The Gospel and Politics
The people in the Bible group were discussing the Gospel messages of love: in particular, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” [...]
America’s Troubled Culture
American culture is infected with Relativism, the belief that everyone creates his or her own truth. In other words, that [...]
The Catholic Hierarchy Disappoint Again
The Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. have disappointed Catholics in the past, and they are doing so again, this time [...]
A Catholic Bishop and Some Syrian Immigrants
Village Maalula on the rock in Syria Bishop Gregory Parkes' column was titled “Compassion for immigrants, refugees will keep [...]
Missing the Point Has Gone Epidemic
G. K. Chesterton once remarked that many commentators in his day suffered from “the art of missing the point.” That [...]
Understanding President Trump
Some of the people who opposed President Trump may never give him a chance. But I believe many others are [...]
The Liberals’ Struggle with Logic
Almost three months after the 2016 election, many liberals still cannot acknowledge Donald Trump’s victory. The most recent example of [...]
How America Views Achievement
Over the last century an old idea has gained new currency in American culture—the idea that equality of achievement is the [...]
Our Relationship with Time
Does time really move faster when we are late for an appointment and trapped in a traffic jam but slower [...]
Christmas and Forgiveness
“I can never forgive Trump for the things he said about John McCain, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, and all the [...]
Memo from the National Liberal Journalists’ Association
[Author’s note: The sender of the following memo evidently mistook me for an NLJA member] Dear NLJA member: I needn’t [...]
American Leaders “Still Don’t Get It”
The person closest to a task is in the best position to identify its imperfections. This idea, one of the [...]
Restoring Respect for Others
Over the past sixty or so years, respect for others has diminished in our culture; today even the related obligation [...]
Reflections On Giving Thanks
The Gospel passage selected for Thanksgiving Day, 2016 was the story of the ten lepers that Jesus cleansed: “Now one [...]
A Crucial Education Reform
With a new administration comes renewed hope of meaningful education reform. Among the most needed reforms is one that ought [...]
The Challenge of Healing America
Throughout Election Day I suffered from what might be termed anticipatory depression. I dreaded that the outcome shamefully engineered by [...]
Envisioning America in 2050
Forecasting the future is an inexact enterprise at best. Yet examining current conditions and trends is a helpful way of [...]
The Catholic Vote in 2016
According to most reports, a majority of Catholics intend to vote for Hillary Clinton this year. The reason, at least [...]
Theology Confounded
A friend recently recommended a slender spiritual book, Poverty of Spirit. Written by Johannes Baptist Metz, a German Catholic theologian, [...]
My Political Disgust
Call me a malcontent, if you wish, but I am disgusted with most politicians, their paid spokespeople, and the media [...]
Thinking Catholic with Mike Pence
The Vice-Presidential debate provided a perfectly articulated argument for the traditional Catholic view of a politician’s obligation regarding abortion. Ironically, [...]
The Marriage of Denial and Groupthink
When psychologists begin to ponder liberals’ refusal to acknowledge Islamic terrorism, they will likely stumble over one another in their [...]
Isn’t Self-Esteem a Good Thing?
A perceptive friend told me that, though she agrees with my often-expressed criticism of the self-esteem movement (see, for example, [...]
Foolishly Forsaking Humility
In 1980 Mac Davis wrote “Oh, Lord, It’s Hard to be Humble (if you’re perfect in every way)” He was [...]
The Faith vs Works Controversy, Part II
Summary of Part I: The ideas central to Humanistic Psychology have created a dismissive attitude toward righteousness and salvation. To [...]
Author Vincent Ryan Ruggiero
Since retiring from teaching, I have continued my work in promoting sound thinking in education and in the general culture. More specifically, I have kept refining my textbooks, four of which have been continuously in print for an average of 33 years. I have also continued to write books for the general public, the latest of which is Corrupted Culture: Rediscovering America’s Enduring Principles, Values, and Common Sense, and I write a weekly column for an online journal.