In the brief reflections offered here I am prompted by a provocative idea of the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas and by an approach enunciated by Pope Francis.
1. Lévinas writes in Otherwise Than Being,
The true problem for us Westerners is not so much to refuse violence as to question ourselves...
A few weeks ago I took part in a Conference in Brescia in honour of the 60th anniversary of Paul VI’s Encyclica Populorum Progressio (March 1967). This document contains interesting reflections on the issue of violence. Paul VI, of course, criticises the use of violence, but he admits some...
At the second WMPM (World Meeting of Popular Movements), held in Bolivia in 2015, after the first which took place in Rome in 2014, President Evo Morales presented Pope Francis with a cross composed of a hammer and sickle. Reading the speech given by the Pope at the last Meeting (Rome 2016) – this...
During the private audience that Alexis Tsipras, then still leader of Greece’s parliamentary opposition, and I had with the Pope in 2014, which, as L’Osservatore Romano reported, lasted 35 minutes, the Pontiff said it was high time to turn a new leaf in the relations between the Catholic Church and...
On 8 November, the DIALOP position paper was presented in the European Parliament, documenting the common positions of Christians and leftists on a common social ethic.
Das transform! Jahrbuch 2022 untersucht, vor welche Herausforderungen die Covid-19-Pandemie linke Politik gestellt hat und fragt danach, wie ein Programm linker Forderungen zur Pandemieforschung und -prävention sowie ihrem Management aussehen könnte. Das transform! Jahrbuch wird in Kürze erscheinen.
Read the statement on the war in Ukraine by DIALOP, Transversal Dialogue Project. DIALOP aims to promote dialogue between Marxist and Christian positions and develop common commitments to peace, non-violence, social justice, democracy, and ecological transformation.
The DIALOP is a joint project between universities, foundations, and associations, developed by faculty members with different ideological and philosophical, Marxist or Christian backgrounds. In times of growing social challenges, its aim is to promote dialogue between Marxist and Christian...
Even though a society based on human dignity, ensuring a fair share of wealth and participation for everyone on matters concerning community has not yet been achieved, this Southern Bohemian town, founded 600 years ago, became an interesting example of the complexity and tenacity of this struggle.
Wenn Linke über Alternativen nachdenken, verbinden sie es normaler Weise mit Kämpfen. Schon Marx und Engels verstanden die Geschichte aller bisherigen Gesellschaften als Geschichte von Klassenkämpfen. Wolfgang Kessler zeigt, dass es auch einer Kunst in diesen Kämpfen bedarf, der Kunst, den Kapitalismus emanzipatorisch und solidarisch zu verändern.
Syros ist eine Insel, drei Fährstunden von Athen entfernt. Sie ist, wenn man so will, die „Hauptstadt“ der ägäischen Inseln. Ihre Geschichte ist voll von Flüchtlingen und Migrant_innen, die ihre jeweilige Kultur und Religion mitgebracht haben. Sie alle leben bis heute friedlich nebeneinander. Schon...
Ever since the meeting of Alexis Tsipras and Walter Baier with Pope Francis in September 2014, the contents of this proposal have been clearly focused on war and peace, poverty and social justice, ways out of the ecological crisis, and a humanistic approach to the immigration crisis.
Die Wahl von Papst Franziskus leitete zweifellos ein neues Klima für die Beziehungen der Kirche zur Europäischen Linken ein. Im Zuge des Treffens zwischen dem Papst, Alexis Tsipras und Walter Baier im September 2014 war beschlossen worden, den Dialog zwischen Katholik_innen und Marxist_innen neu zu gestalten.
On Thursday 18 September, Pope Francis received in a private audience the two European politicians of the Left, Alexis Tsipras and Walter Baier. Tsipras is Vice president of the European Left Party and president of the Greek party SYRIZA. Baier is coordinator of the network transform! europe. The meeting served the purpose of introducing an unconventional dialogue in the face of an increasingly dangerous global situation.
"Diese Wirtschaft tötet", schrieb Papst Franziskus 2013 in seiner Enzyklika Evangeli Gaudium und öffnete damit die Tür für einen Dialog zwischen den Christ*innen und Sozialist*innen.
The fraction of the European Left at the European Parliament is organising a DIALOP-Event to present the Position Paper between Christians and Marxists at the European level.
To many leftists, the idea of an alliance between Christians and socialists appears eccentric. However, not-withstanding the differences, important similarities can be found. In his latest encyclical, Pope Francis writes of the need for politics based on human dignity, not subjected to the market. Does not this represent the basis for a dialogue?
To many leftists, the idea of an alliance between Christians and socialists appears eccentric. However, not-withstanding the differences, important similarities can be found. In his latest encyclical, Pope Francis writes of the need for politics based on human dignity, not subjected to the market. Does not this represent the basis for a dialogue?