Common Good

Lent and Taxes

An unjust law is no law. And I would offer the proposition that the current tax system is unjust.

A Primer on Politics and Prudence

The political scene is drawing toward the center of our national consciousness (if it ever left) as Democratic presidential debates take place and the 2020 election nears. As this process happens, faithful Catholics need sound ways to think about candidates, policies, and the landscape in general. Josef Pieper, a great twentieth-century philosopher, provides a broad … Read more

Care for the Common Good Requires Sexual Morality

Catholics who put themselves forward as advocates of social justice seem to behave as if the sexual teachings of the Church did not bear upon the issue at all. These Catholics are not wrong to care for the common good. The quality of their recommendation—whether it is mistaken or not—will depend upon what they recommend, and how, … Read more

Do Ideals Matter Anymore?

Man is a rational animal. From a moral standpoint, that means he aspires to act—and often does act—in accordance with principles that join together to form an ideal of life. He’s also social, so his ideals aren’t simply individual. In part that’s because they relate to social functions. What is it to be a proper … Read more

Lawless: Obamacare and Federal Power

When referring to the nationalizing of medicine known as the Affordable Care Act, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, “We have to pass the law to see what’s in it.” “[Law] is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated,” … Read more

Why Do We Honor Self-Sacrifice?

Memorial Day marks one of several days Americans celebrate the many great blessings that we have as a nation.  We traditionally do this by taking trips to the lake, playing baseball, and racing.  At these events, there is also always a moment in which we pause in silence to reflect.  On what are we collectively … Read more

The Catholic Response to “Abolitionist” Feminism

Feminism is a slippery issue that gets more slippery the more you think about it. It starts off seeming perfectly clear. One Catholic feminist, an intelligent woman, tells us that “The core of feminism lies in the simple demand that women receive the same respect as men as independent, capable human beings.” She’s right, I think, … Read more

Investment and the Common Good

It is now twenty years since the publication of Centesimus Annus, yet only halting steps have been made towards an adequate reception of it. In his concluding remarks to that great encyclical, the Holy Father warned that the Church’s social teaching was no mere theory, “but above all else a basis and a motivation for … Read more

Progressive Inhumanity, Part One: The State against the Family

When they were casting for the old western The Rifleman, one small boy was brought into the room after another, to meet the star Chuck Connors and the director.  Then young Johnny Crawford came in, a little gangly in the arms and legs, with tousled hair and large brown eyes.  “That’s the son of Lucas … Read more

At Belmont Abbey, Catholics Fight Back

The first counterattack on behalf of religious liberty has, perhaps, begun. Earlier this month, Belmont Abbey College, a small, century-old Benedictine college in North Carolina that has deep devotion to its Catholic identity, sued the federal government for violating its rights to worship freely because of certain provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, know … Read more

Who Are These Fake Catholic Groups?

As every American teenager knows, fake IDs are easy to come by.  The same is true in politics.  Anne Hendershott, writing at Catholic Advocate, has explained why organizations like Catholics United, Catholic Democrats, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good are “fake Catholic groups.” What other than a fake Catholic group would pay for … Read more

The Catholic Left Meets in Philadelphia

  The Convention for the Common Good was held in Philadelphia over the past weekend. When I wrote about the gathering in early April, Catholics Organize to Elect Obama, one of its co-sponsors wrote to me saying that I had mischaracterized their “non-partisan” effort to bring Catholics together to discuss public policy. Further, they told … Read more

Catholics Organize to Elect Barack Obama

► Note: This column has been corrected, 7:30pm, Thursday, April 3, 2008. See letter following this column. Lately there’s been much talk about the endorsements for Sen. Barack Obama made by two Catholic leaders: Republican pro-life jurist Doug Kmiec and Democratic pro-life Senator Bob Casey Jr.of Pennsylvania. But these endorsements are just the tip of … Read more

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