This book addresses the question of the communication of Christian ethics in the public forum of liberal, pluralist societies. Drawing on debates in philosophy, theology and sociological theory, it relates the problem of communication to fundamental questions about the nature of liberal societies and the identity of Christian faith and the Christian community. With particular emphasis on Kantian and neo-Kantian ethics, it explores the link between autonomy and community in liberal societies. The theology of communio, expressed in revealed Christian traditions, (...) can reconcile autonomy and community. Any Christian attempt to communicate this vision must also reflect on Christianity's own identity, especially the ways in which its own self-consciousness grows in critical interaction with secularity. In this light, Christian ethical communication is both a witness to a distinctive identity, founded in the revelation of the triune God, and a vision of universal human solidarity which can reconcile autonomy and community. (shrink)

Gascoigne, Robert In his exchanges with French sociologist Dominique Wolton, Pope Francis constantly emphasises the imperative to build bridges and gives this a Christological foundation: 'We must build bridges in the image of Jesus Christ, our model, who was sent by the Father to be the Pontifex, the bridge-builder. In my view, that is where the foundation of the Church's political action is to be found'. Responding to the challenge to deepen networks of solidarity in a disconnected world, Christians find (...) the foundation, model and inspiration of their commitment in Christ. Yet the specific invocation of Christ in this ethical task provokes a number of challenges: How does this appeal to a particular person and object of faith reconcile itself with universalist languages of solidarity and human dignity? How should it respond to those who argue that Christians have 'a conflict of interest' when they seek to contribute to debates concerning the common good? Does the appeal to Christ's particularity risk the degradation of Christian faith to a civilisational weapon in disconnected times, a form of closure against other traditions? (shrink)

Gascoigne, Robert Review of: Between the 'mysticism of politics' and the 'politics of mysticism': Interpreting new pathways of holiness in the Roman Catholic tradition, by David Ranson, pp. 303, paperback $39.95, hardback $75.00.

Gascoigne, Robert Review of: Catholic theological ethics, past, present and future: The Trento conference, by James F. Keenan, SJ, ed., pp.374, pb.

Gascoigne, Robert In October 1962, the world was at imminent risk of nuclear war. In response to the failed CIA backed 'Bay of Pigs' invasion, Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev had authorized the stationing of nuclear missiles in Cuba, only ninety miles from the coast of Florida. In response, President John F. Kennedy had ordered a blockade of Cuba, which the Soviet Union regarded as an act of war. In fact, the world came much closer to a nuclear exchange than has (...) long been realized. On October 27th 1962 the Soviet submarine B59 was tracked by a group of United States warships, made up of eleven destroyers and an aircraft carrier, which were using non-lethal practice depth-charges in an attempt to bring the submarine to the surface. The submarine had lost radio contact with Moscow, which-as we will see-had very shortly beforehand ordered the freighters carrying nuclear missiles to return home. Under the intense pressure of the situation, the captain of the submarine-who thought that war may already have broken out-was determined not to allow Russia to be humiliated by the capture of his submarine, and was prepared to fire a nuclear torpedo at the surrounding American warships. Three officers had to give permission for a nuclear missile to be launched-the captain himself, the political officer, and Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, who, although second-in-command of submarine B59, was commander of the flotilla of submarines to which it belonged. Arkhipov overruled his brother officers and refused to authorize the launch of the torpedo. The world owes a great debt of gratitude to this Soviet sailor who may have prevented a nuclear exchange between the Soviet Union and the United States. My father once told me how an American priest had recounted to him that, during the height of the Cuban missile crisis, the queues for confession at New York's St Patrick's cathedral stretched all the way down the nave and out onto Fifth Avenue. Given the penitential practices and beliefs of the time, and the actual state of events, there was indeed good reason for that! (shrink)

Gascoigne, Robert This article is offered in memory of Irene McCormack, the Australian Josephite sister who was killed in Peru by the 'Shining Path' guerrillas in 1991.

This study is an attempt to examine the relationships between religious belief and the humanism of the Enlightenment in the philosophy of Hegel and of a group of thinkers who related to his thought in various ways during the 1840's. It begins with a study of the ways in which Hegel attempted to evolve a genuinely Christian humanism by his demonstration that the modern understanding of man as a free and rational subject derived its strength and validity from the union (...) of God and human existence in the incarnation. The rest of this study is con cerned with two different forms of opposition to Hegel: first, the criti cal discipleship of the Young Hegelians and Moses Hess, who insisted that Hegel's notion of Christian humanism was false because religious belief was necessarily inimical to a clear consciousness of social evil and the determination to abolish it; second, the religious opposition to the Enlightenment in the thought of Schelling and Kierkegaard, which emphasized God's transcendence to human reason and the insig nificance of secular history. In the years leading up to the revolution of 1848, Hegel's synthesis was rejected in favour of the assertion of atheistic humanism or religious otherworldliness. Chapter One, after discussing the young Hegel's critique of the social and political effects of Christianity, examines the union of religi ous belief, speculative philosophy and the rational state in Hegel's mature system. (shrink)

Gascoigne, Robert The sexual abuse crisis and the forthcoming plenary council of the Australian Catholic Church are both a provocation and an opportunity to reflect on the condition of the Catholic Church in Australia and to suggest how it might respond to new and challenging circumstances in ways that can inspire its future life and mission. In this article I want to consider some of the characteristics of the era of Australian Catholicism that is now in the recent past, as (...) well as some of the key features of what could be a new identity for the Catholic Church in Australia. After some historical reflections on the phenomenon of 'Catholicism' and its ambivalent legacy, I advocate a new crystallisation of Catholic identity based in the relationship between the mystical and political, specifically in terms of solidarity and hope in the face of human suffering. The broader political context of these reflections is the threat to humane international relationships posed by radical populism. (shrink)

Gascoigne, Robert A quick rollcall of Australian political life demonstrates a remarkable presence of Catholics in leadership positions, including the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove; the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott; the Leader of the Federal Opposition, Bill Shorten; the two immediate past premiers of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell and Kristina Keneally; the previous Governor of New South Wales, Dame Marie Bashir; and the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney, Clover Moore; among others. Indeed, in the immediate past Federal Labor (...) Cabinet, there were three members from just one Catholic school, St Patrick's Christian Brothers College, Strathfield, Sydney, just as there are four old boys of Jesuit colleges in the current Coalition Cabinet. It is noteworthy that there have been relatively few attempts in public commentary and debate to draw attention to this strong cross-party presence. I believe that this is essentially because it is clear that these Catholic political leaders do not represent any kind of ecclesial or communal political bloc, but are manifestly divergent in their political stances and allegiances. Previous linkages between Catholic religious identity and political allegiance have now become obsolete. Our current situation has positive aspects demonstrating a willingness by many Australian Catholics to take up political responsibilities within a context of political pluralism against a background of democratic consensus. Yet it also raises a number of questions about ecclesial identity and formation: What is the political - and ethical - presence and character of the Catholic ecclesial community in Australia, given the considerable divergence of political stances? To what extent does Catholic social teaching function as an agreed resource and inspiration? What is the character of shared membership of the church in the context of vigorously contested and divergent political allegiances? (shrink)