Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Tearing down idols: William Cavanaugh’s theology is a must-read for the modern West by Fr. Patrick Gilger: “Because if it is not disenchantment but idolatry that we must beware of, then it is not re-enchantment but sacramentality that will provide the remedy. Countering idolatry, then, means engaging in ‘material practices that embody a sacramental relationship between humans and created things.’ Just as he argued in Torture and Eucharist, it is only by engaging in counter-disciplinary ritual dramas—shared, concrete practices like Confession and the Eucharist—that our imaginations, bodies and lives can be freed from the seductions of idolatry and ‘conformed to the sacrament of God’s presence in the world.’”

The Real Reason People Aren’t Having Kids by Christine Emba: “If falling birth rates can be attributed to a loss of meaning, the question then becomes if there can be any government-based solution to fertility decline. People debating whether to have children seem to be seeking certainty that life is a good thing, that more life would thus be better, and that assistance, if needed, will arrive. Government policy can help with the last part. The first two assurances will most likely come only from another source.”

‘White Dudes for Harris’ Was a Missed Opportunity by Tyler Austin Harper: “Above all, this kind of racially tailored approach, which divvies up the party into a series of micro-constituencies sorted along lines of skin pigment, accepts the implicit narrative framing of our conservative opponents: that this country is subdivided into warring factions, more different than they are alike, who can be reached only by appeals to tribalism.”

Pro-Lifers Helped Bring Trump to Power. Why Has He Abandoned Us? by Patrick Brown: “Pro-life conservatives should be cleareyed about this new phase of politics. The Republican nominee seems all too content to sell out those of us who got into politics to advance policies that protect what we see as human life from its earliest stages. Pro-life groups should not be too quick to offer Mr. Trump rhetorical cover or accommodate Mr. Trump’s redefinition of common sense on the issue.”

Hong Kong young people struggle to rebuild their lives after being jailed under Beijing’s crackdown by Kanis Leung: “Five years after the protests erupted, the lives of some young people who were jailed or arrested during Beijing’s political crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement remain in limbo. Unlike famed activists, these former protesters usually receive little attention from most of the city, even though their activism for the same democratic goals has exacted a similarly heavy toll.”

If D.O.T. Gets Its Way, Families Will Sit Together on Flights for Free by Christine Chung: “Recently, President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have pressured airlines to implement fee-free family seating, a continuation of the Biden Administration’s push for airlines to be more transparent and accommodating of travelers. President Biden even called on Congress to pass legislation targeting fees for families to sit together.Instead, the Transportation Department is directly taking aim at them with a new rule proposed today.”

Banning Smartphones? Now Bring Back the Books. by Peter Biles: “Phone-free schools are a good idea. Even better are phone-free schools that are reading-centered.”

Statue of John Lewis Replaces a Confederate Memorial in Georgia by Amanda Holpuch: “A statue of John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressman, was installed on Friday in front of a Georgia county courthouse in a space occupied for more than 100 years by a Confederate memorial.”

Is there still room for pro-life Democrats? by MSW: “We Catholics support labor rights because the dignity of workers demands it, even if the freedom of corporations is thereby impinged. We Catholics support the rights of migrants to succor and shelter because their human dignity demands it, even if the host country must allocate resources to address their needs. We Catholics support a just distribution of societal resources because the common good demands it, even if taxes are, by nature, confiscatory. We support action to confront climate change because the common good and concern for human life demand it, even if such a confrontation will impose significant changes on our common life. On all these issues, Democrats eschew the libertarian position. On abortion, they embrace it.”