In this episode of "The Open Door," panelists Jim Hanink and Mario Ramos-Reyes discuss Catholic liberal arts education, contemporary Thomism, and the role of the papacy. Our welcome guest is Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, a prolific author who has written widely about each. He holds degrees from Thomas Aquinas College and The Catholic University of America. In addition, he served as Admissions Director at Wyoming Catholic College and taught there for several years. Now he is a major presence in traditional Catholic circles as a speaker, essayist, and blogger at OnePeterFive. Here are some questions we’ll ask him. Feel free to suggest your own!
1. Dr. Kwasniewski, as an undergraduate you spent a year at Georgetown and then left for Thomas Aquinas College in California. Why? What did you find at TAC? Is it staying true to its course?
2. New and smaller Catholic colleges are increasingly appreciated. What’s happening at Wyoming Catholic?
3. You’ve brought anew the message of liberal arts education to Poland. How can that kind of education serve a nation that has suffered so much?
4. People don’t associate Thomism with the primacy of love and the experience of ecstasy. But your scholarly work links St. Thomas to both. What is their significance for the Common Doctor?
5. Many people have heard of Notre Dame’s Ralph McInerny. Even the New York Times gave him a fulsome obituary. But far too few know about the legacy of Fr. Lawrence Dewan, OP. What was he like as a teacher and scholar?
6. Development is not distortion. John Henry Newman deeply appreciated the lessons of history. How did they lead him to his view of the development of doctrine?
7. Your latest book, in two volumes, is The Road from Hyperpapalism to Catholicism. What is “hyperpapalism,” and how is it related to ultramontanism? It is widely known that the pope is a Catholic. Is he also a hyperpapalist?
8. Has Francis overstepped his office in his rejection of capital punishment? Is incorporating his position in the Catechism of the Catholic Church an example of hyperpapalism?
9. What is it to stand in loyal opposition to elements of Francis’s exercise of the Petrine ministry?
10. Last question: can politics and theology converge? Consider the new American Solidarity Party!