The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has released a 41-page document titled “Toward Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority.” A first translation of the document is HERE. Let’s all carefully review the document before arguing over it. Read more
Dr. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, gave a sermon (no date given) denouncing the Catholic Church as the Babylonian mystery religion: It is the usual mash-up of Reformation and 19th century nativist anti-Catholicism, though I love the mistranslation of “Pontifex Maximus” as “Keeper of the Bridge” between Man and Satan. A southern Baptist pastor dabbling in anti-Catholicism is not news. However, in this case, Dr. Jeffress is identified as Rick Perry’s pastor. I am... Read more
Introduction and Part II “A man whose destitution deprives him of the power to inflict harm is not therefore to be regarded as holy. But when someone has the power to inflict harm yet refrains from doing so, out of reverence for God sparing those who are weaker, he is greatly rewarded after death.”[1] (more…) Read more
One year ago, following about six years of will-I-won’t-I agonizing, I finally made it all the way into the Catholic Church. In my ongoing immersion into the Catholic world before and since (call it mystagogy, call it acculturation), I have observed a number of interesting patterns I might characterize as quintessentially Catholic ways of thinking. Of course, this is emphatically not to say that all Catholics think alike – we’re as far spread all over the map as anybody, to... Read more
I was the lector at mass this morning and first while preparing and then when giving it, I was struck by the opening of the reading from the book of Exodus: You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. (Ex 22:20) This charge to the ancient Israelites seems equally applicable to Americans, since each of us (with the exception of the small handful of native Americans among us) is... Read more
On Monday, the Holy Father will apparently release a letter on the financial crisis that should give uncritical defenders of the capitalist status quo quite a bit to think about. I predict that Catholic devotees of St. Ayn of Rand will be downright scandalized. It should be an interesting week. Read more
In a recent post at In All Things, the blog of America Magazine, Tom Beaudoin asks the provocative question: “What if ‘Occupy Wall Street’ could be attempted in the Catholic Church?” What could lead to such a movement in the Catholic Church? He muses on the reasons in the following way: Or, like the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, would the precipitating awareness that would lead you to join such a movement simply be a recognition of the intractibilty of the the near invisibility,... Read more
It’s no longer enough to try to pay for massive upper income tax cuts by gutting the social programs that help the poor. The latest front in the war on the poor revolves around taxes. An obnoxious group is prancing around claiming that they are part of the 53 percent that pays taxes, and they want to raise taxes on the other 47 percent, the “freeloaders”. Yes, the cat is out of the bag! Republicans want to raise taxes on the... Read more
Today at Regis College here in Toronto we celebrated World Food Day. The event began with that greatest of foods, the Eucharist, and was followed by talks from various perspectives and, of course, eating. My mind is absolutely swimming or, perhaps better, stuffed, and I’d like to share with you a few thoughts from the day. My first thought was, “Is there anything the Bible talks about more than food?” Just think about it. From the bounty of Eden and... Read more
In canyons of glass and Granite The vale of numb and silent tears A Gabriel trumpet sounds, solitary and keening Like grace in the heart of a sinner Calling all who hear, to flee The desolation of greed and avarice To not look back, not once Lest Moloch seduce and ruin. Read more
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