I appreciate Jesuit Father James V. Schall. He is a recently retired professor of Philosophy at the nominally Catholic Georgetown University. I became aware of him through his association with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
I occasionally appreciate Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter. Usually not. NCR is to Catholicism what the Huffington Post is to politics: Left of reality, biased and bigoted against opposing views and critical of authority unless that authority reliably agrees with its worldview.
I don't appreciate MSW's criticism of an article by Fr. Schall on the topic of Christianity's relationship with poverty.
Fr. Schall meditates on the propensity of Christians to "identify" with poverty rather than doing things that actually help poor people stop being poor.
Mr. Winters will have none of it. By misrepresenting Fr. Schall's position and by contrasting that straw-man position with one that he projects upon Pope Francis, Mr. Winters attempts to defend the very point of that does perpetuate poverty.
And he does it in a very uncharitable way. I hope Fr. Schall takes the time to respond, but I doubt it would be worth his effort. Some hearts are too hardened, including the one on Mr. Winter's sleeve.
As I thought about the two sides of the argument, I was reminded of the story of Boaz and Ruth. Ruth, along with other widows, gleaned Boaz' fields after his laborers had harvested. As a righteous man, Boaz obeyed the Levitical law to leave gleanings for the widows and the poor.
Lev 19:9: "9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God."
Googling the story of Boaz and Ruth brought my attention to Boaz and Ruth in Richmond, VA. "Planted in the center of Highland Park, one of Richmond, Virginia's most troubled areas, Boaz & Ruth advances a missionof rebuilding lives and communities through relationships, training, transitional jobs, and economic revitalization. "
This seems about right to me. I think Fr. Schall would approve. What of Mr. Winter?
I occasionally appreciate Michael Sean Winters of the National Catholic Reporter. Usually not. NCR is to Catholicism what the Huffington Post is to politics: Left of reality, biased and bigoted against opposing views and critical of authority unless that authority reliably agrees with its worldview.
I don't appreciate MSW's criticism of an article by Fr. Schall on the topic of Christianity's relationship with poverty.
Fr. Schall meditates on the propensity of Christians to "identify" with poverty rather than doing things that actually help poor people stop being poor.
Mr. Winters will have none of it. By misrepresenting Fr. Schall's position and by contrasting that straw-man position with one that he projects upon Pope Francis, Mr. Winters attempts to defend the very point of that does perpetuate poverty.
And he does it in a very uncharitable way. I hope Fr. Schall takes the time to respond, but I doubt it would be worth his effort. Some hearts are too hardened, including the one on Mr. Winter's sleeve.
As I thought about the two sides of the argument, I was reminded of the story of Boaz and Ruth. Ruth, along with other widows, gleaned Boaz' fields after his laborers had harvested. As a righteous man, Boaz obeyed the Levitical law to leave gleanings for the widows and the poor.
Lev 19:9: "9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God."
Googling the story of Boaz and Ruth brought my attention to Boaz and Ruth in Richmond, VA. "Planted in the center of Highland Park, one of Richmond, Virginia's most troubled areas, Boaz & Ruth advances a missionof rebuilding lives and communities through relationships, training, transitional jobs, and economic revitalization. "
This seems about right to me. I think Fr. Schall would approve. What of Mr. Winter?
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