| Keeping Faith & Breaking Ground |
| “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Luke 20:17 |
| Christ Pantocrator Br. Terence, St. Joseph’s Abbey |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Our Theological Home & Ecumenical Commitment Exploring Christian Faith and Engaging Contemporary Culture |
Emphasizing the anthropological uniqueness of the Judeo-Christian tradition
and the unparalleled historical significance of the Christian Gospel, the
Cornerstone Forum is a non-profit organization working to foster an
intellectually compelling and theologically orthodox Christian response to the
contemporary cultural and spiritual crisis.
and the unparalleled historical significance of the Christian Gospel, the
Cornerstone Forum is a non-profit organization working to foster an
intellectually compelling and theologically orthodox Christian response to the
contemporary cultural and spiritual crisis.
It has been our privilege over the years to work closely with people of other
faiths, with concerned non-believers, and with fellow Christians from many
different denominational and theological traditions, each committed to its own
moral and social priorities. Collaboration of this kind has been an important
source of inspiration for us, and we welcome the opportunity to work with
those who are engaged, as we are, in what can broadly be termed the “re-
evangelization” of Western culture. What we bring to this collaboration – the
source of our hope, the bedrock of our faith, and the touchstone of our
apostolate – is the theological richness, anthropological depth, and moral
realism of the Roman Catholic tradition. The British historian Christopher
Dawson aptly expressed the enduring role of this tradition, not only for
Catholics, but for those who are grateful for the material and political
achievements of Western culture, concerned about the spiritual and moral
perils that beset it today, and committed to passing on to their children’s
children the blessings of Christian faith.
Many of Christianity’s enemies and most of its friends – whatever their creedal
affiliation – have today begun to recognize the point Dawson was making. To
appreciate the role “the Catholic ideal of spiritual unity” has played and
continues to play in Western cultural life – fully aware of how inadequately this
ideal has sometimes been expressed – is to be more, not less, committed to
ecumenical cooperation with fellow Christians and to meaningful interreligious
dialogue with non-Christians and non-believers. We welcome, as we always
have, the opportunity to collaborate with others in bringing Christianity’s
theological, cultural and moral resources to bear on the cultural confusions of
our time.
As we work to explore both cultural and theological matters as creatively as we
can, we will always be seeking to clarify, never to challenge, the deposit of faith
preserved through the centuries in the teachings of the Church. The work of
René Girard, on which we continue to draw heavily, is especially suited to the
task as we see it of bringing the truths of Christian faith to bear on the great
questions of our day, and to show those who have been taught to dismiss these
truths how supremely pertinent to our present predicament they are.
faiths, with concerned non-believers, and with fellow Christians from many
different denominational and theological traditions, each committed to its own
moral and social priorities. Collaboration of this kind has been an important
source of inspiration for us, and we welcome the opportunity to work with
those who are engaged, as we are, in what can broadly be termed the “re-
evangelization” of Western culture. What we bring to this collaboration – the
source of our hope, the bedrock of our faith, and the touchstone of our
apostolate – is the theological richness, anthropological depth, and moral
realism of the Roman Catholic tradition. The British historian Christopher
Dawson aptly expressed the enduring role of this tradition, not only for
Catholics, but for those who are grateful for the material and political
achievements of Western culture, concerned about the spiritual and moral
perils that beset it today, and committed to passing on to their children’s
children the blessings of Christian faith.
- “If Christianity is necessary to Europe, the Catholic Church is no less
necessary to Christianity, for without it the latter would become no more
than a mass of divergent opinions dissolving under the pressure of
rationalist criticism and secularist culture. It was by virtue of the Catholic
ideal of spiritual unity that the social unity of European culture emerged
from the welter of barbarism, and the modern world stands no less in
need of such an ideal if it is to realize in the future the wider unity of a
world civilization.”
Many of Christianity’s enemies and most of its friends – whatever their creedal
affiliation – have today begun to recognize the point Dawson was making. To
appreciate the role “the Catholic ideal of spiritual unity” has played and
continues to play in Western cultural life – fully aware of how inadequately this
ideal has sometimes been expressed – is to be more, not less, committed to
ecumenical cooperation with fellow Christians and to meaningful interreligious
dialogue with non-Christians and non-believers. We welcome, as we always
have, the opportunity to collaborate with others in bringing Christianity’s
theological, cultural and moral resources to bear on the cultural confusions of
our time.
As we work to explore both cultural and theological matters as creatively as we
can, we will always be seeking to clarify, never to challenge, the deposit of faith
preserved through the centuries in the teachings of the Church. The work of
René Girard, on which we continue to draw heavily, is especially suited to the
task as we see it of bringing the truths of Christian faith to bear on the great
questions of our day, and to show those who have been taught to dismiss these
truths how supremely pertinent to our present predicament they are.
| The Cornerstone Forum |
| Keeping Faith & Breaking Ground |
| “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Luke 20:17 |
| The Cornerstone Forum |
| Receive Our Email Newsletter |
| Gil Bailie's Reflections on Faith and Culture |
| Click image |