Today on Kresta - June 17, 2011

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 17

4:00 – Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty
From furious reactions to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to the suppression of women, news from the Muslim world begs the question: is Islam incompatible with freedom? With an eye sympathetic to Western liberalism and Islamic theology, Mustafa Akyol traces the ideological and historical roots of political Islam. The years following Muhammad's passing in 632 AD saw an intellectual "war of ideas" rage between rationalist, flexible schools of Islam and the more dogmatic, rigid ones. Akyol offers an intellectual basis for the reconcilability of Islam and religious, political, economic, and social freedoms.

4:40 – Envy and the Search for Fairness in Our Economic Relationships
In a free-market system, participants are free to pursue exchanges that lead to their mutual benefit. Yet market economies do not lead to equal outcomes, even though the same rules apply to all participants. Using St. Thomas Aquinas's definition of envy as a starting point, Victor Claar is here to critically examine the potentially corrosive role that envy may play in our relationships in a market economy.

5:00 – The Federalist Debate: Balancing Liberty and Order
A free society needs both liberty and order. One cannot be free without order, but a commitment to order can subtly undermine freedom. Dr. John Pinheiro examines the treatment of these issues through the lens of the Federalist Debate that did not so much shape the American experiment of ordered liberty.

5:40 – To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician Assisted Suicide
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted yesterday to approve a statement on physician assisted suicide. The bishops overwhelmingly approved the issuance of To Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician Assisted Suicide with 191 votes in favor, 1 against and no abstentions. The National Catholic Partnership on Disability worked closely with the USCCB on this statement. NCPD Executive Director Janice Benton is here to comment.

5:45 – “Strong Bodies Fight, That Weak Bodies May Be Nourished”
“Strong Bodies Fight, That Weak Bodies May Be Nourished” This is the motto of the Notre Dame Boxing Team, which annually hosts an intramural charity tournament called “The Bengal Bouts” to support development efforts in the poverty-stricken country of Bangladesh. Founded by legendary college football coach Knute Rockne in 1931 and perpetuated by 80 years of blood, sweat, and tears, the Bengal Bouts represent a sacred Notre Dame tradition of dedicated students lacing up their gloves in a fight much larger than the ring in which they box. Now 80 years in the making, a film on the unique story of Strong Bodies Fight will take you on an inspirational journey to a world of poverty seldom seen in films or media - a world of hope. We talk with Mark Weber, producer, writer and editor of the film.