Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church (Moral Traditions series)

Much like the rest of the country, American Catholics are politically divided, perhaps more so now than at any point in their history. In this learned but accessible work for scholars, students, and religious and lay readers, ethicist Julie Hanlon Rubio suggests that there is a way beyond red versus blue for orthodox and progressive Catholics. In a call for believers on both sides of the liberal-conservative divide to put aside labels and rhetoric, Rubio, a leading scholar in marriage and family for more than twenty years, demonstrates that common ground does exist in the local sphere between the personal and the political. In Hope for Common Ground , Rubio draws on Catholic Social Thought to explore ways to bring Catholics together. Despite their differences, Catholics across the political spectrum can share responsibility for social sin and work within communities to contribute to social progress. Rubio expands this common space into in-depth discussions on family fragility, poverty, abortion, and end-of-life care. These four issues, though divisive, are part of a seamless worldview that holds all human life as sacred. Rubio argues that if those on different sides focus on what can be done to solve social problems in "the space between" or local communities, opposing sides will see they are not so far apart as they think. The common ground thus created can then lead to far-reaching progress on even the most divisive issues—and help quiet the discord tearing apart the Church. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction: Reasons for Hope in a Divided Church 14 PART I: FOUNDATIONS FOR COMMON GROUND 24 1 Faithful Citizenship: Is There Hope for Politics? 26 Moving from Faith to Politics 28 The Contemporary Context: Three Reasons for Skepticism 34 Public Faith in “the Space Between”: Realism and Humility 39 “Be the Church”? 43 Notes 45 2 Cooperation with Evil: Personal Responsibility for Social Problems 50 Cooperation in the Manuals of Moral Theology 52 Cooperation and the Contemporary Political Scene 55 A Deepening Awareness of Social Sin 59 White Privilege 62 The Case of Sweatshop Clothing 66 Conclusion 70 Notes 72 3 Why Bother to Act Locally? The Potential of the “Space Between” 79 A Social Ethic for Ordinary Christians 81 Faithful and Effective 86 Politics: Necessary but Insufficient 90 Personal Transformation through Local Action 94 Possibilities of Social Change from Below 97 Notes 100 PART II: CASES 106 4 Family: What Does It Mean to Be Promarriage? 108 A Theological Vision of Marriage 110 Marriage and Relationship Education 116 Jobs and Just Wages 122 Helping Married Couples Avoid Divorce and Providing Support after Divorce 127 Common Ground and Progress 132 Notes 136 5 Poverty Reduction: A Social Virtue Ethic 148 New Problems, New Possibilities 150 Principles of Poverty Reduction 152 Strategies for Poverty Reduction 158 Adapting Contemporary Catholic Responses to Poverty 162 From Above, From Below, and in Between 169 Notes 172 6 Abortion: Toward Cooperation with the Good 182 Law and Public Opinion: Where Are We? What Is Possible? 184 Human Life, Women’s Agency, and Cooperation with Evil 188 Listening to Young, Unmarried Pregnant Women 191 The Limits of Traditional Strategies 195 Building a Culture That Welcomes New Life 202 What Are We Hoping For? 206 Notes 207 7 End-of-Life Care: Enabling Better Practices for Dying Well 216 Human Dignity: Finitude, Vulnerability, and Community 219 Autonomy and Control 225 Understanding the Social Context 229 Building Up an Alternative Context 234 “Changing the World” 241 Notes 243 Conclusion: Francis and Ferguson 250 Index 258 A 258 B 258 C 259 D 260 E 260 F 260 G 261 H 261 I 261 J 261 K 261 L 262 M 262 N 262 O 263 P 263 Q 264 R 264 S 264 T 265 U 265 V 265 W 265 Acknowledgements Introduction: Reasons for Hope in a Divided Church PART I: FOUNDATIONS FOR COMMON GROUND 1. Faithful Citizenship: Is There Hope for Politics? Moving from Faith to Politics The Contemporary Context: Three Reasons for Skepticism Public Faith in "the Space Between": Realism and Humility "Be the Church"? Notes 2. Cooperation with Evil: Personal Responsibility for Social Problems Cooperation in the Manuals of Moral Theology Cooperation and the Contemporary Political Scene A Deepening Awareness of Social Sin White Privilege The Case of Sweatshop Clothing Conclusion Notes 3. Why Bother to Act Locally? The Potential of the "Space Between" A Social Ethic for Ordinary Christians Faithful and Effective Politics: Necessary but Insufficient Personal Transformation through Local Action Possibilities of Social Change from Below Notes PART II: CASES 4. Family: What Does It Mean to Be Promarriage? A Theological Vision of Marriage Marriage and Relationship Education Jobs and Just Wages Helping Married Couples Avoid Divorce and Providing Support after Divorce Common Ground and Progress Notes 5. Poverty Reduction: A Social Virtue Ethic New Problems, New Possibilities Principles of Poverty Reduction Strategies for Poverty Reduction Adapting Contemporary Catholic Responses to Poverty From Above, From Below, and in Between Notes 6. Abortion: Toward Cooperation with the Good Law and Public Opinion: Where are we? What is Possible? Human Life, Women's Agency, and the Cooperation with Evil Listening to Young, Unmarried Pregnant Women The Limits of Traditional Strategies Building a Culture That Welcomes New Life What Are We Hoping For? Notes 7. End-of-Life Care: Enabling Better Practices for Dying Well Human Dignity: Finitude, Vulnerability, and Community Autonomy and Control Understanding the Social Context Building Up an Alternative Context "Changing the World" Notes Conclusion: Francis and Ferguson Index Much Like American Society, The American Catholic Church Is Sharply Divided: Conservatives See Government As The Problem While Liberals See Government Intervention As Necessary. From The High Point Of Catholic Consensus In The Early 1960s With The Election Of John F. Kennedy, Today Catholics In This Country Are Less United Than At Any Point In Their History. Not Only Do Catholics Disagree On Abortion, Same-sex Marriage, Physician-assisted Suicide, And Social Spending, But They Also Disagree About What The Major Social Problems Are. Despite These Rancorous Divisions, Many Catholics Share Concerns About Avoiding Cooperation With Evil And Working Within Communities To Solve Social Problems. Rubio Tries To Expand This Existing Common Ground And Argues, With A Vision Of What She Calls Faithful Citizenship, That More Can Be Done At The Local Level If Those On The Right And The Left Could Come And Reason Together Instead Of Remaining Mired In Tired Debates Over Political V. Personal Morality. Rubio Uses This Framework Of Common Ground To Analyze Four Hot-button Ethical And Policy Issues--the Family, Poverty, Abortion, And End-of-life Care--in The Hope Of Initiating Dialogue And Inspiring Communal Action. Introduction : Reasons For Hope In A Divided Church -- Part I. Foundations For Common Ground. Chapter One. Faithful Citizenship : Is There Hope For Politics? Chapter Two. Cooperation With Evil: Personal Responsibility For Social Problems. Chapter Three: Why Bother To Act Locally? -- Part Ii. Cases. Chapter Four. What Does It Mean To Be Pro-marriage? Chapter Five. Poverty Reduction : A Social Virtue Ethic. Chapter Six. Abortion : Toward Cooperation With Good. Chapter Seven. End Of Life Care : Enabling Better Practices Of Dying. Conclusion : Francis And Ferguson. Julie Hanlon Rubio. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Much like the rest of the country, American Catholics are politically divided, perhaps more so now than at any point in their history. In this learned but accessible work for scholars, students, and religious and lay readers, ethicist Julie Hanlon Rubio suggests that there is a way beyond red versus blue for orthodox and progressive Catholics. In a call for believers on both sides of the liberal-conservative divide to put aside labels and rhetoric, Rubio, a leading scholar in marriage and family for more than twenty years, demonstrates that common ground does exist in the local sphere between the personal and the political.

In Hope for Common Ground, Rubio draws on Catholic Social Thought to explore ways to bring Catholics together. Despite their differences, Catholics across the political spectrum can share responsibility for social sin and work within communities to contribute to social progress. Rubio expands this common space into in-depth discussions on family fragility, poverty, abortion, and end-of-life care. These four issues, though divisive, are part of a seamless worldview that holds all human life as sacred. Rubio argues that if those on different sides focus on what can be done to solve social problems in "the space between" or local communities, opposing sides will see they are not so far apart as they think. The common ground thus created can then lead to far-reaching progress on even the most divisive issues—and help quiet the discord tearing apart the Church.

"Much like the rest of the country, American Catholics are politically divided, perhaps more so now than at any point in their history. But Julie Hanlon Rubio suggests that there is a way beyond red versus blue for orthodox and progressive Catholics. In a call for believers on both sides of the liberal-conservative divide to put aside labels and rhetoric, Rubio demonstrates that common ground does exist in the local sphere between the personal and the political. Rubio draws on Catholic Social Thought to explore ways to bring Catholics together. Despite their differences, Catholics across the political spectrum can share responsibility for social sin and work within communities to contribute to social progress. She expands this common space into in-depth discussions on family fragility, poverty, abortion, and end-of-life care. These four issues, though divisive, are part of a seamless worldview that holds all human life as sacred. Rubio argues that if those on different sides focus on what can be done to solve social problems in 'the space between' or local communities, opposing sides will see they are not so far apart as they think. The common ground thus created can then lead to far-reaching progress on even the most divisive issues--and help quiet the discord tearing apart the Church."-- Publisher's description In this learned but accessible work for scholars, students, religious, and lay readers, ethicist Julie Hanlon Rubio investigates how Catholics divided by partisan rancor can better solve problems and understand one another. Julie Hanlon Rubio persuasively argues that Catholics of differing commitments can carve out space for common action and understanding in local communities