Tag: Catholic

On
George Weigel

Tim Tebow and Christophobia

The Catholic Difference by George Weigel

Two weeks into the NFL season, ESPN ran a Sunday morning special exploring why the third-string quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow, had become the most polarizing figure in American sports.

He has become more polarizing than trash-talking NBA behemoths; more polarizing than foul-mouthed Serena Williams; more polarizing than NFL all-stars who father numerous children by numerous women, all out of wedlock.

Why does Tebow, and Tebow alone, arouse such passions? Why is Tebow the one whom “comedians” say they would like to shoot?

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John Huebscher

Human beings are not commodities

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

The cornerstone of Catholic social teaching is that human life is sacred. As such the Catholic Conference evaluates any law, policy, or program in terms of its impact on the life and dignity of the human person.

Teaching on the economy

Catholic teaching on the economy reflects this emphasis on the human person. Pope John Paul II put it quite directly in his 1981 encyclical letter, Laborem exercens. He recalled that the error of early capitalism can be repeated wherever humans are treated as mere instruments or means of production and not as ends in themselves.

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Sr. Constance Carolyn Veit

The elderly are a blessing, not a burden

As the 20th century came to a close, the United Nations celebrated the International Year of Older Persons, heralding the vision of “A Society for All Ages.”

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The first years of the new millennium have been anything but that, with the abandonment of frail seniors during natural disasters from New Orleans to Japan, the legalization of assisted suicide in several U.S. states and foreign countries, and political rhetoric that seems to consider the growing population of seniors merely as a drain on our health care system and the federal budget. Is this the society for all ages we envisioned in 1999?

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John Huebscher

We celebrate Labor Day for very good reasons

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

Years ago, when we were packing for one of our family vacations, I asked my mother where she went for vacations when she was a little girl.

“We didn’t take vacations when I was little,” she said. “Your grandfather worked for a railroad, and if he wanted a day off, they would give his job to someone else.” She paused a moment and said, “Later when the union came, we got to take vacations.”

Enjoy benefits won by others

I think of that moment from time to time, usually around Labor Day. It’s useful to recall that what many of us enjoy today is the result of victories won by others years ago.

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John Garvey

What happened to freedom of religion?

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Is pregnancy a disease? Should Catholics, purchasing insurance for themselves or their employees be forced against their consciences to subsidize its prevention?

These questions lie at the heart of new regulations just issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which will administer President Barack Obama’s new health care law.

Ethics of reproductive health care

The regulations include a list of “preventive services” that all group health plans must provide without any co-pay. The list includes female surgical sterilization, plus all FDA-approved contraceptives, including some (like the prescription drug ella) that can act as abortifacients.

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Fr. Donald Lange

Labor Day invites us to reflect upon the dignity of work

This year Labor Day falls on September 5, shortly before the 10th anniversary of 9-11. Most who died in these terrorist attacks were working when they died. On Labor Day, we can honor their memory by prayerful reflection on the value of work and workers.

Labor Day is a national holiday during which we honor the dignity of workers and the quality of their work. According to Hilda Solis, secretary of labor, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on September 5, 1882, to honor the social and economic achievements of American workers.

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George Weigel

Pope Benedict XVI on Europe’s future

The Catholic Difference by George Weigel

World Youth Day 2011, being held in Madrid from August 16 to 21, will be an important moment in Pope Benedict XVI’s campaign to remind Europe of its Christian roots and to call Europe to a nobler understanding of democracy.

As the Holy Father demonstrated in an address in Zagreb, Croatia, in early June, the two parts of that campaign — the recovery of Christian roots and the deepening of 21st-century Europe’s idea of democracy — go together.

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