During hearings that one participant described as “surreal,” United Nations representatives this week suggested that the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion in the case of rape and incest constitute a violation of the UN Charter Against Torture. The Vatican was called before a two-day hearing in Geneva so a UN committee could question whether its […]
Back in the mid-1990’s, before the internet ruined our lives (I’m kidding. Kidding) I was in the seminary, discerning a possible call to the priesthood. They were amazing years, and gave me a solid faith formation, an opportunity to come to know the beautiful heart of the Church from a unique and powerful perspective, and […]
Recently, Christopher White wrote a commentary on the ethical problems associated with “surrogate parenthood for money.” He argued that paying for surrogate parenting is actually a form of human trafficking. His position is an interesting one, particularly because he presents his perspective in the context of many surrogate mothers who have later regretted their decision to carry […]
“The Son of God who became Son of the Virgin also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother … He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people.” (CCC 2599) Until five years ago, when I began an intense […]
In Three Persons, One God: Growing in Relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Leonine Publishers), Allison Gingras offers a primer in developing a personal relationship with the three persons of the Blessed Trinity. In her introduction, Gingras refers to the Gospel passage of Luke 8:4-15. That parable is about the farmer who went […]
If you know who Kermit Gosnell is, then you are part of a well-connected minority. Most people have never heard of America’s most prolific serial killer, the abortionist now imprisoned in Pennsylvania who has killed thousands of babies. Gosnell’s method of choice was to deliver living, breathing, crying children in his clinic and then sever […]
What’s in your kid’s college fund? Or are you putting all your efforts into rearing a bright child who will ace the SATs and get scholarship offers? Whatever your plan, the thought of college tuition raises fear in the hearts of many parents. How to pay? The Morlino family has one solution. “Everything we’ve been […]
Through the years I have been asked to review a good many books on topics from microbiology, to evolution, biomedical ethics, spirituality, and even the life of Cardinal Newman. It’s always a privilege to do so, to be a part of the birthing of an author’s dream, to help bring forward an idea, a perspective, […]
The Blunder is to Estimate (Part Five: The Single Hound XVI) The blunder is to estimate “Eternity is Then,” We say, as of a station. Meanwhile he is so near, He joins me in my ramble, Divides abode with me, No friend have I that so persists As this Eternity. Emily Dickinson
What a disappointment! They thought they’d found the Messiah. But he’d been trapped like an animal and executed as a criminal. Up until his very last breath, they had hoped he’d descend from the cross in stately power and call down fire upon the hypocrites. But all they heard from him were seven last “words” […]
Pope Francis continues his catechesis this week on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After having examined wisdom as the first of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. This week he draws attention to the second gift, the gift of understanding. He goes on to say that:” Born of our sharing in God’s life […]
National Right To Life News published an article about Viv Albertine, a rocker who says she regrets her abortion but is still Pro-Choice. Showing loyalty to the abortion that oppresses us is what I call the “Abortion Stockholm Syndrome”. I and many women I’ve met through Silent No More and Rachel’s Vineyard are familiar with […]
At the end of Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki, I wrote, “If a reader gains anything from this book, let it be that one may confidently say that Catholic dogma positively and directly influenced the Scientific Revolution.” I proposed that perhaps the argument in the book that “science was born […]
During a week celebrating his canonization, many credited Pope John Paul II with defeating the campaign for an international right to abortion and founding the international pro-life movement. But his reach went further, to a critique of the UN’s approach to human development and how it can threaten international peace and justice. “To formulate population […]
With a formal Pontifical Mass the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem inaugurated the first Catholic pastoral center for migrant workers in Israel on April 26 in Tel Aviv. Those present included the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, and the Ambassador of the Philippines in Israel. Father David Neuhaus SJ, coordinator of the […]
Dear Anthony, I could use some advice as the non-Catholic party in my relationship. My boyfriend is a very nice Catholic guy. He knew I was not Catholic. We get along just great. But he’s “really” Catholic, and I’m “really” not. He isn’t insisting on me being Catholic or anything like that. But I can’t […]
Today the phrase “from the beginning of his/her biological development” accurately defines when the life of an individual human being begins to exist; the terms “conception” or “fertilization” do not. We have learned this is so because the fact is that not all human beings begin through sexual means; some are reproduced asexually. This concept […]
