A May 2019 Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans think socialism would be a good thing in the U.S. 51% think it would be bad. Those numbers are up from 25% and 40%, respectively, in 1942, according to a Roper poll. However, it seems that … [Read more...]
Socialism: A Bad Penny
Reconsidering Religious Liberty
How to Read Dignitatis Humanae

Two years ago Pope Francis made a visit to the United Arab Emirates where he spoke at an interreligious meeting, offering several comments on fraternity, peacemaking, and religious liberty. At the outset of his message, he spoke of the need … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – April 2020

Equality and Non-discrimination: Catholic Roots, Current Challenges By Jane F. Adolphe, Robert L. Fastiggi, and Michael A. Vacca. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy: An Introduction … [Read more...]
Thou Shall Not Steal
The Universal Destination and the Private Ownership of Goods

The seventh commandment in the Decalogue, “You shall not steal,” is expounded upon in the Catechism in the following excerpt: [The seventh commandment] commands justice and charity in the care of earthly goods and the fruits of men's lab … [Read more...]
The Intentional Killing of an Innocent Human Being Is the Worst Sin!

Life is the first right, on which all the others are based, and which cannot be recuperated once it is lost. – St. John Paul II. This essay is intended to help pro-life apologists address the issue of abortion in parishes, homes, and the … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – July 2019

A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching By Kevin E. McKenna. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) The Abolition of Women: How Radical Feminism Is Betraying Women By Fiorella Nash. Reviewed by Marcus Benedict Peter. … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – May 2019

The Vatican in the Family of Nations: Diplomatic Actions of the Holy See at the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva By Silvano M. Tomasi. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) The Papacy: What the Pope Does … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – January 2019

A Bloody Habit: A Novel By Eleanor Bourg Nicholson. Reviewed by Fr. John Patrick Cush. (skip to review) Was the Reformation a Mistake?: Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Unbiblical By Matthew Levering and Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Reviewed by Dr. … [Read more...]
Alexis de Tocqueville, Subsidiarity, and Clericalism

One of my proudest accomplishments in college was reading Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1830s masterpiece on what really made “democracy” work here, after so many near-misses or never-starts in history. The book was assigned … [Read more...]
Early Winter Reading

With God in America: The Spiritual Legacy of an Unlikely Jesuit. Compiled and edited by John M. DeJak and Marc Lindeijer, S.J. (Chicago: Loyola Press, 2016) 253 pages; $19.95. ISBN: 978-0-8294-4454-4. Reviewed by Patrick M. Laurence. The … [Read more...]
A Recurring Problem at Georgetown University

As a member of the Society of Jesus, it was embarrassing. As a member of the Society of Jesus, it was distressing, to say the least. It was right there in all the papers: life had become cheap—very cheap—happening at one of the first ins … [Read more...]
Questions Answered

Question: Pope Francis recently questioned the ethics of trickledown economics. Are there principles for governing competition in the workplace? Answer: One of the primary moral problems with a semi-capitalist economy is the relation of … [Read more...]
Laudato? Si!

The Holy Father’s recent encyclical on the Christian care of the environment deserves to be read by all the faithful. He takes its name from his beloved Francis of Assisi’s "Canticle," Laudato Si, “Let him be praised.” For too long, the Magi … [Read more...]
The Theological Mind of Laudato Si’

In this article, I consciously refrain from considering the parts of Pope Francis’s new Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si’ (hereafter LS) that have been the most contentiously received, namely: his views of a free market system, the nature and e … [Read more...]
Questions Answered

Can you give me some advice on the morality of anger? Is it always evil? Does the Church give practical moral norms for hiring in companies? Question: Can you give me some advice on the morality of anger? Is it always … [Read more...]
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