Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 16, 2001 — During the season of Easter and Passover, many Americans reflect upon the morality of their own lives, as well as the morality of the nation as a whole. This year, the Easter holiday weekend directly corresponds with another date and topic of great interest to Americans: the IRS tax filing deadline. In the spirit of both that moral reflection and the income tax deadline, Acton Institute president and co-founder Rev. Robert A. Sirico will appear on PBS’s NewsHour at 7pm (EST)* with Jim Lehrer to discuss the morality of taxation.
A graduate of the University of Southern California, Fr. Sirico holds a master of divinity degree from Catholic University of America, and an honorary doctorate from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Fr. Sirico has contributed to such publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, National Review, and First Things. He has also written chapters for several books, including Man and Marxism (Hillsdale College Press, 1991) and A New Worldly Order (Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1992) and recently co-edited the Vatican’s The Social Agenda: A Collection of Magisterial Texts, an authoritative compendium of Catholic social doctrine, published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He served a four-year term on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission from 1994 to 1998, at the appointment of Gov. John Engler. His pastoral ministry has included a chaplaincy to AIDS patients at the National Institutes of Health. He has worked with, written on, and advised faith-based charities for most of his professional life, seeing local solutions as the best alternatives for imperiled families.