The Catholic Difference is a weekly column syndicated by the Archdiocese of Denver.
Campaign 2012: Economy and Empowerment
In his 1958 book, “Reflections on America”, the great French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain (who took refuge in the United States during World War II) claimed that Americans, for all
Vatican II’s Golden Anniversary
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, the most important Catholic event since the 16th-century Council of Trent, was solemnly opened by Pope John XXIII 50 years ago, on Oct.
Campaign 2012: America and the World
The foreign policy debate in the United States has often been peculiar, in that it’s not infrequently about the United States rather than the world. Throughout history, other great powers
Campaign 2012: The Future of Marriage
Back in the day, altar boys loved to serve weddings because it involved ready cash: minimally, $5 (which in those days meant something), often a ten-spot. Once in a great
Campaign 2012: Religious Freedom vs. Aggressive Secularism
Some years ago, the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor coined the term “exclusivist secularism” to describe a disturbing phenomenon in western societies: the determination of some intellectuals, activists, and politicians to
The Future of the Pro-Life Cause
“It’s the economy, stupid!” — James Carville’s memorable note-to-self during the 1992 presidential race — will be the determining factor in the 2012 campaign, according to the common wisdom. That
Campaign 2012: Burke vs. Hobbes?
You likely think, gentle reader, that the 2012 presidential race is a contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. That, of course, is true, insofar as the names on our
Another Coalition for Religious Freedom?
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith, a broad, bipartisan coalition quickly formed to restore to federal law a robust understanding of religious
The Church and the Unions
The defense of nascent trade unionism in late-19th-century America is a bright chapter in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. When a nervous Vatican was prepared
Five Great Motets
The Church’s liturgy has inspired great choral music for centuries. Unfortunately, that part of Catholicism’s cultural memory has been somewhat misplaced in recent years. One reason why is the widespread
The Reasons for "Partisanship"
Complaints that Washington-is-broken, which seem to have new intensity in recent years, often go hand-in-hand with laments about “partisanship” in politics. And, to be sure, there are reasons to be
Can Organ-Harvesters Be Number One?
Despite some hiccups caused by the sorry state of the world economy, China is still The Future for many global analysts. Thomas Friedman of the New York Times has even
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