Mission Statement
The Potential of Commonweal Local Communities
1. The ability to foster and support independent spiritual leadership.
“Commonweal’s mission is to provide a forum for civil, reasoned debate on the interaction of faith with contemporary politics and culture. Since its founding in 1924 Commonweal has staked a claim for Catholic principles and perspective in American life, and for laypeople’s voices within the church.”2. The ability to exercise independent spiritual leadership in both secular and religious environments.
As Pope Francis pointed out in his speech to Congress, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton spoke powerfully to all Americans as well as to Catholics. Commonweal has long been associated with such leadership which challenges the complacency of persons, institutions, and cultures in the name of transcendental values.3. Commonweal is about spirituality in the broadest sense of that word, i.e. the transcendent.
John O’Malley has described much of Western culture in terms of the four medieval transcendentals:the One (prophetic culture, e.g. Martin Luther and MLK)
the True (academic and professional life),
the Good (the humanities, and political life)
and the Beautiful (arts and performance).
the True (academic and professional life),
the Good (the humanities, and political life)
and the Beautiful (arts and performance).
4 Stimulating independent spiritual leadership that is both personal and social.
Commonweal Local Communities started as a grassroots movement. Any subscriber can start a small group anywhere by using the five free articles a month to support non-subscribing members.Commonweal Local Communities are built by:
the practice of reading Commonweal (which builds human capital, e.g. skills),
discussion of topics in a small group (which builds social capital, e.g. social networks)
thereby providing a shared framework of interests, ideas and values(i.e. cultural capital).
discussion of topics in a small group (which builds social capital, e.g. social networks)
thereby providing a shared framework of interests, ideas and values(i.e. cultural capital).
5. Adaptable and adept at nurturing independent spiritual leadership at a wide variety of situations.
Ignatian communities that read Commonweal and America. Commonweal Democrats that focus on political issues. Merton communities that focus on contemplation; Dorothy Day communities that focus on social justice.Canon law says we have the right to form associations, but not the right to call them Catholic associations. Day had to fight to keep the name Catholic Worker. Commonweal allows us to build upon our Catholic heritage without competing with religious leadership and without limiting our membership to Catholics or even Christians. We can welcome Buddhist and Jewish spiritual leaders into our CLCs.
6 Capable of developing and supporting a network of independent spiritual leaders
at the local level (state, diocese, county, city, parish))7. An example of parallel leadership by spiritual movements of reform and renewal
Spiritual movements with Protestant Christianity (e.g. Pentecostalism) have produced a wide variety of fragmented sects and churches.Spiritual movements of renewal within Roman Catholicism have generally produced parallel structures that interact with existing parochial structures.
Religious orders are the great example. Desert solitaries, Benedictine communities, mendicants (Dominicans, Franciscans), apostolic (Jesuits) orders responded to their times.
While most of the male orders became clerical, their charism flowed from baptism not holy orders.
Much of the flourishing of American Catholicism was due to women religious and all the parallel structures of education, healthcare and social services that they created.