I love the last line on that Princeton page about JD: "Also, he didn’t go to Princeton, so you guys obviously worked harder in high school than he did."
Thank you for demonstrating what journalistic integrity and Catholic courage look like. I’ve encouraged my children to look you up and subscribe. I am saddened to think that the majority of people thing that Biden's horrible example reinforces the opinion that the Eucharist is merely a symbol. We believe nothing of the sort over here in Pa. Having lived in close proximity to the Bidens, we know what and who they are and think none of them should be receiving the sacrament. I love the “ remember that thou art dust” LOL My favorite Lenten line.Carry on and well done.
Thank you for yet another excellent piece. This: “No one envies a bishop the inevitable criticism he would face for denying a sitting president the sacrament, and he would certainly be accused of “politicizing” Communion. But, the truth is, by refusing to apply the Church’s clear instruction, Communion is being politicized: The teaching of the Catechism, the discipline of canon law, and the pastoral priority of preventing a Catholic doing themselves serious spiritual harm are all being set aside out of explicitly political concerns.” A perfect summary of the situation.
I also appreciated your reflection on Lent and the call to arms to do our part to repair the Body of Christ, even if only by fighting the good fight in the little place of my own life and my own heart.
Perhaps it is the Church that is confused. According to scripture Jesus never considered abortion as an evil worth mentioning. Jesus was a Jew and his fellow Jews considered human life to begin at first breath and until that breath the fetus was another part of the mother. Termination of a pregnancy before that breath was not considered an evil and Christ seems to have had no qualms about accepting that belief. So when and how did the Church come to disagree with God as to the beginning of human life? Being a human at conception is ludicrus because that cell may become one, two, three, or more eventual humans over the next few weeks. There is no theological basis for the current Church stand on abortion. If the Church was able to accept the view that Christ obviously did about the beginning of humanity but limit abortion to the months when the fetus is not viable outside the mother it would be more in line with the thinking of God than the current teaching and allow the Church to concentrate on what Jesus Christ taught was most important.
I highly suggest you read the Gospel regarding the Visitation in Luke 1, in which what you are claiming is clearly refuted by Sacred Scripture. What you are claiming has neither truth from a historical, Scriptural, or doctrinal perspective.
Which version of Scripture are you referring to? None of my various bibles version of
The practice of the Jews in regard to abortion at the time of Christ is historical. The breath of life has Scriptural reference in the Old Testament as well as the New. Jesus Christ was a Jew and God and Sacred Scripture has no record of him considering abortion as evil. The earliest Christians were all Jews until the teaching of St. Paul. Their doctrine would have been the Jewish doctrine. I sincerely would like to know how and when that doctrine was changed. I believe the Church could become a great blessing to our Country if it concentrated on teaching the primary message of Christ which was love of neighbor and God. It can not happen as long as the Church makes abortion the pre-eminent concern..
I pray the Holy Spirit may enlighten our understanding so that we can see the Truth with His wisdom. Life in the womb has scriptural references in Old and New Testament. (See https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/when-babies-get-their-souls). Jesus and the early christians, in my view, did not follow a Jewish doctrine, as Jesus came to the world to fulfill the Law, to complement it. Many of the Jewish doctrines at that time were human traditions, and Jesus explained many of them during His ministry. Example: banning divorce, cleansing rites, etc. I hope this helps in the understanding of why abortion is not accepted by the Church established by Jesus Christ, praise be to Him.
Thank you for your comments but I was hoping for deeper insight on the historical belief of Jews on the breath of life during the earthly life of Jesus and his lack of comment on abortion per Scripture and how we interpret that disconnect today. You made my point that changes were made during the time of Christ and thereafter by humans with different human traditions. I found your link interesting but it did not address a question about the soul at conception. At that point there is, say, one cell, one soul. A few days later there may be two independent cell groups. Was the soul divided between the two? And so on down the line if there further divisions? Theology and Biology are not always compatible as shown by the Church teaching on Women Priests. God Bless.
As a further comment, I would say either one accepts that the Catholic Church is the church founded by Christ and given authority by him to interpret scripture on tough issues and make binding doctrine, or not. I know I can't dive into the details of Scripture and historical understanding of everything and so I trust in the church to teach me what I must know and do.
I envy the mindset that allows you to have the comfort of such deep confidence in the doctrines of the Church but in my four score plus years I have witnessed many minor changes in doctrine but change on a mamajor issue is verboten even to discuss.. We are human and and we are the Church . Consequently, we and it can make mistakes. An example I can not forget is during the Second Vatican Council a prominent Cardinal professed "The doctrine against Contraception can not be changed because of all the people we have already sent to hell". That would be laughable except that there likely are numerous others in the Church in decision making positions who have likewise forgotten they are not God and do not have his power. I simply would like the Church to concentrate it's influential power on the issues Christ thought important. God Bless
This is an easy one, actually. In every single translation I am looking at, in Luke 1: 39-45 (The Visitation), the unborn is referred to as a child, son, or infant. Furthermore, your claims that the Church has changed its teaching on abortion is completely false. Whether we are looking at the earliest catechisms, such as the Didache of the 1st century, or the Church Fathers such as St Basil, abortion has always been considered homicide.
To say that one can look away from the grave sin and ultimate oppression of murdering the most defenseless amongst us, you cannot claim we are loving our neighbor or our God.
Thank you for your comments but I was hoping for deeper insight on the historical belief of Jews on the breath of life during the earthly life of Jesus and his lack of comment on abortion per Scripture. An aside: If the Church were emphasizing Chapter 5 of the Didache it would have been a blessing over the last 5 years. However the earthly powers that chose what was to be included in Sacred Scripture disregarded it. God Bless.
I love the last line on that Princeton page about JD: "Also, he didn’t go to Princeton, so you guys obviously worked harder in high school than he did."
Thank you for demonstrating what journalistic integrity and Catholic courage look like. I’ve encouraged my children to look you up and subscribe. I am saddened to think that the majority of people thing that Biden's horrible example reinforces the opinion that the Eucharist is merely a symbol. We believe nothing of the sort over here in Pa. Having lived in close proximity to the Bidens, we know what and who they are and think none of them should be receiving the sacrament. I love the “ remember that thou art dust” LOL My favorite Lenten line.Carry on and well done.
Thank you for yet another excellent piece. This: “No one envies a bishop the inevitable criticism he would face for denying a sitting president the sacrament, and he would certainly be accused of “politicizing” Communion. But, the truth is, by refusing to apply the Church’s clear instruction, Communion is being politicized: The teaching of the Catechism, the discipline of canon law, and the pastoral priority of preventing a Catholic doing themselves serious spiritual harm are all being set aside out of explicitly political concerns.” A perfect summary of the situation.
I also appreciated your reflection on Lent and the call to arms to do our part to repair the Body of Christ, even if only by fighting the good fight in the little place of my own life and my own heart.
Perhaps it is the Church that is confused. According to scripture Jesus never considered abortion as an evil worth mentioning. Jesus was a Jew and his fellow Jews considered human life to begin at first breath and until that breath the fetus was another part of the mother. Termination of a pregnancy before that breath was not considered an evil and Christ seems to have had no qualms about accepting that belief. So when and how did the Church come to disagree with God as to the beginning of human life? Being a human at conception is ludicrus because that cell may become one, two, three, or more eventual humans over the next few weeks. There is no theological basis for the current Church stand on abortion. If the Church was able to accept the view that Christ obviously did about the beginning of humanity but limit abortion to the months when the fetus is not viable outside the mother it would be more in line with the thinking of God than the current teaching and allow the Church to concentrate on what Jesus Christ taught was most important.
I highly suggest you read the Gospel regarding the Visitation in Luke 1, in which what you are claiming is clearly refuted by Sacred Scripture. What you are claiming has neither truth from a historical, Scriptural, or doctrinal perspective.
Which version of Scripture are you referring to? None of my various bibles version of
The practice of the Jews in regard to abortion at the time of Christ is historical. The breath of life has Scriptural reference in the Old Testament as well as the New. Jesus Christ was a Jew and God and Sacred Scripture has no record of him considering abortion as evil. The earliest Christians were all Jews until the teaching of St. Paul. Their doctrine would have been the Jewish doctrine. I sincerely would like to know how and when that doctrine was changed. I believe the Church could become a great blessing to our Country if it concentrated on teaching the primary message of Christ which was love of neighbor and God. It can not happen as long as the Church makes abortion the pre-eminent concern..
I pray the Holy Spirit may enlighten our understanding so that we can see the Truth with His wisdom. Life in the womb has scriptural references in Old and New Testament. (See https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/when-babies-get-their-souls). Jesus and the early christians, in my view, did not follow a Jewish doctrine, as Jesus came to the world to fulfill the Law, to complement it. Many of the Jewish doctrines at that time were human traditions, and Jesus explained many of them during His ministry. Example: banning divorce, cleansing rites, etc. I hope this helps in the understanding of why abortion is not accepted by the Church established by Jesus Christ, praise be to Him.
Thank you for your comments but I was hoping for deeper insight on the historical belief of Jews on the breath of life during the earthly life of Jesus and his lack of comment on abortion per Scripture and how we interpret that disconnect today. You made my point that changes were made during the time of Christ and thereafter by humans with different human traditions. I found your link interesting but it did not address a question about the soul at conception. At that point there is, say, one cell, one soul. A few days later there may be two independent cell groups. Was the soul divided between the two? And so on down the line if there further divisions? Theology and Biology are not always compatible as shown by the Church teaching on Women Priests. God Bless.
https://jimmyakin.com/2006/08/identical_twins.html
As a further comment, I would say either one accepts that the Catholic Church is the church founded by Christ and given authority by him to interpret scripture on tough issues and make binding doctrine, or not. I know I can't dive into the details of Scripture and historical understanding of everything and so I trust in the church to teach me what I must know and do.
I envy the mindset that allows you to have the comfort of such deep confidence in the doctrines of the Church but in my four score plus years I have witnessed many minor changes in doctrine but change on a mamajor issue is verboten even to discuss.. We are human and and we are the Church . Consequently, we and it can make mistakes. An example I can not forget is during the Second Vatican Council a prominent Cardinal professed "The doctrine against Contraception can not be changed because of all the people we have already sent to hell". That would be laughable except that there likely are numerous others in the Church in decision making positions who have likewise forgotten they are not God and do not have his power. I simply would like the Church to concentrate it's influential power on the issues Christ thought important. God Bless
This is an easy one, actually. In every single translation I am looking at, in Luke 1: 39-45 (The Visitation), the unborn is referred to as a child, son, or infant. Furthermore, your claims that the Church has changed its teaching on abortion is completely false. Whether we are looking at the earliest catechisms, such as the Didache of the 1st century, or the Church Fathers such as St Basil, abortion has always been considered homicide.
To say that one can look away from the grave sin and ultimate oppression of murdering the most defenseless amongst us, you cannot claim we are loving our neighbor or our God.
Thank you for your comments but I was hoping for deeper insight on the historical belief of Jews on the breath of life during the earthly life of Jesus and his lack of comment on abortion per Scripture. An aside: If the Church were emphasizing Chapter 5 of the Didache it would have been a blessing over the last 5 years. However the earthly powers that chose what was to be included in Sacred Scripture disregarded it. God Bless.
I recommend a book by David Albert Jones titled The Soul of the Embryo, which gives the history including the ancient Jewish tradition.
Trying to find a library source. Thanks for the info.
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/refuting-religious-pro-choice-arguments
Arguments against "breath of life" and a couple other passages used to defend abortion
What's the "full stop" after "Ed" doing?
Does it indicate an abbreviation of "Edward?" Perhaps "Editor?"
Is it some monstrosity imposed by the AP style guide?!?
These are the questions that keep Pillarites up at night.