What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

We are participating here in Grand Rapids, MI, at the annual meeting of the Acton University sponsored by the Acton Institute.   Some 392 people are here for the conference from, I am told, 51 countries. 

Acton Institute is a very interesting organization.  I got to know it in Rome, where there is an office.  Acton sponsored a series of conferences in Rome a couple years ago.  I attended almost all of them and each one was gem.  I’ll give you reports about this year’s Acton U.  It might be something you might be interested in participating in some year, especially if you are interested in the Church’s voice in public square about human freedom and economics.



Fr. Sirico speaking on opening night

There are two tracks for participation.  For those who have never been to one of the Acton University events, there are a series of foundational courses, really lectures with lots of Q&A, on principles useful for the rest of the workshops.  Even if people have higher degrees in philosophy or economics, everyone takes the same foundational lectures first.

Since this is the first time I have been to the Acton U, this morning I heard a foundational presentation on Christian Anthropology: Freedom and Virtue.



During a meal in the main hall.

In this we explored the nature of man himself.  Of particular importance was understanding how true freedom is actually freedom for virtue, for excellence, rather than freedom from various types of limitations.  So, we need to understand the proper relationship of reason and will, how we make choices, how we must reason and make choices in light of truth and goodness.  We also looked at an opposing view, freedom of indifference, which broke with the Christian virtuous liberty tradition.  The one who introduced this is principally William of Ockham (+1354).  the consequences freedom simply being seen as a neutral faculty of choice were very destructive: in the final analysis this approach leaves everyone in a conflict, clash of wills.  So, in the lecture we made a case for a Christian understanding of virtuous liberty in opposition, or as a remedy these days, to the nominalist view of Ockham, et. al.  We must restore right reason to its proper place in anthropology and put reason in the correct relationship with will and also faith.

Folks talking during a break

Then there was a presentation on Christianity and the Idea of Limited Government.  In this presentation we looked at the Christian influe