Links: Catholic social teaching origins, voting laws, corporate taxes

Links: Catholic social teaching origins, voting laws, corporate taxes 

The America Magazine essay certainly attacks the economics of consumerism.  This is a huge theme for MSW, which he ignores. Fr.  Strynkowski misses the dispossession of workers in capitalism. Consumption is the Band-Aid that makes capitalism possible. This type of dispossession was well known to Jesus in his life. Father misses the fact that family members and their friends were the core of the Twelve, while Matthew joined as an act of repentance from being on the other side. 

No one leaves the Church over Christ as dispossessed. They leave because the Church hierarchy ignores the issue in its actions - not its words. The hypocrisy is what drives people out.The underlying message that the sacrifice of the Cross is God sharing our dispossession on earth rather than as an atonement from dispossessing God is spot on. The bulk of the Church misses that one too, with even more heading for the exits because of it. 

These issues are not new, nor is the fact that the hierarchy would rather not talk about them. That theologians are leading the way on this discussion is a blessing and shows that they are finally becoming useful. The relation between the cross and the manger - as well as all points in between - comes from a holistic view of Christ as God-Man. God comes to us - not the other way around.

Gasp, Republicans are using false equivalencing again! Bravo, MLB! Cato will go with the wishes of its donors on corporate minimum tax. Gasp again and Bravo, Yellen! Of course, the better option would be a global asset value added tax. Business taxes should pay for services to employees and their families - either directly or indirectly.

Partisan affiliation has had nothing to do with this progression of cases on religion, nor has the religion of the Justice (with the exception of Scalia). The Court struck down Blaine Amendments banning Catholic school funding. Not a bad thing. So far, in areas where religious people have demanded the right to control the behavior of others - from birth control, to abortion, to sodomy to marriage equality, the Courts have rejected Catholic (and other) Church demands on all occasions. 

I am not particularly happy about Hosanna-Tabor, but it makes sense if the glasring loophole allowing the firing of teachers in gay marriages is removed.  The Court has not considered the rights of employees in the context of religious liberty v. religious power. This is because no one has asked them to yet. Be assured that next time Lambda takes up such a case, I will make sure that this is how the question is framed. Hosanna-Tabor and Title VII definitions of sex are soon. On the Little Sisters case, the Court did a good job threading the needle. They split the baby and the Nuns did not like it. The Court responds to cases and arguments. It does not invent them, regardless of the tropes that MSW wants to believe.

I will hold my comments on the new Word on Fire book until I see or hear about the annotations. If I don't like them, I will come up with some of my own.