Community Activism in the USA: Catholic Hospital Mergers and Reproductive Access

This article analyzes how grassroots organizing diminishes the potential loss of reproductive services in communities affected by Catholic hospital mergers. The empirical contribution of this study is to highlight changing patterns of pro-choice social movement mobilization and approaches to conflict resolution in the reproductive rights arena. To discover how Catholic hospital mergers threaten access to reproductive services, five case studies based in diverse regional and demographic areas throughout the USA are developed. From the case studies, we analyze which organizational factors most strongly influence the preservation of services. Among the variables which may affect outcomes are: characteristics of the acquiring institution, the type of coalition created to terminate the merger, the failure of pro-life activists to counter-mobilize, incentives for compromise on both sides, and regulatory intervention by government or state action. The study concludes that this new phase of the abortion struggle represents renewed vigor among local pro-choice activists and demonstrates that grassroots coalitions who oppose the curtailment of services often preserve reproductive healthcare options in their communities by creating alliances with professionals and other coalition partners.     

In pursuit of a living wage: The ethical and economic thought of father John A. Ryan from the late 1890s until the new deal

Abstract

Father Ryan frequently cited Pope Leo XIII's major encyclical, Rerum novarum (On the Condition of Labor) to lend the support of traditional Catholic social teaching to social and labor reform. Advocating “sane individualism,” Ryan was the first American to argue convincingly that employers were bound in strict justice to pay employees at least a living wage, and his ethical influence gained wide appeal due to his conservative yet fair‐minded approach to distributive justice. Ryan supported labor unions and economic planning as means to gain fair wages and stock ownership for all workers and emphasized income redistribution to reduce depressionary underconsumption.     

《大英博物馆在倒塌》的伊甸园原型解读

戴维·洛奇是一位享有国际声誉的英国小说家兼文学批评家,《大英博物馆在倒塌》是他的早期小说作品。这部小说讲述了天主教徒、学者亚当·爱坡比一天之内的奇遇和奇思妙想,表现了严格遵循教规的天主教徒婚姻生活中的种种荒诞、学者学术生活的无奈与尴尬,凸显了人的情欲和道德、自由意志与权威之间永恒的冲突。小说情节与《圣经》中伊甸园的故事有着千丝万缕的联系。伊甸园的故事不仅是讲人的堕落,还有语言的退化。从伊甸园原型的角度解读这部小说有助于更好地理解小说宗教及文学两大主题。     

论威克里夫的宗教改革思想

威克里夫顺应14世纪英国社会发展的趋势,提出了自己的宗教改革思想.他主张摆脱罗马教会的束缚,建立独立的民族教会,以<圣经>的权威代替教皇的权威,否定罗马教皇及教士的特权地位和特殊作用,因而反映了新兴市民阶级的愿望和要求,动摇了罗马教会统治的理论基础,对英国历史发展乃至欧洲历史发展进程产生了重要影响.     

Enchanted companionship of Korean Catholic youth amid compressed individualization

Korean youth are confronted with “existential vulnerability” in an uncertain labor market. “Compressed individualization” reflects a high-risk society in Korea's socio-economic context and acts as the social backdrop for the “privatization of religion.” Despite de-religionization or the unchurching climate, what are the peculiar features of Korean Catholic youth who are actively participating in a church group? The authors selected five Catholic youth groups and conducted in-depth interviews with 18 of their members. Highly religious young Catholics demonstrate coping with existential insecurity amid compressed individualization via “enchanted companionship” experienced through prayer, sharing, or service. Despite differences in communal culture between groups, the peculiar features of their enchanted companionship include holistic healing, reciprocal transcendence, and solidarity. Amid the youth's struggles to find their way toward the fullness of life, these communities offer them a “free and gratuitous haven” distinct from secular ties in the utilitarian and disenchanted world. They can also voluntarily discover the significance of life through their activities, reflections, and missions. In sum, this study explains how religiosity is formed through a socio-existential vulnerability in youth's lived religion at a micro-level analysis, and signifies enchanted companionship as a key mechanism counteracting the waves of the secular world.