Excerpt: TRADE ISSUES: FOR THE second time in the last month, the Holy See has argued that international trade markets need to be radically reformed. The point was made by secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone who, at a Vatican meeting of European Bishops’ Conferences on the New Evangelisation yesterday said: “The [global] crisis illustrates…
Category: Economics
Vatican Radio – Full Text: Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
The full text of the document released earlier today. http://www.radiovaticana.org/EN1/Articolo.asp?c=531752
CNS STORY: Vatican document calls for global authority to regulate markets
Excerpt: While the Vatican document focused on financial issues, it envisioned a much wider potential role for the global political authority. The agenda also includes peace and security, disarmament and arms control, protection of human rights, and management of migration flows and food security, it said. Establishing such an authority will be a delicate project…
Vatican calls for global authority on economy – Reuters
Excerpt: VATICAN CITY,Oct 24 (Reuters) – – The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a “global public authority” and a “central world bank” to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises. http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKL5E7LO1LS20111024?irpc=932 From the Vatican document: “Of course, this transformation will be made at…
Fear, Incorporated: Who’s Paying for all that Islamophobic Paranoia (FP)
EXCERPT: One of the distinctive features of American democracy is the permeability of our political institutions. It’s an incredibly wide-open system, given First Amendment freedoms, the flood of money that corrupts the electoral process, and a wide array of media organizations and political journals that can be used to disseminate and amplify various views, even…
Herbert E. Douglass – Red Alert: Hurtling Into Eternity (Book Excerpt)
In his new book, Red Alert: Hurtling Into Eternity, Dr. Herbert E. Douglass connects Bible prophecy with current headlines – increasing natural disasters; appearances of the Virgin Mary; wars and rumors of wars. Prophecies are being fulfilled all around us, reinforcing the belief that time is short, this book will also be available in an…
Buying Power: Human Trafficking and the Local Marketplace
I’m not willing to pick cocoa beans or cotton for a dollar a day, so who is? Trafficked boys on the Ivory Coast and factory children in Asia whose fingers are small enough to work intricate and dangerous machines fill this gap. – One of the biggest reminders and strongest points I repeat daily is that I have done nothing to secure the position I have in life of being in a free country, just like these modern day slaves have done nothing to have their entire lives indebted to us because of the harsh demands we put on them with our high consumerist behavior. These socially conscious products contain more than just a new age aura or a better selling point; they represent a desire for the priority of humanity instead of selfish search for profit.
Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery
Between its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.
Charity: How Our Tax Laws Affect Charitable Activities, Religious Institutions, and Free Speech
The architects of our nation took great care to constitute a limited government founded on personal responsibility and individual liberty. The institution of the church has an absolute freedom from the state. But when it comes to the financial side of the case, government has an economic lever over religious institutions. Do our internal revenue…
The End of the Community Action Program?
By Monte Sahlin – One of the items on the hit list of the new majority in the House of Representatives to “balance the budget” is the Community Action Program (CAP) or what is currently labeled Community Service Block Grants. This is a program begun in the 1960s in the Lyndon Johnson administration. It is…