And the wisdom to know the difference

With Obamamania sweeping the US, you expect to see the new president's face on the cover of everything from Newsweek to Fly Fishing Weekly, but the cover of one of the most prominent and traditional Catholic magazines in the world might seem a stretch. Yet there he and the first family are, on the cover 30Giorni, which is probably read by more bishops than any other magazine. They share the space with Reinhold Niebuhr, who is a little less recognizable, unless you happen to be a student of modern theologians. Yet I bet it wouldn't take you very long at all to find someone who could quote his work from memory. Maybe you could even quote him yourself:

"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."

That famous prayer is a small window into a theological view of the world of which Niebuhr was considered a great master. His views on "realism" in the world of politics are based in St. Augustine's "City of God," and are also shared by the Vatican in it's diplomatic views, and apparently Barack Obabama.

While the church has some obvious and very deep difficulties with Obama's views (his support for abortion rights and capital punishment, to name two) there is apparently more hope for his views on international relations and the place of the United States in the world. Obama cites a number of religious writers among his deep influences, among them Dorothy Day and Reinhold Niebuhr. It is the Niebuhr connection that is the subject of the article in 30Giorni.

Lest you think I am much more well-read than I am, not to mention fluent in Italian, I picked up on this from the English-language, Vatican-watching blog www.chiesa, which ran an English translation of the article a few days ago. (The most recent English-language edition of 30Giorni is last November's. As one who perpetually runs late, I'll refrain from comments about the 3-month time lag.) It's an interesting read to get a better idea of how the church looks at the interface of politics and faith, how our new president might as well, and what that might mean for cooperation over the next few years.

So brew up some espresso and think deep thoughts.

Chow.