2014-12-26T13:44:04-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:44 pm   By

Don’t let the headlines fool you, the freshly-released Final Report on the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States of America, 16.12.2014 is anything but glowing praise.  It’s charitable and mannerly, but if you read closely and put on your thinking cap, the findings are harrowing.  All the more so because our religious orders don’t exist in some bubble; every sister comes from a Catholic parish, and every sister in turn bestows her vocation on the Church.... Read more

2014-12-26T13:45:36-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:45 pm   By

Erin Arlinghaus challenged me (update below) to explain why it so important for any ethical system, religious or otherwise, to be built on the principles I explain here.  I’ll recap them quickly, but check the tutorial for more examples and explanations. Principle #1 is “Double Effect” or “Parallel Effect.”  What it means is this: It’s okay to do something good, even if there’s a chance that something bad might happen.  Without this principle, you literally cannot act.  Everything you do bears some risk... Read more

2014-12-26T13:47:04-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:47 pm   By

At my house tonight . . . Middle Schooler: What Mass are we going to tomorrow? Spouse: 9AM. Me: Are you singing both Masses then? Spouse: I dunno. Middle Schooler: Are we singing the Whitbourn? Spouse: Yes. Middle Schooler: Then I want to sing both Masses. And people say kids don’t dig contemporary church music like the adults do. Image by Andrés de Concha (Painter, Details of artist on Google Art Project) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Read more

2014-12-26T13:48:23-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:48 pm   By

Moving beyond any particular example of terrible writing, I want to address a non-argument I’ve seen circulating among Catholics of good will lately.  If you’re going to be Catholic, set yourself firmly in favor of the truth.  If you’re going to set yourself in favor of the truth, you need to know a non-argument when you see it. Again, I’m writing here not to philosophers, but to ordinary internet people like myself. Good Guys Do Bad Things Here’s an example... Read more

2014-12-26T13:50:13-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:50 pm   By

In discussing the recent scandal out of Notre Dame’s theology department, a question arose: Would it be possible for Joel Baden and Candida Moss to have argued well against the Catholic position on IVF?  That is, is there another way they could have challenged the Catholic position that would have shown them worthy opponents? I think there is, and I’m going to walk you through my thoughts on that. Before we begin, let’s go over some preliminaries: 1. I don’t for a... Read more

2014-12-26T13:51:46-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:51 pm   By

The topic of ends-vs.-means has been circulating a bunch lately.  Are you allowed to do something that’s a little bit bad if it makes it possible to do something very, very good as a result? For example, can you torture your enemies, if you goal isn’t pure brutalism, but your own safety?  Others have covered the Catholic response to the recently released torture reports quite thoroughly.  Just a couple: Simcha Fisher tells you: No. Aggie Catholic tells you: No. Another... Read more

2014-12-26T13:52:50-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:52 pm   By

Now out from CatholicMom.com: As Morning Breaks, Daily Gospel Reflections.  It’s available as a Kindle book (very affordable – $2.99), but FYI if you want to get this as a gift for someone, it’s not necessary to own a dedicated device in order to read it. Any PC, tablet, whatever, can read Kindle books, just download the free software from Amazon.    What’s in the book?  A reflection on the daily Gospel reading for every day of 2015.  This is... Read more

2014-12-26T13:54:41-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:54 pm   By

In discussions surrounding Notre Dame’s staffing problem, a question was posed: When is an argument part of an honest debate, and when is it more like the intellectual equivalent of something stuck to the bottom of your shoe? Here’s a tutorial.  It’s not a philosophical treatise, it’s written for ordinary arguers. Debate We can say that we are debating a question when two criteria are met: We are discussing a matter that is open to discussion. We are in fact trying... Read more

2014-12-26T13:56:08-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:56 pm   By

People think, “Oh, you religion bloggers, all you learn at church is things like which hymns to hate, or who has the worst possible interpretation of the miracle of loaves and fishes.”  But this is not true.  And now is the time of year for dispensing some of the other wisdom we’ve gleaned from our spiritual shepherds. For example, do you have a friend who likes whiskey and homemade salad dressing?  Then what you want, thank Fr. E for tipping us... Read more

2014-12-26T13:57:27-05:00

Last updated on: December 26, 2014 at 1:57 pm   By

Tom McDonald pointed me to this article, co-authored by Joel Baden and Candida Moss — the latter being a professor in the Theology Department at Notre Dame University.  Who doesn’t know Catholic moral theology.  Let’s walk through the article and compare Notre Dame vs. The Catholic Church. In 2011, Emily Herx was teaching English at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was also having trouble getting pregnant, so she began in vitro fertilization treatments. When she... Read more

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