The United States is a liberal democracy. It is not simply a democracy, the rule of the majority.... more The United States is a liberal democracy. It is not simply a democracy, the rule of the majority. It is a liberal one in that the majority is constrained from violating the rights of the individual. Central to liberalism is the protection of individual rights from the tyranny of government, even a democratic one. Democracy answers the question, "Who rules?" Liberalism addresses the limits to the power of those who rule. This is the purpose of the Constitution of a liberal democracy. These liberal rights are enumerated in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of a liberal democracy. Thus, a liberal democracy is also, if not better, labeled as a constitutional democracy. And it is the primary task of the Supreme Court of a liberal democracy to protect those rights.
In the 1960s, the formerly colonized countries of Africa became independent. These newly independ... more In the 1960s, the formerly colonized countries of Africa became independent. These newly independent countries of Africa and countries of Asia, which became independent after World War II, came together through their leaders in 1955 at Bandung, Indonesia, to form a movement that would not be aligned in the Cold War then raging between the First World, the industrialized, capitalist, and democratic countries of the West, and the Second World, the Communist countries. Later joined by the countries of Latin America, independent since the 19 th century, the term "Third World" would be applied to them. It was first used by the French economist and demographer Alfred Sauvy in 1952, who saw Third World (Tiers Monde) as a modern parallel to the Third Estate (Etat) of the French Revolution, the class of commoners after the aristocracy and the clergy.
2021 was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as, the 500 th year anniversary of Philippi... more 2021 was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as, the 500 th year anniversary of Philippine history which started with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. If you look at the map of the world, Christopher Columbus on September 3, 1493, and Ferdinand Magellan on September 20, 1519, both started their journeys from ports in Spain with Columbus sailing across the Atlantic and Magellan across the Pacific. Which one was the more momentous? Magellan arrived on the island of Cebu, converted Rajah Humabon and his people to Christianity, who then urged Magellan to subdue his rival Datu Lapu-lapu of the nearby island of Mactan. Magellan died in the skirmish with Lapu-lapu. Although technically Magellan was the first to lead a voyage to circumnavigate the world, he died halfway through the journey. Sebastian Elcano took command of the ship Victoria, the last remaining of Magellan's five ships, after Magellan's death and completed the full circle. The actual colonization of the Philippines began with the expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Andres Urdaneta, a friar and navigator who was vital to the voyage, in 1565, followed by the exploration and conquest of Luzon by Juan de Salcedo, Legazpi's grandson, which established Manila as the capital in 1571. Further up north is the city of Vigan, then called Ciudad Fernandina, where you can still see the architecture of that era.
David Tracy (1981: 408), professor of theology at the University of Chicago, called "the analogic... more David Tracy (1981: 408), professor of theology at the University of Chicago, called "the analogical imagination," that looks for similarities in differences, the classic Catholic conceptual approach for the task of theology, a language that is both faithful to the tensive character of the religious language employed for the originating religious event and faithful to the demands of critical reflection, which is a major aspect of theology's task. In fact, Tracy (1981: 412) pointed out that "for Rahner, reality not merely has analogies but is analogy through and through," i.e. all realities are different from each other, but there are similarities between them. For example, Christ is king and Charles is king; they are different kinds of kings, but they share a similarity in that both of them rule. The originating religious event is Jesus Christ, and "the Christian in responding to the event of Jesus Christ senses that the very concreteness of that focus intensifies, clarifies, transforms the experience always-already, not-yet present in all human experience. The principal focus remains on the event and gift of Jesus Christ now renamed grace. Yet the focus of radical grace is itself always focused by and towards the event of Jesus Christ" (Tracy 1981: 424).
The setting is a vessel in mid-passage on the Atlantic Ocean. The year is 1630. The voyagers abor... more The setting is a vessel in mid-passage on the Atlantic Ocean. The year is 1630. The voyagers abord the Arabella were seeking out a new place of settlement in part because they did not believe such a striking break in human affairs was possible. [They were the first Puritans, fleeing religious persecution and political instability in England. They sought to escape the hostile polices of King Charles I and the Church of England, which suppressed their efforts to reform the church and threatened their religious freedom.] Balancing hope against despair, they were headed for North America." Daniel Rodgers (2018: 1-2) continues his dramatic retelling: "Somewhere in that midocean passage, their elected governor, John Winthrop, confident and commanding in his presence, rose to deliver an address in which he outlined the purpose of their undertaking. 'A Model of Christian Charity' Winthrop's text would come to be titled.. .. In it Winthrop confirmed these new Americans' commitment to a new life of obedience, love, and mutual affection. He reminded them that they sailed not on their own whim or private ambitions but under a covenant by God; a commission as clear as God's covenant with biblical Israel. Their responsibilities to each other were intense, and the risks of failure were, literally, terrifying. But in return, Winthrop offered a promise. If they should keep true to their purposes they would not only overcome the hardships the future held for them in new England. The eyes of all people would be upon them. They would be made 'a praise and glory.' And they would be 'as a city upon a hill' to the world."
From my readings in theology, admittedly limited, I continue to find statements that describe the... more From my readings in theology, admittedly limited, I continue to find statements that describe the contested relationship between social science and theology, specifically between theology, on the one hand, and sociology and cultural anthropology, on the other, the reality of historical development and consciousness having been accepted at Vatican II. For example, how should ecclesiology take into account sociological explanations of the necessity and pathology of institutionalization, how can theology incorporate sociological findings into its study of the growth and development of its teachings, doctrinal and moral, how can cultural anthropology enlighten efforts at inculturation, ecumenism, and religious pluralism, what kind of sociology and cultural anthropology will be helpful given that there are different schools or theoretical perspectives in sociology and cultural anthropology.
The global pedophilia crisis in the Catholic Church poses critical questions of inquiry and expla... more The global pedophilia crisis in the Catholic Church poses critical questions of inquiry and explanation to the sociological study of religion. Sociology studies religion as a social institution. The basic sociological insight is that as groups grow in size they undergo institutionalization for their survival and maintenance. But in doing so, the social structures of religion can become pathological and, in theological terms, sinful. Delineating the processes of religious institutionalization and of the "pathologization" of religion sheds sociological light on the pedophilia scandal, less on the abuse of children by priests and more on the cover-up of the crimes by bishops, which is the more institutional feature of the crisis.
The central theme of the proclamation of Jesus was the kingdom of God, that is, the total transfo... more The central theme of the proclamation of Jesus was the kingdom of God, that is, the total transformation of God's creation and his chosen people, a transformation that was both present and future.
The most consequential change in the 1960s was the decolonization of Africa. Countries which were... more The most consequential change in the 1960s was the decolonization of Africa. Countries which were the targets of the "scramble for Africa," which were described by Thomas Pakenham (1991) as "the white man's conquest of the dark continent from 1876 to 1912," became independent, one country after another. The continent which by 1902 five European powers-Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy-had grabbed almost all of its ten million square miles, awarding themselves thirty new colonies and protectorates, and 110 million bewildered new subjects, was afire with revolutions and revolutionaries, clamoring and fighting for freedom and independence from colonial rule. The continent's struggles were often violent and bloody. A main part of the reason is that these countries became surrogates in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, allies during World War II against Hitler and Nazism, but antagonists in the postwar period over world domination. As it was said then, when two elephants are fighting each other, it is the grass underneath them that is trampled upon and suffers.
Democracy is under threat in the United States, as well as, in many parts of the world. Freedom d... more Democracy is under threat in the United States, as well as, in many parts of the world. Freedom declined around the world for the seventeenth consecutive year, a 2023 Freedom House report found, with a deterioration of political rights and civil liberties in thirty-five countries. The watchdog group also pointed out that authoritarian leaders "are actively collaborating with one another to spread new forms of repression and rebuff democratic pressure," while longtime democracies are being threatened by "illiberal forces, including unscrupulous politicians willing to corrupt and shatter the very institutions that brought them to power."
Steven Millies is associate professor of public theology and director of The Bernardin Center at ... more Steven Millies is associate professor of public theology and director of The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He was constrained to write this book when, in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential elections, he was faced with the following statistic: Among Catholic Voters Donald Trump 49 percent Hillary Rodham Clinton 46 percent The gist of his book: The polarization in the American Catholic Church started with the 1973 decision of the U. S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade. He lays the blame on the American Catholic bishops who demanded that American Catholic politicians who in their roles as public officials should also oppose abortion and work to overturn Roe. The bishops, in turn, were following the demand of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II who claimed that the public role of a Catholic cannot be separated from his personal conscience. Thus, ensued the "culture wars," which turned out to be divisive and destructive.
Catholicism has had difficulties and problems, to say the least, with human sexuality. This was m... more Catholicism has had difficulties and problems, to say the least, with human sexuality. This was most evident in 1968, three years after the end of Vatican II, the Council of renewal and reform, when Paul VI issued his encyclical, Humanae Vitae, in which he declared that each and every act of sexual intercourse must be open to life, prohibiting, therefore, as immoral any artificial means of birth control. The encyclical caused an uproar of disapproval and dissent, especially because he ignored the Final Report of his own commission-positively endorsed by sixty-four of the sixty-nine voting members present-which he inherited from John XXIII and expanded. Instead, he sided with four commission dissenting theologians and Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, Prefect of the recently renamed Holy Office as Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The so-called Minority Report was largely prepared by John Ford, S.J., aided by a married lay philosopher, Germain Grisez.
Uploads
Papers by MD Litonjua