Abortion and Political Love
Now that the votes have been cast in the US election, I hope Catholics can once again discuss the issue of abortion without being accused of trying to sway the Catholic vote. And discuss it we must, because it is...
Category: Life Issues
A throwaway culture is a culture of death
Members of the pro-life movement often describe policies that work to undermine the recognition of human dignity and to devalue human life as promoting the “culture of death.” This term was made popular by Pope St. John Paul II in...
Catholic teaching on euthanasia and end-of-life care
The Catholic Church espouses a consistent ethic of life that requires the legal protection of all human life from conception to natural death. Thus Pope Francis wrote, in his 2018 Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”): The...
Breakfast of Scandals: Chaput adds to Barr fiasco
William Barr, a Catholic, has generated controversy since he began his tenure as Attorney General of the United States in February 2019. Among other things, on July 25, 2019, he ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to execute five federal...
Being pro-life requires the faith to see “both/and”
Step back and admire the efficiency of John Hirschauer’s apologia pro Bill Barr that appeared online at National Review (“Bill Barr Tears the Seamless Garment”) this week. It is not entirely Hirschauer’s fault. Authors do not write headlines or subheads....
Simply Inadmissible
“This is simply not any language; this doesn’t have any doctrinal import to it. What does it mean to say something isn’t admissible? That is a relative term, either say it’s intrinsically evil, or it’s good.” — Cardinal Raymond Burke ...
Seamless Garment: All values are non-negotiable
“I have never understood the expression non-negotiable values. Values are values, and that is it. I can’t say that, of the fingers of a hand, there is one less useful than the rest. Whereby I do not understand in what...
The Seamless Garment is the Catholic position
“Our defense of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her...
The Death Penalty, Doctrine or Personal Opinion?
I’ve seen a lot of confusion in the past year about the Church’s new teaching on the death penalty that was issued last summer when Pope Francis changed paragraph 2267 of the Catechism. One of the key misconceptions I’ve heard...
Dr. Peters’ deer & hunter: death penalty & the inversion of roles
In June 17th, Cardinal Dolan posted the following on Twitter: Link: https://twitter.com/CardinalDolan/status/1140621061211529217 This tweet (as accurate as it is) prompted a wild discussion in social media, since there are many Catholics who are unwilling to assent to the recent Catechetical...
Death penalty – The Gen 9:6 objection
One of the most common scriptural arguments used by death penalty dissenters revolves around Gen 9:6. In fact, the most foundational book for their position, written by notable death penalty counter-apologist Edward Feser, borrows its title from that biblical quote....
Human life and dignity: our maturing teaching
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about the Church’s teaching on Human Life and Dignity. Here are some thoughts and reflections on the subject. In the past, we’ve written about Pope Francis’s views on abortion, and last month we shared...
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