The Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai, Saint Catherine’s Monastery

The Egypt Independent has a fascinating account of the process underway now to digitize the first-millennium manuscripts housed at St. Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Writer James Purtill interviewed the librarian, a native Texan named Father Justin, about the task of preserving thousands of priceless books and the new library under construction, which he hopes to write about on the monastery blog when it opens.

Read more on A Digital Scriptorium on Mt Sinai…

I recently finished the advanced copy of Os Guinness’s A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future. I posted a previous excerpt on the topic of virtue in a free republic a couple of weeks ago.

Read more on Os Guinness on Separation of Powers…

Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico continues to promote Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy on radio and television across the country. Yesterday, Father Robert spent a full broadcast hour with Al Kresta on Ave Maria Radio’s Kresta in the Afternoon:

Read more on Updated: Sirico Promotes ‘Defending the Free Market’ on Cavuto, Kresta, Hewitt…

Telling young people that some jobs are menial, says Thomas Sowell, is a huge disservice to them and to society:

It was painful, for example, to see an internationally renowned scholar say that what low-income young people needed was “meaningful work.” But this is a notion common among educated elites, regardless of how counterproductive its consequences may be for society at large, and for low-income youngsters especially.

Read more on What is ‘Meaningful Work’?…

RJ Moeller of “Values and Capitalism,” an American Enterprise Institute initiative, recently hosted two Acton Institute staffers on his podcast, The RJ Moeller Show. First, president and co-founder kicks off the segment with a self-introduction and a discussion of his new book Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy. Later, Acton Research Fellow Jordan Ballor closes out the segment with a testimony to his own work and that of the Acton Institute. The segment can be heard in the player below:

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In this week’s Acton Commentary (published May 30), Anthony Bradley argues that racial discrimination is no match for the power of competition: “While companies were free to discriminate against blacks it was not in their economic interests to do so because, at the end of the day, every company’s favorite color is green.” The full text of his essay follows. Subscribe to the free, weekly Acton News & Commentary and other publications here.
Read more on Commentary: The Power of Market-Driven Diversity…

Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert Sirico is slated to appear on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto” today at 4:30 p.m. (EST). Be sure to tune in for Rev. Sirico’s perspective on his recently published book, Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy, and other relevant happenings of the day.

Read more on Rev. Robert Sirico scheduled to appear on ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’ today…

Does God side with the poor and oppose the rich? Glenn Sunshine looks at what the Bible says about the issue:

So why are the poor described as blessed? The issue isn’t poverty per se, but rather the attitude of humility and reliance on God that it can produce in us, which is why Matthew’s version of the beatitude isn’t just “Blessed are the poor,” but “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Reliance on personal wealth or government help (Ps. 146, esp. vs. 3-4, 7-10) for security is foolish, because they do not last. Rather, we need to place our hope in God alone.

Read more on Does God Always Side With the Poor and Oppose the Rich?…

Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico continues to promote Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy on radio and television across the country; today’s roundup of media includes two radio interviews on west coast radio stations, starting with host Brian Sussman on the KSFO Morning Show in San Francisco, California:

Read more on Audio: More on ‘Defending the Free Market’…

Rev. Sirico’s new book is not the only recent entry on the topic of markets and morality (though from comparing reviews, it may be the best). Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel also examines the subject in What Money Can’t Buy. Unlike his wildly overpraised Justice, though, Sandel’s latest work is getting mixed reviews—even from those who you’d expect to sing his praises.

For instance, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, seems to believe that Sandel missed an opportunity to provide a stronger critique of the “rapidly growing commercialisation of social transactions.” Other reviewers appear to agree, though the real underlying problem, as Greg Forster explains, is that Sandel’s view of markets is inherently flawed:
Read more on Sandel’s Flawed Philosophy…