At least forty Catholic dioceses and organizations in the United States have filed suit against the Obama Administration for violation of First Amendment rights. According to , The suits filed by the Catholic organizations focus on the regulation that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last August and finalized in January that requires virtually all health-care plans in the United States to cover sterilizations and all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, including those that can cause abortions. The...

For the next two weeks I’m privileged to be teaching a course on Christian ethics and contemporary culture at Farel Reformed Theological Seminary in Montreal, Quebec. This morning’s class focused on the issue of calling and the Christian life. We discussed some of the ways in which God’s call to follow es to different individuals in a variety of circumstances and in a variety of means. As background, we read Alissa Wilkinson’s short essay, “Vocation Takes Patience.” Discerning God’s call...

On his Koinonia blog, Rev. Gregory Jensen reviews Rev. Robert Sirico’s new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy. Jensen: “Daring though the argument is, especially for a Catholic priest, it is also essential that it be made since for too many people (including business people), free market economic theory and policies are little more than a justification for greed. While not denying the excesses of capitalism and real sins of capitalists, Fr Sirico wisely...

Nowhere in hisarticle for The Atlanticdoes Joshua Foust use the “s” word. But it’s obvious from the examples he mentions that thekey to providing aid to Pakistan is applying the principle of subsidiarity: . . . the most interesting project RSPN has done in rural Pakistan is a collaborative micro-healthcare insurance system. For very little money — $3.50 a year in some cases — poor people can get access to basic medical care (especially maternity care) and assistance if they...

Fr. Robert Sirico, President and Co-founder of the Acton Insitute, has a busy media schedule to promote his new book, Defending the Free Market: the Moral Case for a Free Economy. Here are just a few that you might want to catch: Tuesday, May 22, 2:40 p.m. EST: The Bob Dutko Show Wednesday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. EST: Book Signing at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC – live coverage from C-SPAN Thursday, May 24, 10:30 a.m. EST: The...

The conditions under which the government transfers wealth are different than the conditions under which the church transfers wealth, says James R. Rodgers. Yet many Christian leaders are tempted to use the power of the state to dowhat is required of the church: Ginning up donations, however, is the hard road. Given the imperative that the needy should be fed, how much easier it is to step around the church and the power of the Gospel, and instead to make...

Is it “game-over” for so-called cafeteria or dissenting Catholics? In a Crisis Magazine article, Acton’s Samuel Gregg, Director of Research, says it is. The demographic evidence for impending extinction is striking. The average age of members of female religious orders that are moving “beyond Jesus” into an alternative spiritual universe is over 70. This contrasts with those orders who joyfully embrace Catholic faith in all its fullness. They’re positively flourishing. Similarly, it’s very hard to find dissenters among seminarians –...

Rev. Robert A. Sirico, President of the Acton Institute, is making the rounds in the national media promoting his new book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy. This morning, Father Sirico was on the air in the Decatur, Illinois area as the guest of Brian Byers of Byers & Company on WSOY AM: [audio: Next up, he took to the airwaves on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR Radio in Detroit, Michigan, as...

Order Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy here. ...

As I noted yesterday, I’m in Montreal for the next couple of weeks, and today I had the chance to see some of the student protests firsthand. These protests have been going on now for over three months, and have to do with the raising of tuition for college in Quebec. I’m teaching at Farel Reformed Theological Seminary, which is located in the heart of downtown Montreal, and is adjacent to Concordia University. As I walked around earlier this week,...