UPDATE 2: A Round-Up of Excellent Comments On The Justice & Peace White Paper UPDATE: See my follow-up comments published today: “Fact Check: Why Catholics Who Disagree With Justice & Peace White Papers Aren’t “Cafeteria Catholics.” You may have seen this story which was headlined earlier today on the Drudge Report: The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment... More

I saw this incredible image on a friend’s Facebook wall: The context: “A Greek Orthodox Priest tries to stop a rioter from throwing a Molotov cocktail at Greek Police.” The background: Greece is in social and political crisis right now — crippling national debt and rising taxes are crushing the middle class, eliminating jobs and tearing at the nation’s social fabric,... More

We have a hard time understanding big numbers, because we never encounter them in day-to-day life. “1 Trillion Dollars”? What does that even mean? Carrie Lukas at NRO’s The Corner blog points us to something very helpful — explaining the U.S. Budget in terms of a household budget: The Gainesville Tea Party seems to have the right idea: They take some of our key economic num... More

Joan Frawley Desmond has published an excellent and balanced recap of the Wisconsin fight over reforming government unions and how local bishops responded to the struggle. It’s not a rosy picture — Bishop Morlino of Madison in particular laments the divisions and partisanship which defined the Catholic debate throughout its course. But it’s important going forward that we underst... More

Vatican Bank President Ettore Gotti Tedeschi We’re going to be hearing a lot about raising taxes this year and next, and especially about the need to raise taxes on “the rich” in order to force them to pay their “fair share.” That’s because the American public has woken up to the fact that our government has been outspending itself at a furious pace — and ... More

One of the most tiresome lies about World Youth Day is that it represents a significant financial drain on its host country. Anti-catholic dilettante Amanda Marcotte summed up this line of attack well when she wrote: [Vatican officials] have to keep helping fund these $87-million (the estimated cost of the Pope’s event in Madrid) Pope excursions, you know.* She later retracted: This post origin... More

Alberta Darling (R) speaks to press after holding her seat in the most targeted WI Senate race. I was on my computer late last night and so had a chance to witness the failure of a months-long effort by unions and Democrat groups to take back the Wisconsin Senate after it helped Governor Scott Walker introduce pension reforms for public sector union employees. Because I was actively tweeting my re... More

I’m in Indianapolis today preparing for the Frassati Society’s LIVE OUT LOUD Conference, where I’m a keynote speaker. But I wanted to offer a couple quick comments about the debt ceiling debate which is now entering it’s final critical days in Washington, DC. As you may have seen, the U.S. Bishops – under Bishops Blaire and Hubbard (remember him?) – have issued ... More

I’ve enjoyed reading the comments on my post yesterday where I contributed my two cents on the current national debate over raising the debt limit. Many of you contributed your own two cents and I think we’re starting to accumulate a healthy savings account of back-and-forth opinion. I want to expand the debate now, taking into consideration one of the best points was made since yeste... More

Update: See my follow-up post as well — “$0.02 More On the Debt Limit Debate” I’ve been reading snippets of headlines, articles and news reports about the ongoing debate in Washington DC over raising the debt limit this week, and I think it’s important to publish something about the question because I believe our national debt is a moral issue in which every American ... More