One of the most damaging influences in the discussion of workers’ rights and the application of Catholic social teaching is Fr. Robert Sirico, a member of the Oratorians and the director of the Acton Institute. With great cleverness he eliminates any opposition to his laissez-faire economics by using the “S” word against critics and against… continue reading

Easy Essay by Peter Maurin Modern society has made the bank account the standard of values. When the bank account becomes the standard of values the banker has the power. When the banker has the power the technician has to supervise the making of profits. When the banker has the power the politician has to assure law and order in the profit-making… continue reading

Dear Friends, I read Houston Catholic Worker with interest and sympathy. For this reason, I should like to alert you to certain biases and inaccuracies found in Luxmoore article in the newest issue. I do not suspect him of bad intentions, rather ofa certain lack of understanding of the historical background of the composition of Katoliicka Etyka… continue reading

In the accompanying article, (“How an Unknown Text Could Throw Light on John Paul II’s Views on Economics” – https://cjdengp.wpengine.com/paper/how-an-unknown-text-could-throw-new-light-on-john-paul-iis-views-on-economics/) Jonathan Luxmoore points out that in the years before Karol Wojtyla became Pope he was not an uncritical advocate oflaissez-faire capitalism and that Catholic neoconservatives who have depicted him in this way have been mistaken. Luxmoore… continue reading

Anyone familiar with the life of John Paul II will recognise the names of books he published before becoming Pope. But they may be surprised to hear that his longest, containing crucial early reflections on Christianity and Marxism, has never been published. When Polish newspapers wrote about it recently, the news sparked a debate in… continue reading

The Holy Father recently drew the attention of national leaders when he said something dramatic and startling in his address to the Diplomatic Corps. When he asked that the process of debt cancellation and reduction for the poorest countries be continued and accelerated, Pope Benedict XVI insisted that these processes must not be made conditional upon… continue reading

Monseñor Álvaro Ramazzini is the bishop of San Marcos, Guatemala, and President of the Bishops’ Secretariat of Central America and Panama. He collaborated with Mark and Louise Zwick in founding centers for displaced immigrants and refugees in Guatemala. The recent passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) by the U.S. Congress is a… continue reading

A friend of the Houston Catholic Worker is in danger in Guatemala. Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, who collaborated with us in the development of Houses of Hospitality for immigrants and refugees in Tecun Uman, in his Diocese next to the Mexican border, has received very serious death threats again in his home country. Bishop Ramazzini has… continue reading

Once again, the first casualty of war has been the truth. Over the last two years, lost somewhere between blaring media headlines of Elian and Napster, elections and the Oscars, miniature paragraphs and news bites on the escalating crisis of Colombia’s civil war have been vainly competing for the attention of a sensation-hungry, otherwise-occupied public…. continue reading