Whatever Happened to Sin? Part 2
In Part 1 of this essay, I noted that the Catholic hierarchy is attempting to straddle two incompatible views: the modern pagan view [...]
Whatever Happened to Sin?
Original Sin as depicted by Brueghel and Rubens Whatever happened to sin? For the answer to this perplexing [...]
Is Our Civilization Collapsing?
In recent decades, the study of history has lost its former place of honor in U.S. education. That is unfortunate, [...]
A Cardinal’s Proposal for Changes in the Church
Several centuries ago Francis Bacon (1521-1626) offered this sage advice on thought and discussion: “Read not to contradict and confute; [...]
Inspiration for This Troubled Time
In February, 2023 in the midst of a variety of troubling events in the nation and the world, a group [...]
Understanding Anti-Social Behavior
“Why?” “What could possibly explain this behavior?” “How did we get to this state of affairs?” These questions and a [...]
Insights from Our Ancestors
Bust of Socrates In the late 1980s I was invited to Singapore to help their Curriculum Development Institute [...]
Dangerous Developments in American Education
The concept of academic freedom is centuries old and has been modified over time. Since 1940 it has had these [...]
Bishop Fulton Sheen’s Message to Us
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1971) is best remembered for his incisive and witty television presentations, but he was also a [...]
America’s Epidemic of Foolishness
Watching the news these days calls to mind the old Jewish adage, “Send a fool to close the shutters and [...]
Welcome to Topsy-Turvydom
Erika López Prater was an adjunct professor of Art History at Hamline University. Her course syllabus included a warning that [...]
Does U.S. Border Policy Violate Catholic Teaching?
I recently read an article in the Jesuit magazine America titled “Biden, Benedict and Immigration: How U.S. Border Policy Violates [...]
A Worthy New Year’s Resolution
Pope Benedict XVI died in December 2022; Queen Elizabeth, a few months earlier. Not only were both mourned throughout the [...]
The Importance of Anticipating Consequences
People often assume that their actions will achieve what they intend and nothing else. But that assumption is dangerous. What [...]
Restoring Internal Harmony
Viktor Frankl From all indications, more and more Americans are experiencing disillusionment, despair, and even suicidal thoughts over [...]
Pope Francis Offers Guidance
On November 22 five staff from America Magazine, two Jesuits and three laypeople, interviewed Pope Francis on topics ranging from [...]
The Gift of Truth
We humans are wonderful creatures, yet we have significant limitations. We can be either in this location or that one, [...]
Catholic Bishops and Leadership
A recent study revealed that half the diocesan priests in the U.S. are experiencing significant burnout. The researchers found that [...]
Reconsidering Trump
The word sanctimonious means “making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness.” Its synonyms include phony, insincere, deceitful, fake. [...]
What Would Satan Do?
I know, I know . . . Modern “with-it” people don’t believe that Satan exists, let alone has any influence [...]
How to Contribute to Social Harmony
The great majority of Americans agree that overcoming the division among us is imperative. We have to learn to speak [...]
Seeing Our Human Nature More Clearly
Rodin's The Thinker The Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759–1796) wrote the following verse, expressed here in English prose: “O, [...]
Jesuits’ View on Immigration Morality
At the end of the summer of 2022, Governors Abbott of Texas and DeSantis of Florida transported migrants to New [...]
The Whatever School of Morality, Part 2
Part 1 of this essay explained that WhateverMorality is the belief that good and evil, right and wrong, are whatever [...]
The Whatever School of Morality
One of the most fundamental and ancient moral precepts is Do Good and Avoid Evil. It was expressed (in different [...]
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.