James V. Schall
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James Vincent Schall (January 20, 1928 – April 17, 2019) was an American
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, teacher, writer, and philosopher. He was, most recently, Professor of
Political Philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
in the Department of Government at
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
. He retired from teaching in December 2012, giving his final lecture on December 7, 2012, at Georgetown; it was entitled "The Final Gladness," and was sponsored by the Tocqueville Forum. His book ''Another Sort of Learning'' has been described as "a reflection on different aspects of lifelong learning" by the ''
National Catholic Register The ''National Catholic Register'' is a Catholic newspaper in the United States. It was founded on November 8, 1927, by Matthew J. Smith as the national edition of the '' Denver Catholic Register''. The ''Registers current owner is the Ete ...
''.


Biography

Born in
Pocahontas, Iowa Pocahontas is a city in and the county seat of Pocahontas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,867 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 1,970 population in 2000. History Pocahontas was first settled and surveyed in 1870 by Warrick ...
, and educated in local public schools, he graduated from Knoxville (Iowa) High School in 1945. After time in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
(1946–47), he joined the
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
(California Province) in 1948, and then attended
Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...
in California. He earned an MA in Philosophy from
Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...
in 1955. He earned a PhD in
Political Theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in 1960, and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1963. In 1964, he earned an M.A. in Sacred Theology from
Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...
. Schall was a member of the faculty of the Institute of Social Sciences,
Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...
, Rome, from 1964 to 1977, and a member of the Government Department,
University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...
, from 1968 to 1977. Among the sources for Schall's lectures were Christian Scripture, Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, G.K. Chesterton, and Pope Benedict XVI. Before retiring, he was a member of the Government Department at Georgetown University since 1977. In 1993, 2004 and 2010, Schall was presented the Edward B. Bunn, SJ, Award for Faculty Excellence by the senior class in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University. Schall retired from his position at Georgetown in December 2012 and moved into the Jesuit retirement home in Los Gatos, California (on the same property as the location of his old novitiate) where he continued to write books and articles for publications and websites. He also continued to give presentations to small groups on request. Schall served as a member of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace, in Rome from 1977 to 1982. He was also a member of the National Council of the Humanities, and a member of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1984 to 1990. He wrote more than 30 books and edited or co-edited 8 others. By July 2002, his website listed his authorship of 356 essays, 148 book reviews, and 660 columns, including his monthly column, "Sense and Nonsense," for the Catholic journal ''Crisis'', and his columns in ''Gilbert!'' magazine, the ''Saint Austin Review'', and the ''University Bookman''. Schall was an expert on the thought of
G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...
; he edited two volumes of Chesterton's collected works and wrote his own volume of essays on the Catholic convert. Schall was a vigorous supporter of
Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
's critique of western culture which categorizes it as a "dictatorship of relativism". Schall taught that Catholicism is where "Revelation is addressed to reason" and stated that "We are living in a time where the logic of disorder is at work, rejecting systematically the logic of being a human being." Schall stated that the societal re-examination of the definition of the family "is not just an accident," but is the culture "rejecting heavenly answers and replacing them with human answers. A will is leading you, and it says there is something wrong with being human. That goes back to the whole drama of the Fall.
C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
says the ultimate sin, the ultimate disorder, is to say what is good is bad, what is bad is good." A reporter summed up his statements as "If we n societyreject the intelligibility and goodness of creation, will we still be able to hear God’s voice calling us to our supernatural end?" Schall survived a few major illnesses, including one that resulted in the loss of function in one of his eyes. In the summer of 2010 he had a cancerous jawbone and its attached teeth removed and replaced with bone taken from his leg.


Writings (selection)

Books *''Reason, Revelation, and the Foundations of Political Philosophy'' (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1967) *''Redeeming the Time'' (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1968) LC 68-13845 ASIN: B0006BUD2I *''Human Dignity and Human Numbers'' (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1971) *''Play On: From Games to Celebrations'' (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971) *''The Sixth Paul'' (Canfield, OH: Alba Books, 1977) *''Welcome, number 4,000,000,000!'' (Canfield, OH: Alba Books, 1977) *''The Praise of "Sons of Bitches": On the Worship of God by Fallen Men'' (Slough, England: St Paul Publications, 1978) *''Christianity and Life'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1981) *''Christianity and Politics'' (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1981) *''Church, State, and Society in the Thought of John Paul II'' (Chicago: Franciscan Herald, 1982) *''Liberation Theology'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1982) *''The Politics of Heaven and Hell: Christian Themes from Classical, Medieval, and Modern Political Philosophy'' (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984) *''Unexpected Meditations Late in the XXth Century'' (Quincy, IL: Franciscan Press, 1985) *''Another Sort of Learning'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988) *''Religion, Wealth, and Poverty'' (Vancouver, B. C.: Fraser Institute, 1990) *''What Is God Like?: Philosophers and 'Hereticks' on the Triune God: The Sundry Paths of Orthodoxy from Plato, Augustine, Samuel Johnson, Nietzsche, Camus, and Flannery O'Connor, even unto Charlie Brown and the Wodehouse Clergy'' (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press/Michael Glazer, 1992) **An edition of ''What Is God Like?'' was published in Manila, P.I., by St. Paul's, 1995. *''Does Catholicism Still Exist?'' (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1994) *''Idylls and Rambles: Lighter Christian Essays'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1994) *''At the Limits of Political Philosophy: From "Brilliant Errors" to Things of Uncommon Importance'' (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 1996) ; paperbound, *''Jacques Maritain: The Philosopher in Society'' (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997) *''Schall on Chesterton: Timely Essays on Timeless Paradoxes'' (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 2000) *''On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs'' (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2001) *''Reason, Revelation, and Human Affairs: Selected Writings of James V. Schall'', Marc D. Guerra, editor (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2001) *''Roman Catholic Political Philosophy'' (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2006) *''Sum Total Of Human Happiness'' (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, 2006) *''The Order of Things'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2007) *''The Regensburg Lecture'' (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, 2007) *''The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking'' (Wilmington, DE:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...
, 2008) *''The Mind That Is Catholic: Philosophical & Political Essays'' (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 2008) *''The Classical Moment: Selected Essays on Knowledge and Its Pleasures'' (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, Dec 15, 2010) *''The Modern Age'' (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, Dec 10, 2010) *''Reasonable Pleasures: The Strange Coherences of Catholicism'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2013) Pamphlets *''A Journey through Lent'' (London: The Catholic Truth Society, 1976) 24pp. *''The Catechism of the Catholic Church'' (Leesburg, VA.: Catholic Home Studies Institute, 1993). 22pp. *''Ethics and Economics'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Acton Institute, 1998) 40pp. ASIN: B000GT3QW4 *''A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning'' (Wilmington, DE:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...
, 2000) 66pp. Edited with introduction *''The Whole Truth about Man: John Paul II to University Students and Faculties.'' (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1981) *''Sacred in All Its Forms: John Paul II on Human Life'' (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1984) *''Essays on Christianity and Political Philosophy.'' with George Carey. (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984) *''Out of Justice, Peace.'' Pastorals of the German and French Bishops. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1984) *''G. K. Chesterton, Collected Works, Vol. IV, What's Wrong with the World, etc.'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986) *''Studies on Religion and Politics.'' with Jerome J. Hanus. (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1986) *''On the Intelligibility of Political Philosophy: Essays of Charles N. R. McCoy.'' with John Schrems. (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 1989) *''G. K. Chesterton, Collected Works, Vol. XX, Christendom in Dublin, Irish Impressions, the New Jerusalem, etc.'' (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002)


References


External links


Fr. Schall's website at Georgetown University

Fr. Schall's other website

Fr. Schall's articles
at ''The Catholic Thing''
Fr. Schall's articles
at ''Crisis Magazine'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schall, James V. 1928 births 2019 deaths People from Pocahontas, Iowa Military personnel from Iowa Writers from Iowa Georgetown University faculty 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits American Roman Catholic priests Santa Clara University alumni Gonzaga University alumni University of San Francisco faculty Catholics from Iowa