Cardinal Turkson: together for stewardship of creation Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Vatican Radio Despite the generation of great wealth, we find starkly rising disparities – vast numbers of people excluded and discarded, their dignity trampled upon. As global society increasingly defines itself by consumerist and monetary values, the privileged in turn e increasingly numb to the cries of the poor. Pope Francis endorses climate action petition Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter “He was very supportive,” Tomás Insua, a Buenos Aires,...

Alfonso was looking for a “fast life,” and as a result, he got mixed up in illegal drugs and landed in prison. For many, that kind of thingmight signal the beginning of a patternor slowlydefineand distort one’s identity or destiny. But for Alfonso, it was a wake-up call. While in prison, he began to realize who he really was, and more importantly, whose he really was. He began to understand that God created him to be a gift-giver, and that...

Today’s issue of Public Discourse offers a reflection on the life and work of Michael Novak. It would not be an exaggeration to say Novak is a towering figure in the world of free market economics. Author Nathaniel Peters says that while Novak has had his critics, the question that lies at the heart of all Novak’s work is this: “How do we get people out of poverty?” What economic systems are most conducive to allowing people to exercise their...

es to mind when you think of poverty policies prior to FDR’s New Deal? For many people, the idea of pre-1940s welfare is likely to resemble something out of a Charles Dickens’ novel: destitute adults in the poorhouse and hungry children (usually orphans) eating a bowl of gruel. That impression is likely what we have about welfare in America during the era of the Founding Fathers. But is it accurate? “The left often claims the Founders were indifferent to the...

In the spirit of PowerLinks, we’ll be adding a regular roundup on news concerning Pope Francis’ ing encyclical on the environment and, more broadly, religious witness on environmental stewardship outside the Roman Catholic Church. This may be a daily PowerBlog feature, or you may see it less frequently depending on the volume of news mentary on the subject. If you haven’t got to it yet, make sure you watch Rev. Robert A. Sirico’s mentary on the encyclical, which was posted...

Shareholder resolutions intended to force Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to adopt greenhouse gas reduction goals and name environmental experts (i.e. any scientist who believes human activity causes climate change) to their respective board of directors were defeated last week. Not only were they defeated, they were crushed. Chevron shareholders mustered only 9 percent support for GHG reductions and 20 percent for the environmentalist board member. Eighty percent of ExxonMobil shareholders rejected the additional board member, and only 10...

In anticipation of the new papal encyclical on the environment (reportedly due out this month, and titledLaudato si’[Praised Be You]), the press is seeking a way to make sense out of information “floating around” concerning the contents of the encyclical. At this point, no one really knows what the encyclical will say, although there are educated guesses. (See Fr. Robert Sirico’s discussion on the encyclical here.) Peter Smith at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did a “round-up” of various Vatican watchers, officials...

In the case of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that employers must offer a reasonable modation for an employee’s religious practices. Here is what you should know about that case. What was the issue that sparked the lawsuit? Samantha Elauf, a 17-year-old Muslim girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma, applied for a job at Abercrombie, a preppy clothing retailer, in 2008. After being interviewed by Heather Cooke, the store’s assistant...