Category: Church
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Why Catholics Should Oppose Sotomayor
Deal W. Hudson July 6, 2009 The confirmation of nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice is almost a certainty. She’s a woman, a Hispanic, and the pick of a popular president who leads the party that controls the Senate. Democratic leadership in the Senate is determined to complete hearings before the Judiciary Committee…
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Benedict XVI Tightens Up the Church’s Social Teaching
Deal W. Hudson July 7, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical – Caritas in Veritate – arrived today containing 30,468 words: an introduction, six chapters, conclusion, and 159 footnotes. It’s not thrilling reading, even by encyclical standards, but as the latest papal statement on the Church’s social teaching, “Love in Truth” will be a work of lasting significance. Those…
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Did President Obama Mislead the Holy Father?
Deal W. Hudson July 16, 2009 In the late afternoon of July 10, President Obama met privately with Pope Benedict XVI for just over 30 minutes. According to official Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, S.J., “The president explicitly expressed his commitment to reducing the numbers of abortions and to listen to the church’s concern on moral issues.” On July…
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Three Misreadings of Caritas in Veritate
Deal W. Hudson July 7, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, was published on July 7. With the appearance of a new papal document, various factions in the Church, as well as some outside, eagerly attempt to score points on their own behalf. This is particularly true of Caritas in Veritate since both its length and…
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Catholic Schools Are Saving New Orleans’ Children
Deal W. Hudson July 23, 2009 Catholics Teach the Children of New Orleans Since the Katrina disaster, the schools of the Archdiocese of New Orleans have swelled to double the enrollment of the local public schools – 40,000 to 20,000. Rev. Neal McDermott, O.P., superintendent of the Catholic schools, told me yesterday that the archdiocese is facing a financial…
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An Open Letter to Tiger Woods, Asking for More
Deal W. Hudson July 27, 2009 Dear Tiger, Golf commentator Rick Reilly recently upbraided you in an ESPN.com column for your behavior during golf tournaments. When I first read the words, “Woods needs to clean up his act,” I was surprised that a writer whose livelihood depends on access to golfers like you would jeopardize his career…
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Building a Farm Team of New Conservative Leadership
Deal W. Hudson July 29, 2009 What is being done to reinvigorate the next generation of conservatives in politics? Many new initiatives have been announced, but one of the few that will make a difference in coming elections is American Majority. Founded in January 2008, this organization is aggressively recruiting and training a new generation of grassroots activists…
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Reading Into the Church
Deal W. Hudson August 1, 2009 Reading, said Josemar�an Escriv�, has made many a saint. In my own case, it has merely made a convert, but I do continue to read ever more deeply into the mystery that is the Church. Thomas Merton, we recall from Seven Storey Mountain, was started on his road to the…
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The Risks of a “Right” to Healthcare
Deal W. Hudson August 10, 2009 Through the official statements of the USCCB, the Catholic bishops assert that health care is a “basic human right.” Since the release of their 1981 pastoral letter on health and health care, the bishops have consistently argued that the federal government is responsible for establishing “a comprehensive health care system that…
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A Workable Alternative to Government-Run Healthcare
Deal W. Hudson August 16, 2009 The newly launched USCCB Web site on health care tackles the question: “Are the bishops promoting socialized medicine by advocating for universal access?” That’s a good question since the prospect of a government takeover of health care has created a growing chorus of complaints about the present bills before the Congress.…
Deal W. Hudson 