This article argues that the U.S. Bishops’ policy, instituted in the wake of the priest sex abuse scandal in the U.S., of fingerprinting and conducting criminal background checks of all their employees and volunteers who work with children, is a futile policy that violates the rights of innocent laity and avoids facing the real problem of homosexuality in the priesthood and dissent in the Church.

This article presents reflections on the Terri Schiavo starvation case: the public confusion about the facts of the case, the ethical and legal principles governing it, the modern philosophical trends that led to it, the failure of all three branches of government to properly address it, the authority of the Florida governor and the President to intervene to save Terri Schiavo, and how the case illustrated a gross and outrageous lack of political will.

This was a lecture presented at the beginning of the Society of Catholic Scientists’ spring 2005 conference on “Psychology Informed by Faith and Reason” at St. Gregory the Great Seminary, Seward, Nebraska (Lincoln Diocese), May 20-21, 2005. The audience included scholars, practicing professionals, and students.

This address was delivered at the 8th Annual Christopher Dawson Lecture sponsored by the Humanities and Catholic Culture Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville, on October 28, 2005, as part of the annual Society of Catholic Social Scientists conference. James Likoudis is President Emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith, a long-time writer on Church topics, a Catholic apologist, and former history professor.

This article proposes that the concept of subsidiarity from Catholic social doctrine can be useful in understanding the function of the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Subsidiarity, however, does not serve as a source for judicially enforceable rules for applying the Clause; rather, it explains the Clause as essentially a federalism provision that leaves the resolution of church-state questions to the states.

The Holy See's 2006 proclamation of the heroic virtues of Fr. Antonio Rosmini (1797-1855) has led to a renewed interest in the thought of this Italian philosopher/theologian. This essay begins with an overview of the life and works of Rosmini and proceeds to a survey of his main contributions to Catholic social thought Attention is given to four major themes: 1) the integration of epistemology, anthropology and ethics; 2) the metaphysical basis for morality and obligation; 3) the dignity of the human person; and, 4) the philosophy of right (diritto) and the application of human rights.

Over the past century, the Catholic Church has developed a powerful philosophical and theological theory of social institutions, including economic institutions. In particular, the Church has addressed a number of issues concerning the modern corporation, especially in areas of special concern such as just wages for workers, working conditions, social responsibility of corporations, etc. There is a discernable "gap," however, in the Church's social doctrine when it comes to the question of why corporations are formed at all, and why the law that governs them is designed the way it is. This paper proposes a theory to fill that gap—viz., an entrepreneurship-based theory of the corporation which is consistent with Catholic social doctrine and modern corporate law.

In considering the name of our country, "The United States of America," one cannot escape the conclusion that we are (or were meant to be) a nation of united sovereigns. In our federal system, the States possess a general police power, which the national government does not. Through this division of sovereignty, the founders had in mind a particular form of governance which protected liberty and the wellbeing of the citizenry. The justness of particular laws aside, the suitable body to consider, write, and repeal those laws aimed at the welfare of the community is the individual State. This conclusion is drawn both from our unique constitution as a nation, and the principle of subsidiarity.