If your local bishop, the bishops’ conference, the Vatican, and moral theology principles from the Fathers & Doctors disagree whether an act is moral, discernment is in order. If all agree, or most agree & others are silent, we should listen. There is no way to go astray following the Church. This is all the more true when there is agreement both locally and universally, both now and historically. Seeking out another bishop who has no authority over you but... Read more
In recent days, several vaccines for COVID have reached the final approval process. The USCCB indicated that Catholics can morally take the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. At least 28 other US bishops have issued concurring statements. There is a concern about remote material cooperation in evil. The USCCB notes it in their statement. However, some have thought this so grave that Catholics should not get vaccinated. Receiving these vaccines is so remote that in our everyday lives we do things... Read more
On Monday, the USCCB released a statement on the ethics of COVID vaccines. It noted both the good and the bad. Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the committee on doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chairman of the committee on pro-life activities, signed the statement. This indicates the two key areas in assessing any vaccine: moral theology and pro-life work. They posted both a news story summary and a full 7-page letter. Here I will summarize it with some additional moral... Read more
We all appreciate privacy. People sometimes use things like incognito mode to get better prices on flights or double-check to make sure things are encrypted before talking about sensitive subjects. (Some also use such means for illicit activities like viewing pornography. However, misuse does not imply the means is evil.) But a new hack indicates online privacy might all be an illusion. I’ve written about privacy numerous times before, but never on this directly. Most prior cases I dealt with... Read more
Wage theft has been a serious issue in the US, with a 2009 estimate putting it at $40-60 billion a year. This is about $120-$180 per person. As it is distributed overwhelmingly on certain people and often on the poorest, a person working around the poverty line in certain jobs might have $1000 or more stolen from them by their employer. Another study found 2/3 low-income earners suffered wage theft at an average of $2,634 annually. As a report on... Read more
This week, two different sites posted interviews with me. Earlier, I posted the interview on Profiles in Catholicism. Now, I have another interview with a site called Learn from Autistics. This is a website created by the mother of an autistic son where she seeks out ideas from adult autistics to help other parents of autistic children. She interviewed me about autism and religion. Here is the start of the interview. The rest is on their site. Fr. Matthew Schneider is a... Read more
Pope Francis wants to make sure every Mass is accessible and people with disabilities can always receive the sacraments. International Day of Persons with Disabilities In 2019, for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Pope Francis noted that we can be ministers not just ministered to. He said, “It is necessary to care for and accompany persons with disabilities in every condition of life… and to make way alongside them and to “anoint” them with dignity for an active... Read more
Profiles in Catholicism is a website that tries to interview leaders in the Catholic world. I felt honored when they asked for an interview. I guess I’m some kind of Catholic leader. The interview just went up on their site. I hope that some of you find it helpful. I quite part below, but if you want, the whole interview is on their site. Gordon: When did you receive your vocation With whom did you discuss it and was that... Read more
The whole question of vaccines has been simmering in Catholic circles for a while. When COVID vaccines started to be developed, this came up more. Now that we are closing in on approval, it is a big issue. I decided to write a piece on the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines. My unique angle is to examine degrees of remoteness in cooperation in evil or appropriation of evil. The main point being that once you get to these the steps... Read more
As society becomes more aware of autism, many of us are being diagnosed as adults. As priests or ministers, this changes our ministry. I’ve spoken before about how this changed my ministry. Others, like Dr.Lamar Hedwick and the priest behind the AspiePriest blog, have talked about how an autism diagnosis changed their ministry. Last week, a Baptist site carried the story of another pastor. Jim McCaffrey spoke about his diagnosis in his 30s in 2017. He was already a pastor... Read more
Through Catholic Lenses
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