O.S.B, the abbreviation for the Order of St. Benedict, has taken on nuanced meaning: Oh Sacred Business. This is definitely true of a profitable pany located in Norcia, the medieval birthplace of St. Benedict in central Italy. In just four years, a talented and enterprising team has found the right mix of tradition, vocation and good business sense to take their Birra Nursia brewery to scale. From what was once a micro-production focusing on gift shop and local sales, the...

The continent of Africa has so much space that you could fit most of the United States, China, India, and a lot of Europe onto it. But if pare Africa to Europe, Europe has two to three times the length of coastline that Africa has. Why does that matter? Because, as this fascinating video by Marginal Revolution University explains, coasts mean access to water which makes trade easier and increases economic growth. As the video explains, economic growth is not...

What is the issue about? In December, 14 people were killed and 22 were seriously injured in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. The two terrorists, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, were later killed in a shootout with police. Law enforcement recovered Farook’s iPhone 5c, which they believe may contain information relevant to the terror investigation. Farook’s iPhone is protected by a passcode set to wipe the contents of the smartphone after 10 attempts to log in with...

Earlier today Pope Francis, while answering a questionabout Donald Trump’s views on immigration, said that anyone who wants to build a wall isn’t a Christian.Trump responded by saying, “for a religious leader to question someone’s faith is disgraceful”adding, “If ISIS attacks the Vatican, which is their ultimate trophy, I bet the Pope would wish Donald Trump was president.” Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, will discuss the controversy tonight on the Fox News Channel program,...

The headline at CNN was surprising: “Under Sanders, e and jobs would soar, economist says”; the opening paragraph of their article even more so: Median e would soar by more than $22,000. Nearly 26 million jobs would be created. The unemployment rate would fall to 3.8%. Those are just a few of the things that would happen if Bernie Sanders became president and his ambitious economic program were put into effect, according to an analysis given exclusively to CNNMoney. The...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking part in a panel discussion at Calvin College, hosted by the Paul B. Henry Institute, focusing on challenges facing the next president. The topic of this inaugural panel for the series was “The Environment,” and there was what I thought was a very worthwhile conversation with Jamie Skillen of Calvin’s Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies department, moderated by Micah Watson of Calvin’s political science department. I had the chance to prepare some opening...

This afternoon, Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico joinedhost Neal Cavuto on Fox Business Network’sCavuto Coast to Coast ment on the strange back-and-forth between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Pope Francis. After the jump, we’ve posted audio of Rev. Sirico’s appearance this morning on the Chris Salcedo Showon KSEV radio in Houston, Texas to discuss the same issue. ...

True justice begins with seeing and believing in the dignity of every human person. It beginswith recognizing God’s image in each of our neighbors, and it proceeds with service that corresponds with thattranscendenttruth.When distortions manifest, the destruction varies. But it alwaysbegins with a failure to rightly relate to this simple reality. Thus, transformation often begins with a basicshift in our perceptions about others; how weseetransforms how we serve. It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that this can begin with something as...

We’ve had a burst of media activity this week; let’s round up some of Acton’s activity on the airwaves: Monday, February 15 Todd Huizinga, Acton’s Director of International Outreach, joined the FreedomWorks podcast to discuss his newly released bookThe New Totalitarian Temptation: Global Governance and the Crisis of Democracy in Europe. Tuesday, February 16 Kishore Jayabalan, Director of Istituto Acton in Rome, is a native of Flint, Michigan, and recently spent some time in his hometown. WJR Radio in Detroit...

Andy Grove, Robert Noyce, and Gordon Moore The first issue of Religion & Liberty in 2016 will explore several topics from a variety of faith traditions: entrepreneurship, the International Criminal Court, business mon grace and the 18th-century British abolition movement. Late last year I had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Bruce Baker, a Silicon Valley veteran, entrepreneur, pastor and college professor. For this issue’s interview, he discusses the history of Silicon Valley, technocracy, how Christians can be “winsome” witnesses and...