Elizabeth Anscombe, Oxford/Cambridge professor of Philosophy
being carried away from protesting in front of an English Abortion Clinic

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Sermon on the Mount calls us to be salt, light and a city on a hill. In this episode I will discuss the Sermon on the Mount, the famous philosopher Elizabeth (G.E.M.) Anscombe and what it means to be a metaphysical animal infused with the sanctifying grace of God. How does Christ direct the purpose of moral action and the meaning of human existence.

Anscombe's obituary in The Guardian after her death in 2002 said about her opposition to honoring Harry St. Truman,,

"Two years earlier, in 1956, she had demonstrated in a very practical way her opposition to consequentialism. When it was proposed that Oxford should give President Truman an honorary degree, she and two others opposed this because of his responsibility for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although overruled, they forced a vote, instead of the customary automatic rubber-stamping of the proposal. "For men to choose to kill the innocent as a means to their ends is always murder," declared Anscombe's pamphlet, Mr Truman's Degree. It sarcastically condoled with the Censor of St Catherine's for having to make a speech "which should pretend to show that a couple of massacres to a man's credit are not exactly a reason for not showing him honour". Elizabeth Anscombe -An exhilarating philosopher, she took to sporting a monocle and smoking cigars , Guardian (UK)

Book: Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life - Kindle Edition by Clare Mac Cumhaill (Author), Rachael Wiseman (Author) 

Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020523.cfm

Music: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 (Mozart) by Musicians from Marlboro is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.