Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Vatican

January 23, 2006

A Catholic alternative to Europe’s ‘third way’

Proponents of social democracies claim that a large role for the state is important in tempering the profit motive of capitalism and creating a more humane and cultured state. Free markets, they argue, result in an inhumane and disintegrated society, while the social democracy models of Europe protect the weak and create social cohesion. Continue Reading...
January 07, 2006

Who is Pope Benedict XVI?

Despite his many writings, scholarly expertise and long service to the Church as Prefect of Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, there’s still much of an unknown quality surrounding Pope Benedict XVI. Continue Reading...
January 05, 2006

George Weigel at Calvin College

On Jan. 6, Rev. Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, will introduce author George Weigel at the Calvin College January Series in Grand Rapids, Mich. Weigel’s topic will be “Revolutionary Papacies: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and the Future of the Catholic Church.” Continue Reading...
November 14, 2005

To counter social ills…

The separation of church and state–that slippery topic–was dealt with recently with simplicity by the Holy Father. In speaking to the US Ambassador to the Vatican regarding ethics in politics, he said: “The disturbing spread of social disorder, war, injustice and violence in our world can ultimately be countered only by renewed appreciation and respect for the universal moral law whose principles derive from the Creator himself.” Continue Reading...
November 07, 2005

German thought and the Vatican

In today’s Times of London, William Rees-Mogg writes about the Vatican and its apparent rejection of intelligent design. Rees-Mogg also makes this provocative claim about Pope Benedict and some possible surprises from this new pontificate: His critics had expected him to be more conservative than his predecessor. Continue Reading...
October 20, 2005

New site for Catholic social doctrine

The Verona-based Van Thuan Observatory has recently launched its website, reports the Zenit news service. The Observatory’s namesake, the late Cardinal Van Thuan, was the recipient of the the Acton Institute Faith and Freedom Award in 2002. Continue Reading...
October 03, 2005

Tolerance: True and false

Pope Benedict XVI: “A tolerance which allows God as a private opinion but which excludes him from public life, from the reality of the world and our lives, is not tolerance but hypocrisy,” the pope said in the homily he gave at a three-week-long synod’s opening mass in St Peter’s Basilica. Continue Reading...
August 30, 2005

Must reading: SteynOnline

Is there a columnist anywhere in the world more in line with Pope John Paul II’s social teachings than Mark Steyn? All the more amazing as he regularly writes for the extremely secularist British press! Continue Reading...