Many people today, especially conservatives and Christians, find it alarming that basic human connections and loyalties keep weakening in favor of impersonal economic and administrative arrangements. The tendency has been going on for a long […]
My monthly column is called “Ecclesia et Civitas” because it mostly has to do with the relation between the Church and the secular community. That’s a hard topic to get a handle on. We are […]
Last month I commented on Catholicism and nationality. My basic point was that the existence of particular peoples is a natural and beneficial part of human life that should be respected. That point is often […]
Identity is basic to how people think about themselves. Am I a man or woman? Father or son? Catholic or Muslim? American or Japanese? Such things help people define who and what they are and […]
Liberalism tells us everyone should be able to do, be, and get whatever he wants, as much and as equally as possible. People believe that represents a new and higher stage in political and moral […]
Does liberalism, the view that makes equal freedom the highest political standard, mean tolerance for Christianity? Or does it ultimately mean suppression of Christianity in the name of the freedom and equality of non-Christians? The […]
There is no ideal society this side of the Second Coming. Flawed people can’t create such things, and we’re all flawed, so social gains are offset by social losses. Current tendencies of thought, which reject […]
The Church has had a political role since Constantine. That is no surprise. Catholicism is primarily a doctrine and way of living for its adherents. But the Faith deals with basic realities that have public […]
Lent is a time of retreat and reflection. That can mean very different things for different people at different times in their lives. But it always means stepping back from daily preoccupations and looking at […]
Recently I’ve been complaining about technocratic society. I’ve also emphasized how deeply rooted its problems are. But if I’m right on the latter point, what good does complaining do? Can we really repeal the modern […]
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