Moral Commitment, Risk Tolerance, and Universalist Counternarratives

This chapter uses a variety of original quantitative and qualitative data to document and describe how commitment facilitates local community protection. The authors define commitment as a normative disposition to mobilize in the public sphere on matters of universal, as opposed to narrow or sectarian, concern. Focusing primarily on local Catholic priests, commitment is rooted in recent trends in Catholic social thought, with concepts such as human dignity and solidarity giving clear theological motive to interventions. The chapter traces levels of commitment to early-career training (the “formation” of priests), emphasizing not only Catholic social thought but also extended immersion in marginalized communities. Priests with high levels of commitment are more willing to assume the substantial risks of Drug War intervention, both to their personal safety and institutional interests. They also drew on theological commitments for the content a moral counter-narrative to populist dehumanization.