When you picked up this month’s Position Papers you may have noticed that this is the 499th edition! Each month (or every two months during the summer) since its beginning in January 1974 copies of Position Papers have rolled off the presses, tracing the course of the developments in the Church and in society at large in the intervening forty-two years.
To mark our arrival at the five hundredth edition, next month we will be producing a special issue of Position Papers, along with feature articles to mark the event, including a retrospective from Fr Charles Connolly, a founder and long-time editor of this magazine.
Over the more than forty years since its inception Position Papers has sought to keep Catholics informed on faith matters in a way that combines complete fidelity to the Church’s magisterium with a sensitivity to the key role of the laity in transforming the world from within, according to their vocation ‘in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth’ (Lumen Gentium, 33).
These are the two characteristic features which Position Papers has maintained throughout the past four decades. Other than these two elements, we have tried to avoid espousing any particular position on matters properly speaking political. I personally take for my inspiration on this question a phrase from St Josemaría Escrivá who affirms that: ‘in politics there are no dogmas’. For example, on the question of Irish nationalism and the 1916 Rising, we carry an article this month by Richard Greene in response to an earlier article by Michael Kirke on the same matter. Both writers adopt quite different stances towards the legitimacy of the Rising. This strikes me as a legitimate pluralism on a matter which is, broadly speaking, political in nature.
We have decided to mark our significant anniversary – or perhaps use it as a pretext – to change the name of Position Papers, and in this task I would be very grateful for suggestions from our readers (which could be emailed to editor@positionpapers.ie). It appears that our existing name leads some prospective readers to expect they are picking up what is literally a ‘position paper’ in the sense of ‘an essay that presents an opinion about an issue, typically that of the author or another specified entity, such as a political party’ (Wikipedia). While the name has served us well over the years the time has come for a re-christening. We are looking for a name which would reflect the faithfully Catholic nature of the magazine, along with its commitment to the transformative role of the laity in the world. I’m afraid there are no prizes, other than lasting glory, for the person who comes up with a new title for us, but your assistance would be much appreciated.