John Couretas

is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Posts by John Couretas

August 10, 2005

Metaphysical technology

In this week’s Acton Commentary, Dave Phelps looks at the case of Susan Torres, a woman who gave birth while reported to be brain dead. The case was considered by some to be a miracle. Continue Reading...
August 05, 2005

Is anyone listening?

In a column in today’s Washington Times, Arnaud de Borchgrave looks at the growing gap between executive compensation and the pay of just about everyone else. He quotes a Wall Street Journal study showing that in 2004 the median salary and bonus for CEOs soared 14.5 percent, while paychecks for salaried employees averaged a 3.4 percent increase. Continue Reading...
July 29, 2005

Antiochian orthodox to quit NCC

The terminal politicization of the National Council of Churches has led a major Orthodox jurisdiction to throw in the towel. The Antiochian Orthodox Church, meeting for its bi-annual convention in Dearborn, Mich., Continue Reading...
July 22, 2005

CAFTA vs. ‘Distributive Justice’

The Interfaith Working Group on Trade and Investment, a Washington-based amalgam of left-liberal religious activists, has asked the U.S. Congress to reject ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Here’s a representative statement: “Religious leaders boldly stood with impoverished people and called today for sustainable development in Central America and respect for the integrity of Creation.” Continue Reading...
July 13, 2005

The telecom cowboy weeps

Bernie Ebbers got 25 years in the cooler for his role in the demise of WorldCom. If he serves the full sentence, he’ll be 85 years old when they let him out. Continue Reading...
July 11, 2005

Moral philosophers on the bench

Over at OpinionJournal, Robert Bork examines the effects of “radical personal autonomy” on American jurisprudence in “Their Will Be Done: How the Supreme Court Sows Moral Anarchy.” Says Bork: Once the justices depart, as most of them have, from the original understanding of the principles of the Constitution, they lack any guidance other than their own attempts at moral philosophy, a task for which they have not even minimal skills. Continue Reading...
June 28, 2005

No ‘Magic Number’ on foreign aid

USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios set the record straight at a U.N. conference when he told the gathering that the United States has “no intention” of committing to a goal for foreign aid pegged to a percentage of gross domestic product. Continue Reading...
June 15, 2005

Freedom carved in stone

Reuven Hammer writes about the rabbinic interpretation of the Ten Commandments in a Jerusalem Post article titled, “On Judaism: True Freedom” (Posts prior to 2010 have been deleted). He talks about a contemporary understanding of freedom as something that is simply free of all constraint. Continue Reading...
June 15, 2005

Orthodox pulling out of NCC?

For its All-American Council in Toronto next month, the Orthodox Church in America has issued a study paper on its relations with sister Orthodox churches and the wider ecumenical community. While the paper is advertised as nothing more than “fodder for deliberations,” it nonetheless makes a strong recommendation for cutting the ties with the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. Continue Reading...
May 27, 2005

A death dealing global economy?

The approaching G8 summit in Scotland has led the World Council of Churches to renew its call for a debt-free world. That is, debt-free if you are one of those developing nations that have been victimized by “increasingly unconscionable levels of inequity,” according to Rev. Continue Reading...