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Preface This issue of Logos, unlike the previous two, is not a thematic one (readers will recall that Issue 1 treated the importance of the imagination for faith and culture and that Issue 2 focused on the thought of John Paul II). Rather, it offers sundry pieces and introduces a feature that will recur every several issues—"Disputed Questions," a symposium that examines a question from different perspectives. Nonetheless, the contents divide roughly into four parts. The first two articles treat important social concerns: Catholicism and multiculturalism and the ethical integrity ofthe professions. The next two offer commentary on the works of two prominent Catholic authors: Flannery O'Connor and Walker Percy. The "Disputed Questions" section follows these with three reflections on Hans Urs von Balthasar's DareWe Hope "That AU Men Be Saved"? Finally, the issue is rounded offwith a review-essay of Charles Morris's study of the development of American Catholicism. Drawing as they do from such diverse disciplines as sociology, history, literary criticism, theology, philosophy, and eduLogos 1:3 1997 Preface cation, these articles reflect the interdisciplinary approach that Logos seeks to promote. Two Important Social Concerns James L. Heft's "Catholic Multiculturalism: An Oxymoron?" is exactly the kind of article I was hoping would someday be submitted to the journal. Readingthe debates aboutmulticulturalism in the popular press and in otiierjournals, I was troubledbythe acrimony andthe recourse to straw figures, caricature, and sometimes willful misunderstanding . So, it was a pleasure to read Heft's temperate reflections. He does not consider Catholicism and multiculturahsm to be mutually exclusive, but, in fact, believes that Catholic universities"bear a special responsibility to foster multiculturalism." This responsibility stems from the undeniable fact ofAmerica's growing diversity, from the role of universities as "places of civil and enlightened debate," and from three characteristics ofthe Catholic tradition. Heft argues that an engagement with multiculturalism is appropriate because Catholicism 1) "affirms an expansive and positive doctrine of creation," 2) "affirms the importance of both faith and reason in coming to understand all that we are called to understand,"and 3) "affirms, alongwith the Jewish and other traditions, the dignity of every person." Finally, drawing upon the insight ofHenry Louis Gates, Jr. , Heft points out that a concern for multiculturalism does not yield a thorough-going relativism. Catholic universities can both respect Ratzinger's critique ofrelativism and respond to John Paul II's powerful call to respect diversity in his address to the United Nations in October 1995. What does it mean when "medicine" becomes "the healtii care industry" and the "university" becomes "the education industry?" Those who see the difference and are concerned about it will find Robert Bellah's trenchant analysis of the state of the professions sobering indeed. The dignity of the professions derives from the focus on"sacred things" (justice, health, truth) and from the "capac- Logos ity to articulate and put in practice transcendent ethical standards for the good society." But of late, the ethical autonomy of the professions has come under attack. In many places, the greatest threat to the professions comes from the state, but in American society, it comes from the market. More and more, for example, patients, students, and legal clients are seen as customers, and doctors, professors, and lawyers, as service providers. Nor is the oldest profession of divinity exempt from this subversion. As Bellah notes with chilling precision , when an Episcopal bishop defines himself as the CEO of the diocese, the clergy as employees, and the laity as customers, "a more complete denial ofthe body of Christ would be hard to imagine ." The ill effects ofthis adoption ofthe market outlook are most tellingly present in university life in the creation ofa large academic underclass, who for meager salaries and no long-term security teach the balk of undergraduates, and of a small overclass who are acquiring ever larger perquisites. Bellah concludes with the question of whether business executives are professionals? His answer is a resounding "yes," for "the economy, like everyting else on earth, belongs ultimately to God" and "the businessperson is God's steward, with the obligation to make the economy serve everyone." According to Bellah, "the most prosperous elite in human...

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