Writing about the martyrs is a little daunting when I reflect on my own numerous infidelities to the Lord, even under the most trivial of social pressures. To use a phrase in English, I cannot “hold a candle” to giants like St. Thomas More a … [Read more...]
About Dr. William Newton
Dr. William Newton is an associate professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Chair of Faculty, Austrian Program.
Thoughts on the Ecclesial Vocation of Women
December 1, 2016 by Dr. William Newton
There is a story of a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing … [Read more...]
Parents as Primary Educators
February 12, 2016 by Dr. William Newton
Hardly a month goes by now without an email arriving in my inbox asking me to sign an online petition against some proposal in the EU or UK concerning sex education in schools. Perhaps, it is a matter of protesting a resolution calling for … [Read more...]
Religious Freedom, Slavery, and Usury
Three Challenges to the Hermeneutic of Continuity
January 12, 2015 by Dr. William Newton
Early on in his pontificate, Benedict XVI laid down the challenge of reading the Church’s teaching according to a hermeneutic of continuity, rather than according to what he characterized as a hermeneutic of rupture.[1. Benedict XVI, A … [Read more...]
The Legacy of the Vision of Pope John Paul II for Marriage and Family
November 14, 2014 by Dr. William Newton
Not even the bullet from the barrel of an assassin’s gun could stop Pope John Paul II from emphasizing early in his pontificate the issues of marriage and family. In just the first five years, he created six key markers in these critical a … [Read more...]
The Side Effects of the Pill: Why the Church Has So Much to Say about Contraception
March 21, 2014 by Dr. William Newton
The Church pays special attention to the issue of contraception ... because so many of the modern errors in moral theology converge in this particular question of conjugal morality. There is an impression out there–in the world and even w … [Read more...]
Avoiding Cooperation with Evil: Keeping Your Nose Clean in a Dirty World
September 21, 2012 by Dr. William Newton
The most important distinction, when it comes to evaluating cooperation in evil, is the distinction between formal and material cooperation—formal cooperation being always wrong, while material cooperation might be wrong if a person does no … [Read more...]
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