‘Law’s Virtues’
October 23, 2012, 9:11 am
Posted by Grant Gallicho
Did you like Cathleen Kaveny’s article “The Single-issue Trap: What the Bishops’ Voting Guide Overlooks”? Then you might want to check out the book from which it was adapted: Law’s Virtues: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society.
I’m interested. One exceptionally valuable contribution I found in “The Single-Issue Trap” article is four considerations Cathleen Kaveny identifies as paramount in selecting others for positions of high responsibility involving serious matters in an unpredictable future. Her focus is voting and people who can typically be voted out of office in a few years, making her list of immediate relevance.
It is interesting to apply it also to bishops appointed to long-term positions of unquestionably high responsibility involving serious matters in an unpredictable future. Should the list be different because the voting process differs?
Cathleen’s considerations in slightly abbreviated form are:
1) Competence— intellectual capacity, experience, temperament, and judgment to do the job?
2) Character— set of moral values and integrity to pursue them in situations of temptation and fear?
3) Collaboration— work well with other people, both allies and opponents?
4) Connections—moral and practical ramifications of political and financial connections?
I have my copy, and I look forward to reading it.
It came out at the exact same time as The Twelve, though, which is book two in The Passage Trilogy.