—- See also, Dickens and Thomas Malthus, the father of global population control. Melvyn Bragg and guests (In Our Time, BBC) discuss Charles Dickens’ novella, written in 1843 when he was 31, which has become intertwined with his reputation and with Christmas itself. Ebenezer Scrooge is the miserly everyman figure whose joyless obsession with money… Read More Dickens and the meanings of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Melvyn Bragg.
“Catholic social doctrine is neither liberal nor conservative.” As Pope John Paul II put it, the Church’s social teaching “belongs to the field. . .of theology and particularly of moral theology”— Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 41. “Most of us are raised and formed in a milieu in which we receive what we call either liberal… Read More Thomas Storck on An Economics of Justice and Charity
Good Fences, Shared Bounty. Can it ever be wise to separate compassion, reasonable limits and common sense? If you have followed the immigration debates in the West in recent decades you will have long ago gotten a glimpse of the fears, greed, fanaticism and wars which, often enough, make many peoples in our post 9/11… Read More Immigration, Birds of a Feather and Trojan Horses
“Since Pope Leo XIII’s landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891, a significant part of Catholic social doctrine has focused on man’s economic life and the challenge of building a well-ordered society rooted in correct first principles and animated by the twin virtues of justice and charity. The Church has boldly engaged the ideologies of the modern age—not… Read More Thomas Storck on Catholic Social Justice
“It is fashionable for Catholic liberals to decry the pre-conciliar Church as concerned with little more than personal piety and indifferent to the injustice and suffering in the world. This is a monstrous travesty of the truth as every adult Catholic must surely know. Never in the history of our planet has so much concern… Read More Michael Davies on the Merciful, Ever Welcoming Church
“For a more Christian view of life, the best books I have run across are “In Defense of Purity” by Dietrich von Hildebrand … the Encyclical on “Christian marriage” by Pope Pius XI, and the “Nuptial Mass” in the Missal.” — Dorothy Day. Her Faith was ever the same.. The Distributism Review. Dorothy Day wrote, “I… Read More Dorothy Day’s Cross
Carlo Carretto1910-1988 “How much I must criticize you, my church, and yet how much I love you! You have made me suffer more than anyone and yet I owe more to you than to anyone. I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence. You have given me much scandal and… Read More Love Letter to the Church. Carlo Carreto.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:28-29 Not a few on the political far Right, alas, seem… Read More Not Ethnicity or Race, Not Blood and Soil…
“Dickens must have known it would have worked on the consciences of the Parliamentarians too, as it did!” At least for a time. “By advocating that population should be controlled voluntarily through birth control, abstinence, or delayed marriage – or involuntarily, and through the scourges “of war, famine, and disease,” [Thomas] Malthus was derided by his peers… Read More Scrooge and Thomas Malthus
City Journal: “Throughout American history, religious organizations have cooperated with our federal, state, and local governments to deliver essential medical and social services to the poor and downtrodden. Faith-based charities, hospitals, and schools have long been cornerstones of our civil society and enjoyed the rightful protection of the Constitution. Recent regulations released by the Biden… Read More A Crackdown on Religious Organizations
It cannot be seriously doubted in our time that since the Second Vatican Council not a little of what has been called “Catholic ecumenism” has in fact gone off the Church’s traditional dogmatic rails. But for all that the principle cannot be doubted. It was doubtless the seemingly radical abruptness of the Church’s turnaround regarding… Read More Traditional Catholic Ecumenism
Christs love and service to all, to native born and to foreigners whom we encounter. The Order of Saint John, more commonly called the Order of Malta, lived by its credo, “Our Lords, the Sick and the Poor.” The members of the Order make a promise upon investiture to serve, to the best of their… Read More “Our lords the sick and the poor.”
Why Catholic Critique? To confess the Faith to any who wish to hear or see. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9)…” “If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples…” (Jn. 8:31) This website is a small,… Read More Catholic Critique
By Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene, O.C.D. Even without the presence of other causes, it is possible to pass from a state of sensible spiritual fervor to one of absolute aridity. This happens by the direct work of God which makes it impossible for the soul to pray with the help of the mind… Read More Aridity and Spiritual Progress
The Catholic Principle of Subsidiarity is a “principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as “the principle that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks… Read More As Government Diverts Billions to War Americans Face Trying Times & Hunger
How To Cope Practically, Emotionally, and Spiritually When Your Loved One Is Seriously Ill “If you’ve picked up this book, chances are good that someone you love is seriously ill – and you have been thrust into the role of a caregiver. Like most caregivers, you probably feel scared, anxious, and maybe even a little… Read More Walking the Way of the Cross for Caregivers
Neither Socialism nor Laissez Faire Capitalism Pope Pius XI in 1931 warned of International Finance, the grave dangers of ‘economic domination’ accumulated in the hands of the few He warned in Quadragesimo Anno of the dangers of international finance controlling credit, crushing competition and families. And this message flows directly and seamlessly from the teachings of Christ… Read More Despotic Economic Dictatorship — Pope Pius XI
This piece by Whittaker Chambers appeared in the December 28, 1957, issue of National Review. Chambers titled it Big Sister is Watching You. Several years ago, Miss Ayn Rand wrote The Fountainhead. Despite a generally poor press, it is said to have sold some four hundred thousand copies. Thus, it became a wonder of the… Read More Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley Jr. on Ayn Rand, 2003
“But the common saying, expressed in various ways and attributed to various authors, must be recalled with approval: “in essentials unity, in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.” — Pope John XXIII: Ad Petri Cathedram (1959)
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