Faith in the Public Arena Archives - TheCatholicSpirit.com

Integral ecology addresses social environmental crisis

October 23, 2019

Catholic social teaching is not a set of policy prescriptions or an attempt to tell people how to vote. Rather, it is a mental framework through which we address challenging social problems in light of the Gospel.

Faith in the Public Arena

In politics, we can all be like ‘The Lord of the Rings’’ Frodo Baggins

September 25, 2019

The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien is a beautiful work showing the important role even the smallest and seemingly most insignificant people have in the drama of history. In the trilogy, it is Frodo Baggins, the little hobbit, who embarks on a perilous adventure to destroy the ring of power at Mount Doom and save Middle Earth from the power of the evil Sauron.

Faith in the Public Arena

Can Catholics disagree on policy positions of bishops?

August 21, 2019

This session, the Catholic bishops of Minnesota advocated in favor of a policy that would allow undocumented immigrants to drive legally in Minnesota. The bishops and Minnesota Catholic Conference staff have received plenty of feedback from Catholics throughout the state, in many instances expressing their disagreement with that policy proposal.

Faith in the Public Arena

Promoting the common good is not a spectator sport

July 22, 2019

After five very blessed years as associate director for public policy with the Minnesota Catholic Conference, I have decided to pursue a new opportunity with Catholic Education Partners, an organization whose mission is to advance public policies that empower families and children to enjoy the benefits of a Catholic education. I firmly believe that giving more children the opportunity to receive a great Catholic education through parental choice is one of the best ways we can spread the Gospel, bring more people to Christ, and build a better and just society.

Faith in the Public Arena

A Church for the poor requires religious freedom

June 19, 2019

To bring the Gospel to all men and women, not to just the wealthy or intellectuals, Christianity must be incarnated in every aspect of civilization, including politics. This requires that the Church be free to cultivate the life of prayer needed to nurture discipleship in people who can, in turn, be leaven in society.

Faith in the Public Arena

Love your political enemies

May 2, 2019

Not every political issue is a battle between good and evil. In fact, most are not. But more and more issues at the Capitol are being framed that way because we continue to lose a sense of the dignity of our political opponents.

Faith in the Public Arena

In politics, everything is connected

April 17, 2019

Today, people working to advance Catholic social teaching often find themselves in opposing camps, divided along party lines. But the Church’s political work is about putting back together what has been torn apart by a highly partisan culture. In his encyclical “Laudato si’,” Pope Francis proposes integral ecology as a new framework for reunifying the Church’s mission of public engagement.

Faith in the Public Arena

Finding common ground for the common good

March 18, 2019

When I came back to the Catholic Church 20 years ago, it was due in large part to the Church’s public witness defending the sanctity of life in the womb. Since then, my experience of the Catholic faith has broadened my pro-life convictions into a concern for human life at every stage.

Faith in the Public Arena

Good politics is at the service of peace

February 20, 2019

The annual papal message for the World Day of Peace (Jan. 1, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God) — one of the best glimpses into the minds of the popes regarding social and political issues — offers specific counsel, rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, about how to work for peace in our time in light of current events.

Faith in the Public Arena

After 2018: Does the Church have a ‘bigger agenda?’

January 24, 2019

In the aftermath of this past summer’s revelations of sex abuse and cover-up in the Church, there is a tendency for Catholics to slip into an either-or way of thinking about how to respond: Either we cannot “get back to work” until we have adequately addressed the crisis, or, we cannot spare the time to respond to the scandals because the Church’s mission is too urgent.

Faith in the Public Arena

The evil within

December 19, 2018

In politics today, people have fallen into the habit of condemning the evil in other persons, groups, structures or oppressor classes, while they themselves embrace the role of victim.

Faith in the Public Arena

(Civic) friendship is an apostolate

November 21, 2018

When you read this, the 2018 elections will have passed. The anger will continue to boil, and new opportunities for outrage will undoubtedly abound. The demonization of political opponents will persist, and the saddling of the American presidency with criminal investigations and threats of impeachment will likely become a permanent feature of our politics.

Faith in the Public Arena

In politics, we can all be like ‘The Lord of the Rings’’ Frodo Baggins

Can Catholics disagree on policy positions of bishops?

Promoting the common good is not a spectator sport

A Church for the poor requires religious freedom

Love your political enemies

Finding common ground for the common good

Good politics is at the service of peace

After 2018: Does the Church have a ‘bigger agenda?’

The evil within

(Civic) friendship is an apostolate

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