The Mahayana Buddhist scripture Vimalakirti Nirdesa, also known as the Vimalakirti Sutra, contains one of the most radical ascetic statements in any religion’s canonical texts. The main figure of the text, Vimalakirti, is feigning illness so that he can preach...
After completing my freshman year of college, my friend Chuck, a physics major, helped me get a summer job at the Center for Superconductivity Research. I wasn’t studying physics or a related field at the time—I hadn’t yet chosen a...
Hollywood actor Diedrich Bader, known for his comedy roles, says, “I always have my kids say ‘thank you’ to Alexa so that hopefully in the future our robot overlords will remember their civility.” Jokes aside, pondering the many moral implications...
On this Earth Day, there are calls to “Invest in our Planet.” After all, it is the only one we’ve got! Care for creation has been a major theme during the pontificate of Pope Francis. His opponents claim that the...
Recently, two prominent churchmen called for a change in the Church’s teachings on sexuality. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg said in an interview with a German Catholic news agency that the Church’s teachings on homosexuality were no longer correct and...
In the wake of the discovery of the remains of five aborted fetuses in the home of pro-life activist Lauren Handy, many pro-lifers have grappled with making sense of a series of events that the mainstream media have characterized, with...
During his trip to Malta, Pope Francis spoke to enthusiastic crowds, praised Malta for its historic values of openness and hospitality, called for charity toward migrants, and met with the sick at St. Paul’s Basilica. During an address to political...
We live in an apology-averse, perhaps even a remorse-averse age. Even churchmen, when accused of severe wrongdoing, are as likely to spin, deny, or counteraccuse as they are to express repentance or seek atonement. That being the case, it is...
In the first half of this essay, I explained the importance of engaging in dialogue with conspiracy theorists [1]. Thinkers such as Romano Guardini can provide us with the points of congruence that are needed for such dialogue; in particular,...
A North Carolina Catholic school fired a teacher in September 2021 after he announced on social media that he was going to be married to his male partner. A few years ago, a Catholic high school in Indianapolis was put...
To mainstream Catholics, conspiracy theories probably seem like the epitome of error. And yet, what could we learn if we entered into dialogue with conspiracy theorists? Conspiracies really do exist and have existed all through history. However, when I use...
Over ten years ago, I left my first job as an acquisitions editor in a Catholic publishing house just prior to the birth of my first child. I was ineligible for FMLA, both because I had only worked there just...
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