Columns

The Gospel, politics, and love of God

July 3, 2025 James Kalb 2

Like nature and grace, law and love have a complex and subtle relationship. Many Catholics insistently favor bridges over walls, inspiration over tradition, the spirit over the letter, and love over laws and institutions. They […]

Columns

Technology and Social Justice

June 16, 2025 James Kalb 7

Misconceptions about human life and social order lead to endless trouble. So, I’ll make a few more comments on current misconceptions that relate to social justice. One misconception is an overemphasis on individual choice that […]

The Dispatch

A Catholic Patriotism

May 26, 2025 James Kalb 2

How should we be good Catholics and good Americans? Until recently, that did not seem to be an issue to most of us. Separation of Church and State appeared to reconcile the Faith with a […]

Columns

Against utopia, for reality

May 12, 2025 James Kalb 26

I’ve written before about the difficulty of carrying the Gospel over to political and economic life. The difficulty seems basic. Jesus had no residence, property, wife, children, gainful employment, or official position. Instead of giving us […]

Columns

Is the family still fundamental?

April 3, 2025 James Kalb 23

Last month, I suggested that subsidiarity comes from the idea that social order begins with the family, and proceeds from there to ever broader communities and ultimately to the whole world. This view makes the […]

Columns

Yet another comment on ordo amoris

March 1, 2025 James Kalb 33

Vice President JD Vance’s recent comment that we should love and assist those close to us before those who are more distant provoked an outburst of argument that eventually involved even the Pope. The comment […]

Columns

What way to a better world?

January 14, 2025 James Kalb 15

If we want our social and political efforts to be useful, their direction should depend on the way the world is going. But people aren’t good at reading the signs of the times. As Yogi […]