Phyllis Zagano recently wrote a piece in RNS where the first line is precisely wrong about double-effect. This is not some esoteric point: the first paragraph of Wikipedia on the topic or slides from the introduction to theology class I […]
Read moreCategory: Moral theology
McElroy Makes a Good Point, But Misses Another One (How to define Grave Matter)
Not long ago, Card. Robert McElroy published a reply to the replies to his original piece on Communion in certain circumstances. In it, he gets into talking about categories of sin and what makes a mortal sin. I think he […]
Read moreCOVID Vaccines Are Ordinary Means & Thus Morally Obligatory (National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly)
Back in the spring, I posted two pieces in a series. In one, I argued that by a usual definition of “ordinary means,” widely (almost universally) recommended vaccines, including COVID vaccines, are ordinary means. In the second, I posted snippets […]
Read moreCatholic Identity Conference Misses the Mark on All 3 Points
This week, several Catholics in Pittsburgh are going to declare their resistance to Pope Francis at the Catholic Identity Confernece. They claim three main issues where Pope Francis needs resisting but on all three they are wildly off-target. They interpret […]
Read moreWhat to Do If the Seal of Confession Is Broken
Since issues regarding breaking the seal of confession from time to time online, I will write the “for dummies” version of how to respond if this happens. To begin, directly breaking the seal is latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication: they are cut off […]
Read moreThe Church Cannot Change Teaching on Homosexuality (Hollerich Errs)
Last week, another leader in the Church has suggested we should change our teaching on homosexuality. However, “should” implies there that the one doing the action is able. However, the Church has no power to change her teaching on homosexual […]
Read moreSummarizing My Thought from Twitter
Mark Wilson over at Catholic Bard has searched through my Twitter pretty extensively to catalog / summarize my thought. He compiled a long piece that might be helpful for those wanting a summary of what I have posted on rather […]
Read moreSuing Social Media for Addiction?
It is almost a joke that many have social media addiction today. Tons of people seem to have at least a low-level and manageable addiction. Now we need to raise questions about the ethical and legal responsibilities of social media […]
Read moreWhat Is Medical Testing? (A Response to Dr. Paul Casey)
Dr. Paul Casey wrote a piece arguing that very few medicines had medical testing on fetal cell lines, specifically HEK-293. The main issue with his argument is that he uses non-standard definitions of terms like medical testing and lying, and […]
Read morePrivacy & Social Media on the Ethics and Culture Cast
Back in November, I was at the de Nicola Center’s annual Fall Conference at Nore Dame. I presented on human dignity and privacy focusing on the social encyclicals, Alan Westin, and John Paul II. Ken Hallenius, one of the people working […]
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