Given the early age at which youth seek treatment for transsexual attractions (TSA) and gender dysphoria, and given the serious risks associated with such treatment, it is essential that family and youth be advised about these risks, and … [Read more...]
Transsexual attractions and sexual reassignment surgery
Risks and potential risks
August 29, 2016 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
Late Summer Reading
August 29, 2016 by Book Reviews
Unity in the Church or The Principle of Catholicism. By Johann Adam Möhler. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 1996). 487 pages. $34.95. ISBN: 978-0-8132-2876-1. Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on Law. By J. Bu … [Read more...]
Being Single in the Church
Pastoral Approaches to a Growing Demographic
April 27, 2016 by John O'Brien, S.J.
In the 2015 film, Brooklyn, there are a number of scenes in which young Eilis Lacey, a recent immigrant from Ireland, goes to several dances organized by her local church. There, she and her friends are courted by young gentlemen, one of … [Read more...]
Serving LGBT Students in Catholic Schools
April 27, 2016 by Dan Guernsey
How do Catholic schools best serve students who struggle with same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria (popularly called “transgendered”)? What should a school’s policies prescribe in order to prevent confusion, disputes and even litig … [Read more...]
Evangelization & Scripture: The Pastoral Prerequisites for Mass
April 27, 2016 by Brandon Harvey
The Sacred Liturgy is “an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ” by which the sanctification of mankind is “signified by signs” “and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs … it is a sacred action surpassing … [Read more...]
Ideas for Pastoral Ministry from the Philosophy of Love of Dietrich Von Hildebrand
April 27, 2016 by Ronda Chervin, PhD
My Encounter with the Philosophy of Love of Dietrich Von Hildebrand In the year 1958, I was a young atheist philosophy major about to give up on finding truth or love—as I couldn’t find either truth or love at the non-religious uni … [Read more...]
Catholic Men, the Spiritual Life, and Our Growth in Holiness-Perfection
Living Faith as Conversion, Knowledge, and Joy According to the Thought of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
November 16, 2015 by Dr. Mark S. Latkovic
A Catholic Christian spiritual life has often been described in terms of “ways,” “stages,” “degrees,” and “conversions.”[1. See, e.g., among many books on the topic, Fr. John J. Pasquini, Light, Happiness and Peace: Journeying Through Tradit … [Read more...]
Fall Reading for October 2015
October 26, 2015 by Book Reviews
Rebuilding Your Message: Practical Tools to Strengthen Your Preaching and Teaching. Michael White and Tom Corcoran. (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, Rebuilt Parish Book, 2015) 224 pages; $15.00. (Reviewed by Jon M. Ericson) Family and … [Read more...]
Twelve Lessons about the Financial Future of Catholic Schools
September 29, 2015 by Jim Lundholm-Eades
I have spoken with several bishops recently about the Catholic schools in their dioceses. The conversations brought home to me that what I recently heard from these bishops are the same questions, and the same challenges, that I have been … [Read more...]
Further Thoughts on the Synod
July 12, 2015 by Msgr. Cormac Burke
There was rejoicing at the first calling of the Synod because the family is in a bad way almost everywhere in the world. If there has been so much dissatisfaction with last year's—preliminary—Synod it is because the reports given, and the im … [Read more...]
Sexuality and Spirituality
An Attempt at Integration for Sexual and Spiritual Health
May 12, 2015 by Patrick F. Cioni
Abstract: This paper attempts to show the relationship between sexuality and spirituality, and ways to attain profound union between husbands and wives. Incorporating spirituality with sexual behavior enhances the capacity for satisfaction … [Read more...]
Best Practices for Clergy Assignment Boards
April 27, 2015 by Jim Lundholm-Eades
This is an assembly of some best practices for clergy assignment boards, gleaned from examples in dioceses across the U.S., encountered while doing numerous assessments of chanceries relative to best practices at the request of their … [Read more...]
The Resolution of Conflicts in Priestly Life and Relationships
April 27, 2015 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
Loving, supportive and mutually encouraging relationships among priests are essential to the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of priests and to their ministry[1. Richard Fitzgibbons. “The Origins, Manifestation, and Resolution o … [Read more...]
More than Sentinels Wait for the Dawn
A Soldier Ponders the Wounds of War and the Absence of God
March 30, 2015 by Fr. Timothy Shea Valentine
I’ve had it, Chaplain. My right leg still hurts like hell from the shrapnel, and God only knows when the drugs will kick in. But physical pain is one thing; thinking about the insurgents I killed in that firefight last deployment bothers me … [Read more...]
Reclaiming the Fifth Way
February 12, 2015 by James Iovino
“New Atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris utilize evolution’s supposed purposelessness to cast doubt upon God’s existence, and draw atheistic conclusions about morality, ethics, and human nature.[1. See, for exam … [Read more...]
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