Perspectief 2017-36

Perspectief 20 Werk van jonge theologen come to “abolish the law” 66 , the law must always serve human dignity rather than the other way round. In a later publication Groody adds a fourth concept to the list, namely that of Visio Dei , or the Vision of God 67 . Christians do not only look forward to the Kingdom of God in the life to come, but also to its realisation on Earth. Such faith requires of a Christian that he place obedience to God above that to a nation or political ideology. Just as Christ crossed the human borders of his time in pursuit of the Kingdom, so his followers today are called to do the same. As Catholic theologian and professor of immigration and refugee law Terry Coonan puts it, “in the face of the stranger, the Christian community encounters the face of Jesus.” 68 The use of the word ‘face’ here is significant as it implies the necessity of a personal encounter with those in need, just as Guardini made clear in his 1956 book on charity. 5. Charles Taylor Another prominent Catholic voice today is that of the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. Although North American, he is also considered a leading Catholic philosopher in Europe. As he is on the lookout for the sources for our moral identity, his work is highly relevant for this paper. When discussing the concept of love for one’s neighbour in A Secular Age , Taylor makes a distinction between charity and agape : a spiritual, rather than earthly or sexual kind of love, which God has for mankind. It is an unconditional, self-giving love in which all humans are called to participate, and because it originates in God it goes further than charity, which is extended from one human to another. Because agape is found in the relationship between the Divine and Man, it is only fathomable to those who actually believe in this higher power 69 . Jesus’ exhortations in Matthew 25 are clearly intended to be understood in terms of agape and therefore the Christian standard of 66 Matthew 5:17, NRSVCE. 67 Groody (2009) Crossing the Divide , p. 638. 68 Coonan, T. (2000) There Are No Strangers Among Us: Catholic Social Teachings and U.S. Immigration Law The Catholic Lawyer 40, p. 111. 69 Taylor, C. (2007) A Secular Age Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press, p. 20.