I really enjoy movies with social and political themes. Sometimes its nice to take a break from reading political and economic works in order to sit down and enjoy a film that provides a glimpse at socio-political conditions across history and around the world. Here are my favorite social and political movies. Please feel free to list some of your own favorites in the comment box. Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) – Based on the book, Natasha’s Story by Michael Nicholson,... Read more
The dialogical character of the human person can be established according to a Christological foundation where Jesus Christ, the Logos incarnate, serves as the archetype for humanity. We are made in the image of Christ in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (cf. Col 2:9). The Logos, the image of the invisible Godhead, serves as the prototype of our existence. If we bring these positions together, as Marius Victorinus suggests we should, this leads us to... Read more
(And after so many years of trying to make women be just like men, society has realized that we are indeed different and that each gender can contribute to society in a special and unique way) The Survey done by the Pew Research Institute in the past decade shows that most mothers prefer part-time jobs. These women feel that it is difficult to be a good worker and a good mother at the same time while holding full-time positions. The... Read more
Well, not everything he says is actually wrong. In his press report on July 12, he made a rather interesting statement, “It’s a war in which an enemy will kill innocent men, women and children in order to achieve a political objective.” Clearly he is correct. Clearly, the implication of this is that it is wrong to kill innocent men, women and children to achieve political objectives. I really agree with this line of thinking. It is also why I... Read more
Here’s the trailer for a new film from the San Damiano Foundation entitled The Narrow Path, which features the inspiring Jesuit priest and author, Fr. John Dear. The film looks excellent, and I am eager to see it. “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8) “NO TO WAR”! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity.” (Pope John Paul II, 2003 Address to the Diplomatic Corps, no. 4) Read more
Much of the animosity in US Catholic circles in the US stems from the fact that neither of the two big parties provides a comfortable home for Catholics. And maybe this is the problem. There are too few choices. Here’s a radical suggestion. Should we get rid of the antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system and embrace a form of proportional representation? There are many forms of proportional representation, but they all try to align the percent of votes cast for a... Read more
Should gun control be seen as part of the culture of life in the US? Consider the following international gun violence statistics, from a 1998 study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Gun-related deaths per 100,000 people: U.S.A. 14.24Brazil 12.95Mexico 12.69Argentina 8.93Finland 6.46Switzerland 5.31France 5.15Canada 4.31Norway 3.82Austria 3.70Portugal 3.20Israel 2.91Belgium 2.90Australia 2.65Italy 2.44New Zealand 2.38Denmark 2.09Sweden 1.92Greece 1.29Germany 1.24Ireland 0.97Spain 0.78Netherlands 0.70Scotland 0.54England and Wales 0.41Taiwan 0.37Singapore 0.21Hong Kong 0.14South Korea 0.12Japan 0.05 The US is off... Read more
Gerald Augustinus of The Cafeteria is Closed has turned to his wife for support against the barrage of “left-wing Catholic” criticism that is aimed at his views on immigration. Why do I bring this up? After all, some of Vox Nova’s own contributors have stated their views on immigration and have refuted many times the “law of the land/national sovereignty” approach that Gerald and others embrace, consistently ignoring or disregarding the consistent and holistic teachings of the Catholic Church on... Read more
This is a (brief) follow up to my (not so brief) argument in favor of single payer health care systems (see here and here for the gory details). As I noted, the most common argument made by those who defend the current American system is that the waiting lists are interminably long in other countries. Now, Businessweek sheds some light on this question (via Kevin Drum). The bottom line: “American people are already waiting as long or longer than patients... Read more
The Catholic League is highlighting the behavior of an anti-immigrant group called the San Diego Minutemen. After a local priest decided to help workers seek employment, this group of hyper-nationalists began protesting outside the church– by displaying an effigy of a priest in a devil mask, harassing a First Communion Mass, demanding that the Catholic Church be taxed, and denouncing priests as pedophiles. Is Donohue finally waking up? For years now, Donohue has aligned himself with the Republican-linked political evangelical... Read more
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