Faithful Citizenship

This has been a continuing issue for American politics. In 1960, American voters were very concerned about the Catholic faith of John F. Kennedy (Smith). It became a key issue in his candidacy because many people feared Kennedy would take orders from the Pope. Kennedy stated, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote - where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference - and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the

One of the first moral issues addressed by both sides of the abortion debate concerns a pregnant woman’s so-called natural “right” to make “reproductive choices.” (“The Rights of Pregnant Women”) Anti-abortion advocacy groups claim that “the only way to actually protect the mother’s rights will be by enforcing laws that secure her child’s right to life,” (“Argument 2”) whereas pro-abortion groups contend that these laws “create a dangerous precedent for wide-ranging government intrusion into the lives of all women.” (“The Rights”) With two fundamentally contrasting viewpoints at odds with each other, it is apparent that one of the core issues concurrent with abortion is a woman’s rights versus the rights of her unborn fetus.

In American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, Jon Meacham explores the dynamic relationship between religion and government in America in the hope that contemporary America can learn from the past. The period covered by the book spans from 1620 until Reagan’s presidency in the late 1980s. However, Meacham focuses on the Founding Fathers stances and their continued impact on American politics. More specifically, the book details the conflict over the separation of private religious expression and the more neutral ‘public religion’.

As I slowly marched the 2.5 mile walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Supreme Court in Washington DC, I was astonished to see the mass amount of people marching in unison with me. Chants such as, “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Roe v. Wade has got to go!” rang through the air, and signs saying, “I am the Pro-Life Generation” were hoisted up into the sky, proudly presented to the crowd. A sense of unity lingered over the multitude of people. Traveling from states such as Hawaii, Alabama, and New York, people met at the nation’s capital, standing together for the fight for a human life. This was the March for Life. The United States is in a constant battle against the Catholic Church and its teachings about human life. Additionally, some Catholics disagree with the Church’s stance on this particular issue. The main cause of this debate revolves around when a human life begins.

In the notorious pro-choice court case, Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court stated that the definition of privacy is, “broad enough to include a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy”, and this “right”, the court believed, was founded upon the “concept of personal liberty.” However, the aborting of children is not a liberty nor is it a duty that God has given to any of the four jurisdictions of authority. On the contrary, God has given each jurisdiction the duty to defend the life of the unborn. Life has always been properly considered, in the United States, as a God-given unalienable liberty that no man can take from the innocent. Tragically, in one hundred and ninety-seven years, the definition of liberty from time time of

Pope Francis’ “Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,” was published in November 2013. The document discusses several current debates occurring in the Catholic Church. First, Francis discusses the dangers of a consumeristic society and warns that the current economy is

The word power is a term that has various different meanings philosophically, socially, religiously, etc., which is why it is crucial to define it before discussing the Boston Catholic Church’s power. Power is defined in various ways, but the definition that is utilized in this essay is when “an individual or institution [has] the ability to achieve something, whether by right or by control or influence. [It] is the ability to mobilize economic, social, or political forces in order to achieve a result.” It is also important to understand power in the terms of effect and affect. Some may argue that in order for something to have power, the institution or person must have the ability to both effect and affect, affect meaning to have an

The United States has been divided now over the issue of abortion for thirty-three years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. As of today, over 45 million legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Pro-choice advocates hold these 45 million abortions as being 45 million times women have exercised their right to choose to get pregnant and to choose to control their own bodies. To pro-life, or anti-abortion, advocates these 45 million abortions constitute 45 million murders, a genocide of human life in the United States propagated by the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. The debate over abortion in the United States is thus a debate of two extremes. One side argues from the personal liberty of the mother. The

America is synonymous with freedom. The pursuit of freedom is a journey that we as American’s find ourselves challenged by with each growing generation. Ideological challenges such as the issue of abortion define today’s journey as Americans. There are different issues that come up when the subject abortion is mentioned. the arguments of being “pro-life” vs “pro-choice”. Before reviewing the main debates on abortion, one should understand the accepted definition by both sides of the debate. Abortion is the act of the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. Pro-choice is favoring or supporting the

Life is America’s fundamental right, the freedom to live, pray and work as you so please. Unfortunately, these ideals came at a time when the nation was much smaller, and rights where more easily defined and the country was less diverse. With the great expansion of land and the progression of 240 years, diversity happened rapidly and ideals changed. A perfect example of the always changing American landscape, in 1868 the Supreme Court ratified the 14th amendment, granting natural born citizens American rights, regardless of parental origin. In America today, this ratification is in question, 147 years later. An immigration debate across the United States, is calling for these so called “anchor babies” to be deported. These natural born citizen lives are being threatened on the stance that

Pro-life versus Pro-choice stands as the most prominent bioethical issue in American Society today. This ongoing argument of whether an woman has the right to her body and potential child has been previously rigously debated for decades. The arguemental topic of pro life versus pro choice often dances along the topic that the government has been attempting to become callous in women’s rights as a total. I stand with women on their choice of their body, and fully believe that the government dictating the right of a female to their body is not only both morally and ethically wrong, yet also extremely contradictory.

America has offered us many things to be proud of. But often times, we fail, and only look at the simplest things. We think of our freedoms; speech, religion, press. But while those are our valuable gifts, we forget to look inside of those gifts, to find something more meaningful. This essay is about my generation’s gift, but also everybody else’s gift, unique in it’s own time. It is believable, that over the past 241 years, that the greatest gift, that shows up stronger in every generation, is the spirit of us, a spirit ‘We the people’. In recent events, we may forget that we are one, but I know, that we are, hand-in-hand. We founded this nation amidst a complication and confusion of divided colonies, but linking arms and gritting our

Since the pope released his encyclical entitled Laudato Si or “praise be with you,” on Thursday 18th June 2015, it has been something of a hot topic the world over, but even more so for U.S. presidential candidates. Channeling his namesake (the patron saint of the environment) Pope Francis made a wide-sweeping moral imperative out of the need to address climate change. Republicans, despite having appealed to moral obligations as a premise for supporting anti-gay legislation in the past, have turned their noses up at the 200 page piece of work. Many republican politicians have echoed a similar disdain his Holiness’ contribution, parroting presidential candidate Jeb Bush that one “don’t get [their] economic policy from bishops or cardinals or popes.”

The next text is from the 2nd Vatican Council called “Pastoral Constitution,” which focused on bringing the church into modern times. This text focuses on the importance of helping those being marginalized, those who are on the brink of society, and what is the best way that the Church as a community can fight to protect them.

"Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Honorable members of the Congress, dear friends…” so begins Pope Francis’ speech addressing a joint session of Congress. Formally addressing his audience to begin his speech, and acknowledging the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” he received warm applause from the congress-people. The Pope’s intro then calls those listening to our shared responsibility for the common good, therefore setting up the rest of his speech nicely. From this introduction, the rest of the speech will talk about the responsibilities of those who lead our great nations. Throughout the rest of the speech, one can easily analyze the speaker, with plenty of content. Listening to the Pope speak, one can find portions he