George Weigel writes on National Review Online, “something quite remarkable has e unmistakably clear across the Atlantic: Ireland—where the constitution begins, ‘In the name of the Most Holy Trinity’—has e the most stridently anti-Catholic country in the Western world.” While he calls the Irish prime minister’s recent anti-Catholic tirade what it is—calumnious—Weigel also acknowledges that the Church in Irelandis in a bad way. He goes so far as to say Apostolic visitations of the principal Irish dioceses and seminaries have...

In an article appearing in the American Spectator, Samuel Gregg discusses the growth of religion in China, its system of crony capitalism, and its need to accept freedom. Opening the column, Gregg describes how the Catholic Church’s freedom from state control in China is at stake. Gregg later explains that there isn’t just corruption in China’s crony system of capitalism, but also in its society: It’s abundantly clear, for instance, that China’s economy is hardly the capitalism envisaged by Adam...

The recent budget battle may have sparked new questions for Americans to answer, such as what is poverty and who falls under such a classification? Furthermore, due to its massive debt, government may need a limited role in helping the poor. While Christians who stood behind the Circle of Protection advocated for the protection of programs they claim that benefit the poor, other Christians looked at the debate differently arguing for another way to help the poor. However, despite how...

The debate over the separation of church and state as well as religion’s role in politics has been intense and ongoing for years. In this week’s Acton Commentary, Tony Oleck seeks to add clarity to the debate. In mentary, Oleck balances the desires of the Founding Fathers with what it means to be a Christian. Get Acton News and Commentary every Wednesday in your email inbox. Click here to sign up today. Controversial Christianity: Understanding Faith and Politics By Tony...

In a recent Reuters opinion column, Mark Thoma faults academic economists for their failure to predict the housing crash. He says their failure can be attributed to the disconnect between academia and economic forecasters. I don’t agree with Thoma, but I do think he gets it right when he says the failure of modern day economics, May have something to do with the desire among economists to e more of a science – a heavy focus on theory and math...

Over the past few weeks, Kishore Jayabalan – Director of Acton’s Rome office – has been called upon a couple of times ment on Italian and American budget negotiations for Vatican Radio. On Saturday, Jayabalan discussed the then-ongoing US budget negotiations: [audio: Kishore also made an appearance on Vatican Radio to discuss Italy’s debt issues back on the 13th of July, making the point that while austerity would be required, economic growth would be a necessity as well for Italy...

The Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has announced a debate later this fall between Jim Wallis and Al Mohler. They’ll take opposing positions on the question, “Is Social Justice an Essential Part of the Mission of the Church?” The debate is slated for October 27, 2011 at 7:00 pm, and you can find more details at the Henry Center website. This is a really important question the answer to which really turns...

Immigration is never a light topic to discuss, and even the proposition of a solution to the effects caused by immigration might well be considered radical. The idea of a harmonious multicultural society is idealistic, but in reality, is very difficult to achieve. When looking at the advantages and disadvantages of immigration, relative to the nation receiving immigrants, the economy is a concern that es up. In a recent IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) paper, Nobel Prize winner Professor Gary...

I was listening to news radio and heard an update in which the senate majority leader Harry Reid gave his interpretation of events on the debt ceiling negotiation. The part that really got my attention was where he insisted that mittee work would go after those “millionaires and billionaires.” I wondered, “What is he really saying?” Let’s begin with millionaires and billionaires. Is Reid charging them with mitted some evil? If a person had made a lot of money by...

Mark Tooley has an excellent write up over at FrontPage about religious left figures staging martyr like arrests in defense of tax increases, unsustainable deficit spending, and the welfare state. Here are some details provided by Tooley: Religious Left officials on July 28 successfully sought arrest for “faithful civil disobedience” in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to protest any consideration of limits on the Welfare and Entitlement State. They were also demanding tax increases. Unlike more courageous and spiritually insightful fellow...