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Culture Of Life 101… The Theology Of Transhumanism

May 9, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Culture Of Life 101… The Theology Of Transhumanism

By BRIAN CLOWES (Editor’s Note: Brian Clowes has been director of research and training at Human Life International since 1995. For an electronic copy of chapter 24 of The Facts of Life, “Eugenics,” e-mail him at bclowes@hli.org.) + + + “There are only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell chose it” — C.S. Lewis in The Great Divorce. + + + Transhumanism inevitably has profound theological implications. At its core, it rejects the very nature of our humanity, and thus its dignity and nature as God created it in His image and…Continue Reading

Religious Brothers In Belgium . . . Push Back On Euthanasia Directive For Catholic Hospitals

May 8, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Religious Brothers In Belgium . . . Push Back On Euthanasia Directive For Catholic Hospitals

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNA/EWTN News) — Following a decision by the board of several Belgian Catholic psychiatric hospitals to start performing euthanasia, the religious brothers who operate the hospitals said the policy change is unacceptable and cannot be implemented. “We deplore this new vision,” said Brother René Stockman, the superior general of the Brothers of Charity. Brother Stockman is himself a Belgian and a leading opponent of euthanasia. The Brothers of Charity in Belgium run 15 psychiatric hospitals with 5,000 patients. The board controlling their institutions has said it will now allow euthanasia in these hospitals. Brother Stockman said he has informed the Belgian congregation that “as general superior we cannot accept this decision, because it is going totally against our…Continue Reading

Faith On Trial… The American Bar Association And Political Correctness

May 7, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Faith On Trial… The American Bar Association And Political Correctness

By DEACON MIKE MANNO (Editor’s Note: Deacon Mike Manno, an attorney, is director of deacons for the Diocese of Des Moines and host of Iowa Catholic Radio’s Faith On Trial program [www.iowacatholicradio.com]. He can be reached at deaconmike@iowacatholic radio.com.) + + + Religious and conservative commentators have rightly complained about the current wave of political correctness sweeping through the nation’s liberal enclaves. No longer do old traditions or rules apply for, according to our modern illuminati, any words or conduct that could cause anyone to feel uncomfortable — whether intended to or not — could justify investigating even the most benign activities or conversations. A good example is a recent ruling by the EEOC to investigate whether a Postal Service…Continue Reading

A Pastoral Crisis The Church Cannot (Yet Does) Ignore

May 6, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on A Pastoral Crisis The Church Cannot (Yet Does) Ignore

By PHIL LAWLER (Editor’s Note: Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. (LifeSiteNews reprinted this with permission from Catholic Culture. All rights reserved.) + + + The Archdiocese of Boston has opened a new church. That news drew headline coverage, in a city that has become more accustomed to stories about church closings. To be perfectly honest, the news stories are a bit misleading. There have been a few new churches opened in Boston in the past 60 years, but they have been new buildings rather than new parishes: new churches that were…Continue Reading

A Book Review… Archbishop Sheen On The Evils Of The Age

May 5, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on A Book Review… Archbishop Sheen On The Evils Of The Age

By MITCHELL KALPAKGIAN Justice & Charity, by Fulton J. Sheen (TAN Books: Charlotte, NC 28241, 2006), 183 pp. Available at www.TANBooks.com or 1-800-437-5876. Divided into two parts identified as “The Social Problem” and “The Individual Problem,” Bishop Sheen’s book consists of 18 addresses given from January to April of 1938 that identify the two great evils of his age called “the accidental evil of Capitalism” and “the essential evil of Communism.” The virtues of justice and charity, he argues, combat and cure both of these social maladies. Even though the historical context of these essays examines American society and the Western world prior to World War II, Sheen’s luminous, penetrating, and eloquent exposition of Catholic social teaching makes these essays…Continue Reading

Josef Pieper… Truth And Timeliness

May 4, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Josef Pieper… Truth And Timeliness

By DONALD DeMARCO Josef Pieper (1904-1997) was born in the Westphalian village of Elte, a town so isolated that no train was available to take any of its citizens to any other part of Westphalia. In order to reach the nearest train station, one had to cross a river in a small ferryboat. Josef’s father had the distinction of being the only teacher in the village’s only school. Yet from Nazareth-like beginnings can come extraordinary accomplishments. Josef attended school at the Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster, one of the oldest German schools, having served the cause of education for more than 1,100 years. There, a priest teacher directed him to read the works of St. Thomas Aquinas “with a sort of…Continue Reading

A Book Review… A Dictionary That Cultivates Love Of The Catechism And The Church

May 3, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on A Book Review… A Dictionary That Cultivates Love Of The Catechism And The Church

By PEGGY MOEN A Catechetical Dictionary for the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Joseph A. Fisher, Ph.D., paperback: 662 pages. Publisher: Academy of the Immaculate (February 11, 2017). Single book price: $22.50 each; 6-19 books — 25 percent off — $16.88 each; 20-29 books — 50 percent off — $11.25 each; 30 + books — 60 percent off — $9 each. To order, call 508-966-0953 or visit https://academyoftheimmaculate.com/. We don’t usually grab a dictionary and read it for enjoyment, but serious Catholics might pick up A Catechetical Dictionary for the Catechism of the Catholic Church and not be able to put it down. Its author, Joseph A. Fisher, Ph.D., an experienced catechist and professor emeritus of Drake University, says…Continue Reading

Bishops Of India . . . Condemn The Disruption Of The Way Of The Cross

May 3, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Bishops Of India . . . Condemn The Disruption Of The Way Of The Cross

By PURUSHOTTAM NAYAK NEW DELHI (AsiaNews) — The Catholic Church in India has “expressed anguish and suffering” over what happened on Good Friday in Sogandi, Tamil Nadu, where police interrupted Dalit Christians from going up a hill to follow the Way of the Cross, said the Most Rev. Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the Indian Bishops Conference (CBCI). Speaking to AsiaNews, the prelate said that “not only was the small community of Christian Dalit prevented from honoring the day holy for Christians all over the world, but police, led by local authorities, used force and violence. Agents blocked the most sacred moment in the veneration of the cross and Communion.” The incident took place in Thirukazhukundram, an area famous for…Continue Reading

Culture Of Life 101 . . . The Troubles With Transhumanism

May 2, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Culture Of Life 101 . . . The Troubles With Transhumanism

By BRIAN CLOWES (Editor’s Note: Brian Clowes has been director of research and training at Human Life International since 1995. For an electronic copy of chapter 24 of The Facts of Life, “Eugenics,” e-mail him at bclowes@hli.org.) + + + As we have seen, most transhumanists emphasize only the benefits that their movement would supposedly bring to the human race. Perhaps they omit possible problems because, like all Culture of Death movements, they lack even the most fundamental understanding of human nature. So their primary problem seems to be not dishonesty, but ignorance. Weapons of War. Ever since humanity’s beginnings, we have possessed an innate capability to murder each other. This urge manifests itself in many ways. For example, we…Continue Reading

Questionable Sociology… Inflating The Number Of Atheists

May 1, 2017 Featured Today Comments Off on Questionable Sociology… Inflating The Number Of Atheists

By BILL DONOHUE (Editor’s Note: Bill Donohue is president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights [catholicleague.org]. This editorial was originally published on April 27 on the Catholic League’s website, catholicleague.org. All rights reserved. (In 1980, Donohue was awarded his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University.) + + + Two University of Kentucky psychologists, Will M. Gervais and Maxine B. Najle, claim that 26 percent of Americans are atheists. Their research, available now at PsyArXiv.com, will appear in an upcoming edition of Social Psychological and Personality Science; the journal is published eight times a year. Their finding not only contradicts every reputable survey on this subject — from Gallup to Pew Research Center — their methodology is…Continue Reading