Tag Archives: Roman Catholicism

Francis & Bloy

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

In the Daily Telegraph, Tim Stanley writes: A chance click on a blog by Alejandro Bermúdez, head of the Catholic News Agency, leant me a fascinating insight into [the Pope’s] intellectual character. During his first homily, Pope Francis quoted the … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Pope for the Descamisados?

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Over at the National Catholic Reporter, John Allen exults over the undeniable success of the early months in office of the genial, (sort of Peronist) prelate now known as Pope Francis. Some of the rejoicing is over the top—given the … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Free Markets, No Thanks

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Barbara Ward (1914-81), a former foreign editor of the Economist and much more besides, plays an important part in Rupert Darwall’s The Age of Global Warming, a new book that is, among other things, a fascinating intellectual and political history … Continue reading →

Posted in history, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The End of a “Catholic Moment”?

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

Ross Douthat mourns (prematurely, I fear) ‘the end of a Catholic moment’: The mid-2000s were the last time the Catholic vision of the good society — more egalitarian than American conservatism and more moralistic than American liberalism — enjoyed real … Continue reading →

Posted in politics | Tagged , | 4 Comments

First Amendment, Second Amendment

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

The Economist picks up on this letter from 64 Roman Catholic theologians in favor of gun control. With so much talk of late of the supposed attack on religious freedom represented by Obamacare’s contraception mandate, this passage caught my eye: … Continue reading →

Posted in Church & State, debate, law, politics | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Same Old, Same Old

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Andrew Stuttaford

It’s no great secret that the Vatican has never been particularly fond of the idea of free markets, but here is yet more nonsense from Benedict XVI to remind us of just that. The BBC reports on the Pope’s New … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, politics, Religion | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Liberty, Not So Much

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

We’ve heard a lot from the Roman Catholic church of late about how its “religious liberty” is supposedly infringed by the Obamacare “contraception mandate”. It’s a dodgy and unconvincing argument for any number of reasons (and hypocritical too, given the … Continue reading →

Posted in Church & State | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

It’s Not Just Pakistan

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Cross-Posted on the Corner: There are blasphemy laws in India too, and in this instance a case there comes with a possibly somewhat unexpected twist. The Guardian reports: When water started trickling down a statue of Jesus Christ at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Church & State | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Must Try Harder

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

Over at Patheos, Kathy Schiffer is running a series on the “Best 100 Catholic Speakers” and here she is with seminary professor Dr. Janet Smith, author of Contraception: Why Not? Choice quote from Dr. Smith: I think contraception is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | Tagged , | 2 Comments

God and Mammon

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Andrew Stuttaford

How the Roman Catholic Church chooses to decide who is—and who is not a Roman Catholic—is up to that church. Even so, this is quite a story (from Reuters): Liberal and conservative Roman Catholic activists in Germany criticised a decree … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Tagged , | 2 Comments