Benjamin T. Conner recently wrote an interesting book trying mission and disability studies together. It attempts to show the disabled as part of the mission and the mission as involving and directed towards the disabled. In an interview, I said some similar lines specifically about autism: “Autism is part of the peripheries. We often think of peripheries geographically, but so often the dividing line of the periphery is due to a trait the person has such as being on the... Read more
I recently wrote about the need for both parties to be pro-life and how this matches the principles of each party. The National Catholic Register just published it. Protecting the most vulnerable killed through abortion is a fundamental civil rights issue. It shouldn’t be a political issue that is different between the two parties. Unfortunately, in today’s climate, so often it is an issue that divides the two main parties. However, if we go back to the principles of both... Read more
I wrote up on why the pro-life and disability rights movements should work together as I think that there are common principles. Today, it was published in America. When I read about disability rights advocates who accept or silently condone abortion, or when I look at pro-life materials and find almost nothing on the disabled, I cringe. Both disability rights and pro-life groups adhere to the same basic principle—that humans have inherent dignity based on who they are, not what... Read more
The world got a lot closer to preventing genetically edited babies, at least for the near future. I worried that China would be a place where this would happen as they have the resources and are trying to become a top tier country for innovation, not just manufacturing. However, China has just clarified that at least for now they will be banning gene editing on babies. Technode reports: The most recent draft of China’s updated civil code includes new regulations... Read more
Today, technology is moving at a fast rate. Things that were science fiction 20 years ago are now experimental procedures. Many of these procedures, especially those around humans, raise ethical questions. We need to answer those ethical questions before we move forward. However, too often we ignore these questions or companies hire bioethicists simply to rubber stamp their procedures. Even if we decide to go ahead with a procedure, it is important to discuss whether we should first. Hearing such... Read more
With Pope Francis issuing a letter to young people as after the synod on youth, we have an opportunity to reflect on what the Pope is saying to youth. As I read it, I pulled out some quotes and summarized other parts to hopefully give you a nice summary. Introduction Pope Francis begins “Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!” (1) Right after, he continues, “He is in you, he is with you and he never abandons... Read more
I am an autistic priest. It is the only life I know. However, being both autistic and a Catholic priest is not the most obvious combo for most people. Since I have made my diagnosis public about a month ago I have given 4 interviews. Hopefully, citing three here will help you understand how I combine these two things. The first two interviews are with general Catholic news sites while the third is with an autistic Christian blog. The fourth... Read more
Following the post I made recently on explaining contraception, I follow up with one way I think that we can do this effectively. In the past, pastors would often ask visiting preachers to talk about the tough moral issues during parish missions. I see no reason not to return to some aspects of parish missions. I actually ended up posting this earlier on the Register that the prior one due to an issue I had to work out with the... Read more
This is possibly the most confusing Catholic teaching. I point out how even historically we have failed to explain it, followed by a discussion of some good arguments against it. I take my three principle arguments from a thick book on the topic by Dr. Janet Smith. I doubt all who need to understand will read it but, hopefully, my summaries help explain it. Here is the article on the National Catholic Register: Right now, we have a certain dichotomy... Read more
Tomorrow, I am going to the Catholic Parents of Special Needs Children Conference in New Jersey. They gave me a free ticket but hoped I could prepare a talk online. This is the talk I prepared. I didn’t have time to fix the automated subtitles so sorry to those who need them (this also means this post will not be a transcript). So often we can create a confrontational attitude between a priest and a family whose member has special... Read more
Through Catholic Lenses
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