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“Economic Personalism” is a Fraud: The Solution to Capitalism

You don’t have to be a genius to realize the failure of Marxism. Even before 1989 one could have realized that Marxist regimes were not built on Marxist ideologies and theory, but were built on the rather strange foundation of tens of millions of bodies of the proletariat who disagreed with the regime. The foundation… continue reading

Encyclicals Indict Greed of Companies: Mexicans not Paid Living Wage in U.S. Maquiladoras

Andrew Wright will soon be married to Blossom Mueller, fellow Catholic Worker. They will begin their family life by making the retreat which Fr. Hugo gave so often to Dorothy Day, as part of their honeymoon. As more immigrants arrive each day with the dusty, greasy clothes on their backs I am reminded of what… continue reading

Baroness calls Dorothy Day a Saint

Catherine de Hueck Doherty, a refugee of the Russian Revolution, began working with the poor during the Great Depression, opening Catholic Friendship Houses in Toronto, Harlem and later Chicago. She went on to establish the Madonna House Lay Apostolate in 1947, which is based in Combermere, Ontario, Canada. Since her death in 1985, her lay… continue reading

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin Creative in their Approach to the Labor Movement (Labor & Workers)

This article, on labor and support for workers, is the fifteenth in our series on the Roots of the Catholic Worker movement, the saints, philosophers and ideas which influenced Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. When Dorothy Day became Catholic, a priest asked her to write the story of her conversion, telling how the social teaching… continue reading

Many Questions: How Can You Continue the Work of Hospitality?

Question: You have just talked to 40 to 50 guests at the men’s house. There are 75 to 100 women and children housed in the other centers. You have provided food, clothing, medicine and medical care, dental and eye care to hundreds of others of Casa Juan Diego neighborhoods. Aren’t you and the other workers… continue reading

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE AN IMMIGRANT: INTERVIEW

This interview took place in the little library of Casa Juan Diego’s men’s house in Houston, Texas. Mark presented me to the group of men who are staying there during one of the two weekly meetings with the men. I explained to them my interest in listening to their stories and then sharing them. I… continue reading

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. For a Greater Distribution of Land. The Challenge of Agrarian Reform (Excerpts)

The social teaching of the Church is very clear … that agrarian reform is one of the most urgent reforms and cannot be delayed,” the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said in a document it made public Jan. 13, 1998. The council said that “in situations of injustice and poverty, agrarian reform is not… continue reading

How can Husband and Wife work Together – How Dare you talk about Complementarity?

Our last issue was controversial in presenting complementarity as the choice of Dorothy Day, Sr. Prudence Allen, St. Hildegard of Bingen and Louise Yarian Zwick. It has raised further questions about the marriage relationship of the Editors of the Houston Catholic Worker. Who is in charge? Who writes the articles? The authors have known each other for… continue reading

Is Marriage Un-American? Secret of Good Sexuality

When the American Institute of Health insisted that the words “husband and wife” could no longer be used in their offices, little did they realize how prophetic was their action in commenting on the state of affairs of love and marriage in the United States. By suppressing the use of the words “husband and wife,”… continue reading

Poverty and the Pain of Migration of Undocumented Immigrants

What the Eyes can See What the eyes see is a journey of dreams: Mountains and pine forests, small herds of goats and cows cared for by women and children, with big eyes and cheeks, red from the cold, the sun, and the dust. Farms that extend from one side to the other of the… continue reading