Recently, the FDA approved the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine (emergency use authorization). This brings up the ethics of it for many Catholics. This is the third COVID vaccine approved by the FDA and it is different biologically and morally from the prior two. Morally, we should generally prefer the other two options available so far, but this one is not morally forbidden. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine can be used if it is the only option or only way to... Read more
Two years ago, I wrote a response when one German bishop denied Church teaching on homosexual acts. Then a year ago, I provided more clarity when a few US priests questioned this teaching. Now another German bishop is denying the 2000-year tradition of the Church. CNA asked me for some comment as an expert. I want to share two aspects of that article. First, the story this time. Second, my quotations. The Story of a Bishop Denying Church Teaching Bishop... Read more
This Ash Wednesday, the distribution of the ashes will be a little different for Canada and the USA. Usually in our countries, the priest imposes them by making a cross on the forehead. However, this year, the Vatican suggested: “The Priest takes the ashes and sprinkles them on the head of each one without saying anything.” This sprinkling on the crown of the head seems odd for us in the US and Canada but is a common tradition elsewhere. I... Read more
Back in April 2020, I reported on how DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders were put on people’s files without their permission or knowledge. This was an issue in the UK that seems to be continuing despite the outcry then. We need to fight this with all our might or slowly the disabled will be killed off. The issues are similar to a year ago, so the analysis is similar. DNR orders can turn a minor hospital visit into a fatal... Read more
Prayer for people with mental health is an issue we need to address as a Church. I’ve been covering prayer for autism and related conditions a bit. I did an interview with the Catholic Mental Health Blog on this. (It was a while ago but only published this week.) We covered a bunch of topics, but most would be familiar to regular readers here like my vocational story and helping autistics in Church In this interview questions on prayer and... Read more
The Canadian government is proposing a law that will push euthanasia on the disabled. This is serious ableism and discrimination. I have repeatedly noted that approving euthanasia or assisted suicide is a slippery slope where society slowly decides more and more “undesirables” will be killed via these means. Canada has already had two particularly troublesome issues since approving “Medical Aid in Dying.” First, the law was presented as assisted suicide, but 99.95% of cases were euthanasia. Second, they pointed out... Read more
Today, cooperation with evil comes up in many situations Catholics need to make moral choices. These include vaccines, investment, been what products to buy or what stores to shop at. I have covered this topic in several blogs like “12 Things Less-Remote Cooperation in Evil Than COVID Vaccines” and “If Any Drug Tested on HEK-293 Is Immoral, Goodbye Modern Medicine.” I was invited on Catholic Answers to cover this topic more broadly. Much of the time was spent on principles and... Read more
This year, the March for Life was mainly virtual. However, many still posted their great pro-life signs on Twitter and Instagram. I found the best 13 on those two platforms on January 29th at about the same time as the March for Life. Some are from local events held this year, some are people taking selfies at home while tuning in virtually and some are from past years I had not seen before. And, I’ve seen most of the good... Read more
For years, the Church has generally encouraged vaccines while noting issues with certain ones grown on fetal cell lines. She allowed people to give prophetic witness against abortion by not taking such vaccines (I have defended the right to a prophetic stance in this case). Vaccines help both one’s own health and the health of those around you. However, in the discussion of COVID vaccines, some have taken this further. They have rejected every vaccine tested (not grown on) on fetal... Read more
Flo is an app for tracking women’s menstrual cycles. Thus, it holds pretty private information. It promised to keep that private but was selling it to other companies. And as a result, it got no financial penalty. The penalty amounts to a warning not to do this again. Even though I am obviously not affected, I think we need to stand up. Menstruation cycle information is particularly private information for a corporation to have. If they don’t respect privacy here,... Read more
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