Two recent articles regarding the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious have struck me as expressing a particularly important sentiment of support in these times. The first is the recent piece by E.J. Dionne, writing for Commonweal online – Quit the Church? Thanks but no Thanks The second is Jim Wallis’s piece  Read more

This past Saturday was graduation for St. Vincent College.  As is the tradition, there is a reception right outside of the building where graduation occurs so that faculty, students, and parents can mill about and say one last good-bye.  In the midst of this informal social, I was in a conversation with one of my colleagues.  He joked, “So, do theology majors  Read more

Things just keep getting worse for the NFL.  Instead of an off-season talking about draft picks and quarterback controversies (we have a hot one brewing in New York), ESPN is parading brain experts in front of the camera.  Last week, we learned that Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk joined the growing group of former NFL players who are suing the league  Read more

A Mother’s Day Reflection With its controversial cover picturing a hip, sexy mom breastfeeding a toddler, Time magazine fanned the fires of the “mommy wars.” That, along with yet another disappointing Mother’s Day sermon, got me thinking again about parenting. The Time story, “Are You Mom Enough?,” focuses on Dr. Sears (a Catholic from St. Louis), who started the attachment parenting movement  Read more

A recent piece by Phil Lawler raises some significant concerns about the role of the bishops in promoting the common good (I should note that I know and respect Mr. Lawler and should he read this post, I hope he will consider it a respectful and rational challenge and not a personal attack). Lawler argues that a few weeks ago, the bishops  Read more

To many of our readers, I realize I may appear to be obsessed with subsidiarity and food stamps (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/SNAP). In the last year, I have written about a dozen blogs focused on poverty, with many of them highlighting SNAP in some way.  Why SNAP? Because it is a program that has been demonstrated to work – it is a  Read more

In an editorial, “Sometimes the death penalty is warranted,” in the Washington Post, Charles Lane observes that Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway on July 22, 2011, declared that the maximum possible sentence for his action–21 years in prison or longer if certain conditions are met–is “pathetic.” The death penalty, which Norway abolished years ago, Breivik instead “would have respected.” As  Read more

No, no. I’m not referring to a cleverly-worded smack down of Republican tax-plans.  I’m talking about turning the preferential option on its head–at least as it is traditionally understood. Why do Christians have a preferential option specifically for the poor?  At least one reason is the fact that sin–social and otherwise–often conspires in a particularly powerful way against the poor such that  Read more

Anyone who has had even periodic exposure to the editorial pages of American newspapers or the expert panels of Sunday-morning news shows has probably heard Paul Krugman speak about the government’s proper role amid economic recessions, and particularly his trope about the mythical “confidence fairy” which in his mind has kept the government from exercising this role amid the current recession. His  Read more

No, no. I’m not referring to a cleverly-worded smack down of Republican tax-plans.  I’m talking about turning the preferential option on its head–at least as it is traditionally understood. Why do Christians have a preferential option specifically for the poor?  At least one reason is the fact that sin–social and otherwise–often conspires in a particularly powerful way against the poor such that  Read more

This post is part of CatholicMoralTheology.com’s commentary on the Catechism, Part III, Section One, Chapter Two (topics from the Compendium of Social Teaching), topic six “The Family. In Catholic Social Teaching, family is defined as “a community of love and solidarity, which is uniquely suited to teach and transmit cultural, ethical, social, spiritual and religious values, essential for the development and well-being  Read more

Cmt.com blogger Charlie Camosy’s new book, Peter Singer and Christian Ethics: Beyond Polarization, was released this week in the U.K. and will soon be available in the U.S.  If you are a fan of this blog, and share our desire for dialogue beyond right and left, you will love this book. It reads like a wonderful extended conversation between a moral theologian  Read more

This Friday marks the fourth installment of the “Faithful Citizenship Friday” series focusing on the 2007 USCCB document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (FC). Jana kicked off the series with a very clear summary of the goals and parameters of the discussion, and then David followed up with an extremely important survey of some of the key demographic statistics and underlying questions  Read more

The following entry is cross-posted with the Patheos.com book club discussion on the text. Holy Week is an appropriate time to turn our minds and hearts to the contemplation of the end of all things – to eschatology – as Matthew Levering’s subtle new book, Jesus and the Demise of Death, helps us do. We prepare for participation in the greatest, most  Read more

Wesley Smith, whose ‘Secondhand Smoke’ blog is important reading (especially for those interested in bioethics), gets a lot right–especially when it comes to his concern about euthanasia.  His books on that subject capture perfectly what happens, for instance, when the right to die begins to take hold in a consumerist, youth, and capital-centered culture. However, especially for someone who often takes a  Read more

As a Catholic moral theologian, I must confess that the principle of subsidiarity is perhaps one of the most crucial and most misunderstood in Catholic social teaching. According to the principle of subsidiarity, decisions should be made at the lowest level possible and the highest level necessary. Subsidiarity is crucial because it has applications in just about every aspect of moral life.  Read more

During the past 24 hours or so, Mirror of Justice has been all over an article which recently appeared in the respected Journal of Medical Ethics titled ‘After-Birth Abortion: Why Should the Baby Live?’  The article has a fairly straightforward thesis–one which is not new, but is not currently supported by many people. Here it is in a nutshell: if we can  Read more

Over the past three weeks, we have seen a firestorm concerning the question of whether not contraceptive methods approved by the FDA are or are not properly a matter of healthcare. Over the past three weeks, we have seen amazing unity within the Catholic community in response to a clear over-reach by the Administration. (A few months ago, I wrote on this  Read more

Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47 Ephesians 4:1-13 Mark 16:15-20 “until we all attain…to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Eph 4:13). Yesterday my wife and I went to see the movie “The Avengers.”  In it, a hostile army consisting of demi-gods and alien invaders opens a portal to earth.  From this hole comes forth an invading alien army that wreaks havoc  Read more

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48 Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4 1 Jn 4:7-10 Jn 15:9-17 What is love? Our post-Easter readings have taken us through the winding discourses of the Johannine Gospel and first epistle on the nature of love. This week’s readings deepen the exploration of love and also make more explicit the importance of love in the Christian moral life. It is  Read more

In the weeks after Easter, the Church’s lectionary turns our attention in a special way to the Acts of the Apostles, which recount the continuing drama of the early Church in the wake of the resurrection. Usually the lectionary readings for any given day find their center of gravity in the Gospel, but during Eastertide it almost seems as if the Gospel  Read more

Fourth Sunday of Easter Acts 4:8-12; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29; 1 Jn 3:1-2; Jn 10:11-18   “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.” In this week’s readings, we find some powerful images of our relationship to God.  John’s Gospel speaks of the sheep and the good shepherd while  Read more

Acts 4:32-35 Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Jn 5:1-6 Jn 20:19-31 In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we have an image of the ideal church: The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. . . . . .  Read more

The summit of the liturgical year is now upon us, as we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord. This year’s Gospel reading for Easter Sunday is from John, and as is often the case with the fourth gospel, it is full of intriguing details. Jesus’ tomb is empty, and the disciples are running around (some faster than others) trying  Read more

Is 50:4-7; Ps 22:8-9,17-18,19-20,23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1 – 15:47 Following each Palm Sunday, I find my thoughts and prayer lingering on one moment in the narrative of the Passion.  Some years I am at the tomb with the stone newly rolled, obstructing the entrance.  Other years, I am fixed before the cross or in the agonizing moments of Gethsemane.  This year,  Read more

Jeremiah 3131-34 Psalm 51 Hebrews 5:7-9 John 12:20-33 It is a constant struggle to write about Scripture and morality without coming across as “preachy” or moralistic; and yet at the same time there is a beautiful way to witness to the truth of Revelation through both the mundane and profound choices that one makes day in and day out in the Christian  Read more

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6. Eph 2:4-10 Jn 3:14-21 “For God so loved the world . . .” John 3:16 is probably the most well-known, most widely-used Bible verse out there. People hold it up on posters at sporting events, and until recently, Tim Tebow sported it on his face during games. I’ve met countless who claim it  Read more