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August 17, 2010

Rev. Sirico: Free markets, not aid, will help poor nations best

The Detroit News published a new column today by Acton president and co-founder Rev. Robert A. Sirico: Faith and Policy: Free markets, not aid, will help poor nations best Rev. Robert Sirico At the recent G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto, a hue and cry was raised by nongovernmental organizations and other activists about the failure of industrialized countries to make good on promises to raise aid to the developing world. Continue Reading...
August 17, 2010

Audio: Subsidiarity Over Social Justice

In an audio commentary produced for Ave Maria Radio and Catholic Exchange, Paul Kengor says it is “incumbent among Catholics to learn more about this blessed concept of subsidiarity.” As part of this education, he recommends “The Principle of Subsidiarity” by David A. Continue Reading...
August 17, 2010

Is Capitalism Really A Dangerous Idea?

Over at MercatorNet, there is a discussion taking place on the “world’s most dangerous idea.” Entries include the idea that human beings are no more dignified than animals, that the cheap, abundant information found on the Internet is a good thing, and that the holding of dogmas is only for the narrow-minded. Continue Reading...
August 17, 2010

The Superiority of Christian Hospitals

Thomson Reuters has issued a new report that shows church-run hospitals provide better quality care more efficiently than other secular hospitals. Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals programs at Thomson Reuters, says, “Our data suggest that the leadership of health systems owned by churches may be the most active in aligning quality goals and monitoring achievement of mission across the system.” Continue Reading...
August 13, 2010

The Economist, Catholicism, and Europe

When it comes to the sophistication of its coverage of religious affairs, the Economist is better than most other British publications (admittedly not a high standard) which generally insist on trying to read religion through an ideologically-secularist lens. Continue Reading...
August 12, 2010

Carbon Regulation: Ecological Utopia or Economic Nightmare?

In this week’s Acton Commentary, I discuss whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s planned regulation of carbon emissions can be justified from a Christian perspective.  The EPA has found that carbon emissions endanger “public health and welfare,” and it is on track to begin regulating vehicle and power plant emissions. Continue Reading...
August 11, 2010

Abela: Will Teaching Business Ethics Make Business More Ethical?

On the National Catholic Register, Andrew Abela confesses to a “nagging suspicion that teaching business ethics in a university is not delivering on what is expected of it.” The question is both concrete and academic: Abela is the chairman of the Department of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America and an associate professor of marketing. Continue Reading...
August 10, 2010

Do We Need Pro-Family Tax Policies?

Last month, in “Europe’s Choice: Populate or Perish,” Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg observed: At a deeper level … Europe’s declining birth-rate may also reflect a change in intellectual horizons. A cultural outlook focused upon the present and disinterested in the future is more likely to view children as a burden rather than a gift to be cared for in quite un-self-interested ways. Continue Reading...