Everybody likes to talk about their political challenges in martial terms: a war on women, a war on religion, a war on drugs, etc. This report by Alessandro Speciale at RNS describes one battle worth having, the effort by the Italian bishops, trade unions and associations of small businesses to keep Sunday as a day of rest. This touches the deepest struggle in our culture, the struggle to resist the encroachments of the ideology of the market into all of life. Families need time to be together. Workers need rest. Small businesspeople shouldn't be forced to compete or enjoy a bit of rest. The RNS story suggests that the movement to keep Sunday free from commerce is spreading throughout Europe. Let's hope that it spreads far, even to our own shores.
