John Paul II declared to the world that there’s an ecological crisis, which has caused many to wonder about their moral obligation to protect and preserve the environment. This call from the pope encouraged certain theologians to argue for a …
Category: Stewardship
Reflecting on the Dignity of Work in Plague Times
The rising unemployment numbers in the United States, which are the natural consequence of an economic shutdown, brought the American middle class to its knees. Ten million (and growing) Americans were laid off in a short span of just two …
A Short Catechism on Almsgiving
During the Great Fast of Lent, the faithful are enjoined to do penance. The three great works of penance are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.[1] In this article, we will define the penance of almsgiving in the form of a brief …
Criticizing the Pope: Be Courageous and Also Charitable
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 Jn. 5:20–21). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils; but the Lord made the heavens” (Psalm 96:5). Recently, these verses were cited in a homily by a priest at my local …
The Poor Turkeys of Baone! Killed by Bad Music!
In the United States, the annual Thanksgiving day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November to thank God for the fields’ good harvest, is one of the most popular national holidays since 1620, when the “Pilgrim Fathers” landed at Plymouth …
The Amazon Synod and the Church as Laughingstock
The synod is done. But the mutant thing lives on in its final document, “Amazonia: New Ways for the Church and for a Holistic Ecology.” Prudence and discretion, rationality itself, are baffled by its opening hysteria. The Amazon rainforest … …
Distributism and the Purpose of Private Property
In the plan for establishing a distributist society — that is, a society of widespread private property ownership, that Hilaire Belloc sketches in his book, The Restoration of Property, the chief means he proposes are a system of taxation, whereby …
St. Hubert and a Catholic Defense of Hunting
Happy St. Hubert’s Day, everyone. By now, we are done with our soul cakes, our Hallowtide jack-o-lanterns, our cemetery visits, parties, and trick-or-treating. The carved pumpkins are getting softer, the candy is wearing out its welcome, and many folks are …
Dynamic Ukelele: An Examination of ‘Living Tradition’
In a recent interview with America magazine, Archbishop Rino Fisichella praised the “dynamic nature” of sacred Tradition. Such Tradition, he maintained, is “first and foremost living.” We must not view Tradition as hidebound, the archbishop implied, because denying the “dynamic …
On Obsessing over the Environment and Neglecting Spiritual Duty
Near the end of the last academic year, the school I teach at was perplexed. Datasets, and even the general feel of the school, revealed that our students were struggling. Academic success was decreasing. Anxiety was rising. Administrators and teachers …