What is the role of the Church in the age of polarization? What resources can our Catholic faith offer to heal fierce partisanship of our times? How might the sacramental imagination and wisdom of Catholic Social Teaching transform the "us" vs. "them" mentality that holds so many in its grip? It is tempting to feel fatalistic about the growing polarization around us, but there are good reasons for hope. This is what this latest issue of C21 Resources magazine means to inspire.
Explore the initiative and resources created by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics, which includes a pledge, Scripture meditations, promotion packet, prayers, tips from Pope Francis, reflections, (including those published in this issue of C21 Resources), and more.
Read the original article by Clark Merrefield, published in The Journalist’s Resource (a project of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy) and more resources from this organization.
Read the full article by Maureen Day and more resources from the National Catholic Reporter.
Use these links for the full article by Richard Gaillardetz, entitled “Reflections on Impediments to Synodality: Polarization and the Escalation of Conflict,” and more resources from Worship.
Read the full interview, “In Conversation: Honoring Ideological Divides On and Off Campus,” with Lisa Kloppenberg, Vincent Rougeau, and Eduardo Peñalver, and discover more resources from Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education.
Read the full article from Richard Gorecki and learn more about GodBuddies or email the author at Rich@God-Buddy.com.
Joan D. Chittister, O.S.B. - Access the reflection offered by the Center for Action and Contemplation, the full article entitled "A Moment for Something More Soulful Than Politics,” published in Oneing, and more information from Sr. Joan Chittister through these links.
Hosffman Ospino - Dr. Ospino's full chapter, “The Unheeded Middle: Catholic Conservative-Liberal Polarities in an Increasingly Catholic Church,” and many more resources from authors across the Catholic Church are published in Polarization in the U.S. Catholic Church: Naming the Wounds, Beginning to Heal (edited by Mary Ellen Konieczny, Charles C. Comosy, and Tricia C. Bruce, Liturgical Press, 2016).
Christine Emba - This excerpt is from a panel discussion, “How Do Principles of Catholic Social Thought Bring Us Together,” at the Georgetown University - Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life covening in 2018. Find more information, discussion topics, and videos from this event, “Though Many, One: Overcoming Polarization through Catholic Social Thought.”
Fr. Aaron Wessman - To access the full interview from Focolare Media’s Living City with Fr. Wessman on his book, The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World (New City Press, 2023).
Access Arhur Brooks’ full video from the American Enterprise Institute, his book Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save American from the Culture of Contempt, and additional resources from Professor Brooks.
Access the full video from Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education entitled “Reaching Across the Abortion Divide: Resources for Arguing Well on Campus in the Post-Roe Era” through the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Jesuit Channel.
Explore the initiative and resources created by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB), Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics, which includes a pledge, Scripture meditations, promotion packet, prayers, tips from Pope Francis, reflections, (including those published in this issue of C21 Resources), and more.
To read the full article from Sam Sawyer, S.J. online at America magazine and access additional resources from America Media.
