Category Archives: Featured Articles
There has been a flurry of commentary on the Introductory Note added to the new version of “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” Some have commented that the version just published by the bishops’ conference is the 2007 version, without revisions, and, as such, has been scored a victory by the Catholics who supported Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. Naturally, those who abused the 2007 document in telling Catholic voters that Obama was a “pro-life” candidate — no, we are not kidding — would be pleased to receive what they consider a green light to do more of the same in 2012. (more…)
Medicare must be changed if the program is to survive. Leaving the program on its current trajectory would expose seniors to rationed and restricted care while the reforms that House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is proposing would actually save and preserve Medicare.
Nonetheless, those who are demagoguing the issue for political gain are pretending that they are going to protect Medicare from any change. But this denies that under the president’s policies; 1) $575 billion will be taken out of Medicare to pay for two new ObamaCare entitlement programs; 2) President Obama gives unprecedented power to an unelected, unaccountable panel of bureaucrats whose sole job is to cut payments for medical care. (more…)
The Kingdom of God is neither a program of social reform nor a political platform. When rendering to Caesar those things that are Caesar’s, we do a disservice to God if we reduce God to the level of a political agitator. Yet while highly specific, programmatic prescriptions for government are inherently suspect if based on claims of divine inspiration, it is certainly meet and right, in assessing policy choices, to apply broad principles derived from faith – in order to ensure they are indeed consonant with the most profound truths we will ever know. Catholics wrestling with American federal budgetary issues, therefore, would do well to inform themselves of some of the themes stressed by their most recently beatified servant, Pope John Paul II. Quite reasonably called by one scholar “the Pope of Subsidiarity,” PJPII distrusted overly centralized bureaucracies for excellent, faith-based reasons. (more…)
Economic Issues
The well-being of our families, communities, and nation depends on the success of business and industry to create wealth. The greater the growth of industry, the more stable our society becomes: “Another name for peace is development. Just as there is a collective responsibility for avoiding war, so too there is a collective responsibility for promoting development” (Centesimus Annus, 52).
Business and industry create the wealth that provides financial support for their workers, both blue and white collar, and their families through earned wages, medical benefits, life insurance, disability, and pension plans. Without these wages and benefits, most workers would be unable to obtain the goods necessary to living life without relying on the government for direct assistance. (more…)
By Deal Hudson
A host of commentators on the Tea Party phenomena have mindlessly described the participants as exclusively concerned with fiscal issues. Anyone who has attended one of these events knows better.
Those who attend Tea Parties across the country are solid, middle Americans, from blue collar to white collar, all united not only by a concern for the profligate spending of the federal government, but also by the equally irresponsible social agenda of the Obama administration. (more…)
By Stephen Phelan
It’s a good thing that the conversation about “Social Justice” is heating up again. The exchange between Deacon Keith Fournier and Deal Hudson is the latest between faithful Catholics who are serious about helping the Church communicate its teaching on the proper ordering of society with regard to politics and economics, and how those who have some degree of wealth can best enter into solidarity those who don’t. (more…)
By Matt Smith
Congress comes back to Washington D.C. this week. They have a lot of unfinished business most importantly being the fact they have not passed appropriations bills for the next fiscal year which begins October 1st and it does not look like they will get them done before running home to campaign. This will force a lame duck session and the pro-abortion lobby led by Planned Parenthood is cheering for Congress to do just that this year. (more…)
Monday, September 13, 2010 marks 50 days until Americans will go to the polls to vote in the mid-term Congressional elections.
Our friends at Priests for Life recently started a “Prayer for our Nation as we Prepare to Elect our Leaders.” They are calling upon each of us to join in the following prayer each day leading up to the important decisions we will make on November 2, 2010 about the future direction of our country. (more…)
By Patrick Lee
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the life of good deeds that God has prepared in advance . . .”
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By Deal Hudson
These remarks were made on August 27 in New York City at the rally sponsored by the Catholic League to protest the decision of Mr. Anthony Malkin, owner of the Empire State Building, not to turn on blue and white lights to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, presided at the event held on 39th St. in front of the Empire State Building.
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