Following my blog post and Acton News and Commentary piece “Obama vs. the Catholic Bishops,” I’d like to draw your attention to two Wall Street Journal editorial page articles in today’s edition that also criticize the bishops for their political and economic naivete. WSJ columnist Daniel Henninger writes: Politically bloodless liberals would respond that, net-net, government forcings do much social good despite breaking a few eggs, such as the Catholic Church’s First Amendment sensibilities. That is one view. But the...

Joe Knippenberg raises a couple of important points over at the First Things site in response to my post earlier today about the relationship between conservatism and libertarianism. First, he questions the validity of my “distinction between political philosophy and worldview.” Second, he questions “the place of liberty as our highest political good.” I’ve posted ment over there that deals with, in part, Lord Acton’s identification of liberty as man’s highest political end. Check out Joe’s post and the ongoing...

While reading the Wall Street Journal not so long ago, I came across an article and two opinion pieces that, each in their way, told a story far different than one rendered in Bruce Springsteen’s ing album, Wrecking Ball. At first listening, Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” chugs along with some of the best of the Boss’ rock anthems. But the song’s lyrics convey a deeply cynical despair about our nation’s charitable nature. Springsteen says we in the...

On Jan. 20, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ordered most employers and insurers to provide contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs (the “morning after” pill) free of charge under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Yesterday, President Obama — reacting to a firestorm of criticism that this new mandate violates freedom of religion and conscience protections — announced promise that shifted the cost of the mandate to insurers. That, however, has done little to allay fears about...

The Catholic High School Honor Roll, a biennial list of America’s top 50 Catholic high schools, will now be sponsored by The Cardinal Newman Society, beginning with the 2012-13 Honor Roll application period. The Acton Institute, which has sponsored the Honor Roll since its inception in 2004, is turning the program over to The Cardinal Newman Society. “It has been gratifying to see how the Catholic High School Honor Roll has grown to be a reliable standard for faithful Catholic...

Yesterday AEI hosted a lively discussion between Jonah Goldberg and Matt Welch on the question, “Are Libertarians Part of the Conservative Movement?” I’ve got a piece appearing tomorrow at Comment that will discuss the “fusionist” project and the relationship between so-called economic or “market” conservatives and social or munitarian” conservatives. At this point, though, I’ll simply point out a distinction I’ve made in the past between libertarianism as a political philosophy and libertarianism as a world-and-life view. The former, I...

As promised in the context of yesterday’s discussion here and at First Thoughts, my piece on the future of fusionism is up over at the Comment site, “Small is Beautiful (Except When it Isn’t.)” I take my point of departure in the “crunchy” or munitarian” conservatism of Rod Dreher, recently profiled by the NYT’s David Brooks. My basic point is that the social munitarian conservatives generally have a great deal to learn about economics and the way that economic development...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has acted to reverse the democratic decision of the people of California to confine marriage to its traditional parameters of a man and a woman. In making this decision, the court decided that it could overturn the will of the people of California on the basis of what is known in legal circles as “the rational basis standard.” When evaluating the violation of fundamental rights, the court has often used a standard of “strict...

A couple of Acton radio appearances to let you know about: First of all, Acton’s Director of Research Dr. Samuel Gregg joined host Al Kresta yesterday to discuss the modern papacy on Kresta in the Afternoon. He focused on the social and political thought of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. You can listen to the interview by using the audio player below: [audio: Additionally, Acton’s Director of Media Michael Matheson Miller provided some mentary on the controversy surrounding...

Kishore Jayabalan, Director of Acton’s Rome Office, was called upon this morning by America’s Morning News to weigh in with the view from Rome on the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate that most employers – including religious institutions – provide contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs as part of health care coverage. He did so, and you can listen to the interview by using the audio player below: [audio: Previous mentary on the mandate decision: Audio: Dr. Donald Condit on the Trampling...