What Symptoms are we Treating?

In Europe, especially in the UK, we see less overt political behavior than in the US. I think much of this concerns how Europe emphasizes restorative justice at all levels of education, including college and university. We see the understanding of restorative justice in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark as a standard of life and living. Education permeates not only public education but all churches and how religion functions.

We don’t understand restorative justice as a society. We understand punishment. In religion, for example, Catholic Baby boomers who grew up with the Baltimore Catechism saw nothing but punishment.

We as a society have not experienced disorder and reorder, discernment, and change.

In this country, we spend much time and energy treating symptoms instead of root causes. When we treat symptoms, the root cause never gets cured, solved, or managed, and the problem returns. Then we become divided on solutions to treat the symptoms, and here we are… three days away from an election about treating symptoms vs. root causes.

Royal Dutch Shell’s success as a company is due to its long-term views. In the US, we take the short view. Business everything is measured in quarters. Politics we measure in 100 days. When “events “are measured in the framework of short-term results, we become accustomed to instant gratification. Treating symptoms is how we try to gain short-term success and gratification. So much of our politics in the US talks about instant gratification…it is all many in congress only know and are driven by instant gratification.

In politics instant gratification, short term success if often manifested in hedonist behavior and when you combine that along with sociopathic and psychopath behavior…what we have is a dangerous combination…just look at this election cycle.

Think about the Prominent reform-minded theologians at the Vatican II Council ...We have lost sight of the meaning of the Council as a church in the US. We need to restore what these theologians understood and were trying to accomplish in Catholic education.

Marie-Dominique Chenu OP: private peritus

Henri de Lubac SJ: official peritus

Yves Congar OP: official peritus

Karl Rahner SJ: official peritus

John Courtney Murray SJ: official peritus

Bernhard Häring CSsR: official peritus

Edward Schillebeeckx OP: private peritus

Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI): official peritus

Hans Küng: official peritus

Joseph Cardijn, a Cardinal

British Cardinal Basil Hume would later say of Cardijn: “If today you wish to seek his monument, look no further than the Second Vatican Council, the world-wide movement of Young Christian Workers and Young Christian Students and the development of Family Social Action.”

We have lost sight of Catholic Social Teaching. We do not understand Restorative Justice. Heck, as Catholics, we don't understand the Sermon on the Mount.

In three days in the US an election will occur. An election that will impact peope globally.

Will the world be praying on 6 Nov 2024 “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”