Intellectual confusion resembling a smog of the mind has been a deadening presence in Catholicism in the years since Vatican Council II. But here and there amid the swirling mists of bad arguments and lame analogies, a small yet significant body of Catholic intellectuals has stood firm in defense of clear thinking and good sense.
For me at least, three stand out: Ralph McInerny, Germain Grisez, and Jude Dougherty. The news that Dougherty, longtime dean of the school of philosophy at the Catholic University of America, had died in early March moves me to pay tribute to them for their contributions to the Church they loved.
The path to deeper connections, even amidst a pandemic A new book from Penn’s Edward Brodkin and psychology doctoral candidate Ashley Pallathra focuses on the science and practice of attunement, the process by which people can most effectively connect to themselves and others.
For the past year, staying physically apart from others was crucial to keeping everyone safe in the face of a brand new, deadly virus. Though necessary, the social distancing also amplified an already troubling fact: Rates of loneliness have been rising for the past several decades in the United States.
“Even before the pandemic, the increase in loneliness has been striking,” says Edward Brodkin, a psychiatrist in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. “And then along comes the pandemic, which of course separated us even more.”
Echoes Three philosophers Published 4/7/2021 thebostonpilot.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thebostonpilot.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Apr 6, 2021
Mary Theresa (Sell) Otten, 92, died peacefully at Welty Home on Thursday, April 1, 2021. She was born May 11, 1928 in Cumberland, Maryland, daughter of the late John J. and Ellen C. (Kesler) Sell. Mary was preceded in death by her first husband, Robert J. Otten, whom she married in 1975. She was also preceded in death by her second husband, Frank L. Bush, whom she married in 2015. They were very compatible as a couple and enjoyed may activities together. Mary had the pleasure of enjoying his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She also suffered with family and friends when Frank’s son, Brent, died on July 2, 2016.
Hans Küng, Catholic Theologian With a Powerful Critique, Dies at 93
A prolific writer and a prominent speaker, he promoted dialogue among religions and challenged Vatican doctrine on many fronts, provoking its censure.
The theologian Hans Küng speaking in New York in 1980, with a copy of one of the more than 50 books he wrote. “Never again would a theologian have such influence,” a Vatican expert wrote after all Dr. Küng’s proposals at the Second Vatican Council were accepted in the council’s final documents.Credit.Neil Boenzi/The New York Times
April 6, 2021Updated 4:17 p.m. ET
Hans Küng, a Roman Catholic theologian and priest whose brilliantly disputatious, lucidly expressed thoughts in more than 50 books and countless speeches advanced ecumenism and provoked the Vatican to censure him, died on Tuesday at his home in Tübingen, Germany. He was 93.