Part 1: Status Quaestionis Reflecting on inordinate desire and making a distinction between desire for things that are pleasurable to the senses (bodily) and desire for things pleasurable to the psyche, such as ambition or avarice, it is … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – November 2025
Jérôme Lejeune: A Man of Science and Conscience. By Aude Dugast. Reviewed by Fr. John J. Conley, SJ. (skip to review) An American Little Flower: Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. By GinaMarie Tennant. Reviewed by Aaron Martin. (skip to r … [Read more...]
Video Gaming: A Catholic Moral Theological Perspective
July 30, 2025 by Eric Manuel Torres
Without a doubt, video games have become a major formative influence on modern-day culture, particularly among the youth. According to the latest 2024 figures, the global video game industry is projected to pocket a revenue of U.S. $455.27 … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – April 2025
March 28, 2025 by Rev. John P. Cush, STD
What Is Jesus’s Risen Body Like? Question: Dear Father Cush, As we approach the celebration of Easter, what does the Church teach about the nature of Jesus’s resurrected body? What did it look like? Answer: According to Saint Thomas Aqu … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – December 2024
November 27, 2024 by Book Reviews
Rethinking Cooperation with Evil: A Virtue-Based Approach. By Fr. Ryan Connors. Reviewed by Fr. Joseph Briody. (skip to review) John Tracy Ellis: An American Catholic Reformer. By Thomas J. Shelley. Reviewed by Fr. Ryan Connors. (skip to … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – January 2024
December 29, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Examination of Conscience: Permissiveness vs. Scrupulosity Question: I was recently reading an examination of conscience for confession and it struck me that I must be guilty of every sin (at least as either mortal or venial). I asked the … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – August 2023
July 27, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Does an erroneous conscience bind a person to act since it does not correspond to reality? The most difficult problem in contemporary morals is not the doubtful conscience, but—given the tendency in the subjectivism of the p … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – July 2023
June 23, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
When Conscience Is Mistaken Question: Much has been made of the primacy of conscience today in morals. Even some bishops have claimed that as long as a subject is following their conscience, the Church must support their decision no matter … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – April 2023
March 29, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Did Jesus Suffer for All Sins? Question: There seems to be a way God suffers for souls in sin on earth (related to atonement), but it seems that it cannot be said that God suffers for souls in hell nor for fallen angels. Can you clarify … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – March 2023
February 24, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
The Challenges of Priestly Formation Question: How can the challenges of priestly realities be controlled within formation? Answer: Over the years there have been numerous documents approved by the USCCB for priestly formation in the … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – October 2022
September 30, 2022 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Church Teaching and the Theological Ethics of Life Question: There has been much talk about the Church changing her teaching on Humanae Vitae. This apparently is due to a recent document from the Pontifical Academy of Life: Theological … [Read more...]
Conscience and the Service of Authority
Drawing Pastoral Insights from Joseph Ratzinger
January 27, 2022 by Fr. Niccolo Florencio
There is, at present, a crisis of authority within the Catholic Church, expressed no more clearly by the clamor for democratization outfitted by the various movements of protest which attempt to raze the “old guard” of bureaucratic est … [Read more...]
What’s Going to Bring Me Happiness?
The Implications of a Shift from a Morality of Obligation to a Morality of Happiness
July 15, 2021 by Br. John Paul Puschautz, CSJ
“ ‘What will bring us happiness?’ many say. Lord, let the light of your face shine upon us.” ~ Psalm 4:6. Do you ever feel like you are just going through the motions, checking off the good deed box because you feel obliged to do so? Do you … [Read more...]
Conscience: Christ’s Whisper in Our Moral Life
April 9, 2021 by Eric Manuel Torres
Elijah, who is “very jealous for the Lord” (1 Kgs 19:4, 14), meets the Lord on Mount Horeb. On the mount, a powerful wind blows, then an earthquake shakes the ground, and then a fire erupts; however, the Lord is not in these great “voices.” … [Read more...]
Should Catholics Receive a COVID-19 Vaccine?
December 11, 2020 by Fr. Peter Fonseca
On January 30th, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern in the wake of the rise of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.[1. “IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus (2019-NCoV).” Acc … [Read more...]
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