CATHOLIC SOCIOBIOLOGY: A Notre Dame theologian on the Church

by David Pence


On Tuesdays at AOA we explore the theological communion that lies at the heart of Catholic sociobiology. Communion theology always begins in the Trinity and culminates in the Eucharistic Church. The theology of the body which springs from Communio Theology enriches our understanding of marriage. Our goal is to try to break through the resistance of academic Catholic theologians to deal seriously with an anthropology of public masculine communion at the heart of the Catholic priesthood. This would lead toward a fraternal understanding of public life, and an antidote to accepting the perpetual war of Social Darwinism as "realism." A fraternal understanding of the role of nations in salvation history will, of course, provide a much richer context in which the roles of the Church, Israel, and the nations unfold in the workings of Divine Providence.

The Notre Dame theologian John Cavadini, at 'Ethika Politika,' shows how the depth of the bonds of the Church extends to encompass the whole of the human species. Catholic Sociobiology at its finest.
                 

Professor Cavadini with Pope Benedict

Speaking of ordered loves and bonds -- a lament on how the loss of religion leads to a loss of patriotism, especially in Europe. The nation is the protector of the Church and family. If nations disintegrate, the wall around the Temple is breached. In this article we are reminded that if the not-so-Christian but very patriotic Frankish military leader Charles Martel had not stopped the Muslims at Tours in 732 AD (exactly a century after the death of Muhammad), then the Christianizing work of his grandson Charlemagne (crowned by the Pope 800 AD) would not have been possible.