The Church’s emphasis on the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death, also calls into question the use of capital punishment. What the pope did was to acknowledge that the conditions which may have justified capital punishment in the past are no longer present in much of contemporary society. This wasn’t some innovation
Within a few days of accepting the McCarrick resignation, Pope Francis promulgated a revision to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which modified its official position on capital punishment. This revision stirred up a lot of comment, as some people hold capital punishment more sacred than most of the doctrine of the Church. I’ll try
Gaudium et spes presents a beautiful and challenging picture of Christian marriage. As a ministry priority the local church is challenged with trying to support marriage and family life in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa through its ministry. How do you translate this priority into action? One of the ways I’ve tried to deal with
In ancient times people thought in terms of a “hierarchy of being”. That is, all that existed could be placed on a hierarchy. The top of the hierarchy was God and beings of pure spirit, such as angels. As one worked their way down the hierarchy one moved from pure spirit to the realm of
One of the priorities of ministry listed in the Pastoral Plan of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa is marriage and family life. There is general agreement that marriage and family life should be a priority but exactly how to do that is usually one of those questions with which people struggle. The Second Vatican Council
Pope Saint John Paul II defines the common good as, “the sum of those conditions of social living whereby people are enabled more fully and more readily to achieve their own perfection.” There are many elements in society that contribute to the well-being of its members. These elements reflect the various aspects of the human
All Catholic moral theology and ethics boils down to one basic premise. Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). What does that mean? The understanding held by most Christians over the centuries is that God is rational, and God is a free agent. Thus, what is most divine in
A parishioner complained to his pastor that the church was too involved in political issues. He longed for the “good old days” when you went to church to pray and to a political rally to hear about public policy issues. “What about the separation of church and state?” he asked. The pastor realized that this
Community is distinct from culture in that culture refers to a fairly broad range of practices and expectations that are found among several communities. The term community is used most often to refer to a specific group of people sharing a common residential area. Given the circumstances in which the community finds itself, the people
Not long ago I shared a true story in which a college student dropped by the office of a well-known theology professor from whom he was thinking about taking an introductory course. He needed to take the course, as it was part of a core requirement of the university. The student explained that he was
