Dear Father

Rev. Robert Sirico, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, joins the Remnant to discuss ...

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Rev. Robert Sirico, co-founder and president of the Acton Institute, joins the Remnant to discuss his new book, The Economics of the Parables, which uses Biblical stories to offer economic advice. With many on the right now embracing theocracy, it’s tempting to argue that the Catholic intellectual tradition is inherently at odds with capitalism. But Rev. Sirico disagrees, and he also isn’t convinced by the common left-wing argument that Jesus was a socialist. How can we heal the American heart? Should religion influence politics? And which of Rev. Sirico’s relatives might have Jonah whacked for the end of this podcast?

Show Notes:

– The Economics of the Parables, Rev. Sirico’s new book

– Rev. Sirico’s column

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Comments (23)
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  1. Martini, Shawn

    Long time listener, first time commenter. This was a fantastic episode and covered a lot of topics which could use additional airtime. Perhaps with David in the mix as well. More of the Father please.

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  2. Tom Booth

    Your discussion with Fr. Sirico was absolutely fantastic. Loved it.

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    Ben Connelly

    Great interview. The only thing that would have made it better would have been Father Sirico saying, “No you won’t, this is a podcast,” at the end.

    In all seriousness, I really enjoyed this interview. I appreciate the fact that he made the point that theocracy hurts both society and the church.

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  4. Pohl

    Nice, casual convo. I was most interested in the Michigan academy. Sounds great.

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    Tracie

    Subscribe to The Dispatch because it's a fairly consistent moral universe. Not mine necessarily, but one. One that assumes reality is real, discoverable, relevant. Like in the parables, it has to be negotiated with on it's own terms, whatever your beliefs.

    Also listened to the Slate Political Gabfest while finishing my work tonight, and that's a different universe. Emily Bazelon spent 5min or so, a long time in a podcast, describing a story she wrote about transgender therapy - a subject I consider rooted in adolescent identity crises, though it occupies a tremendous space in popular culture at the moment.

    I'm much more naturally interested in older and more persistent questions than the personal pronoun wars. For instance, the question of what is God's and what is Ceasar's is one we all have to answer in the course of every day. It's a sort of platonic form of other dichotomies, such as private vs public, sacred vs profane, ideals & values vs realities & demands.

    So, even if I don't agree with a typical devout Catholic about much, I tend to have lots to discuss with them.

    Enjoyed this discussion.

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  6. Ingenero.lux

    Thank you, Jonah! Long time fan of Rev. Sirico and the Acton Institute, glad you had him on!

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    OK Steele

    I’ve actually always thought about “Jesus’s form of socialism” but never heard it described that way. Allowing people to choose to give their wealth up as opposed to taking it from them

    Would it be feesible for say the the government of my city of Cleveland to cut taxes drastically, and then release a wish list of public works projects and ask the community for donations to fund these projects? Such as bridge work Restoring a dilapidated fire station, even some community outreach programs. In a sense it’s driving the decision down to the most local level. If you don’t care about planting new trees in the park don’t give any money to it. It lets people know that their dollars are going to things they chose to give money to, or are directly benefiting them.

    Is this realistic or feesible? Does it have huge downsides I haven’t yet considered?

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      CynthiaW

      What would the process be? Would each project have an advocate - volunteer? government employee? - who would cheerlead for it, manage the fundraising, hire a contractor to do the work, etc.?

      Who would audit the process to make sure the advocate didn't take off with the funds? What rules would apply for contracting, for volunteers, for fundraising? Who would make the rules? How would they be enforced?

      In the spirit of Father Sirico's book, consider the parable of the tower: If you start building a tower (or a fire station) but don't have enough money to finish it, you're out your sunk costs and you look like a fool.

      I "allocate" my tax dollars using my brain. My city taxes support the sidewalks. My county taxes support the Sheriff's Department. My state taxes support the State Parks. My Federal taxes help pay the salary of my daughter in the Marine Corps.

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    CynthiaW

    What an enjoyable chat that was.

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  9. linda

    Hi, Robert...shout out from Seattle!

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  10. Mary Kathleen

    Great guest, wonderful discussion.

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