How the pope strays from spirituality and morality, and wears the mantel of a politician

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Recently, Pope Francis gave a press conference while returning to the Vatican from a trip to Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius. During his press conference, he, of course, lied. What else does one do at a press conference?

The lies were understandable because he was making a political statement against capitalism and against America, two of his favorite bugaboos. Yet, is it ever alright for the pope to lie? I shall leave that matter for the theologians. I do wonder, though, who is hearing the pope’s confession these days?

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Ask Ann Cannon: My friend keeps buying spendy gifts, even when we tell her not to

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Dear Ann Cannon • One of my friends goes crazy with gift-giving during the holiday season. She spends a lot of money and gives a lot of “stuff” to all of her friends. I heard she does it at work, too. I love to honor the season and my friendships, as well, but I do not want to spend the kind of money this friend spends or buy people something they may not need or want.

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30 Years Ago Today, the World Dramatically Changed

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In February 1972, when Eastern Europe seemed permanently welded to the Soviet sphere and entirely subject to its compulsory secularism, Mr. Armstrong’s Plain Truth magazine wrote, “One of the biggest roles desired by the Vatican is that of mediator between East and West. The Vatican … will continue to do its part in courting the Eastern European countries.”

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Capitalism, the Legacy of Michael Novak, and the Opportunity for a More United Front

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While the classical liberals want to maintain our Christian heritage through free markets, autonomy, and democracy and the populists want to maintain our Christian heritage through anti-globalization efforts rooted in social cohesion and social order; both sides aren’t so irreconcilably different that they cannot work together to save America.

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Alexis de Tocqueville and Michael Novak at the Heritage Foundation

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Aspirations to socialism and social democracy appear to be gaining traction in much of America, especially among young Americans. People are often fuzzy about what they mean by terms like “socialism.” Sometimes it seems to be a type of aspirational outlook. On other occasions, it involves specific policy-proposals. In yet other instances, it’s some combination of both. The effect is often to make socialism a harder target to critique.

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Catholic All the Way: Michael Novak’s Legacy

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Michael Novak was a thinker whose sweep was without peer in his time, or ours. As a public intellectual, his contributions ranged over a staggering list of fields – theology, philosophy, journalism, economics, politics, poetry and fiction – just for starters. His public service included work as an ambassador for human rights, as a professor, as a public speaker in great demand; and his service was recognized by a staggering list of honors: 24 honorary degrees, the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, awards from the Central European governments and associations for whom his towering work, The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, would serve as a providential blueprint during the years in which they clawed up from decades of communist oppression.

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Students 'Hack' Social Justice Issues

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Teams of University students competed in developing action plans addressing particular social issues, such as homelessness or income inequality, as part of a “hackathon” on March 19. The hackathon was part of the second annual Novak Symposium, a day-long conference promoting continued discussion of issues and themes that the late Michael Novak focused on.

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What on earth is a ‘social justice hackathon’?

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The Catholic University of America’s Novak Symposium, now in its second year, is a day filled with the sharing of thought provoking ideas.

To honor the memory of Michael Novak, an American Catholic political scholar best known for his demonstrations that democratic capitalism and Catholic social teaching are compatible, Catholic scholars from think tanks and educational institutions come from all over to deliver speeches on current social issues and the solutions they have discovered through their work.

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Venezuela’s Agony, the Catholic Church, and a Post-Maduro Future

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One of history’s less palatable lessons is that dictatorial regimes can stay in power a long time. We can talk endlessly about humanity’s insuppressible yearning for liberty, but if a government retains its security apparatus’s loyalty and the will to use force, dictatorships can be very resilient in the face of popular discontent.

The good news is that such regimes can also collapse at the most unexpected moments.

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