I am an Adjunct Professor in a course called Religions of the World at a state university. It is a freshman level course and is usually taken by people who simply want to learn about other religions. Frankly, some students take it looking for an “easy pass” hoping that the course does not require much […]
Some hope for stem cell research
The quote below is from a CNN news article: (CNN) — For the first time, a patient has received a synthetic windpipe that was created in a lab with the patient’s own stem cells and without using human donor tissue, researchers said Thursday. Look carefully at the sentence. The stem cells were the patient’s own […]
Can Catholics be good legislators in a pluralistic democracy?
As a result of the discussion on Catholic Social Doctrine, one of the readers of this blog brought up a question that has been asked before in the history this nation. Can a Roman Catholic be a member of a government in a pluralistic democracy? Actually, it really brings up the broader question of whether […]
George Weigel on Catholic Social Doctrine
After my blog post on Mattingly and Catholic Social Doctrine, a friend sent a link to an article by George Weigel that was distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Denver. It is an extremely good article. Below are some quotes from the article, though I urge you to follow […]
A comic that explains free will
One of the persistent charges against God is that he should have been able to design a better system. That is, one of the charges against God is that he must somehow ought to have been able to design a system in which people do not suffer. The arguments over that proposition have gone on […]
Tony Campolo and what causes offense
Fr. Greg posted the following quote from Tony Campolo in response to my web post yesterday. It was said on a college campus when he gave a talk there: “I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. […]
Odd coincidences and EMTALA
For a couple of days, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act has been under discussion. Sometimes odd coincidences happen that help illustrate some of the points that one is trying to make. The story below illustrates precisely the reason why EMTALA was passed with strong Republican support and the signature of President Ronald […]
The shootings in Arizona, a time for weeping and a time for quiet reflection
This past weekend, a shooting rampage happened in Arizona. A female Democratic Congressional Representative and a male Republican Federal Judge were killed. I wanted to wait to write something because the news were unclear and because assassinations of this magnitude need careful analysis rather than instant reaction. What I could do, I did. I prayed. I prayed for […]
Mixed feelings about Wikileaks
By now, the subject of Wikileaks has become a phenomenon discussed in many of the world capitals, and certainly a subject of the current news cycle. Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is being sought both under Intepol and American warrants. What is his crime? Well, it depends to whom you talk? Of course, Sweden […]
On various political opinions
The post on understanding the range of political expression brought several interesting replies. I call them interesting because they actually help to demonstrate the different, and very strong, opinions in the Christian camp. It will actually help in the discussion. I will not name names, however, one is an Orthodox monk, one is an Orthodox […]
