Around St. Blog's

There is a discussion about Catholic bookstores at Open Book. (I don't know how to link to individual posts-scroll down). In the past I have posted my idea of starting a parish library or opening a Catholic bookstore. We have many bookstores here on Long Island and they are generally orthodox-I have only seen 1 or 2 books that I did not feel should be carried. I think the discussion at Amy Welborn's blog brings up an interesting point: how to run a business as a ministry or a ministry as a business. Ono, whose blog I enjoy, owns a Catholic bookstore and opines it must be run as a business. I agree, if I were to leave my good job I would need to be able to support myself. This does not mean I would carry books that encourage dissent but I might carry a book by Andrew Greeley if people wanted it. The idea that only books by Tan or Ignatius Press will be carried is a nice one but may not be enough to pay the rent. I have seen books by large publishers that did not contain anything harmful such as Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist. I don't see anything wrong with selling books that are of general interest. A seminarian recommended a bookstore in Huntington, Mariamonte to me. This store sells beautiful artwork as well as some books-almost all by Ignatius Press and Tan books. The store works! It is in a great village and fits in nicely-the art and books and design of the store are all first class. Most of the other bookstores carry much wider selections of books and make most of their money by selling Communion gifts, statues, etc... These stores can often be the contact places for many cultural Catholics who only go to Church for relatives' Communions, funerals, weddings, etc.. The store owners and workers should be evangelizers as well as salespeople. I would hope that there can be Catholic bookstores that are good businesses as well as excellent ministries.


There is a great post at Against the Grain that touches on Catholicism and capitalism, another area of interest to me. I have come to appreciate the benefits and morality of capitalism while still being very aware of problems in capitalist societies, and in the world economy. I have always found that some Catholics have an unhealthy negative view of making money and creating jobs through business. To be able to sit back and criticize while others create jobs and build businesses is a luxury. Then again, Catholics should not be cheerleaders for a system that has so many unhealthy aspects. I just don’t think that blaming businesses and capitalism for the plight of the developing world is helpful or totally accurate. This is where the Catholic influence should be strong as it was in the years when unions were becoming stronger in this country.