Today is #GivingTuesday which is a reminder that we all should give some money to charity. I hope that this giving Tuesday you can give to my community. We live frugally; we have a current need for a roof; and there are multiple ways to give. My Community Lives Frugally My community is made up of ten priests and two religious brothers. We also have four others staying in our house: three young people volunteering for a year as Regnum... Read more
Early this morning, there was a shocking announcement out of China. They performed gene editing on humans, and a woman had gotten pregnant with genetically edited babies. I want to note this, then discuss the moral and practical problems. AP carried the story as an exclusive: A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose DNA he said he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting... Read more
Last Monday afternoon (November 19) featured a panel of four top Journalists at Catholic University talking about the current crisis in the Church. Ross Douthat (New York Times) moderated Christopher White (Crux), Elizabeth Bruenig (Washington Post), and J. D. Flynn (Catholic News Agency). Bruenig: “Just Tell the Truth” Elizabeth Bruenig had the most powerful line, proposing a simple solution to the whole McCarrick fiasco. She explained, “You can make it all go away. Just tell the truth… It will only... Read more
A new company called Genomics Prediction now claims to be able to test IVF babies for low IQ. If the test shows your baby will likely have a low IQ, you can then let that baby die. We have seen how often tests for Down Syndrome have resulted in abortion, such as in Iceland. I can only presume tets for low IQ will get similar results to down syndrome. Genomics Prediction doesn’t hide these motives. They use “screen” instead of “test” as... Read more
Several vaccines, currently used in the USA, are grown or prepared using unethical means. These vaccines grow the viruses on cells descendant from aborted fetuses. Embryonic stem cell lines WI-38 and MRC-5 – used to grow vaccines – were derived from aborted babies long ago. This is far from ideal. Let’s review the morality of such vaccines, ethical alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cells, yesterday’s news from HHS, and what that means. Current Use of Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) The Vatican and the National... Read more
With 57% of Americans saying viewing pornography is morally wrong and experts in agreement about the dangers of adolescent exposure to porn, it would seem like a winning cause for politicians to take up. Yet, politicians on both sides seem to ignore this issue. As internet pornography often gets more and more extreme, neither major party stands up for decency. A recent article on Politico discusses the rise and fall of the anti-porn movement in depth. I want to quote some passages... Read more
I’ve had a CuriousCat account most of 2018 and I sometimes get asked interesting questions. I set it up for complex or personal questions as the service allows people to submit questions anonymously. However, I got a bunch of spiritual basics too. Here are my responses to some questions of spiritual basics from CuriousCat. Originally, I wanted to do a bunch of CuriousCat answers in one post. However, it ran long, so I divided it into three by themes. Look for... Read more
Three states had statewide pro-life ballot initiatives yesterday. Two passed and one lost in the election. Pro-Life Wins Alabama had the most sweeping initiative which won by a wide margin. As The Washington Times reported: (Emphasis added) Alabama’s Amendment 2 coasted to victory with 59 percent of the vote, inserting language to the state constitution to “recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.” West Virginia’s more modest initiative also won... Read more
Sometimes we might see corruption in the Church: often we hear accusations but we don’t know if they are true. Where can we look for how to act? May I suggest St. Thomas More. We all probably know that St. Thomas More died for refusing to sign the Oath of Supremacy, which incorrectly declared the king as the rightful head of the Church of England. Thus, he was a martyr for unity between English Christians and Rome. But, have you... Read more
The Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, published an article today under the title “Salvation: More Than a Cliché?” It was originally in a 2008 series of essays in German, which Ignatius Press is now publishing for the first time in English. In the article, Benedict explores the depth of terms like “salvation” or “redemption” for Christians. The article is rather academic. I want to point out some of the key points while trying to avoid being too academic. The Problem of “Redemption”... Read more
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