A Special Year

Pope Benedict XVI's recent declaration that June 28 would open a "Year of St. Paul" to honor the supposed 2000th anniversary of the great apostle's birth, also highlights that this year of 2008 is marked with the signs of promise for the future. It is an election year portending possible major political change in the United States; it saw the publication of the Pope's second encyclical on the theme of hope for the world; it also experienced a highly successful visit of Pope Benedict himself to the United States which was based on the theme of hope; and for the publishers of this journal, it marked the 150th anniversary of The Paulist Fathers, the first Catholic religious order founded to bridge American culture with the Catholic Faith.

All of these "signs of the times" suggest the beginning of a positive new dialogue between faith and culture is underway. It may seem strange that this should happen now in the wake of very negative years towards religion in the public forum, including the disgust over the clergy abuse scandal of the Catholic Church, the seemingly narrow and sometimes intolerant agendas of the religious right, and the rise of the anti-god apologetics of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Even the speeches of presidential candidates have taken note and are seeking ways to find positive roles for religion in politics. But the very attention to the shortcomings of important institutions often allows for an honest re-evaluation of their value and significance for society. Hopefully that process has begun with these new positive events that bring out the best in what Faith offers the human spirit.

The declaration of the Jubilee Year of St. Paul illustrates this well. This first and still greatest of the theologians of Christianity explored the relationship of culture, society and his new faith with both passion and subtlety. He was able to respect the importance of civil order and regulation even though he often suffered unfairly at its hands, but he also realized that civil society needed the gifts of hope, conviction, and the proclamation of values over and beyond the society itself to hold it to its duty of respect and care for all its citizens. It is surprising that this crucial shaper of the message of Jesus of Nazareth to a wider world has received so little attention over the centuries, especially in the Catholic Church. Perhaps this special year will bring Paul more fully into the dialogue between Faith and Culture and teach us all deeper lessons of how the two can be partners and not opponents.

For a Catholic journal of opinion such as Catholic World, Pope Benedict's choice of the theme of "Christ Our Hope" for his talks in the United States offers an excellent starting place for a richer dialogue not just between different Christian groups, or between Christians and other faiths, but between Christians and those who call themselves secularists, those who see little role for religion at present but highly value the democratic ideals on which this nation proudly claims it is based. Another optimistic sign during 2008 for the mission of Catholic World in this dialogue has been the announcement that its founder, Isaac Hecker, is to be considered for canonization as an American saint. It marks recognition by the Church that his combination of love of the Catholic Faith and love of American Democracy can go hand in hand.

The articles in this issue reflect on a wide range of such possibilities and even explore the fantasy dreams of Narnia as ways of hope for the future. We invite your comments and further observations to be sent to the editor (please make us of the "Contact Us" link in the upper right hand corner of the home page), and we will publish a representative sample of them in our next issue.

         Lawrence Boadt, CSP

         Publisher, Paulist Press