Ecclesia et Civitas

Dictatorship and Relativism

November 6, 2016 James Kalb 1

A lot of bad things happen in a world that has lost God. One is the disappearance of the rational freedom that is the natural setting for faith, science, morality, and pursuit of the common […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Norms, Abnormality, and False Liberation

October 2, 2016 James Kalb 0

What’s bad about normalizing homosexuality and other forms of sexual nonconformity? If a woman becomes sexually involved with another woman, or redefines herself as a man, how does it harm anyone else? Why not just […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Brexit, Trump, and Identity

August 8, 2016 James Kalb 0

Brexit and the Trump movement, with their emphasis on  the decisive importance of national identity, show that explicit identity politics has spread to all points of the political compass. That’s not surprising, since identity is […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

When Should We Ignore Tradition?

June 18, 2016 James Kalb 1

Last month I noted that tradition is not self-contained or absolute. It’s complex, so that superior, subordinate, and parallel traditions often come into conflict. Local tradition may say one thing, Church or national tradition quite another. […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

What Should We Do About Natural Law?

February 4, 2016 James Kalb 0

Catholics talk about natural law, but what’s it all about? Basically, it’s a system of principles that guides human life in accordance with our nature and our good, insofar as those can be known by […]