August 17, 2021

A major cause of our loneliness epidemic is the 50-year deterioration of intermediate-sized groups—ethnic clubs, lodges, parishes, neighborhood associations, precincts, young adult clubs and even families. The extended family no longer lives within walking distance. Seniors relocate among strangers; their children often live in other towns. A person who uses a social media platform has, on average, about 150 “friends.” Several surveys reveal that if friendship implies steady, close and dependable, the actual number is less than five. Gallup Poll... Read more

August 5, 2021

I’m against social distancing. I’m into physical distancing instead. There is already too much social distance in our country. Covid-19 is accompanied by a dramatic increase in the amount of time people spend alone. “People last year spent far less waking time—an hour and a half less [per day], on average—with people outside their own household,” write Ben Casselman and Ella Koeze in N.Y. Times (7/29/21), summarizing a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). Time spent all... Read more

June 29, 2021

The Working Catholic by Bill Droel Modern Catholic social doctrine dates from May 1891 with the publication of On the Condition of Labor by Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903). Customarily, social encyclicals are subsequently released on significant anniversaries of On the Condition of Labor. In May 1981 Mehmet Ali Agca, a criminal from Turkey, shot Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) in St. Peter’s Square. Thus John Paul II’s anniversary encyclical was delayed until September 1981. It is titled On Human Work.... Read more

June 2, 2021

The Working Catholic: Labor Day Part IIby Bill Droel Covid-19 brings us an opportunity to experiment with different work arrangements, including shorter hours. For example, the 100 employees at Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com), a popular crowd-funding platform, will work four days per week in 2022, a minimum of 32 hours. Their pay remains the same as when the company required 40 hours. Aziz Hasan, Kickstarter CEO, says this is not a gimmick. “It’s really about…a more potent impact… [And] it opens up... Read more

May 14, 2021


The Working Catholic: Shrine, Statue and Boat by Bill Droel Three Catholic women, champions of the poor, are honored with landmarks in lower Manhattan. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, SC (1774-1821) came from a prominent New York City family and married a wealthy merchant. But difficulties arrived soon enough, including the death of her husband to tuberculosis. Thereafter Seton became a Catholic and moved to Maryland. There she established a Catholic academy for girls; the first Catholic school in the U.S.... Read more

May 3, 2021


The Working Catholic: After Covid by Bill Droel The parish’s live-stream Mass should continue. In fact, we should invest in a second camera and even consider some programming during the week. No, say other parish leaders. Live stream was helpful, but its continuation will discourage people from returning to the church building. Similar questions are raised about parish meetings via Zoom; about the merits of investing more time and money in the parish website; about the viability of the parish... Read more

March 9, 2021


The Working Catholic: Truth by Bill Droel God has a plan and God plants purposefulness inside God’s creation. The universe has an order, even though we do not yet completely know all about it. Behavior is purposeful, even if we sometimes are guided by impulse or at times violate the intended purpose of nature and life. Events are meaningful, even if our complete understanding of them eludes us. As God’s purposeful partners, we are capable of imposing meaning even on... Read more

March 4, 2021


Lent is the time for particular attention to sinfulness. Yet this year as in years past an increasing number of Catholics and others forego participation in the sacrament of reconciliation (aka confession). Why? The dominant explanation is that workaday Christians simply do not feel sinful. Our culture is saturated with psychological language about self-fulfillment, replacing the language of evil. Yesterday’s poor behavior is merely a step on the way to a better self. As particularly related to sinfulness, the insights... Read more

February 12, 2021


  Elite liberalism is the default philosophy in our society. (This modified liberalism is not liberalism in the sense of Democratic Party. Both Republicans and Democrats subscribe to elite liberalism, particularly those in Silicon Valley, in Los Angeles, in lower Manhattan, in the Beltway, on college campuses and in technical hubs.) This liberal philosophy prizes individual freedom and individual achievements. It believes in self-improvement; that is, in meritocracy. Thus inequality is justified with the saying: “What you earn depends on... Read more

January 31, 2021


The Working Catholic: Populism by Bill Droel The term populism is wrongly applied to authoritarians like Viktor Orban in Hungry and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey or to right-wing politicians like Marine Le Pen in France or President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasil. Nor does it have anything to do with those inspired by former president Donald Trump, writes Thomas Frank in The People, No (Henry Holt Co., 2020). To use the word populist to describe demagogues and wannabe revolutionaries inverts... Read more

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