El Salvador. Honduras. Guatemala. Three countries in Central America with increasing, rampant gang violence and homicide. These are also the 3 countries from which the greatest influx of unaccompanied minors are crossing the border, fleeing to the United States. If we look at the graph, it is clear that the increase of unaccompanied children crossing… Read More Crisis on the Border: The Global Refugee Crisis Comes to America
As prepared for delivery at “Erroneous Autonomy: The Catholic Case against Libertarianism” (with minor edits). Updated with video. As I began preparing for today, I went back and reread some of the theoretical texts of libertarianism – Friedman, Nozick, Rand, and Hayek. These provide the intellectual claims upon which today’s political libertarian agenda are based.… Read More Solidarity, Imago Dei, and the Catholic Case against Libertarianism
“Inequality is the root of social ills” (EG 202) is becoming perhaps the most quoted and (for some) infamous line in Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium. Just last week, there was an excellent piece here at Millennial detailing the theological anthropology behind Catholic Social Teaching’s apprehension of extreme inequality. On the one hand, as the article… Read More Inequality & Social Sin: Pope Francis & Elizabeth Warren
This morning my colleague Julie Hanlon Rubio posted an excellent blog post on Paul Ryan and Poverty at Catholic Moral Theology. I agree with her 5 points (on help as the first duty in the face of poverty; the need for personal, cultural, and social change; the need to increase job readiness, job opportunities, and… Read More Caution: Entitlement & Personal Responsibility
In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul is concerned with what causes scandal within the Christian community. Today we are not so concerned with eating meat prepared in connection with Roman sacrifice; instead, sex is the primary preoccupation of the day. Sex is often at the heart of the aptly named TV show Scandal,… Read More Truly Scandalous: Fired for Choosing Life
Last night, as millions were watching the Superbowl, U2 launched their new single “Invisible.” Everything about this song is what fans like myself have come to expect from U2 – both the song and its release pushing us to see those whom we otherwise might not notice (and raising some money for the Global Fund to… Read More There is No Them, Only Us
On Wednesday, the White House Council on Women and Girls released a report, “ RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT: A RENEWED CALL TO ACTION.” Wading through the sobering reality exposed by this report, one thing is crystal clear – sexual violence is widespread and deeply embedded in American culture. An overview of the statistics: Women and girls are the vast majority of victims: nearly… Read More A Culture of Sexual Assault: When Will We Wake Up?
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