Ecclesia et Civitas

An Undemocratic Future?

November 15, 2012 James Kalb 0

Democracy means “rule by the people,” but today that seems an increasingly distant ideal. We live in a diverse country of 310 million people with a government responsible for a huge range of domestic and […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

The Church and Social Programs

October 16, 2012 James Kalb 0

A couple of months ago I noted that the Church generally supports and cooperates with political authorities. She interprets their efforts charitably, supports whatever can be justified, and, when some particular measure is undeniably bad, […]

Sojourns with Schall

No New or Different Church

October 15, 2012 James V. Schall, S.J. 0

“The Council Fathers neither could nor wished to create a new or different Church. They had neither the authority nor the mandate to do so. It was only in their capacity as bishops that they […]

Clark on China

“Christ is in Our Midst”

September 26, 2012 Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. 0

Sunday morning in China’s capital city is not unlike most other days: Beijing’s more than 20 million inhabitants bustle through congested sidewalks, cars compete almost hopelessly for space on crowded roads, and hazy grey skies […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

The State and the Sacred

September 17, 2012 James Kalb 0

Every functional society is based on a system of common understandings about man, the world, and the common good. Otherwise those who take part in it won’t be able to cooperate effectively in the network […]

Sojourns with Schall

What Is America Today?

September 17, 2012 James V. Schall, S.J. 0

If we Americans listen to our own music, we hear that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. We have purple mountains and amber waves of grain. “God bless […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

Equality and Catholicism

August 7, 2012 James Kalb 0

America has taken freedom and equality as her highest political goals, and her most basic problems have to do with that commitment and how it should be interpreted. Recent events have focused attention on changing […]

Ecclesia et Civitas

The Left, the Right, and Catholicism

July 9, 2012 James Kalb 0

Catholicism sees freedom as directed toward the good life, and fills in the details with its understanding of God and man. Liberalism likes to avoid big issues like God, man, and the good, because they […]