I’m starting to build a Catholic case for free culture.
I’m no theologian, so I’ve got some research to do on what may be relevant to explore. I’ve found a few leads so far: a Catholic free software group, Elèutheros, focused on exploring the affinities between the philosophies of free software and Christianity, a great article over at the New Liturgical Movement about whether or not the Catholic Church can become a patron of the arts again, and some clips of Fulton Sheen talking about freedom and property from an American perspective (not unlike Eben Moglen’s approach).
I’m looking for relevant passages in scripture too. I don’t have much yet. There’s a parable (Matt 20:1-16) that I think is relevant for defending commercial use (though I may be relying on way too literal of an interpretation… I think there’s something there though), and there are the passages that Elèutheros is focused on.
I plan to approach this from practical, economic and moral perspectives. (Other ideas?)
First, I hope to post an overview on my thoughts from each of those perspectives, and then I plan to elaborate on various ideas, respond to objections and gather relevant ideas and examples, etc. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
