What Matters Most Political Polarities and the Church: A Conversation with Steven Millies
I spoke to Dr. Steve Millies on February 6, 2023. Steve Millies is a Catholic political theorist and the director of the Bernardin Center at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, his hometown, and Professor of Public Theology. He has written Joseph Bernardin: Seeking Common Ground (Liturgical Press, 2016), a book which won first place in the biography category for the Catholic Press Association’s 2017 Book Awards. He is also the author of Good Intentions: A History of Catholic Voters' Road from Roe to Trump (Liturgical Press Academic, 2018).
We talked about the polarization of politics in the US and throughout the world, the similar sorts of polarization in the Catholic Church, much of it focused on opposition to Pope Francis, and the historical roots of this polarization in the Church and in our political systems. When I talk about historical roots, I mean that Steve takes us back to the Roman Republic, Constantine, St. Augustine, and the medieval period. He recommended a number of books to help us understand this polarization currently: The Big Sort by Bill Bishop; "What is Authority?" by Hannah Arendt; and The Revolt of the Public, Martin Gurri.
We also talked about synodality in the Church, what that is and what that isn’t. Finally, we discussed his paper for the upcoming Pope Francis conference at St. Mark’s College on Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal May 4-6, 2023. His paper is titled, “Full Citizenship”: The Synodal Political Vision of Pope Francis.”
All three plenary addresses are free and open to the public. You can find tickets at Eventbrite by clicking on the link above or here: Pope Francis and the Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal, but I would suggest signing up soon to hear Dr. Massimo Faggioli, Dr. Emilce Cuda, and Dr. Cathy Clifford. Tickets are free but limited. If you want to attend the concurrent sessions, you can attend either day of the conference for $20.00 or the whole conference for $40.00.
I also mentioned a favourite book and writer of mine. The Night of the Confessor, a book by Czech priest Tomáš Halík on the state of Christianity in the world today, is a challenge to Christians. He writes "we are witnessing the withering away of a type of religion (and Christianity) that came into existence at the time of the Enlightenment—partly under its influence and partly in reaction to it. It is withering away with its epoch: “modern times.” As on many occasions in history, this situation of faith can be interpreted 'optimistically' or 'catastrophically.'" Halík instead wants interpret the present situation not with optimism or catastrophe but as "Easter paradox.”
This was a fascinating discussion for me, especially the discussion regarding cities and rural areas, their differences and similarities. Please enjoy and lease rate and review so others can find the podcast.
John W. Martens