Millennial

Young Catholics, An Ancient Faith, A New Century

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Editor
  • Writers
    • Guest Writers
  • Journal
    • Book Reviews
    • Special Series
  • Blog
    • Whole Life Rising Podcast
    • Around the Web
    • Quote of the Day
    • Interviews

Catholic Social Teaching is the Perfect Antidote to White Nationalism and the Alt-Right

April 3, 2019 Millennial

Embed from Getty Images
Brian Fraga writes:

But sadly, the kind of extremism that motivates someone to desecrate a Jewish cemetery, to march with neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, or to shoot dozens of unarmed worshipers in a New Zealand mosque is on the rise in the United States and around the world….

Whether it’s called white nationalism or the alt-right, Cohen told Our Sunday Visitor that an ideology that manifests itself in hatred for ethnic and religious minorities, particularly against Jews and Muslims, is incompatible with the Church’s teachings on the dignity of the human person and the common spiritual patrimony shared by the world’s three great monotheistic religions….

Robert Christian, a graduate fellow at The Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies, told OSV that Catholic social teaching is “the perfect antidote to the toxic ideologies” infecting the modern world.

“Against racism and xenophobia, the Church teaches universal brotherhood and sisterhood, that each person is made in the image of God, and that racism is an intrinsic evil that violates human dignity,” said Christian, who is editor of Millennial, an online Catholic journal.

“Against anti-Muslim or anti-Semitic bigotry, Church teaching endorses religious freedom and a culture of encounter. Against chauvinistic nationalism, the Church promotes the global common good. Against radical individualism, the Church calls for solidarity and genuine community. Against the call for strongman dictatorships, the Church teaches that each person has a right to participate in their government,” he said.

While the U.S. Catholic bishops and others, including Pope Francis, have denounced bigotry and white nationalism, Christian said the overall Catholic response to the rise of the alt-right, the resurgence of neo-fascism in Europe and the creation of “an alt-Catholic alternative magisterium that attempts to sanctify bigotry, sexism, nationalism and dictatorship,” has been “wholly inadequate.”

“Pope Francis has the strongest record of nearly any Catholic leader, denouncing these ideologies and holding up great Christian Democratic leaders from the middle of the 20th century as positive alternatives,” Christian said. “Nevertheless, addressing neo-fascism, white nationalism, and alt-Catholicism would be the perfect subject for his next social encyclical.”

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

This entry was posted in Blog and tagged Alt-Right, Catholic Social Teaching, Populist Nationalism, Racism, White Nationalism, Xenophobia. Bookmark the permalink.

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Latest Posts

  • Around the Web
  • How Pope Francis Can Fix His Broken Approach to Ukraine
  • If Roe Is Overturned, What Should Be Next for the Pro-Life Movement?
  • Catholic News Service to Cease Domestic Operations
  • We Are Not Beyond Redemption: Young Catholics and Climate Change

Sign up for our monthly newsletter

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

TWITTER

  • RT @LukeRussert: A beautiful American soul. 2 days ago
Follow @MillennialJourn

Instagram

“During a pandemic that has taken over 5 million lives around the world, there has been no shortage of grief. But much of it remains hidden to the outside world, particularly after the initial period of loss, when some level of stigma seems to still exist about openly expressing such feelings. This, in turn, can compound the sadness of loss—the sense of emptiness, isolation, and brokenness. It is within this context that Andrew Kaczynski’s public response to the loss of his beloved infant daughter, Francesca “Beans” Kaczynski, has been so valuable and made such an important contribution to the common good.”

Popular Topics:

Abortion Catholic Social Teaching Climate Change Economic Inequality Economic Justice Environment Family Issues Food Security Human Rights Immigration Interviews Lent 2015 Love Mass Atrocities Mercy Millennials Pope Francis Poverty Pro-life Racial Justice Racism Refugees Social Justice Syria Whole Life

Search Millennial

Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • Millennial
    • Join 7,048 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Millennial
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: