Catholic Media Report - Opinion

Matthew 25 Meets Madison Avenue

jcussen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:35:56 -0500

Yesterday, the Matthew25 Network had a conference call with reporters to unveil their plans for the general election. The group is composed of believers who are Democrats and who are “inspired by the Gospel mandate to put our faith into action to care for our neighbor.” The group is the brainchild of Mara Vanderslice, who held the thankless job of religious outreach director for the religiously challenged Kerry campaign in 2004, but whose talents at organizing religiously motivated voters has gained the attention of leading Democrats since Kerry’s loss.

The World Must Act

jcussen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:33:34 -0500

Last Monday, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, made history by charging the president of Sudan, Omar Hassan el-Bashir, with genocide in Darfur.

Several commentators in America and Europe have questioned the wisdom of the court, an independent entity based in the Hague, Netherlands, that was established by an international treaty in 2002.

Humanae Vitae at 40 Years

jcussen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:30:30 -0500

As we roll through 2008, the press is filled with 40-year anniversary stories. 1968 was a tumultuous year; some say it was a year that helped define America for years to come.

The baby boomers recall vividly the Vietnam War Tet offensive in January; the April assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; the Paris Peace talks and riots in May; the June assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy; and the August protest riots in Chicago at the Democratic convention among nation-shaping events that year.

Housing Help

jcussen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:27:09 -0500

Sweeping legislation that offers help for every group battered by the mortgage foreclosure crisis will be voted on in coming days. The bill also includes something for almost everyone to hate. But Congress and President Bush should act quickly to make it law because it should give the nation some needed reassurance and the tools to help stabilize home values.

Let's Make a Health Care System That Aids People, Not Insurance Companies

jcussen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:11:17 -0500

If you did not already believe that our current health care financing system is rigged to benefit insurance companies over patients, then President Bush's recent veto of legislation to halt Medicare cuts to physicians should have changed your mind.

Fiddling While the Planet Burns

jcussen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:08:18 -0500

The G-8 Summit in Japan earlier this month was a painful demonstration of the pitiful state of global cooperation. The world is in deepening crisis. Food prices are soaring. Oil prices are at historic highs. The leading economies are entering a recession. Climate change negotiations are going around in circles. Aid to the poorest countries is stagnant, despite years of promised increases. And yet in this gathering storm it was hard to find a single real accomplishment by the world's leaders.

On Government's Social Responsibilities

jcussen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:05:42 -0500

What dreams do we have for our children? What future do we seek to chart for them? What supports do we endeavor to give them as they transition into adulthood?

When we address these straightforward questions for our own children, all of the complexities of reforming the nation's beleaguered foster care system disappear. The answers are self-evident. We want our children to have a good education, a stable, loving environment, and the opportunity to grow into healthy young adults.

Our nation's foster children deserve no less.

A New Approach on Africa

jcussen — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:02:36 -0500

The next U.S. president needs to urgently rethink America's relationship to Africa. In the past, America has often treated Africa as a backward "Dark Continent," a place bedeviled with poverty, tribalism, AIDS and post-colonial conflicts. Africa is and should be a concern for all Americans—and for the next U.S. president.

Working on the Railroad

jcussen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:45:50 -0500

For two weeks in May, Erik Camayd-Freixas, a Spanish interpreter with 23 years of experience and federal court certification, worked nearly round the clock as a translator for almost 400 illegal immigrants snatched in a raid on an Iowa meatpacking plant. His firsthand account describes in shocking detail how prosecutors trampled the immigrants' right to due process and made a mockery of justice.

U.S. Must Reject Waterboarding Torture

jcussen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:43:34 -0500

In March President Bush wrongly vetoed a law that would have banned any use of waterboarding. So while the CIA says it has not used waterboarding since 2003, it remains an option.

Supporters euphemistically call it an "alternative interrogation technique" but by any reasonable definition it is a form of torture.

How can restraining someone and then stimulating a gag reflex via suffocation from a water-soaked cloth be considered anything else?