How & Where

Fine journalism has responded to Spain's intense suffering in the pandemic. An article in El Païs considered both transmission and prevention in living rooms, bars & schools. Its graphics are very helpful, and embedded links pepper the article.

A Moral Imperative for Today

In a 12-minute TED Countdown Talk Pope Francis offered 3 actions steps to address climate change. He sounded notes from his encyclicals Laudato Si! and Fratelli Tutti.

This second address in this venue by the Pope was part of the of the TED Countdown Global Launch. The website hosting the video described it as “a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City.”

Triptych on Relationships

Austin Ivereigh sees Fratelli Tutti calling us to restore our relationships with others. It completes Francis’ earlier restorative calls: with God—Evangellii Gaudium and with creation—Laudato Si! The video is 4 minutes.

“All Our Votes Are Compromised”

Canada celebrates its Thanksgiving today. Soon Canadians will also go to the polls. In democracies voting is a cherished right never to be wasted. Voting is fraught with compromise, a “blunt instrument,” to use the metaphor of theologian Brett Salkeld: it neither converts candidates nor baptizes issues. Yet many are tempted to think otherwise. Mr. Salkeld:

We do not like to think that the ways our vote exemplified Catholic teaching might not have been perfectly efficacious in manifesting Gospel values in the law of the land, and so we are tempted (and the parties are there to goad us on) to imagine a straight line between our vote and the achievement of the goods we seek, even though politics is much messier than that.

Mr. Salkeld’s essay is well worth reading: its clarity balances its length. A gentle and alert reading rewards with an accurate knowledge and better understanding of Catholic reasoning about the civic right and responsibility of voting.

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Image “Arnaud Jaegers | Unsplash " 

21st-Century Renaissance

Pope Francis’ most recent encyclical takes stock of human relationships in the world. He invites a renaissance in human relationships ([8], [35]), “a new style of life.” Two overviews help reading the encyclical.

• Panelists at an event hosted by Georgetown University noted key elements
• “Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle offered 5 takeaways from it