This article forms part of Render unto Caesar a publication on taxation by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and is published posthumously
Read more >>Taxation in Sacred Scripture
Category: Solidarity
Military conflict and the destruction of the environment
As we move towards the end of the Season of Creation, I would like to ask Catholics in England and Wales to intensify their focus on the Holy Father’s theme “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4). In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, Pope Leo asked us to work unremittingly for peace and to end the cycle of violence that destroys our common home. I commend his message to all of you.
Read more >>Taxation, government debt, and the family
Render unto Caesar was published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 2025. In this third of three blog posts from the contributors to an event on the publication, Philip Booth writes about taxation, government debt and the family.
Read more >>Catholic social teaching, taxation and generosity
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales recently published a document on taxation called Render unto Caesar. There is relatively little Catholic teaching that is specifically on taxation. Catholics apply principles such as the universal destination of goods, the right to property and the primacy of the family to try to develop practical approaches to taxation in the wide variety of specific circumstances in which they find themselves. Unsurprisingly, they disagree.
Read more >>Taxation for the Common Good
Render unto Caesar was published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 2025. In this second of three blog posts from the contributors to an event on the publication, Professor Anna Rowlands writes about taxation and the common good.
Read more >>Business ethics and the common good
On the website www.catholicsocialthought.org.uk, there is a set of videos that introduce Catholic social thought and teaching. We continue featuring those videos on the blog with the video on “Business ethics and the common good”. This explores the vital role that business plays in promoting the common good and the importance of the vocation of the business leader being followed ethically. Also available in Portuguese.
Read more >>Principles of Catholic social thought and teaching
On the website www.catholicsocialthought.org.uk, there is a set of videos that introduce Catholic social thought and teaching. We continue featuring those videos on the blog with the video on Principles of Catholic Social Thought and Teaching which focuses on the four pillars of human dignity, the common good, solidarity and subsidiarity. These are also available in Portuguese .
Read more >>Rebuilding a Culture of Life: the Brother Jack McArdle Lecture 2025
I thank you for the opportunity to address you for this lecture in honour of Brother Jack McArdle. I thank you for your pro-life work and the constancy with which you have alerted your members to the dangers of legislation against life in England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the other islands of Jersey and the Isle of Man. I thank you for your prayers and actions in contacting MPs and Peers and highlighting concerns of the developing legislation.
Read more >>Catholic social teaching for everyone – fed by our relationship with God
The topic of fraternity was covered in a post shortly after the death of Pope Francis. It is worth revisiting, especially following Pope Leo’s apostolic exhortation Dilexi te, though this was drafted before that document was issued. The starting point for this post is the question “how might Catholic social teaching affect our everyday lives?”. In particular, I want to consider how it might affect all our everyday lives, not just those involved, for example, in political lobbying.
Read more >>Human rights without a voice – how loose language costs lives
Confucius was reported to have said: “when words lose their meaning, people will lose their liberty”. Today, we could re-phrase that and say: “When words lose their meaning, the most vulnerable will lose their lives”.
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