Catholic Social Teaching
Each country also belongs to the foreigner
I don?t think Pope Francis is recognized enough for his skill as a theologian. It is the Pope Emeritus who is, rightly, widely recognized as possessing a brilliant theological mind. Francis, on the other hand, is seen as the great…
Francis’ Vision of a Fraternal Economy
Pope Francis is signing a new social encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, this weekend. The Holy Father has spoken about human fraternity throughout his pontificate, so it?s not a surprise that he chose this topic for an encyclical. In preparation for this…
Hear this, you who trample upon the poor!
The first reading today, from the prophet Amos, is a pointed exhortation against the oppression of the poor and economic injustice: ?Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! ?When will the new…
What about the right to control our borders?
The section of the Catechism that speaks about immigration (section 2241) is divided into two paragraphs that seem to be in tension with one another. Both are equally true, and to dismiss one of them in favor of the other…
I was a Stranger, and You Took My Children
I’m excited to share an article by a friend of mine who is?an attorney for migrant farmworkers (and who used to be a theology teacher). Ben O’Hearn has a better grasp than most on the nuances of these recent immigration…
Pro-Lifers vs Pope Francis
Kristina Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, recently wrote an article titled ?Where Pope Francis Misses the Mark? where she expresses her concerns for something the Holy Father taught in his Apostolic Exhortation,?Gaudete et Exsultate. Hawkins expresses…
The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich
As an American it is difficult at times to think beyond the Right/Left, Capitalist/Socialist dichotomy that permeates our economic and political landscape. This often makes it difficult for Catholics on either side of the aisle to understand what the Church…
Schools of Solidarity
My wife and I were blessed to be able to attend the World Meeting of Families conference in Philadelphia back in 2015 during Pope Francis? visit to the United States. Of the many talks we were able to attend that…
Truth and Love is Neither Left or Right
I graduated from college in the spring of 2012, in the middle of President Obama?s second race for the White House. Up to that point I was what one could call a one issue voter. I was raised and homeschooled…
Voting with the Heart and Mind of the Church – Part 3: Our Options this Election
This is the third article in a three-part series I?ve written about voting with the heart and mind of the Catholic Church (Here is?Part 1?and?Part 2). In the first article I talked about how Catholics are called to be ?salt,…