It seems far too bizarre to be true: an entire town where on-going child molestation continued for years, despite the fact that the molestation was no secret. Children were doused in gasoline and told they’d be set on fire. They were sexually abused, trafficked to other countries, passed around from abuser to abuser. And on and on. For years. Somebody on the Rotherham Borough Council finally had the brains and guts enough to request an inquiry and report. Council leader...

Cooperation and creativity are essential for both a well-functioning market and the celebration of the Eucharist, says Rev. Gregory Jensen in this week’s Acton Commentary. As he has done in the past, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his encyclical for the beginning of the Orthodox Christian ecclesiastical year (September 1) meditates on “the ongoing and daily destruction of the natural environment.” Environmental damage is the poisoned fruit of “human greed” and the pursuit of “vain profit,” the patriarch writes. Given our...

The great British statesman Edmund Burke claimed that “to love the little platoon we belong to in society is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections.” Burke was referring to the mediating social institutions that that lie between the individual and the state. These “little platoons” include not only the family but our churches, labor unions, charity organizations, and other voluntary associations. Since the dawn of modernity, intellectuals and politicians have been hostile to mediating structures...

I have spoken in the past in favor of net neutrality, writing, Whoever is responsible for and best at enforcing it, net neutrality had this going for it: it was a relatively stable, relatively open playing-field petition…. [T]he fact panies tried to get around it via copyright protection privileges shows that it was, in fact, doing something to enforce freedom petition. Now, without it, there is an opportunity for concentration of power…. As [Walter] Eucken illustrated, concentration can lead to...

S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A, died on Monday at the age of 93. He once said, “We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed.” Extremely profitable and popular, Chick-Fil-A has given $68 million to charity since its founding. Cathy was a master at forging relationships and he noted in his book Eat More Chikin: Inspire More People, “Courtesy is cheap, but it pays great dividends.” The profits...

Those of you in West Michigan with a taste for libertarian cinema may want to to join local restaurateur Tommy Brann for a special screening of “Atlas Shrugged 3: Who is John Galt?” Brann is hosting the showing at Celebration Cinema North at Knapp’s Corner tomorrow (Sept. 12) at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7.75 and email [email protected] to reserve your seat. Before you go, read Rev. Robert A. Sirico’s essay “Who Really Was John Galt, Anyway?” published at in 2011....

We now live in a world where a child is modity. It is an item to be coveted, sought out, assembled and purchased. Found a partner? Check. Got the house? Check. Career going well? Yup. Let’s get a child plete the package. And like the rest of our lives, we want only the very best. And of course, we have a right to the very best our money can buy. Does this sound futuristic or dystopian? Tell that to baby...

I’ve been following an interesting discussion at NRT, a Christian music website, regarding whether an artist is “really” Christian or not. NRT, on its Facebook page, had announced that singer Audrey Assad, known for her hauntingly beautiful Christian music, had made the decision to go mainstream. She gave her reasoning on her own blog. NRT had mented on the band Switchfoot, who announced they’d be touring with Michael Gungor. Gungor is rather “notorious” in some Christian circles for stating that...

What’s going on in Scotland? On September 18, voters in Scotland will vote in a referendum whether they want the nation to e independent from the rest of the United Kingdom. What is the reason for the push for Scottish independence? Mainly for political and economic reasons. Scotland is more economically liberal than the rest of the UK and in favor of a broader welfare state. And because of offshore oil resources, many believe an independent Scotland would not only...

As we head into the fall of 2014, the world seems to be a very dark and uncertainplace for those who practice the Christian faith. Between the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria (and the resulting slaughter and displacement of Christians in the middle east) and the seemingly relentless advance of secularism and rejection of traditional Christian values in the West, many Christians are wondering how Christianity can survive and advance in our modern world. In this edition of...