Free enterprise and private property have some rather strange supporters around the world. While professing to be ardent anticommunists, these supporters always advocate some restrictions on private property or free enterprise when proposing solutions for socio-economic problems. The greater the limitations, the more they rejoice. Their justification is always the same: Private property and free … Read more
Pope Francis’s third encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, predictably deals with the plight of the migrant. This theme has characterized his pontificate, as he never loses an opportunity to take it up. Not all share his enthusiasm; most are apprehensive about what it means for the future. Mass migration is a sensitive subject for many Catholics in … Read more
Seeing the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris ablaze shocked many people, regardless of the depth of their religious sense. As the long day dragged into the night of April 15, 2019, news cameras of the world were trained on the fire. Many Parisians sang mournfully and prayed. Reporters discussed the cathedral’s importance as a … Read more
Reflecting on America’s present state, I could not help but think of a metaphor that I had used some years ago in my book, Return to Order. I had likened the economy to that of a cruise ship on a never-ending cruise. On its multiple decks, the bands were playing, the theaters were full, the … Read more
Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti presents a dilemma for all who defend the right of private property. On the one hand, the teaching document Pope Francis signed on October 3 questions this right. On the other, past popes, theologians, and canonists have always taught that private ownership, as it is largely practiced, is just and … Read more
Everyone knows the Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings are not about Amy Coney Barrett, her qualifications or the Constitution. Of course, everyone goes through the theatrics of what the hearings are supposed to be. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s liberal members will dutifully cast themselves as the Constitution’s guardians. They will dramatically insist that the nominee … Read more
[Columbus] was devoutly pious: religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he celebrated it by solemn thanks to God. The voice of prayer and melody of praise rose from his ships when they first beheld … Read more
An account of several miracles indirectly attributable to the discoverer of America is given by the Count de Lorgues in his “Christophe Colomb.” The following relates to a cross which he erected in Hispaniola, at Fort Conception: “At the beginning of April, 1495, Columbus visited for the second time the Royal Plain, where the year … Read more
No institution in modern American life is as attacked as the family. Getting the fundamental notions of the family right is, therefore, crucial. A small, yet powerful, book, The Christian Institution of the Family: A Dynamic Force to Regenerate Society delves deeply into the nature and future of this vital institution. No one can read … Read more
In the days when the United States would admit that hierarchy was a part of its national life, two groups occupied the pinnacle – the First Families of Virginia (FFV’s) and the Boston Brahmins. Both had lineages that went back to the earliest English settlements in North America – Jamestown and Plymouth. In today’s egalitarian … Read more
