Now that we are well into summer blockbuster season, I recently found myself thinking about a summer film from the past year—Marvel Comics’ Iron Man 3. Moviegoers have seen a lot of Iron Man in recent years. In addition to three Iron Man movies, Robert Downey Jr. also played the role in the box office… Read More “Hearts of Iron, Hearts of Flesh”
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its long-awaited draft of carbon pollution standards for existing fossil fuel power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan. Americans now have 120 days to offer public comments on the rules, and U.S. Catholics are encouraged to do so using the ethical principles articulated by the U.S.… Read More Catholics against Climate Change: Faithful Advocates for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan
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
This post by Brendan Busse, SJ is also featured on The Jesuit Post. My apologies for the headline. I’ve come to hate those ‘up-worthy’ internet burlesque artists who prey upon our need to know, our thirst for fulfillment, our fear of missing out, and our dis-ease with the slightest gap between us and the next big… Read More What Happens Next Will Totally Amaze You
I recently returned home from an eight-day silent retreat at the Jesuit retreat house in Gloucester, MA, and I am finding that this time away has afforded me a unique perspective on the “real” world. As you might imagine, the world sounds pretty different after a week of silence. My first impression upon reentry was… Read More How the world sounds after eight days of silence
Cardinal Timothy Dolan has a new article in the Wall Street Journal. It is massively disappointing and either exceptionally inarticulate and incoherent or an intentional dissent from Catholic doctrine on economic justice. What is clear is that it is an attempt (albeit failed) to spin Pope Francis’ strong defense of economic justice in order to… Read More Cardinal Dolan Tries to Spin Pope Francis’ Message with Help from a Free Market Critic of the Pope
In September 2003, Pope John Paul II traveled to Slovakia with an agenda to call the Slovakians to bring their Christian heritage into the European Union. Midway through his opening remarks, John Paul slumped down, breathless and unable to finish his speech. Suddenly, a seemingly quiet trip became a storm of media frenzy. This Pope,… Read More Pedagogy of Suffering: John Paul II’s Victory
Millennial 