Pope Francis made headlines recently with his critical remarks on capitalism and the “economy of exclusion.” It did not take long before pundits accused the Pope of supporting radical ideology. Politicians rushed to enlist him in support of their agenda. (Rush Limbaugh called him a Marxist; President Obama cited him in a policy speech.) What […]
Continue readingMore TagMonth: December 2013
To Share in the Sufferings of Christ
For non-Catholics, one of the strangest aspects of Catholic faith is its doctrine of suffering. It is not strange that Catholics should concern themselves with suffering. Suffering is a universal human problem. Some religious traditions (like Buddhism) are almost wholly concerned with the problem of suffering: how to eliminate it, endure it, or even deny […]
Continue readingMore TagWhy the Gospel is Good News
I had a religious discussion recently with someone who does not share my Catholic faith. The topic was comparative religion and the relative merits of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and so forth. I made the point that many religions acknowledge one God (or one source, or origin, or ground of all being) from […]
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