Episode 176: Maria Charlotta Maric of the Swedish Christian Democratic Party draws Wisdom from Martin Buber (December 4, 2020)

In this episode of The Open Door, panelists Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder speak with Maria Charlotta Maric of the Swedish Christian Democratic Party, who draws Wisdom from Martin Buber (December 4, 2020)How did you come to join the Christian Democracy Party?What is involved in your work as an “ombudsman” for the PartyYou now teach an ABC Course on Christian Democracy. What gave you the idea for this project? How is it working out?Are you content to describe yourself as a “politician”? Might there be a better term?Does the Christian Democratic Party have an “ideology”? Again, might there be a better term?Values are critical, and so are human rights. Are core values and basic rights self-evident or do they depend on something still more fundamental? If so, what is it?Is Christian Democracy something of a utopian view? Or is it rather pragmatic? Or still something else?Politics is often “rough and tumble.” What do you make of Chesterton’s quip that people quarrel because they don’t know how to argue?Can dialogue avoid becoming formulaic and platitudinous? St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) is one of the six patron saints of Europe, along with St. Edith Stein and Sts. Cyril and Methodius. What might be, or become, the significance of this?