Vincentian Pragmatism: Toward a Method for Systemic Change

Scott Kelley creates the term Vincentian Pragmatism and defines it as “Vincent [de Paul]’s way of proceeding . . . [it is] an integrated and holistic way of knowing that is capable of systemic change.” He writes, “Vincentian Pragmatism must also inform the way we engage, identify, explore, interpret, and decide in response to the complex systems that exacerbate poverty. It must unite action and contemplation.” Kelley identifies questions we must ask to pursue Vincentian epistemology and explains how Vincent developed it from his own experience. The process of overcoming our biases and forming a Vincentian worldview is also examined. Vincentian Pragmatism has five components of action: “begin attentively, explore openly, interpret imaginatively, decide responsibly, and act courageously.” These are discussed in detail. Together, they are a way of truly understanding the causes and nature of poverty and strategizing for effective solutions. Different aspects of strategy are described

Emergent Catholicity: Forming the Mind of Vincent

Vincent de Paul has been perceived as anti-intellectual for reasons that are discussed in this article, but his two degrees, especially the one from the University of Toulouse, profoundly influenced his thinking. His education developed his logic, making him “a formidable theologian,” an excellent organizer, and an effective advocate for poor persons. The article traces the medieval university’s influence on Vincent’s university experience. Logic’s importance in the theology curriculum and the way it was taught are described. Since Vincent’s degree allowed him to teach from the seminal Book II of Peter Lombard’s Sentences, Lombard’s writings are contextualized within those of two other scholastic thinkers, Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas. Scholasticism examined disparate perspectives with the goal of integrating them into a whole truth. This was a step toward understanding complete truth of God. Vincent’s application of the scholastic method is illustrated with issues he faced in his work and with his response to Jansenism. His education gave him “a comprehensive understanding of Catholic theology, the capacity to engage viewpoints different from his own, and the . . . intellectual mastery required to articulate sophisticated concepts in ways that were understandable to people who did not have his educational background.

Subsidiarity and Global Poverty: Development from Below Upwards

Scott Kelley raises the question of what a Catholic, Vincentian perspective brings to poverty studies that is unique. He answers it by exploring the debate between the developmental economists Jeffrey Sachs and William Easterly, examining the principle of subsidiarity in Catholic social teaching, and describing Frederic Ozanam’s approach to poverty alleviation. Contemporary solutions for poverty reduction are also discussed. The Sachs-Easterly debate is about whether wealthy nations should end world poverty through aid efforts to foreign governments (as Sachs contends), or whether better results come from working toward smaller goals with poor persons themselves (which is Easterly’s perspective). Easterly points out that, among other problems, foreign aid is often inefficiently managed or even pocketed by corrupt governments. Since it is not administered with input from poor persons relative to their needs, it perpetuates colonialism. Catholic social teaching advocates three principles that make up the greater idea of subsidiarity: non-arrogation, empowerment, and collaborative pluralism. These terms are all defined in detail. Taken together, they affirm the state’s obligation to help the poor but also the need for “sub-political groups” that are “intermediate between person and state” to act in partnership with poor persons. Subsidiarity is rooted in Ozanam’s work

Catholicism and Organizational Development: A Case Study on the Communication of Catholic Mission and Identity

Don Martin, Kendra Knight, and Scott Kelley explore the results of the Catholic Identity Mission Assessment survey as it relates to DePaul University. This survey was created by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities as a way of gauging how effectively Catholic educational institutions are conveying their Catholic identity to their students and other stakeholders. At DePaul, the investigation examined how well graduating seniors “comprehend and articulate principles from the Catholic intellectual tradition and Catholic social teaching.” Martin, Knight, and Kelley cite specific curricular and cocurricular areas that would help seniors establish this Catholic worldview and point out areas in which the communication of Catholic identity needs to be bolstered. They also explore the challenges of communicating that identity, not least of which is the generational interest and existing generational worldview of millennials and Generation Z and the need to compete with secular educational institutions. The authors explain the survey’s method and results. The survey found that “students’ confidence in their ability to articulate dimensions of the Vincentian mission is greater than their confidence in their ability to communicate dimensions of the Catholic intellectual tradition,” which “suggests a need for organizational development.” The article outlines steps for that

Saint Vincent de Paul and the Mission of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics: Why Companies Should Care About Poverty

The mission of DePaul University’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics (IBPE) is “to encourage ethical deliberation among decision makers by stirring the moral conscience, encouraging moral imagination, and developing models for moral decision-making in business.” In 2006, it added an element: “to inspire companies to address poverty reduction both globally and locally through for-profit initiatives.” The authors make the following assertions: “(1) the poor do not lack resources; (2) poverty alleviation is an evolving, dynamic process; (3) poverty often results from patterns of exclusion; and (4) many feasible approaches to poverty reduction have been and can be created through commerce.” The thinking behind this is explained and illustrated with specific cases. Connections between these propositions and Vincent de Paul’s legacy are made explicit