14 June, 2022
COLLOQUIUM 2022 – PLEASE REGISTER HERE
Dear Reader,
There has been some angry reaction to my decision to host a talk by Prof Ian Plimer in April. One of those who wrote in protest provided a lucid and well-researched paper which I had hoped to publish with her permission in this edition of the newsletter, but may need to hold over to the next. It would be unfair to preempt it by commenting on any of her objections before her piece appears.
However I do feel bound to make clear that the Dawson Centre was established by Archbishop Porteous soon after he was appointed in 2013 and was given from the outset a very high degree of freedom to comment independently on all or any aspects of the Christian or Western tradition. We are proud to have several non-Catholics on our Committee and we work happily not only with fellow Christians but with people of no faith who believe that the Christian heritage, and all that comes with it, has great and abiding value yet is in danger of being overwhelmed.
I am particularly saddened that the ‘Plimer Episode’ has been used as a stick to beat the Archbishop, even though the decision to invite Prof Plimer here was not his but mine alone. I accept full responsibility for it, though without regret: Prof Plimer is a distinguished scholar and, in my opinion, a good man. We provided a platform for a speaker who disagrees with the prevailing narrative on climate change. I consider that the invitation to Plimer was not inconsistent with the spirit of the encyclical Laudato Sí. In it the Pope writes:
‘On many concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows that honest debate must be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views … There are certain environmental issues where it is not easy to achieve a broad consensus. Here I would state once more that the Church does not presume to settle scientific questions or to replace politics. But I am concerned to encourage an honest and open debate so that particular interests or ideologies will not prejudice the common good.’
The Plimer matter was ‘leaked’ to the ABC and this was the result. The ABC is not remarkable for its kindly indulgence towards Christianity, so it is a shame that its news site should be used as a forum for differences among Christians. Better, surely, to keep these things within ‘the Household of Faith’.
Yours sincerely,
David Daintree
10 LIES OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE
US Theologian Peter Kreeft lists the ten big lies of secularism in this commencement address at Franciscan University, Steubenville. It’s tight, brief (19 minutes) and witty as well as wise.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
‘The corporatization of the American university is complete.’ This review of a recent book Becoming Great Universities is a sort of a dirge on the death of education.
‘WOKE DUDES WITH MITRES’
I provide a link to this article without daring to comment!
WELCOME TO OUR NEW ‘FRIENDS’
We are delighted to announce that the following new Friends of Christopher Dawson. We thank them all for their generosity, encouragement and support.
Andrew Horder
Dr Chris Middleton
The Prior and Brothers of the Priory of Our Lady of Cana
Would you like to become a ‘Friend’ of Christopher Dawson? The cost is just $100. Friends receive a handsome lapel badge, discounts on future purchases including summer school and colloquium registrations, as well as our gratitude and our prayers.
COMING EVENTS
Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of The Australian: Christianity’s Contribution to Western Civilisation, 20 June, Maypole Hotel, 6.00 pm (jointly hosted by the Archdiocese of Hobart).
The Judeo-Christian tradition has created and underpinned the moral and legal fabric of Western civilisation for more than 2000 years, yet now in both Australia and many parts of the West Christianity has become a minority faith rather than the mainstream belief. Let’s take a fresh look at the contribution Christianity has made to Western Civilisation: can our civilisation can stand without it?
Please buy tickets here.
COLLOQUIUM 2022
The 2022 Colloquium will take place on Saturday 16 July. The registration fee is $100 (concession $75 for pensioners, students, Friends of Christopher Dawson and unwaged).
The last speaker to be confirmed is Lyle Shelton. His brief abstract is included below.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION –
THE ESSENCE OF WESTERN CIVILISATION
Here is the complete list of papers to be presented. The Colloquium will close with guest-of-honour Dr David van Gend’s after-dinner address.
DAVID COLLITS
Truth, Ideology and Freedom
Contemporary Australian culture exerts tremendous implicit and explicit control over the speech and therefore life and thought of its members. This paper proposes a theological solution, therefore, as being at the heart of any genuine attempt to reach a practical solution to the threats posed to freedom of speech and religion.
KENNETH CROWTHER
In a ‘post-Christian secular age’ that has largely shrugged off the burdensome impositions of natural hierarchy and has dislocated and redefined the virtues, what are the implications for freedom of speech?
BELLA D’ABRERA
It is now virtually impossible for conservatives to express their opinions, or indeed state the truth, in the public square without fear of being cancelled or being set upon by the mob. We have even arrived at a point where we are no longer permitted to state biological fact. There are signs however, that the worm is finally turning, not just in Australia but across the Anglosphere.
KEVIN DONNELLY
Defining intolerance as tolerance.
Marcuse argues, such is the oppressive and exploitive nature of Western societies like Australia, that those intent on radically overthrowing the status quo are free to use whatever means necessary to effect change.
MONICA DOUMIT
How safe are religious exemptions in anti-discrimination law?
Given Labor will need to rely on the Greens in the Senate to pursue its legislative agenda, how realistic are any protections for religious individuals and institutions? What should we be doing now to prepare for all religious exemptions to anti-discrimination law being removed?
LUCAS MCLENNAN
Christianity and free speech: an uneasy relationship.
I will argue that Christian communities today, while very much in need of a culture that respects freedom of speech and expression, should still ultimately recognise that their cause is truth, not turning the principle of free expression into an ultimate ideal of its own.
ARCHBISHOP PORTEOUS
The Two Wings – Faith and Reason
In this paper I will explore the rise of ideology in contemporary society, arguing that it stands in direct opposition to the tradition of the interrelationship between faith and reason which is necessary for the development of culture and healthy patterns of human life.
LYLE SHELTON
Picking up the tools of democracy
Before it is too late, we must exercise our rights as citizens to participate in politics. Silence and inaction are no longer options if we want to keep the freedom to build virtuous faith-filled families and communities into the future. A partisan political movement to carry the truths of our Western inheritance into the public discourse and parliaments is now also a necessary piece on the battlefield for the soul of our civilisation.
ALEX SIDHU
Freedom of speech and religion: The Christian difference
We hear much of ‘the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion’ in contemporary western society but what exactly do they mean and how should Christians understand these concepts and their limits? This paper will argue that the understanding of these rights in the Catholic Tradition is not compatible with the dominant liberal understanding, and discuss the implications for Catholic political engagement.
VERONIKA WINKELS
Shepherding Wolves to Save Our Freedoms
As socialist utopias soon resemble the autocracies they set out to abolish, the more our secular governments curtail religious freedoms in Australia, the more religious in character and function they themselves become. They write their own moral codes, as the new cardinal virtues of Inclusivity, Diversity, Repentance for Past Sins, and the somewhat insipid call to ‘Be Nice’ show.
We like people to attend in person, but recognise that not everyone can travel to the Athens of the South for that purpose! All presentations will be professionally videoed and posted online soon afterwards. Proceedings will also be published in full late in 2022 or early 2023.