That line, from Leonard Cohen’s haunting song, “The Future,” has been replaying in my mind this day, the Feast of the Transfiguration. This morning my pastor contrasted the brilliant appearance of Jesus on Mount Tabor with the flash of atomic light at Hiroshima. On Mount Tabor, our Lord was bathed in a dazzling white light as Moses and Elijah alighted and ministered to him. At 8:15 am on August 6, 1945, the people of Hiroshima saw a similar manifestation of... Read more
Despite his almost venomous dissent from Catholic social teaching, George Weigel is certainly right about one thing: “Catholic social doctrine is a tradition of moral realism: it takes facts seriously.” Over the past few years, the process of arguing and debating people on economic issues in particular has become incredibly frustrating. You use facts and evidence-based arguments, and wait for a factual or evidence-based response that never comes. Instead, you get slogans and ideology. This really hit me in a personal... Read more
Richard E. Pates, bishop of Des Moines, has an excellent essay in America on how the Catholic faith should supersede partisanship. The message is so sorely needed and well-articulated that it’s hard to keep from quoting the whole thing (if you are an American Catholic, whatever your political affiliation, read it!), but here are some not-to-be-missed highlights: Ross Douthat, a New York Times columnist and Catholic convert, says Catholics use their most deeply held values, whether that means defense of the unborn or... Read more
I just read a fascinating interview from the Italian Magazine 30 Days with Remi Brague, who is touted as one of the next recipients of the Ratzinger Prize in Theology. Here is the opening: Professor, we’ll start from here. You define Christians as those who believe in Christ. “Christianists”, on the other hand, are those who exalt and defend Christianity, the Christian civilization … RÉMI BRAGUE: The word “christianist” is not very nice perhaps. But I’m not sorry to have... Read more
From John Cassidy: 1. Gun laws and gun deaths are unconnected. 2. Private enterprise is good; public enterprise is bad. 3. God created America and gave it a special purpose. 4. Our health-care system is the best there is. 5. The Founding Fathers were saintly figures who established liberty and democracy for everyone. 6. America is the greatest country in the world. 7. Tax rates are too high. 8. America is a peace-loving nation: the reason it gets involved in... Read more
This is the unedited text of a sermon I delivered to St. Joseph Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order at our meeting on Sunday, July 22. My brothers and sisters in Christ: May the Lord give you Peace! I want to reflect with you today on the readings from today’s mass, readings that have shown me that God, in his infinite goodness, has a sense of humor. As most of you know, for the past year I have been in... Read more
We are trying to rebuild our global economy after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. As we all know so well, this crisis was no economic accident, but rather was the fruit of an immoral financial sector, which put its own narrow greed ahead of the common good, and in doing so toppled the global economy and caused incalculable pain and misery. It was the fruit of a decades-long push to strip away all oversight of economic behavior,... Read more
When I temporarily moved to El Paso, Texas in January 2010, I was on the verge of being Catholic. My Presbyterian roommate knew this and graciously introduced me to Saint Patrick Cathedral, where I knew nobody, but where something I heard and saw and experienced drew me back. The gospel for that Sunday was the passage from Luke 4 in which Jesus reads from Isaiah, and the rector of the cathedral, Fr. Rick Matty, gave a compelling homily about what Jesus did... Read more
In support of the USCCB’s National NFP Awareness Week, I’d like to share this excerpt from a book I co-authored with my dear friend and colleague Leah Perrault titled How Far Can We Go? A Catholic Guide to Sex and Dating. For many people, the Church’s distinction between the moral status of NFP and that of artificial contraception is difficult to understand. “If Catholics have a good reason to avoid pregnancy,” they wonder, “then why does the Church care whether... Read more
Vincent Miller has an excellent post on the America blog entitled Saving Subsidiarity. He has a lot to say; the following are some key quotes. Subsidiarity envisions not a small government, but a strong, limited one that encourages intermediate bodies and organizations (families, community groups, unions, businesses) to contribute to the common good. It envisions a strong government that protects individuals and small intermediate bodies from the actions of large organizations—not just the state but corporations as well. In “Quadragesimo... Read more
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