Abstract
The following article argues that the United States bishops have adopted an objective rhetoric, meaning a rhetoric that focuses attention on the "content" of the argument instead of the person making the argument. Such a rhetoric is bound to fail after the abuse scandal that has beset the American Catholic Church. A subjective rhetoric assumes that the person making the argument cannot be separated from the content of the argument. The documents of the Second Vatican Council hint at the possibility of a subjective rhetoric that has, paradoxically, been employed with success by radical Islamic groups. Contemporary European theologians, especially Johannes Baptist Metz, have laid the groundwork for a subjective rhetoric through what they call "practical fundamental theology." Such an approach offers a model of apologetics that is more scriptural and more plausible than the approach currently taken by the United States bishops when attempting to discuss issues of war and peace.
Published Version
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