Catholic Exchange

War & Peace: Bishop Sheen on Totalitarianism

October 07, 2022 Catholic Exchange
Catholic Exchange
War & Peace: Bishop Sheen on Totalitarianism
Show Notes

Today, October 7, is the feast of Our Lady of Victory, commemorating the Catholic victory at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto through the faithful's recitation of the Rosary.  In that spirit, CE editor Kristen Van Uden is joined by editor Al Smith to discuss two of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's seminal works on war: A Declaration of Dependence and War and Peace.


Topics include:

-Why atheism is at the root of the evils of totalitarianism
-What constitutes a just war
-Why Bp. Sheen believed the differences between the totalitarian regimes of midcentury Europe and the "decadent West" were of degree, not kind
-How true independence is only found in dependence on God
-How Catholics must respond to global wars with a renewed commitment to prayer
-Bp. Sheen's Seven Pillars of Peace


Other books mentioned:

Wrath of God by Fr. Livio Fanzaga

Gods of Atheism by Fr. Vincent Miceli, SJ

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