Category: Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching / Holiness / Uncategorized

June 16, 2018

Of Warriors and Weakness: A Response to Mark Shea and Mary Pezzulo

Mary Pezzulo and Mark Shea–two of my favourite Patheos Catholic bloggers–have responded to my piece Worshipping Priests, not Warrior Priests. Mark takes the conversation in a new direction with his following insight: One of the many things that anti-Catholic Fundies get wrong about the faith is the notion that if something in Catholic life has some pagan antecedent, that means “Catholics are pagan”. So we are forever treated to pictures of holly at Christmas with...

Catholic Social Teaching / Economics / Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones / Pope Francis / Social Justice / Uncategorized

June 1, 2018

Six principles from Oeconomicae et pecuniariae

In my previous post, I examined the introduction to Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones, the new Vatican document on “economic and financial issues.” Now I will examine part one, entitled “Fundamental Considerations.” It is a complete rejection of libertarianism (laissez-faire economics) in favor of what I would call “person-centered” economics. This document does not contain any detailed policy proposals (7). Figuring those out is our job, not the Vatican’s. Instead, the document expounds key principles that should form the basis of...

Catholic Social Teaching / conspiracy theories / From Papa Francis / Pope Benedict XVI / Pope Francis / Uncategorized / young people / Youth

May 27, 2018

Traditionalism vs Fundamentalism: An Orthodox response to Fr Dwight Longnecker

Is there such creature as the catholic fundamentalist? Responding to fellow WPI blogger Mike Lewis’s use of the term “fundamentalist” in Fundamentalist Catholics and Ecclesial Catholics, Fr Dwight Longnecker writes: [The term “fundamentalist”] was coined in the early 20th c. by conservative Protestants who, in the face of modernism, wished to return to the fundamentals of the faith. […] For Mike Lewis to use the term “fundamentalist” is pejorative and inflammatory. It is imprecise, insulting and...

Catholic Social Teaching / Gaudete et Exsultate / Immigration / Pope Francis / Pro-Life

April 19, 2018

Hospitality and nonviolence: cousins, not twins

“Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development. Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human...

Catholic Social Teaching / Gaudete et Exsultate / Pope Francis / Pro-Life / Social Justice

April 18, 2018

Pro-Lifers vs Pope Francis

Kristina Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, recently wrote an article titled “Where Pope Francis Misses the Mark” where she expresses her concerns for something the Holy Father taught in his Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate. Hawkins expresses many of the same criticisms that other pro-life organizations have stated about this document, so I thought it would be valuable to respond to her article to help clarify for everyone what Pope Francis...

Amoris Laetitia / Catholic Social Teaching / Pope Francis

April 9, 2018

Violence against the intellect

“We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong.” — G.K. Chesterton; “The Catholic Church and Conversion” There’s a character that every Catholic apologist worth his salt has come across pretty often. It’s the so-called “freethinker.” A freethinker will generally tell you all about how the Catholic Church wants to stifle Reason. Namely his reason. He will boast...

Catholic Social Teaching / Church News / Environment / Pope Francis / Pope John Paul II / Social Justice

April 5, 2018

Raymond Arroyo: Policy over Fidelity

“Liberals are kind of like herpes. Just when you think you have it beat, they come back again. There’s no cure. You can only keep it at bay.” – Laura Ingraham, 2018 CPAC Address Note: This is the first post in a series on longtime EWTN host Raymond Arroyo. Part One, “Policy over Fidelity,” explores how Arroyo uses his program, The World Over Live, to promote a political agenda that is often at odds with Church...

Catholic Social Teaching / Church News / Pope Francis / Social Justice / Synod 2018 / Uncategorized / young people / Youth

March 26, 2018

Final Document of the Pre-Synodal Meeting of Young People

“The young person of today is met with a host of external and internal challenges and opportunities, many of which are specific to their individual contexts and some of which are shared across continents. In light of this, it is necessary for the Church to examine the way in which it thinks about and engages with young people in order to be an effective, relevant and life-giving guide throughout their lives.” The Pre-Synodal Meeting of...

Catholic Social Teaching

March 23, 2018

The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich

As an American it is difficult at times to think beyond the Right/Left, Capitalist/Socialist dichotomy that permeates our economic and political landscape. This often makes it difficult for Catholics on either side of the aisle to understand what the Church teaches about the ownership and use of property. It also makes it difficult at times for us to understand, let alone support, some of Pope Francis’ harsh criticisms of Capitalism. Back in 2015, in an...

Category: Catholic Social Teaching

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