Hutterites in Moravia

The Hutterites endured generations of persecution, forced migration, as well as loss of property and legal recourse often resulting in desperate poverty. Although plagued by internal conflicts from the beginning, they represented the most radical and most creative form of communal support in the sixteenth century. While religion was the reason for their suffering, it was also the reason for their resilience. As recorded in The Chronicle, Hutterites highlighted their trials and tribulations, as well as their successful reconciliation with other factions. Their leaders, such as Jacob Hutter, Peter Riedemann, and Peter Walpot provided the theological rationale for the practice of the community of goods, which required the total sharing of goods to care for the entire community. The surrender of all temporal goods was a requirement to join the Hutterite colonies (Bruderhof). This practice of communal property became the central marker of Hutterite piety as designated leaders managed the collective resources to alleviate the needs of their community.

The Church’s Temporal Goods in the Work and the Final Document Drafted by the First Synod of the Diocese of Opole

In the article, a reflection is made on the legal regulations developed by the First Synod of the Diocese of Opole, concerning the management of temporal goods of the Diocese. The study presents the content of 17 statutes and 5 annexes (as well as considering earlier studies produced by one of the synodal working commissions, intended to be discussed by the parish synodal groups), and reflects on the completeness of the legal treatment of this vital yet complex area of ecclesiastical life. The solutions adopted by the Synod should be considered incomplete, but the synodal legislator, that is the diocesan bishop, has the right to enact such particular norms as he deems appropriate and necessary.

Between Presumption and Despair: Augustine's Hope for the Commonwealth

Many political theorists dismiss Augustine as a pessimist about politics, assuming his “otherworldly” account of love precludes hope for this-worldly politics. This article challenges this pessimism by applying recent research on Augustine's “order of love” to reconstruct his implicit order of hope. Analyzing neglected sermons, letters, and treatises, I argue that Augustine encourages hope for temporal goods as long as that hope is rightly ordered and avoids the corresponding vices of presumption and despair. I then identify “civic peace” as a common object of hope that diverse citizens can share. By recovering hope as a virtue and reframing civic peace as a positive form of civic friendship, I argue that Augustine commends a hope for the commonwealth that avoids both presumption and despair. I conclude by analyzing how Augustine's vision of the commonwealth can inform contemporary political theory and practice.

Transparency Culture & Ecclesial Responsibility: Reflections on Institutional Communications

<em>We aim to provide a theoretical framework for enhancing the Catholic Church’s culture of transparency. We therefore define concepts of culture and transparency, stressing some of the institutional consequences due to their interaction. Finally, we apply these principles to the ecclesial institution’s fields that are attractive for the public square: the administration of temporal goods, the use of information and the dispensation of sacraments and religious teachings. Defining culture as the setting up of behavioral standards, we realize that the ones regarding transparency have been constantly raised in the last years by society, while the Church has remained stable in its long-term organizational principles. Applying a culture of transparency for the Church would therefore require to understand the dynamic of cultural change within the Church that is essentially united to the preservation of its own spiritual purposes. Also builds within itself a culture that sustains a culture of accountability. Ecclesial institutions as any institution, builds and sustains trust through its diligent and consistent refusal to abuse the power given. The ecclesiastical institution would change its standards of transparency when it is needed to keep up with its original mission not when it is just an exigency of its cultural environment.</em>