Father Robert Sirico
President, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
WHEN: Friday, April 28, 2000
TOPIC: "The Moral Imperative of Sound Money" — Pope John Paul II, in his 1991 encyclical on economics and society, urged nations to adopt just and equitable juridical institutions to undergird the market economy, among which he included "sound money." In the intervening years, his more moral injunction has not received the careful attention it should have from scholars and commentators who specialize in the intersection between economics and ethics. Even so, there is a strong moral case to be made against inflation, one that has a foundation in theological tradition, Holy Scripture, as well as a practical sense of justice. We can be grateful that economists, after decades of wrongly believing that inflation produces some healthy economic results, have come to reject monetary depreciation as a path to prosperity. Now it is time to build a case for an anti-inflation social ethics as well.
Father Robert Sirico co-founded the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in 1990. His studies and early ministry left him with a growing concern about the lack of training religious studies students receive in fundamental economic principles, leaving them poorly equipped to understand and address today's social problems. As president of the Acton Institute, Father Sirico lectures at colleges, universities, and business organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad.
His writings on religious, political, economic, and social matters are published in a variety of journals, including: the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the London Financial Times, and National Review. Members of the broadcast media often call upon Father Sirico for his insights on economics, civil rights, and religious issues. He has provided commentary for CNN, ABC, the BBC, NPR, and CBS' 60 Minutes, among others.
Father Sirico was awarded an honorary doctorate in Christian Ethics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, the American Academy of Religion, and the Philadelphia Society. He is also on the Board of Advisors of the Civic Institute in Prague.
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