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July 06, 2005

‘The Warning to Rich Oppressors’

The Acton Institute has announced the honorees for the 2005 Homiletics Award, on the text of James 5:1-6, “The Warning to Rich Oppressors.” In first place ($2,000) is Earl Eckbold, a Master of Divinity student at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

The late(st) great G8 debate

From an interview on Zenit.org with Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the president of the Italian division of Santander Central Hispanic Bank and a professor of the Catholic University of Milan, discussing African debt relief: “What should have been done was to put these countries in a condition of being able to pay the debts, even if in 1,000 years, helping them to create the necessary wealth for their own survival, as well as for their own dignity as human beings, who do not want to feel incapable and failures, in need of non-repayable charity…the G-8 members should listen to the suggestions of Pope Benedict XVI, who shows himself to be the most concrete “statesman,” inviting them to take concrete measures to help Africa, appealing for the just distribution of the goods of the earth. Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

The unity of faith and politics, more or less

The legitimization of so-called same-sex marriage in Spanish law has not surprisingly elicited a strong response from Christians around the world. This particular disagreement is often cast by proponents of change as a matter of Religion trying to encroach on Politics. Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

Summer Olympics in London, 2012

London has been awarded the 2012 Summer Olympics, beating out Paris, New York, Madrid, and Moscow. According to a report, “The victory means that London will play host to the world’s premier sporting event in seven years’ time with a specially-built stadium and village rising from what is now an urban wasteland in the east of the city.” Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

Africa needs more than foreign aid

So says Dr. George Ayittey, a professor of economics at American University and founder of the Free Africa Foundation, in an interview on today’s Morning Edition from NPR. Ayittey argues in part that after the African nations gained independence, they rejected the market system out of hand as a Western innovation, to the detriment of their societies. Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

Why not give yourself?

A question over at the ONE Campaign blog: Why don’t these celebrities cough up their own money and stop asking for mine? Answer: First off, they are. Most of the celebs involved in the campaign give hundreds of thousands, if not millions to charity. Continue Reading...
July 06, 2005

Bush says abortion not a limtus test for high court

President Bush, on his way to the G-8 Summit, said that views like abortion or gay marriage will not serve as litmus tests for selecting a Supreme Court nominee. “I’ll pick people who, one, can do the job, and people who are honest, people who are bright and people who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench to legislate from,” Bush said. Continue Reading...
July 05, 2005

Private aid and investment abroad

A study released late last month by the Hudson Institute found “$62.1 billion in U.S. private donations to developing countries in 2003, the last year numbers are available.” The report, cited in an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, goes on to argue that the formula used by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) to judge the generosity of various countries “fails to take into account the primary way in which Americans help others abroad: through the private sector.” Continue Reading...