University of America;
James Burtchaell.)
- Does Catholic education make
a difference in shaping the views of students and their
eventual civic engagement_ What are those differences at the
elementary and secondary school level_ At the college level_
(Potential speakers: Mr. Robert Viboral, Director of Catholic
Education, Diocese of Wichita; Mr. Timothy McNiff, Director of
Education, Tulsa diocese and director of OSV supported survey
on Catholic Identity.)
- Complaints about prestige
media bias against Catholicism are common and have even
received some confirmation in empirical studies (e.g., Prof.
Robert Lichter). Is this perception accurate_ Does Catholicism
suffer from a skewed presentation or are Catholic positions
themselves at odds with the mainstream culture_ How do the
recent and crucial papal encyclicals (Centesimus
Annus, Veritatis
Splendor, Evangelium Vitae, Fides et Ratio) get presented
to the American public_ Are there better strategies for
presenting Catholic principles and practices somewhat foreign
to American public life_ (Potential speakers: Peter Steinfels,
Russell Shaw, William Donohue.)
- What kind of lay
participation is needed at the current moment_ How do the
Catholic hierarchy and independent lay groups see their
respective responsibilities_
(Potential speakers: John Carr, United States Catholic
Conference; heads of Catholic organizations.)
- Do the pope’s critiques of
the “culture of death” and the American bishops’
promotion of a “consistent ethic of life” illuminate or
confuse_ (Potential
speakers: Richard Doerflinger, United States Catholic
Conference, etc.)
- What does the growing
Hispanic presence in the American Catholic church mean in the
church and for civic life (Potential speaker: Peter Casarella,
Catholic University of America.)
- What are the specific
successes of Catholic journalism in the United States_ A
series of roundtable discussions with national Catholic
magazines, diocesan newspapers, religious news services, etc.
Calendar
Summary
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1999
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2000
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2001
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2002
The Tracks:
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