Let’s start with Heritage Foundation’s interview of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin: “We’re broke,” he says. Religious leaders offer sanctuary to senators Two Illinois clergymen offered sanctuary Friday to Democratic senators who fled Wisconsin in an effort to stop an anti-union bill. But neither said any renegade lawmakers had taken them up on their offer of hospitality. The Rev. Jason Coulter, pastor of Ravenswood United Church of Christ in Chicago, and Rabbi Bruce Elder of Congregation Hafaka in Glencoe joined...

Oftentimes the terms liberty and freedom are used interchangeably, the former derived from the Latin root the latter the German. But John Mark Reynolds of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University uses the terms to distinguish between them and the possible futures for Egypt: “Freedom gives the right to choose, but the liberated choose wisely.” Normally I would select some choice excerpts, but the entire thing is excellent so be sure to read it at the Scriptorium, “Liberty Not...

On Feb. 17, Rev. Robert Sirico was a guest on EWTN’s World Over program hosted by Raymond Arroyo. Rev. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, discussed the morality of federal budget making, social networking and the Catholic Church, and Live Acton vs. Planned Parenthood. Rev. Sirico’s two segments begin at the 10:30 and 37:16 marks. Arroyo is also joined by guests Rep. Chris Smith and Dr. Andrew Abela. ...

Kishore Jayabalan, Director of the Acton Institute’s Rome office, made an appearance today on Vatican Radio to discuss efforts by the G-20 nations to address the growing problem of rising food prices around the world. Jayabalan discusses how natural events and bad policy are both contributing to the sharp rise in prices seen of late. Listen to the full interview using the audio player below: [audio: ...

RealClearReligion has e a starting point for my day, and I’m honored to have this mentary linked in today’s morning edition, “Local Churches Hard Hit as Recession Spreads.” The link posted just below mine from CNN’s Belief Blog highlights problems facing a local congregation, “Atlanta church faces eviction.” One of the points of dispute facing the congregation is the status of daycare and afterschool programs that use the facility. As John Murgatroyd reports, the pastor Mark Anthony Mitchell “considers the...

Budget battles have heated up recently throughout the United States, and President Obama’s budget proposal has not been exempted from the intense discussion. The current proposal by the President pushes our national debt to $15.476 trillion or 102.6 percent of our GDP. Furthermore, there are no cuts to entitlement spending which consist of 57 percent of the spending in the budget, or approximately $2.14 trillion. While it is imperative to our economic recovery to have a budget that is fiscally...

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, published a new column today in the Detroit News: ‘Social Justice’ is plex concept Rev. Robert Sirico: Faith and Policy A column by Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, a Catholic writer for the Washington Post, makes the claim that “Catholic social justice demands a redistribution of wealth.” He went on to say that “there can be no disagreement” that unions, the government and private charities should all have a role in...

Raymond Arroyo, host of EWTN’s World Over program, has invited Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico on the show tonight (Thurs., Feb. 17, 8 p.m. Eastern) to discuss the federal budget as a “moral document” and the mounting federal deficit. And no doubt the conversation will explore other important faith and policy issues of the day. Check your local cable listings or tune in live online here. ...

Following up on this week’s musings related to the local church, I’ve posted some thoughts on the idea of “The Church as Social Network” over at Mere Comments. ...

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “Local Churches Hard Hit as Recession Spreads,” I examine some of the lingering and widening effects of the Great Recession. I focus particularly on an upward trend in foreclosures of church properties across the country. As the WSJ reports, “Just as homeowners borrowed too much or built too big during boom times, many churches did the same and now are struggling as their congregations shrink and collections fall owing to rising unemployment and a weak...