Earlier this week, Trent Horn had John Kraemer and me on his podcast to discuss ministering to the disabled. Trent Horn asked us about our experiences and how we thought the Catholic Church could better minister to the disabled. Here is the podcast (Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, iHeart embedded): Here’s a little background on the host and other guest. (I assume if you are a reader here, you know who I am, if not, read my bio for general info... Read more
John and Claire Grabowski, One Body: A Program of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment for the New Evangelization (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road, 2018) John and Claire Grabowski recently wrote One Body aback in 2018. I had submitted a review someone said they’d publish soon, but since almost two years later it isn’t published, I’m posting it to my blog. The book is a study guide for marriage preparation or marriage enrichment in small groups. The two are qualified: John is an associate... Read more
As I have noted several times before in this column, autistic individuals often have some difficulty participating in the liturgy. I think we can help autistics participate and live the liturgy. Recently, PrayTellBlog got in touch with me and asked me a few questions on autistic participation in the liturgy. They sent me some questions and I typed them up some answers. The published this interview late yesterday. April is Autism Awareness month. Eugenic ideologies have reared their ugly head... Read more
I was scheduled to give this talk at InclusionFest Live run by Key Ministry in the Cleveland area this April. But due to coronavirus, everything was shut down. I don’t like to leave things to the last minute – I’m not sure if that is an autistic trait or not – so I had already prepared the talk before the event was canceled. As the talk was already written, I offer you a recording of this talk on welcoming autistics... Read more
In the UK, doctors put DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders on a bunch of autistic adults’ files. This was done without consulting them or their family. This means that a minor health hiccup could easily become fatal. DNR orders make sense when someone is at the end of their life but don’t make sense for working-age adults who have no fatal conditions. Also, this contradicts Catholic Bioethics. The Autistic Adults Given DNR Orders in the UK The BBC reported: A GP... Read more
Reading one paragraph of Pope Francis’s interview with Austen Ivereigh today, I was reminded of an article I posted before. I had posted Pope Francis Condemns Eugenic Abortions, as Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken about aborting the disabled. I that article, I quoted a stark comparison he gives: “the murder of children…to get a peaceful life an innocent [person] is sent away…We do the same as the Nazis to maintain the purity of the race, but with white gloves.” In today’s interview,... Read more
With most people in quarantine for Holy Week, I was seeing a bunch of initiatives to help various groups to live it. I noticed nothing for the age of most of my nephews and nieces so I decided to help them out. Since I was recording a video for three nephews and a niece, I figured I could make it public so long as I didn’t say to hello to them by name. (I respect the privacy of my family... Read more
I think sometimes, it is hard for people who are not autistic to see things from our perspective. If you learn a foreign language beyond a dozen words, you start noticing a bit of a difference. For example, in many other languages like Spanish or Latin, inanimate objects are male or female. When I taught English to native Spanish-speakers, I learned to get inside their way of thinking. Autism is like that but at the level of brain structure, not... Read more
If anyone still questions why Catholic churches have suspended public Masses? It’s because we love our fellow Catholics and don’t want to expose them to likely danger. Here are four examples of how that can happen at churches or similar. None of us priests are happy with the situation and wish we could celebrate public Mass, give you all Communion, have big family baptisms and weddings, etc. One bishop said it was the most painful decision he’d ever made: The... Read more
With public worship and gathering of large groups suspended, many Catholic parishes and other charities or apostolates are feeling the pinch. Donations are down, so looking ahead they are unlikely to make payroll and thus have to lay off employees. However, it looks like 501(c)3 corporations (the legal status of most parishes & Catholic apostolates) can get a government loan to cover 10 weeks of salary which the government will then forgive if used on salary. This seems like a... Read more
Through Catholic Lenses
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