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Ethics

Review of "Render Unto Caesar:Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life" PDF
by William E. May, Ph.D   

render_unto.jpgChaput, Charles J., O.F.M. Cap., Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life. New York: Doubleday, 2008. 258 pp.


This timely book by the Archbishop of Denver is of crucial importance for all American Catholics, who should all be struggling to combat the “culture of death” and develop the “culture of life.” One of his major reasons for writing the book was that he was becoming increasingly tired “of the church and her people being told to be quiet on public issues that urgently concern us” (p. 3). He wrote it to challenge “all of us who call ourselves Catholic…to recover what it really means to be ‘Catholic.’…[and] to find again the courage to be Catholic Christians first—not in opposition to our country, but to serve its best interests” (p. 7). Although speaking as an American Catholic to American Catholics, he hopes “many other people of good heart will see the importance of these issues and find value in these pages” (pp. 6-7).

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10/06/2008
 
Abortion and Ensoulment: Augustine and Aquinas vs. Pelosi and Biden, Part I PDF
by William E. May, Ph.D   
william_e_may.jpgCongresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joseph Biden recently muddied the waters regarding the teaching of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on abortion and ensoulment in comments they made on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”  Many bishops have already set the record straight concerning the constant tradition of the Church on abortion, and E. Christian Brugger, reflecting on Pelosi’s remarks, made effective use of the late Jesuit John R. Connery’s splendid book, Abortion: The Development of the Roman Catholic Perspective (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1977) to counter her claims.  Neither he nor the bishops took up the explicit teaching of either St. Augustine or St. Thomas on abortion and ensoulment. I will to do so in this two-part article: first, St. Augustine; second, St. Thomas Aquinas.
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09/16/2008
 
Pelosi on Abortion PDF
by E. Christian Brugger, Ph.D   

pelosi.jpgAlthough they were misleading, Senator Pelosi’s comments on Meet the Press were not entirely incorrect.  Responding to Tom Brokaw, who asked: “Help me out here, Madame Speaker.  When does life begin?”  Pelosi replied, “the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition…  I don’t think anyone can tell you when life begins—human life.  As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this.”  When Brokaw countered saying, “The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it begins at the point of conception.”  Pelosi replied: “over the history of the Church, this is an issue of controversy.”  Strictly speaking, she is right; the precise moment of the beginning of human life was disputed by theologians for centuries.  John Connery’s classic work on the development of the Roman Catholic teaching on abortion makes this clear (see John Connery, S.J., Abortion: The Development of the Roman Catholic Perspective, Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1977).  The controversy concerned the question of the moment of ensoulment. A centuries old position, relying on Aristotelian embryology, was that the human soul was infused by God forty to eighty days after conception, depending on the sex of the fetus.  Some theologians held that before this time the fetus was not human.  Based upon the best empirical evidence available at the time, this was not unreasonable to hold.

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09/02/2008
 
The Origins of Population Control, Part I: Ethics in Medicine:Shifting Regard for the Human Person PDF
by Junior Fellow, Jeremy Lagasse   
junior_fellow__jeremy.jpgMy name is Jeremy Lagasse and I am currently a senior enrolled at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack New Hampshire. After completing sophomore year and the Rome Program I chose to become a Political Science major to study under Dr. Peter Sampo. As a native of the Granite State I find it a special privilege to find myself in Washington D.C. at the Culture of Life Foundation. As a Junior Fellow the work has been a means of supporting the understanding and defense of life in all of its stages, which is a deeply rewarding activity. The project that I chose to devote so much of my time to involves an examination of the history of ethics in medicine to better understand the origins of population control. 
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07/17/2008
 
New Research Links Abortion With Depression, Other Mental Health Problems PDF
by Culture of Life   
A New Zealand researcher who identifies himself as "pro-choice," an atheist and a rationalist has published a study linking abortion with an increased risk for mental health problems and he criticized the American Psychological Association for its absolutist stance claiming no link between abortion and mental health.
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01/11/2006