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Toward the Empyrean Together: Part I – The Witness of Scripture Introduction Marriage – that most wonderful of covenants that a man and woman pursue together – has, tragically, even within the Church, become diluted and estranged from the original designs God had for it. Today, even within the Church, it is seen as merely a temporal affair, good only for rearing children. It is viewed as inferior to other states of life, with perpetual virginity as the ideal and marriage as a compromise. It is […]
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Just War and the Modern World: Part III – The Russian – Ukraine War WARNING! It is to be noted that some of the sources used in this series, as well as direct quotations, display or describe in graphic detail acts of terror, rape, murder, torture, and other crimes against humanity. Extreme discretion and sensitivity are to be advised when reading such supporting material. The sources have been chosen to highlight and document the severity of these crimes and should be treated as such, as well as with the […]
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Just War and the Modern World: Part II – The Israel – Hamas Conflict (2023-2025) WARNING! It is to be noted that some of the sources used in this series, as well as direct quotations, display or describe in graphic detail acts of terror, rape, murder, torture, and other crimes against humanity. Extreme discretion and sensitivity are to be advised when reading such supporting material. The sources have been chosen to highlight and document the severity of these crimes and should be treated as such, as well as with the […]
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Just War and the Modern World: Part I – The Tradition of Just War in Catholic Thought WARNING! It is to be noted that some of the sources used in this series, as well as direct quotations, display or describe in graphic detail acts of terror, rape, murder, torture, and other crimes against humanity. Extreme discretion and sensitivity are to be advised when reading such supporting material. The sources have been chosen to highlight and document the severity of these crimes and should be treated as such, as well as with the […]
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Unum Sanctum Ecclesiam? Introduction The Issue The Second Vatican Council, with its intended reform of the Church to meet the needs of the Faithful in the twentieth century and beyond, failed to achieve many of its larger goals. The Council itself evolved and reformed many aspects of Catholicism and our interaction with the modern world – in such a short space it would be folly and an injustice to attempt to evaluate them all. Therefore, as unity amongst […]
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On the Song of Songs 2. 1-3 ‘I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate.’ [1] As stated in the conciliar legislation of the Second Vatican Council’s Dei Verbum, the movement […]
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On the Origins of St Augustine’s Mysticism Introduction St. Augustine, a preeminent Doctor of the Church, became a widely influential polemical theologian in his time, due to the intertwining of the Church and politics. [1] However, it is in his writings that he emerged as the academic theologian who shaped other great Doctors of the Church and fellow mystics such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. It is this – his more academic works and their subsequent influence – […]
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A Critique of The State Made Flesh and Modern ‘Catholic Social Teaching’ In The State Made Flesh, Anna Rowlands argues – supposedly on the basis of Catholic social teaching – for a liberalization of immigration laws in the United Kingdom and to curtail the ‘cruel and draconian powers of detention and forced expulsion.’ [1] Her line of argument, as I will discuss, is based on a selective interpretation of the role of the Christian and his duty to his neighbor, as well as a complete misunderstanding of […]
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Practical Considerations for a Lunar Colony Introduction With the Artemis missions scheduled to return Man to the moon permanently (as well as creating a launching point for other bodies in our solar system, such as Mars) by the end of the decade, it is imperative that Christians be able to worship God on the Lunar surface and in orbit. [1] While Christians and the space program have gone hand in hand since its beginnings (in 1968, on the Apollo 8 mission, […]
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An Introduction to Large Language Models and Ethics Introduction With any emerging technology, there is bound to be questions on ethics and morality, and so-called AI is no different. The primary ethical debates surrounding this technology have been around for a while now and include: data security (especially when utilized by governments), data privacy (especially when used by governments targeting civilians, or people giving up vast quantities of personal data to a company), copyright infringement, environmental concerns (especially the vast power required to […]
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Familial Origins of the Little Way Introduction Thérèse de l’Enfant Jésus et de la Sainte Face is perhaps not a saint that needs any sort of lengthy introduction; as much has been written of the Little Flower over the last century, and I have no intentions to tread over well-worn ground with this paper. If the reader wants to understand her adherence to dogma, or the particulars of her theology, I advise him to look elsewhere. Instead, this paper intends to […]
