Natural Purpose and Personal Motive

Many people ignorantly accuse the Church of teaching that people must have procreation on their minds as a conscious motive in order to engage in sexual union. This is false. To see why, we must appreciate the notion of telos, which in Greek means end/purpose/fulfillment. This applies especially to the two bodily appetites inherent in […]... Read More

Word, Meaning, and Interpretation

Words without interpretation are meaningless. Words with improper interpretation become subjective falsehoods. The only foolproof way of knowing the right interpretation of words is to be informed by the one who has spoken them.  This is an important principle. So too, the divine Word without proper interpretation becomes something false in the subjective minds of […]... Read More

Death, Burial, and Resurrection

“By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body, and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity… She cannot, therefore, condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous […]... Read More

Rape, a deliberate smokescreen

From the National Catholic Bioethics Center: When it comes to abortion, the state of Louisiana in past years required some of the most comprehensive reporting in the US, and their detailed records are a helpful resource for determining how frequent abortions for rape really are. Abortionists were required to fill out a form entitled “Report […]... Read More

Three Different Acts called Abortion

The word ‘abortion’ means to end something (anything) prematurely, and is too vague a term to use with regard to pregnancy. Further, it is commonly used for three very different acts, each of which should have their own unique terms: a) Miscarriage (often called spontaneous abortion). b) Indirect abortion, when the child dies unintentionally as […]... Read More

Intellectus and Ratio

Pre-moderns recognized two ways that the mind can know things – in Latin, intellectus and ratio. Some say it’s the difference between heart-knowledge and head-knowledge, or right-brain vs. left-brain understanding. Intellectus is more of an intuitive, passive understanding, while ratio is more of a logical, active knowledge. Intellectus sees the puzzle and appreciates it as […]... Read More

What is Faith?

[Video Podcast] There are several meanings to the word faith, some of which we rarely think of. Did you know that around 85% of what an individual is certain of is by virtue of faith? Some would say 100%, since we must have faith in our senses and minds. Religious faith, in one sense, is […]... Read More

Anger, Intelligence, and Compassion: A Portrait of ‘Pro-choice’ People

Anger, Intelligence, and Compassion. Three words that are double-edged swords. Anger can destroy but can also be channeled to right a wrong. The intellect can see truth or it can blind one to the truth. Compassion is a gift when it moves someone to comfort and console, but a weapon when used to enable destructive […]... Read More

Trump, Pence, and Moral Confusion

The Trump-Pence split on same-sex marriage, brought to the fore by the presidential candidacy of Pete Buttigieg, clearly illustrates a major intellectual defect of our times. With Trump supporting and Pence opposing because of “religious conviction”, the presumption is that there is no intrinsic objective right or wrong on this or any act relating to […]... Read More

The Problem with a Little Science

Have you ever noticed that many of those who reject Catholicism have a grammar school level understanding of it? I would venture to guess these people make up the second largest group of ex-Catholics today. The largest group, I think it’s safe to say, are those who have accepted the invitation from the devil to […]... Read More