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Wisconsin Democrats want to hear your confession

By Rev. Gregory Jensen • August 21, 2019

A Romanian woman partaking in the Orthodox sacrament of confession ([link removed] )

Recently, my Madison, Wisconsin, parish offered to take up a collection to pay my bail and legal fees. The offer while sincere was premature and tongue in cheek. But a proposed change in state law brings with it a real possibility of putting me in legal jeopardy. My congregation’s concern for me stems from the Clergy Mandatory Reporter Act (CMRA) being put forward by Democratic state legislators. If passed CMRA would, according to one of the bill’s co-sponsors, require “that members of the clergy report any instances of child abuse, including sexual abuse, ending the loophole of unjust cover-ups and misreporting currently occurring in our state.” The “loophole” referred to is the priest-penitent privilege that exempts clergy from reporting abuse revealed solely in confession. Catholic League president Bill Donohue said that the “government has no business policing the sacraments of the Catholic Church.” Still, Rep. Sargent takes exception to what she calls “an ‘us vs. them’ narrative” rather than taking seriously what is, in fact, a reasonable concern about the constitutional and practical deficiencies of the legislation. While I wish we lived in a time where it didn’t need to be said, the sexual or physical abuse of children (or anyone) is gravely immoral; it is a sin. In seeking to prevent this evil and redress the harm it causes, the legislation aims at doing a good thing. Good intentions, however, aren’t enough.

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Acton Line Podcast: What is cronyism? Samuel Gregg on reason and faith in Western civilization

August 21, 2019

On this week's podcast Samuel Gregg discusses reason and faith in Western civilization ([link removed] )

Cronyism is everywhere, affecting industries, entrepreneurs and customers and distorting the market through political advantage. So what is cronyism and how does it compromise genuine capitalism? Anne Rathbone Bradley, the current academic director at The Fund for American Studies, as well as the vice president of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics, comes onto the show to explain how cronyism affects the market and how to combat it. Afterwards, Acton's director of research, Samuel Gregg joins the show to talk about his new book, "Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization." Gregg lays out what he believes defines the West, how the disintegration of reason and faith has caused the West to decline and what can be done to reclaim it.

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Free marketers should take social conservatives’ concerns more seriously ([link removed] )

It’s no secret that major rifts have opened up between advocates of free markets and social conservatives in recent years. In some cases, the tensions reflect very different conceptions of human nature, freedom, the nature of community, and the proper ends and scope of state action. It’s also the case that many on both sides of this discussion simply aren’t willing to acknowledge each other’s valid concerns.

Has the purpose of corporations changed? ([link removed] )

The Business Roundtable, one of the most powerful pro-business lobbying groups in the United States, has issued a statement that moves away from the position of shareholder primacy, as originally conceptualized by Milton Friedman, and redefines the purpose of a corporation to promote “an economy that serves all Americans.”

Video: Deltan Dallagnol on the fight against corruption in Brazil ([link removed] )

On Thursday, June 20th, Acton welcomed Deltan Dallagnol to deliver an evening plenary address at Acton University 2019. A Harvard-trained attorney, Deltan Dallagnol gained international attention as the lead prosecutor in Operation Car Wash, one of the largest corruption probes in Latin American history.

Will the Vatican’s economics drive Matteo Salvini to victory? ([link removed] )

Italy’s coalition government has collapsed, with Matteo Salvini of the League calling for new elections to force the Five Star Movement out of his alliance and Five Star trying to form a new coalition with the Democratic Party in order to oust Salvini. Italian journalist Stefano Magni writes about the unexpected role played in this electoral crisis by the Vatican.

Before economics, human freedom: Learning from Venezuela’s collapse ([link removed] )

According to Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan economist and political leader, the suffering of the Venezuelans people is a clear reminder that socialism doesn’t just fail as an economic strategy; it also fails as a vision for the human person—sowing seeds of oppression and social unrest.

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