Commentaries
A knock at the door led to a path of service
I wouldn't realize it for years, but a knock on my door almost a decade ago was going to change my life in fundamental ways. The knock came from Ken Hackett. The door was to my office as dean of the Mendoza College of Business of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Ken was president of Catholic Relief Services, which was about to put lay members on its board for the first time. He was recruiting me. I had always believed in the organization's mission to serve the poor and most vulnerable. Since I grew up in Hong Kong and was influenced by Catholics from the United States -- the Maryknoll Sisters who educated me intellectually and spiritually -- I felt it was a mission I should be part of. I didn't know that a decade later, I would be president of CRS.
From Penn State sexual abuse report, some striking similarities
Responding to editors’ requests for current commentary from around the Catholic press, Catholic News Service presents the following editorial from the July 29 issue of Our Sunday Visitor, a national Catholic newsweekly based in Huntington, Ind. It was written by the editorial board. At the request of the shell-shocked board of trustees of Pennsylvania State […]
Joining the fight for accurate images of women and girls
Show me the money? Show us the values
Bumper-sticker message gives a man ideas
I pulled up behind a four-wheel-drive vehicle at a stoplight near our home the other day. Across the rear bumper, the driver had stenciled, in quite large red letters, "Driver Has No Money." At first, I thought it might be a pizza delivery vehicle, but when it turned left in front of me I could see that there was no pizza logo on the top or sides. Apparently, I had just come upon someone who 1) emphatically did not want to be robbed, and assumed that notifying would-be bandits possessed of literacy skills might help in that regard and 2) felt compelled to share his or her financial status with the world. The more I thought about it, there were plenty of times when that particular "Driver Has No Money" message would have been appropriate across the back of my car, too. The years 1970-77 and 1989-91 come to mind, in particular.
On immigration, common sense from the court
Given all of the attention that followed the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act -- attention that was certainly warranted -- there's a chance that the high court's ruling on the draconian Arizona immigration law may not have received the attention it deserved. The ruling came down from the court on June 25 -- three days before the monumental health care decision. And in case you missed it or lost details of the immigration decision in the large shadow of health care reform, here's what happened:
From food banks to porches, needs persist in summer
My golden retriever is sprawled on the cool vinyl of the laundry room floor, unwilling to make her usual dash to the window to bark at the mailman. Obviously, this strange behavior, if not a sign of the apocalypse, is at least a sign that it’s way too hot. My friends in Alaska think it’s […]
Congress should fix ‘fundamental flaws’ of health care law, not repeal it
Responding to editors’ requests for a regular sampling of current commentary from around the Catholic press, here is an editorial titled “The health care decision” from the July 6 issue of The Criterion, newspaper of the Indianapolis Archdiocese. It was written by John F. Fink, editor emeritus. Chief Justice John Roberts surprised everyone when he […]
Advocates celebrate school choice success
School choice advocates are celebrating a victory in Harrisburg! Governor Tom Corbett signed the tax code bill that expands the existing Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, eliminates the delay for some companies that wish to contribute, and creates another category of tax-credit supported scholarships called EITC 2.0 targeted at students in neighborhoods with perpetually […]
Fortnight for Freedom: Time for Catholic witness
By now most Catholics are aware of the mandate of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requiring employers to provide health services such as contraception and sterilization, even if such services violate the employer’s deepest moral principles. The health care reform measure of the Obama administration also so narrowly defines a religious organization […]