A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division

by Chris Korzen

On the eve of the most important presidential election in decades, A NATION FOR ALL sounds the trumpet to the tens of millions of U.S. Catholics who have refused to buy the notion that people of faith must subscribe to the narrow agenda of the far right. By shining the light of authentic Catholic teaching on pressing contemporary concerns like war, human dignity, poverty, and the looming global climate crisis, this book shows Catholics how their own faith tradition calls them to tackle a sweeping array of issues commonly left out of the faith and politics dialog. Most important, A NATION FOR ALL demonstrates how the core Catholic and Christian belief in promoting the common good can provide Americans of all faith traditions with a much-needed solution to the downward spiral of greed, materialism, and excessive individualism.

Genres: Religion

176 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2008

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about how Catholics of the right and the left--and by extension other Americans as well--can overcome the destructive politics of division by dedicating themselves to the Common Good as embodied in the Church's principles of Social Justice.

The book's thesis, although hopeful, is more than a little naive, for it assumes that religious conservatives are open to compromise--an assumption I abandoned years ago.

Still, Kelly clearly presents the core social justice teachings of the Catholic church and ably articulates its value to the American nation. And now that Papa Francesco occupies the Chair of Rome, the conservatives have at least a political motivation to feign compromise, if no real inclination to embrace it.

So far, though, this compromise has scarcely been feigned, at least in the American Church, fo immigration, where our president's continues to flagrantly violate the Catholic principles of social justice. There, the dignity and humanity of the immigrant has been affirmed, and various Catholic spokesmen--including the chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration, Bishop Vasquez of Austin--have reiterated that the country can both secure borders and treat migrants fleeing persecution with compassion and respect. Border security and humane treatment "are not mutually exclusive," Bishop Vasquez has said. "The United States can ensure both and must do so without instilling fear or sowing hatred," he said, urging the president and congressional leaders to work together to come up with just such a solution."

Still, though Father Frank Pavone of "Priests for Life," and the students of Covington Catholic High, proudly wear their MAGA hats to rallies, and the sexual abuse scandal--minimized by conservatives during the reign of JP II as the result of priests corrupted by the radical ethos of the '60's--is now being used as a pretext to induce Pope Francis to resign.

Nevertheless, I'll just indulge in a little naive hope myself, and pray that Papa Francesco continues to enjoy a long and healthy reign!

[Conrad Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, it touches the heart of my faith and how I wish to live it each day.