Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'Social Issues'

Are Churches Failing The Poor?

For those in poverty, or those simply facing tough times, churches are often places they turn to for help. It may be organized aid: soup kitchens and food pantries. It may be a gas card given to a single mom who is struggling to get from one pay day to another. Continue Reading...

Sex Trafficking CAN Be Eliminated

There are few things more horrifying than the sexual exploitation of a child. Perhaps it is made even worse to think that those who are meant to protect the child (parents, police, court officials) are complicit in the harm of that child. Continue Reading...

L’Engle and the Church

This week the University Bookman published an essay in which I reflect on some of the lessons we can learn from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, especially related to the recent discovery of an excised section. Continue Reading...

5 facts about mothers and Mother’s Day

1. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation that officially established the first national Mother’s Day holiday to celebrate America’s mothers. Many individual states celebrated Mother’s Day before then, but it was not until Wilson lobbied Congress in 1914 that Mother’s Day was officially set on the second Sunday of every May. Continue Reading...

What is Liberal Morality?

“Three recent events have made me reflect on a certain theme that should be of interest to religious-minded advocates of the free society,” says Kishore Jayabalan in this week’s Acton Commentary. Continue Reading...

Pakistan: Christians And Debt Bondage

Christians make up a tiny minority in the nation of Pakistan, where the state religion is Islam. In many places, Pakistani Christians are persecuted and enslaved. Nowhere is this more evident in the kilns and brick-making industry. Continue Reading...

Why is the Episcopal Church Working as a Debt Collector?

For decades The Episcopal Church (ECUSA) has faced declining membership (in 1966, the ECUSA had 3,647,297 members; by 2013, the membership was 1,866,758, a decline of 49 percent.) But even when people are leaving the pews someone still has to pay for those pews, as well as the other overhead costs that come with running a large organization. Continue Reading...

Baltimore Mom: Abusive Or Responsible?

There was some water cooler talk here in the office the other day as the video of the Baltimore mom went viral. That’s the mother who recognized her son as one of the rioters, and slapped him about the head with some degree of ferocity, then put him in the car and took him home. Continue Reading...

Income Inequality Isn’t The Problem; Greed Is

Recently, Rev. Robert Sirico spoke in Chicago. He was asked a question regarding income inequality. His answer was that he didn’t care how much money Bill Gates had, nor did it matter to him the difference between Gates’ income and say, Warren Buffet’s. Continue Reading...