This week on The Open Door we will discuss a pair of studies that compare participants in the Novus Ordo Mass with participants in the Traditional Latin Mass. Rev. Donald Kloster, the author of these studies, will be our special guest. He is a priest of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Our questions will include the following. Please feel free to suggest others!
- Fr. Kloster, could you please tell us a bit about your educational background?
- Do you have any reflections for us on Rome’s questionnaire on the reception of the Extraordinary Form liturgy?
- Could you please summarize the results of your Kloster Study (2018)? Did they surprise you?
- Given that your Kloster Study (2018) is a pilot project, do you have any methodological hesitations about it?
- What results might you expect if questions about the approval of capital punishment and nuclear stockpiling were added to your study?
- You refer to the “Sunday privilege” of the Divine Liturgy. Yet quite often the celebrant thanks the congregation for their attendance. In light of the obligation to attend the Sunday liturgy, “privilege” and “thanks” seem puzzling. How are these terms being used?
- Your second study, Traditional Latin Mass National Adult 18-39 Survey (2019), begins with some alarming statistics based on Sherry Weddell’s research. Could you please state and comment on those statistics?
- Can you tell us about your current and ongoing research?
- How will this research be funded?
- Do you expect that CARA and the Pew Foundation will broaden their own research in light of your work?
Welcome to The Open Door! This week we’ll discuss matters theological. Our special guest is Prof. Lawrence Feingold. He teaches at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. A prolific author, his most recent book is The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion. Prof. Feingold is also an active member of the Association of Hebrew Catholics. Among the questions we’ll ask him are the following. As always, feel free to suggest others.
- What are some of the challenges and rewards of teaching theology in a Roman Catholic seminary?
- How might we best address the vocation crisis?
- Your focus is on systematic theology. Just what is it?
- What are some key points of convergence between philosophy and theology?
- Who are some of your favorite theologians?
- You are a member of the American Maritain Association. Does the work of Jacques Maritain fit into the creative relation between philosophy and theology?
- Could you explain the work of the Association of Hebrew Catholics?
- I understand you were an artist before studying theology. What role does beauty play in the way you do theology? Should the theology of art and beauty have a place in seminary formation?
- Does theology have a voice in the Public Square? If not, why not?
- Much discussion in the Public Square now centers on race and gender. How might a theologian contribute to that discussion? How might a theologian constructively criticize it?
This week The Open Door focuses on the Armenian Genocide and its on-going consequences. Our guest is Siobhan Nash-Marshall, Professor of Philosophy at Manhattanville College and prolific author. The Sins of the Fathers is her first book-length treatment of genocide and genocide negationism. After the breakout of the war in Syria, Nash-Marshall and some friends founded CINF, the Christians In Need Foundation, through which they help ancient Christian cultures of the world that are now in peril. Our questions for Prof. Nash-Marshall include the following. Feel free to suggest your own!
2. Can you tell us a bit about your students?
3. Is there a future for authentically Catholic higher education in this country?
4. Your Godmother, Antonia Arslan, has written powerfully evocative novels about Armenia, the latest of which is Silent Angel. What influence has she had on you?
5. Just what counts as a genocide? Is the term sometimes misused, even deliberately?
6. A recent and widely used ethics text suggests that the Old Testament account of the Hebrew occupation of the Holy Land points to genocide. How would you evaluate that suggestion?
7. Would you explain the origin of the Christians In Need Foundation? What are its current projects?
8. How difficult is it for you to travel to Armenia? For Armenians to travel to the United States?
9. Can you explain the significance of Glendale, California for Armenians in the diaspora?
10. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
This week on The Open Door we will discuss home schooling. More families are discovering it in these difficult days. For others, of course, it is both the old and the new normal. Pat Carmack, President of the Angelicum Academy, is our special guest. Here is a list of questions that we will ask him.
1. Could you please tell us about Angelicum Academy?
2. What is your connection with Holy Apostles College?
3. To whom do you recommend homeschooling?
4. What people are you likely to advise against homeschooling?
5. Elizabeth Bartholet, of Harvard Law School, argues that homeschooling can be dangerous because of parental authoritarianism. How would you meet this objection?
6. The US Supreme Court, in Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), ruled that : “The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” What political and cultural elements think otherwise?
7. Can you point to upcoming legal cases involving homeschooling?
8. Do people appreciate that homeschooling ordinarily involves a network of activities with other homeschoolers and community colleges?
9. Do you think the current pandemic will, in time, lead more families to try homeschooling?
10. What’s next for the Angelicum Academy?
- Introduction to special guest, Jack Quirk!
- Just what counts as philosophy?
- Is the US, for the most part, philosophically deficient? If so, what are the consequences for our political and civic life?
- Why did you decide to launch a Philosophy Facebook group?
- You are upfront and straightforward about the group’s participation rules. Is this a case of the voice of experience?
- What sort of responses has the group elicited so far?
- Do you see the responses generating constructive discussion? Any examples?
- Has the discussion thus far personally challenged you on any points?
- Are there any figures in American life today that you would identify as public philosophers?
- Do you have any suggestions about how the American Solidarity Party can promote a more philosophically informed culture?
The Open Door interviews Amar Patel, chairman of the American Solidarity Party. Our questions include:
- Could you tell us what drew you to the American Solidarity Party?
- What challenges do you face in balancing family, work, and politics?
- You have strong “tech” skills. How did you come by them?
- How can the American Solidarity Party make the best use of the social media?
- What can we learn from other “third party” experiences?
- How does the party draw on Christian principles?
- What’s the role of money in the coming campaign?
- Could you explain what’s involved in getting the Brian Carrol / Amar Patel ticket on the ballot in as many states as possible?
- Where do you see the American Solidarity Party at, say, the time of the major party conventions?
- Where do you see our party five years from now?
September 20, 2019
The Open Door welcomes special guest Theodore Rebard, a professor of philosophy from the University of St. Thomas, in Houston. He’ll lead us in a discussion on “Undergraduate Teaching: Promise and Peril.”
Our questions include the following.
- Can you share some of your teaching successes?
- What made them possible?
- What are the main obstacles that you face in teaching?
- Can you identify some of their causes?
- C.S. Lewis said that the “task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.’ Is that true today?
- From the new platform of the American Solidarity Party:
“Education is vital to the formation of the human person and the good of society [and so] the American Solidarity Party advocates for affordable, diverse, and well-rounded educational options” and “public support of both public and private schools, with a preferential option for economically disadvantaged students and an emphasis on making teaching a well-paying occupation.”
Do you agree, disagree, or find yourself “creatively ruminating” about the above?
September 13, 2019
The Open Door welcomes our favorite political scientist, Dr. Skylar Covich. He’ll give us a firsthand account of the American Solidarity Party’s just completed online convention. We’re looking forward to his analysis of Brain T. Carroll’s developing presidential campaign. Skylar will also help us work through the high points of the Solidarity Party’s hotly debated new platform. If you have any questions you would like us to ask Dr. Covich, please let us know!
September 6, 2019
- How can you–or any public figure–effectively speak to very different audiences and in very different ways?
- How can you–or any public figure–tell the truth, and do so without spinning it?
- How can you–or any public figure–find forums which encourage frank and honest speech?
- St. Thomas Aquinas is fond of saying “whatever is received is received according to the mode (capacity) of the receiver.” Is this maxim helpful in addressing items (1) through (3)?
- Why are debates in the Lincoln vs. Douglass style no longer feasible?
- BONUS! Plato dismisses rhetoric in the Gorgias as a form of…cosmetics. Aristotle, in contrast, sees a constructive role for it. Why the contrasting judgments?
August 30, 2019
On The Open Door, this Friday, August 30, we’ll discuss distributism. Our special guest is the respected and prolific author Thomas Storck, a member of the American Solidarity Party.
Among the questions we’ll consider are the following.
- Just what is distributism?
- Does Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum propose distributism ?
- How does distributism differ from capitalism?
- How does distributism differ from socialism?
- Has distributism ever been tried?
- What are some ways that the American Solidarity Party can advance distributist principles?
- How might individuals act as distributists?
- What would you put on a reading list for distributists?
August 23, 2019
On The Open Door, this Friday, August 30, we’ll discuss distributism. Our special guest is the respected and prolific author Thomas Storck, a member of the American Solidarity Party.
Among the questions we’ll consider are the following.
- Just what is distributism?
- Does Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum propose distributism ?
- How does distributism differ from capitalism?
- How does distributism differ from socialism?
- Has distributism ever been tried?
- What are some ways that the American Solidarity Party can advance distributist principles?
- How might individuals act as distributists?
- What would you put on a reading list for distributists?
August 16, 2019
The Open Door explores humanism and Christian humanism. Our special guest, and we are delighted that he is returning, is Dr. Curtis Hancock. He is Coordinator of the Concentration in the History of Philosophy at Holy Apostles College & Seminary, Cromwell, Connecticut and taught for 32 years at Rockhurst Jesuit University, Kansas City, Missouri. For over a decade he taught for “Great Books Discussions,” an on-line homeschooling program.
The questions on our agenda include:
- What, historically, is humanism?
- Who are some of its great figures?
- What is the relation between humanism and Western Civilization?
- What, if any, is the relationship between humanism and democracy?
- Is our university system teaching about the heritage of humanism?
- Can historical humanism become Christ-centered humanism?
- St. John Paul II taught that when we lose sight of God we lose sight of man. Are there indications of just this in such phenomena as Marxism, economism, biocentric equalitarianism, gender ideology, and transhumanism?
- How do we help young people discern what true humanism is?
August 9, 2019
In this episode of The Open Door, show hosts Jim Hanink and Mario Reyes-Ramos along with John Breen interview Christopher Zehnder concerning Catholic liberal education. (August 9, 2010)
August 2, 2019
- How did you find Paraguay, your homeland? What is the political reality there?
- What is the overall situation of democratic regimes in South America?
- Some say that there are new signs of a return to authoritarian-populism, for instance, in Argentina. Might that happen, and if it does how might it affect the whole region?
- Does the Catholic Church still have cultural and political influence in South America? Does Christian Democracy still have influence?
- Latin America faces serious challenges. Environmental changes, inequality, and increasing violence force millions of its people to live inuncertainty. Of all of these challenges, which poses the greatest threat?
- How can the US help make Latin American democracy more stable?Can Latin American governments guarantee the rule of law?
- What is the situation in Venezuela? In Puerto Rico people succeeded in winning the Governor’s resignation. Can that happen in Venezuela?
- Inequality is a painfully visible and historical stigma in Latin America. Do you see a “solution” to this problem?
- It is said that Latin America has restrictive and undemocratic laws against “reproductive rights.” Is that true?
- Some say that in Argentina, where Pope Francis is widely revered, the Catholic Church’s influence on politics is stronger than in Ireland. Is this true?
July 26, 2019
This week The Open Door welcomes our friend Prof. Peter Redpath. Joining him will be Prof. Curtis Hancock. He is Coordinator of the Concentration in the History of Philosophy at Holy Apostles College & Seminary, Cromwell, Connecticut and taught for 32 years at Rockhurst Jesuit University, Kansas City, Missouri. For over a decade he taught for “Great Books Discussions,” an on-line homeschooling program.
We’ll mostly talk about metaphysics, but politics will be waiting in the wings.
Our questions will include the following.
1. Just what is metaphysics about?
2. We’re only parts of reality, so how can we understand the whole of it?
3. Can we understand anything that reaches beyond our sense experiences?
4. How can we know anything other than what we find in our own consciousness?
5. Why do Thomists distinguish between essence and existence?
6. What is existential Thomism?
7. How can political engagement raise metaphysical questions? What are some examples of the interaction of politics and metaphysics?
8. The American Solidarity Party emphasizes solidarity (!), subsidiarity, and economic democracy. In doing so, what sort of metaphysics comes into play?
Our weekly podcast will be available within a day or two after our discussion.
Why not give us a hearing!
July 19, 2019
Jim Hanink interviews Catholic author Rick Akins concerning his book The Rebirth of Nicodemus.
July 12, 2019
June 28, 2019
- What is a Great Book and what is Great Books education?
- How does this system of education relate to other approaches?
- How does the Great Books approach serve the true purposes of education?
- How does philosophical anthropology ground the Great Books education?
- What are some critiques of this method of education, and can they be answered?
- What is distinctive about the Angelicum Academy Great Books Program?
- What does the GBP consider to be the proper ends of education?
- What is the best time for a student to begin reading/discussing the Great Books?
- Is the program open to anyone?
- What is the primary benefit to students in the program?
- the attempt to justify basic beliefs and the analysis of the concepts in terms of which they are expressed.
- the science of all things learned through their ultimate causes by natural reason.
- chiefly a logical system of abstract essences, or ideas, and their impersonal, essential relations.
- chiefly a cooperative, trans-generational, individual, cultural, and psychological enterprise.
2. Ballot access strategy
3. Local chapter development
4. Our place in the presidential campaign generally
5. California legislature
1. What is the soul?
2. Where is the soul?
3. How do mistakes abut the soul lead to mistakes about the body?
4. What makes an institution soul-less?
5. How can we make soul-less institutions come alive?
6. Are such questions as the above at issue today, in a new fashion, in Poland (and Central Europe)?
April 26, 2019
In this episode of The Open Door, show hosts Jim Hanink, Matthew Bartko and Mario Ramos-Reyes engage American Solidarity Party presidential candidate Brian Carroll for a second round of his vision for society.
April 19, 2019
This week, The Open Door will be joined again by American Solidarity Party candidate Joshua Perkins.
April 12, 2019
This week we will be talking with American Solidarity Party presidential candidate Joshua Perkins. You can check out his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/joshua.d.perkins
April 5, 2019
This week we will be talking with American Solidarity Party candidate Brian T. Carroll. You can check out his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Carroll4Congress/ and his website https://sites.google.com/view/carroll4congressca22/
This week we will be discussing issues regarding access to water. We will discuss:
-History of water crises, especially in the US
-Hetch Hetchy Dam:
http://savethewater.org/2014/08/14/hetch-hetchy-valley-dam/
-Cochabamba Water Wars
https://www.gwp.org/en/learn/KNOWLEDGE_RESOURCES/Case_Studies/Americas–Caribbean/bolivia-the-water-war-to-resist-privatisation-of-water-in-cochabamba-157
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYxspOQcqRg
-The state of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/years-after-flint-water-crisis-began-no-one-is-behind-bars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTpsMyNezPQ
-The future of water
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170412-is-the-world-running-out-of-fresh-water
This week we will be talking about the need for clean air, water and soil. What is going on with the environmental issue affecting people today and what does the Solidarity Party have to say about it.
From the platform: Stewardship of the Environment
We believe in the responsibility of every generation to serve as stewards of the Earth. We recognize the intrinsic value of nature. We must work to fix the deficits of the past, act as responsible managers in the present, and ensure for future generations a planet that is healthy and thriving . We reject discredited warnings of an overpopulation crisis and believe that human beings are fully capable of building a society that is populous, developed, and permanently sustainable.
We, therefore, support:
- The scientific consensus that human beings are causing instability in the global climate. We regard this as a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed without delay by the world’s wealthiest nations, including the United States.
- The necessary levels of government funding for research into safe and renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power.
- The incremental roll-back of government support of the use of fossil fuels.
- A robust regulatory apparatus which conserves our nation’s great natural resources and protects our land, air and water from man-made pollution and degradation.
- Civil recourse for victims of environmental destruction by individuals and organizations.
- The institution of pollution taxes to fund research into cleaner methods of production and waste management, and to compensate citizens for abuse of the natural commons.
- Economic redevelopment initiatives, such as job retraining and direct family aid, in those regions adversely affected by the transition to planet-friendly fuels and modes of production.
- Policies that incentivize reuse and recycling, deter consumption and decrease disposal.
- Improved access to affordable, convenient public transportation, and the promotion of healthy alternatives to the individual use of motor vehicles, such as cycling, and walking.
- The input of indigenous populations in land-use deliberations.
This week our friend Prof. Peter Redpath rejoins us. We want to look closely at the ambitious project of reuniting philosophy and science, as well as reuniting science and wisdom. If the project succeeds, technology will be able to wear a human face!
Our discussion will lead us to consider “scientific naturalism.” We’ll also turn our attention to broadly Darwinian theories of evolution. Prof. Redpath contends that such theories fall short of what science, strictly speaking, demands.
Given his position, evolutionary theories of the development of human consciousness over time become less plausible. (David Dennett and Jonathan Haidt: you are hereby invited to come through our “open door” to offer a rebuttal.)
March 1, 2019
- How do you define socialism?
- How do you define capitalism?
- Can you be a free market socialist?
- Is the American Solidarity Party socialist? Is it capitalist? Is it distributist?
- Is there a third way economics?
- Is the American Solidarity Party a populist political movement?
- Is the American Solidarity Party a personalist political movement?
February 22, 2019