As Minnesota prepares for its next phase of reopening—which includes malls, casinos, salons, restaurants and bars—local churches have grown frustrated with the lack of clarity and guidance on the expectations for munities and houses of worship. Now, given Gov. Tim Walz’s indefinite extension of the ban on gatherings of 10 or more people at church services, several of the state’s religious leaders are pushing back. Leaders from the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Minnesota say they...

With the focus on COVID-19 shifting from the health emergency (easing) to getting the economy going again (glimmers of hope), it’s easy to forget just how good the economy was before the pandemic hit. Recall that in mid-February, financial news organizations were reporting that the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes were hitting record highs. In “Getting America Back to Work.” (Encounter Books, 2020), Andy Puzder has drawn a sharp contrast between the eight-year stagnation and regulatory overkill of...

The Acton Institute’s Rome office is sponsoring an online seminar on Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m., Central European Time: “‘Banned’ wagon? Why dissenting freethinkers are censured on social media.” The topic is most timely as independent voices–doctors, scientists, economists, activists, and journalists whose duty it is to be inquisitive–are being silenced by social media giants like Facebook and YouTube. Now, even Google has joined the “banned” wagon, removing content it considers “misinformation” from its private file-sharing accounts on Google...

In an article I published today in Catholic World Report, “The profitable Vatican Museums remain closed, look toward a June opening,” I posed some tough questions to Rev. Kevin Likey, a priest of the Legionaries of Christ from Flint, Michigan, who is currently serving as the director of the Vatican Museums Patrons’ Office. The Patrons’ Office is responsible for procuring a major portion of philanthropy necessary for maintaining and restoring some of the world’s finest art located inside the Vatican...

For over two years, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang campaigned across the country, building a coalition along the political spectrum. The main promise driving Yang’s campaign was his “freedom dividend,” a guaranteed e of $1,000 per month for every American citizen. This “dividend” is a form of universal basic e, an idea that’s been around for centuries and one that’s gaining popularity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who support versions of universal basic e say it would solve...

Many restaurants still remain closed or constrained due to COVID-19 and the corresponding lockdowns, spurring renewed appreciation for the contributions that such businesses make. Yet in addition to reminding us of the humanizing aspect and social value of these businesses, the lockdowns have also highlighted the vulnerability of local enterprise in the face of onerous rules and regulations. Whatever one thinks about the prudence of the restrictions in this particular crisis, the disruption and destruction we’ve seen ought to stir...

There is no one experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. National experiences vary wildly between New Zealand and Italy. Business experiences differ, as well. Pier 1 is going out of business, while Walmart sales have jumped. In West Michigan restaurants have expanded their distribution to grocery stores, while yoga studios have brought their teaching online. Some people are working harder than ever, while others are barely keeping it together. At a time when both prudent political leadership and scientific research are...

During the coronavirus pandemic, the media crowned a new set of heroes: healthcare workers, essential employees, and first responders. But politicians who classify church attendance as non-essential ignore the fact that churches “are the first of the first responders,” says Acton Institute President and Co-founder Rev. Robert A. Sirico. Rev. Sirico makes the observation during a brief interview on the Fox News Channel’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, which aired on Friday, May 22. “This is not the first time...

From the Enlightenment to the works of Jean-Paul Sartre and Jacques Derrida, the power of French ideas has radically altered the rest of the world. The Acton Institute has engaged France’s long history as a global thought leader in two new French-language articles, which discuss contemporary French influence on U.S. and Spanish leaders. The first translation discusses what politicians in general, and one senator in particular, could learn from French efforts to pare back their notoriously inefficient welfare state: “Elizabeth...

One must praise conservative material that airs on PBS for the same reason one must take note of shooting stars: for parative rarity and brevity of the experience. Yet high praise is due to the taxpayer-funded network for airing the magisterial documentary Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words on May 18. Much of the justice’s rags-to-black-robes story had been told in his autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son, but without his own resonant voice and Solomonic demeanor. Much of the...