Tag: economy

On
Fr. Robert Barron

A prophetic pope and social teaching

In the wake of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ and the pope’s recent speeches in Latin America, many supporters of the capitalist economy in the West might be forgiven for thinking that His Holiness has something against them.

Again and again, Pope Francis excoriates an economy based on materialism and greed, and with prophetic urgency, he speaks out against a new colonialism that exploits the labor of those in poorer countries.

In a speech in Bolivia, a country under the command of a socialist president, the pope seemed, almost in a Marxist vein, to be calling on the poor to seize power from the wealthy and take command of their own lives. What do we make of this?

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On
John Huebscher

Recall season overlays final legislative sessions

Eye on the Capitol by John Huebscher

A year ago, the first thing the newly elected Legislature did was to adopt its scheduling resolution for the 2011-12 legislative session.

This resolution defined the floor periods during which the Legislature would meet to debate and pass legislation. In so doing, the legislators determined that they would convene for three “general business” floor periods between January 17 and March 15 in 2012, the last day of regular business for the year.

Complicates legislative schedules

When they adopted that resolution, our lawmakers had no way of knowing that their session schedule would mesh with Wisconsin’s first ever recall of a governor and recalls of several state senators. But that is what appears will happen and it will affect what lawmaking takes place in these final floor periods.

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On
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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On
Mary C. Uhler, editor

People must come first: As society deals with changes in the economy

Editor's View by Mary C. Uhler

Some of us have made calls to a business and encountered a person with an Indian accent on the other end of the phone. That person might be working at a call center in India.

It’s just one example of the many changes we’ve been experiencing recently in the way we work. We can barely keep pace with innovations in technology and communications in a truly global economy.

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On
Mary C. Uhler, editor

Holiday spending can reflect our values

We just officially began the Christmas shopping season on “Black Friday,” the day which is supposed to help stores get out of “red” debt and into the “black” of economic survival.

While it is good to support our economy — especially in these challenging times — I think we can find additional ways to spend our money during the Advent season that reflect our religious values.

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Rejoice always — even in the desert

This column is adapted from Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s homily at St. Patrick Church, Sunday, Dec. 14.

under the gospel book

On the Second Sunday of Advent, we heard about John the Baptist as “a voice crying out in the desert” and we hear it again in this past Sunday’s readings. And we heard, during that second week of Advent, about our Blessed Mother. We heard how this woman who was clothed with the sun, the model of the Church, was sent into the desert, where a place had been prepared for her; the desert meaning, briefly, tough times.

A poll of Americans came out this past Sunday morning saying that 2008, largely for reasons of the economy, has been the worst year within their memory. The poll, in our terms, says that, largely because of the economy, 2008 has been, for most Americans, a desert. Those poll results surprise no one.

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