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The Greatest Encyclical of St. John Paul the Great Turns 20 – Honoring Evangelium Vitae

Posted: March 12, 2015
By: E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil.

Twenty years ago this month, on the solemnity of the Annunciation, St. John Paul II published Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life). It was the 17th year of his pontificate. He was 75 years old. The idea for an encyclical … Read

Progress And Controversy: Abortion In The 114th Congress

Posted: January 27, 2015
By: Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D.

The 114th congress, with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, offers a renewed chance to successfully advance laws protecting women and the unborn. Yet, last Thursday, January 22, pro-life House Republicans were outraged when Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Jackie Walorski … Read

Is Teaching And Preaching Against Same-Sex Marriage “Hate Speech?”

Posted: December 29, 2014
By: Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D.

The conjugal view of marriage as between one man and one woman has increasingly been characterized by same-sex proponents as based on bigotry and prejudice, and contrary to human rights. Organizations that advocate for re-defining marriage refer to the conjugal … Read

Suffering Lives Are Worth Living

Posted: November 11, 2014
By: Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D.

This past week, the media, large and small, observed the lives of two individuals whose commonalities are strikingly obvious: both in their 20s, both dedicating their lives to serving others, and both living with terminal brain cancer—and the unavoidable prognosis … Read

Catholic Social Teaching And My Friend Tommy

Posted: November 1, 2014
By: E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil.

My friend Tommy recently spent a week with my family and me in Colorado. I met Tommy 10 years ago when we were neighbors in the Del Ray section of Alexandria, VA, when he was just out of prison, on … Read

Suffering, Pain and Love

Posted: October 30, 2014
By: Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D.

I had the honor this past weekend of being asked to present a paper to the Catholic Psychotherapy Association on the topic of suffering and how one might properly provide necessary counseling in a manner that reflects uncompromising respect for … Read

Humanae Vitae Redux

Posted: October 21, 2014
By: E. Christian Brugger, D.Phil.

Nobody is saying it, but many are thinking it. The unfolding controversy over Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics looks eerily like the run up to the publication of Humanae Vitae in 1968. When, during Vatican II, Pope Paul VI … Read

“Federalism Is Not Extinct”— Same-Sex Marriage Before The Supreme Court

Posted: September 25, 2014
By: Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D.

The Supreme Court will be considering petitions for seven same-sex marriage cases at a private conference on September 29 to determine which (if any) of the cases will be reviewed by the Court when its term begins in October. The … Read

The Halbig Cases: The Real Threat to Obamacare

Posted: September 16, 2014
By: Margaret Datiles Watts, J.D.

Although religious liberty cases challenging Obamacare (a.k.a. The Affordable Care Act) have captured public attention, other cases that pose a substantially-greater threat to the implementation and very existence of Obamacare are flying under the radar: The Halbig cases (Halbig v. … Read

“Gooood morning, Vietnam” – The Need for Optimism and Belonging in the Wake of Tragedy

Posted: September 4, 2014
By: Frank J. Moncher, Ph.D.

In the 1980s film classic, Robin Williams’ famous radio call challenged our nation’s troops to consider each new day a gift despite the tragic, even perverse, circumstances of war. Ironically, his recent suicide provides a needed reminder to rebroadcast his … Read

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