In my recent discussion thread, there were some pretty dismissive things said about people I dearly love, people who are hurting, people who need our prayers. I am speaking, of course, of our brothers and sisters in our nation’s ghettos. I grew up in such a place, and can say from personal experience that these places are beset by violence, and despair is a constant temptation when you are immersed in such a place. And yet, I also know with... Read more
Given my concerns about Dolan agreeing to speak at the Republican National Convention, I want to return to this now that he has actually given the benediction. Here is the text in full: With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, let us pray. (makes sign of the cross) Almighty God, Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, we beg Your continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom and on all those who proudly call America home. We ask... Read more
Regarding Cardinal Dolan’s decision to offer a benediction – a blessing – following Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech on the final evening of the Republican National Convention, I recently wrote: In a sense, it will be the final piece of business at the GOP convention, and it puts Cardinal Dolan in the position of offering what Mirriam-Webster defines as “the invocation of a blessing; especially: the short blessing with which public worship is concluded.” When the balloons have all hit the... Read more
The overall vision of the corpus of magisterial documents known as Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has become a hotly debated subject in the context of this year’s US election melodrama, both within and outside of the Catholic Church, especially since Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as a running mate (and much is now being made of the fact that both vice-presidential candidates are Catholic). As a result of this, two dramatically different versions of CST are being portrayed. On the... Read more
Some things are clear. The number of abortions is related to the law, but it is also related to underlying socio-economic conditions – poverty, economic opportunity, social cohesion, the adequacy of healthcare. While abortion rates in the United States have been trending downwards since the 1970s, the steepest rate of decrease took place during the Clinton administration. On the other hand, there is no doubt that legal restrictions on abortion will also reduce abortion rates. With this in mind, I thought... Read more
Resolved: it is a sin to buy a house in a neighborhood because it advertises itself as “exclusive”: with sufficient knowledge, willfulness and deliberation it can be mortally sinful. Discuss. Read more
Should Cardinal Dolan deliver the benediction at the Republican National Convention? According to the AP, Romney announced his appearance last night on EWTN. Dolan is scheduled to give the benediction on the last night of the convention, when Romney accepts his nomination for president. His spokesman, according to the AP, is denying that this should be viewed as an endorsement of Romney: “It’s not an endorsement. It’s as a priest going to pray.” Conservatives have been quick to defend the... Read more
Over the past few years, there has been a welcome renaissance in the economics of inequality. This stems from a huge rise in inequality over the past 30 years or so, especially marked in the US, but also in evidence elsewhere. This rise followed a sequence of policies that were geared to boost long-term growth and productivity – policies such as lower taxes, less progressivity in the tax code, curbing the power of unions, deregulating the financial sector. We know the... Read more
Consider this famous parable, contained in a recent daily Mass gospel: “That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.... Read more
Choose Wisely. This election year anamnesis comes to us via a “campaign” originated by Mennonite pastors encouraging congregations to celebrate communion on election day. Of course, as Catholics, we already celebrate communion every day as our one great hope of unity, the place where our Lord really and sacramentally meets us, a living reality much bigger than all of us, the holy mystery that miraculously holds us together. All the more reason to call to mind, especially on the day when... Read more
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