Vincent Ryan Ruggiero

VINCENT RYAN RUGGIERO, M.A., is Professor of Humanities Emeritus, State University of New York, Delhi College. Prior to his twenty-nine year career in education, he was a social caseworker and an industrial engineer. The author of twenty-one books, his trade books include Warning: Nonsense Is Destroying America and The Practice of Loving Kindness. His textbooks include The Art of Thinking and Beyond Feelings, both in 10th editions and available in Chinese as well as English, Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues, and A Guide to Sociological Thinking. His latest book, Corrupted Culture: Rediscovering America's Enduring Principles, Values, and Common Sense, is available at Amazon and in bookstores. Professor Ruggiero is internationally recognized as one of the pioneers of the Critical Thinking movement in education. Earlier in his career, he published essays in a variety of magazines and journals, including America, Catholic Mind, The Sign, The Lamp, and Catholic World.

How Modern “Truth” Opposes Christianity

In Revisiting the Idea of Truth I discussed how Americans’ abandonment of the ancient view of truth has destroyed rationality and common sense and put our country squarely on the path to destruction. That discussion was focused strictly on the...

Revisiting the Idea of Truth

“Truth” has always been one of the most important words in the dictionary. Unfortunately, it is greatly misunderstood today, and the world has been harmed as a result. The best way to begin a discussion of it is to clarify its meaning. Cambridge...

The Issue of Women Deacons, Part 2

Part 1 of this essay explained the continuing controversy over whether the Catholic church should allow women to serve as deacons. Part 2 will consider how the centuries-old negative image of women has affected that controversy. As Semitic History...

The Issue of Women Deacons

The Catholic hierarchy’s recent uproar over the idea of women deacons seems as intense as their uproar over blessing gay relationships has been. I find that puzzling. After all, there is nothing about women deacons that suggests sinfulness, whereas...

Reflections on Lent

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, when the sign of the cross is made with ashes on our foreheads and is accompanied by the words “Remember man that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shall return.” The readings in the service that follows...

How to End America’s Decline

By now most Americans understand that the country is not only in decline, but that the situation is worsening. Economic, educational, and political problems multiply. Moral and religious values are increasingly challenged. Unfortunately, with all...

Catholicism’s Unfortunate Embrace of Social Justice

Although the term “justice” has been in use for thousands of years,“social justice” was coined in the late 1800s and became prominent in the 20th century. Catholic bishops, including Pope John XXIII, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, and the U.S...

American Catholics & Social Justice

“Social justice” is at the center of most political activism in contemporary America. It has provided arguments for the expansion of entitlement programs, for making the affluent “pay their fair share,” and more generally for “redistributing wealth...