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The Spirit of World-Changers: Lessons from the Field

The Spiritual Exemplars Project (SEP), funded by a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust, has spent the last two years collecting stories of individuals who are inspired by their faith or spiritual values to do extraordinary good in the world. SEP’s team of two-dozen journalists and social scientists has collected stories from exemplars around the world like Dr. Tom Catena, who left everything behind to direct the only hospital in a war zone in South Sudan. And Julie Coyne, who left her home in Connecticut to work with some of the poorest communities in highland Guatemala. Thirty years later, Coyne is still there, as is Dr. Catena—who married a local nurse. Read More

Voices of Women and People of Color Must Be Part of Catholic Social Teaching Discussion

I have often heard John Carr, formerly of the U.S. bishops' conference and now Georgetown University, say that Catholics do not have a natural political home in either party. The flip side is that they might be able to offer a third way, Carr and other scholars say in the article. Both the left and right can find something to like — and dislike — in Catholic social teaching. Read More