Non declinavit ad dextram sive ad sinistram.
Last week, Bishop Robert Barron interviewed D.C. Schindler and integralism was among their topics of conversation. Their discussion of our approach to Catholic political philosophy was revealing in two important ways. First of all, their interview revealed how much these two formidable thinkers have misunderstood the very terms of the debate. Bishop Barron introduced the …
Continue reading “Bishop Barron and D.C. Schindler on ‘Integralism’”
1 Introduction Integralism is a name that was given to the traditional political principles of Catholic Christendom at a time when those principles were coming under sustained attack by modern revolutions. Integralism is therefore traditional in the sense of belonging to a tradition. But is it traditionalist in the sense of giving importance to tradition …
The term integralism does not describe a movement or a philosophical school. It is simply a word coined in the nineteenth century to describe the opposite of a grievous error condemned by the Church— liberalism. It is thus analogous to terms such as dyophysite, iconodule or transubstantiationist. It names orthodoxy in a particular area of …
Continue reading “Integralism and the Hermeneutic of Reform”
Certain critics of Catholic integralism have commonly brought forward the charge that integralists have forsaken mysticism for power, adopting a one-sided predilection for coercion, at the expense of the real essence of the Catholic religion, which is self-emptying love. This is a critique that has been leveled by Michael Hanby,[1] David C. Schindler,[2] and others. According …
This piece, a genealogy of integralism, first appeared on John Brungardt’s blog here. It provides an excellent overview of the intellectual development and history of integralism as well as the current state of play between integralists and their critics. –The Editors By John G. Brungardt The purpose of this post is to recall the contours …
Continue reading “The Question of Catholic Integralism: An Internet Genealogy”
The encyclicals Deus caritas est and Spe salvi raise two opposite objections against Christianity: Christian love seems too altruistic, opposed to one’s own happiness; while Christian hope seems too egoistic, opposed to proper concern for temporal society. The editors discuss these objections with New Testament scholar John Kincaid. They argue that a true understanding of …
By Vincent Clarke In this essay, we will be asking whether there is anything of worth on the intellectual left. We will not be considering more pragmatic disciplines such as economics. Rather we will be focusing on philosophical and expressly political ideas. Some thinkers in the post-fusionist Catholic sphere have pointed to these ideas—typically formulated …
Continue reading “Integralism versus the Marxist and post-Marxist Left”
Timothy Troutner recently published a thought-provoking essay in Church Life Journal, a publication of the the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, in which he argues against Catholic Integralism. Our own Pater Edmund Waldstein responded in the same publication, defending integralism. Another response was posted by the integralist blog Abrenuntio. The …
The editors return and deconstruct integralism by taking on the post-structuralism of Jacques Derrida, but in the end discover they were metaphysicians all along. Along the way, the discussion veers into Nietzsche, 19th century interpretations of Bach, internet meme culture, vaccinations and the anti-vax movement, Jacob Klein, David Foster Wallace, and so much more. Bibliography …
Continue reading “The Josias Podcast, Episode XV: Deconstructing Integralism”
by Jonathan Culbreath One hears a good dose of defeatism recently expressed by Catholics who, though serious about their faith, are pessimistic about the practicability or desirability of seeking the integralist ideal in the current political climate.[1] The confessional State is deemed too lofty a goal to be worth seeking in the present circumstances. …