On the Square Today

George Weigel on economy and empowerment :

A robust economy is not only an economic imperative; it is a moral and cultural imperative. A robust economy makes honorable work possible for all who wish to be responsible for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. And work, according to Blessed John Paul II in the 1983 encyclical Laborem Exercens , is an expression of our participation in God’s sustaining “creation” of the world.

Also today, Stephen Schmalhofer on a Catholic wedding :

There is no greater sign of this faith than the tremendous gift of a family priest, and we were blessed to have my wife’s priest-brother witness our vows. We remain grateful for the presence of our pastor in New York City. After he endured a painful 72 hours of globe-crossing travel, “Out of the depths I cry to you” assumed new significance from the crypt of the cathedral at the bottom of the world. (Yet, we dissent from the opinion of one Catholic Prime Minister who described Australia as the “arse end of the world.”)