Wayfarer, high five on the list. While I don't recognize all of the names, there are a good many that I do, particularly the Catholics whom I admire much like Allam, the pope, Glendon (who skipped the Notre Dame ceremony in protest of Obama speaking to the grads and receiving an honorary degree when she was supposed to have received the prestigious Laetare Medal) and George. Also like Phillips for not pulling any punches in criticizing radical Islam and Collins for showing that faith and science are in harmony.

I agree with you Cat except for one thing.  Foreigners and intellectuals are people too.  This list happens to be specifically intellectuals which leaves most of us out.  But we can still do our part with the opportunities that God provides all of us to share in His love;) 

I can't say that I've ever heard of most of that list of eggheads. Nor can I say I am impressed with some of the causes they represent. I suspect these intellectuals enjoy the spotlight as much as any celeb.

Human dignity is advanced by people, not slick foreigners. Human dignity is people donating a few cans to a food drive, or giving a panhandler a buck, or giving a hitchhiker a ride, or spending time on freerice.com, or putting a couple of bucks into a Salvation Army bucket, or holding a door for somebody in a wheelchair....

There are individuals with the money and the clout who have done awesome work in making the human condition a little easier. And they should be praised. They didn't do it by themselves and that should be recognized as well.