Fireworks. Baseball games. Picnics. This is what the 4th of July means to most Americans today. But July 4th, 1776, was a very solemn day for the 55 men who affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. For in so doing, they were risking their lives and fortunes to defend the proposition that “all […]
Dignity is a word that is creating a stir in some philosophical circles, and for the life of me, I cannot understand why. For example, one writer tells his readers that “Dignity 1.0, the older conception shared by Christians, natural law theorists and others, refers to the idea that humans have ‘inherent worth of immeasurable […]
Every now and then the biomedical community and the legal system are presented with the opportunity to rediscover our collective humanity through the lens of animal rights and animal cruelty. More often than not that lens has insufficient power to correct their distorted perception of human dignity. Having just passed the ninth anniversary of Terri […]
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards recently tweeted out a short video featuring her suggestions of what women really need for Valentine’s Day. Among a litany that included “well woman visits,” “cancer screenings,” and “birth control,” was “safe & legal abortion.” All of this, we’re mockingly informed, is “really radical stuff” which, of course, is a sarcastic quip […]
I worry for young people these days. I know every generation says that about the one that follows, but today’s youth may face a world where simply being human won’t be good enough. Augmentation may be required to participate in society. A cyber-brain here, a bionic limb there with some genetic engineering and a few […]
After several years of rigorously defending and promoting the dignity and sanctity of all human life, it has been my observation that one of the supporting pillars of the culture of death (those kneejerk proponents of abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, cloning/ESCR) is a desire to avoid or alleviate human suffering at all cost. A woman […]
It is now safer to be a monkey in Spain—at least if you’re one of the larger species—than a man. Thanks to a new law passed by the Spanish parliament and signed into law by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, the Great Apes are protected from the moment of conception against abortion and fetal experimentation. Human […]
In Australia, IVF clinics are reporting that the number of older, single, heterosexual women using donor sperm to conceive a child has increased by 10% in the past three years. This trend is particularly pronounced in Victoria where it is no longer illegal for single women to undergo IVF if they are not medically infertile. They […]
If properly understood, the Christmas holiday would be enough, not only to end abortion, but to destroy all sin. Even sentimental secularists wince when they connect the feast of Jesus as a Baby with the millions of discarded unborn. As resourceful people, they change the subject or take shelter in a quick mental hiding place […]
A very controversial slogan during this heated election season is “We did build this.” This phrase centers around the debate of who is responsible for the building of small businesses — government or small business owners. Many are deeply divided on this issue, and it has become a core theme for choosing the direction of […]
For those of you that missed it, December 10th was Human Rights Day here at the United Nations. Sixty-three years to the day, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948 by unanimous vote at the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris, France. When the declaration was first authored, it was […]
A Canadian court is considering a challenge to the nation’s law prohibiting assisted suicide and euthanasia. Consequently the topic is in the news. I received an email from a woman who doesn’t know what to think as the assisted suicide camp is pulling out all their compassionate sounding euphemisms to promote death. She wanted my […]
Protecting immigrants from oppression is a centuries old duty of both Jews and Christians. “You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt. Exodus 22: 20.” Most, if not all, of the people with whom I work in the pro life apostolate take that […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Malachi 1:14–2:2,8-10; Psalm 131:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9,13; Matthew 23:1-12) The Second Coming of Christ Our Source of Hope and Encouragement We who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Apparently, some of the first-century Christians in […]
The Problem “Quality of life” and “death with dignity” have more than a few folks erroneously asserting that the range of legally-acceptable end-of-life options should include “voluntary euthanasia,” and/or “physician-assisted suicide” also known as “physician aid in dying.” [1] In a recent commentary entitled Human Dignity and the End of Life, Cardinal Rigali and Bishop […]
Pope Benedict XVI has aroused some opposition but also worldwide hope for dialogue and discovery of shared truths about our humanness, God, and moral and social crises of our times. He has focused much of his initiative on the core question of “human dignity” and, by implication, “the sanctity of life.” There is good reason […]
When God created Adam and Eve, he placed them in a garden and blessed them. He told them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things that move on the earth” (Gen 1:28). The Catholic Church […]
Some commentators have argued that human embryos are individual human beings but they add that they are not human persons because they cannot sense or think or feel or desire. Consequently, it is argued that human embryos do not have moral status and thus cannot claim any rights including the right to life. Only human […]
Women know what works and what doesn’t. And the Church cares that this knowledge of the concrete that women possess should be brought to bear upon all policy decisions.
