Description: Under the sponsorship of the Pew Charitable Trusts, a group of Roman Catholic scholars gathered in the spring of 1995 at the University of Notre Dame to reflect on the "Challenge of Global Stewardship". This volume represents an attempt by twelve Roman Catholic scholars to take up that challenge -- to raise up the rich traditions of value and distinctive commitments of a particular faith community as resources for an ethic of preservation, equity, and restraint.

Drew Christiansen discusses how the principle of "authentic development" in Roman Catholic social teaching embraces ecological responsibility. Joseph Blenkinsopp and Rosemary Radford Reuther argue in their essays that the biblical texts central to the Jewish and Christian communities constitute an inescapable heritage that must become an authoritative source for the renewed ethic of global responsibility. John Kavanaugh maintains that it is only by developing the capacity to experience the moral claim exerted on us by all living things that we develop the habits of responsible existence in community. James T. McHugh argues that the meaning of "responsible parenthood" in a Catholic context must be discerned in light of the "authentic teaching of the Church regarding the objective moral order". George Weigel looks at the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in September of 1994 and argues for the potential of an international moral discourse. William French argues that religious communities play an important role in generating and sustaining ethical disciplines. Martin McLaughlin maintains that we cannot address the scandalous reality of global poverty without understanding how the" problems offood and hunger are systematic as well as symptomatic". Todd David Whitmore argues that a true concern for the well-being of children should be grounded in our awareness that they are "gifts of creation". Kenneth Himes discusses how an ethic of the common good can provide a useful framework for the creation of stable and cooperative relationships among nations. Maura A. Ryan traces the complex relationship between the right of a nation to secure the conditions of a "national common good" and its obligations of solidarity. Bryan Massingale looks at the problem of "human welfare ecology", and Todd David Whitmore returns to conclude the collection by arguing that Catholic teaching on gender roles conflicts with Catholic teaching on abortion. The Challenge of Global Stewardship: Catholic Responses offers an innovative array of exciting new voices to a timely, albeit divisive debate.

Please Wait