Tag: human

On
Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk

Embryos and the ‘14-day rule’: Mechanism devised to justify experiments on human embryos

Arguments in favor of research on human embryos typically play off our unfamiliarity with the way that we ourselves once appeared and existed as embryos.

Humans in their tiniest stages are indeed unfamiliar to us, and they hardly look anything like “one of us.” Yet the undeniable conclusion, that every one of us was once an embryo, remains an indisputable scientific dogma, causing a “fingernails on the chalkboard” phenomenon for researchers every time they choose to experiment on embryos or destroy them for research.

To enable scientists to get beyond the knowledge that they’re experimenting on or destroying fellow humans, clever stratagems and justifications have had to be devised.

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On
George Weigel

China’s population crisis: an evangelical opportunity?

State-sponsored cruelty has been a staple of the human condition for millennia.

But has there ever been a more wicked policy, with more disastrous social consequences, than the “one-child policy” China began to implement in the early 1980s ­ a state-decreed population-control measure that resulted in, among other horrors, untold tens of millions of coerced abortions?

In her new book, One Child (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), veteran China-watcher Mei Fong describes both the impact of the policy on the destruction of China’s traditional social fabric and its draconian effects on China’s medium- and long-term future.

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On
Morgan Smith

The harmony of belonging

Morgan Smith

The other day, I was watching an orchestra concert. I was moved by the beauty of the music­­, but even more struck by the intricate harmony of the instruments as the musicians played them in communion with one another.

I reflected upon the unity it takes to play in an orchestra. Every instrument is essential — individually beautiful — ­­but essential to the sound and wholeness of a piece of music. Each instrument is different. Even among a group of the same instruments, say the violins, there are variations in the sounds and colors of each individual. (Marks of their creator.)

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

A higher standard than for cats and dogs

Sometimes people will point out: “We euthanize our pets when they suffer, and they are clearly creatures of God, so why can’t we euthanize a sick and suffering person who wants it? It seems like we treat our dogs and cats better than we treat our suffering family members.”

The way we treat animals, however, should not be the measure of how we treat fellow human beings. We keep animals as pets, but we don’t do the same with humans. We use animals to make clothing and food, but we don’t do the same with humans.

Differences between humans and animals

For all our similarities to the rest of the animal kingdom, we are aware of a fundamental difference in kind between ourselves and our furry friends. We are not meant to die just as animals do, or be euthanized as they are. The death of a human is a more complex event that has other important realities associated with it.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Let’s renew our commitment to defend all human life

Pablo Casals, the great cellist and conductor, gazed at a baby and exclaimed, “You are unique. In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. And look at your body; what a wonder it is! Your exquisite legs, your arms, your cunning little fingers. You may become another Shakespeare, Michelangelo, or Beethoven.”

St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, whose feast we celebrated on October 1, believed that people of her time feared God too much. She couldn’t understand how anyone could fear God, who came to us as a tiny helpless baby.

And yet, today there seem to be some who fear babies more than God.

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On
Morgan Smith

Encountering Christ and radiating Him to others

Morgan Smith

As I go through each day, ­­often monotony sets in, and I try to remember my conversion. I try to keep the memory of what happened to me­ — ­the event of meeting Christ and falling in love with Him­­ — alive to let it permeate my being through the drudgery of everyday things.

This is so difficult for me! Why is it so easy to forget what has happened to us? Why do we allow the distractions of life to take hold of our hearts and minds until we forget the reason for life itself?

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On
Fr. Robert Barron

Mother Nature is one unreliable lady

Conservation International has sponsored a series of videos that have become YouTube sensations, garnering millions of views.

They feature famous actors — Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey, Robert Redford, and others — voicing different aspects of the natural world, from the ocean, to the rain forest, to redwood trees. The most striking is the one that presents Mother Nature herself, given voice by Julia Roberts.

Nature’s indifference

They all have more or less the same message, namely, that nature finally doesn’t give a fig for human beings, that it is far greater than we, and will outlast us. Here are some highlights from the Mother’s speech:

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On
Chris Lee

Death of God and loss of human dignity

Many of you have seen the appalling hidden-camera videos of two Planned Parenthood physicians bantering cheerfully with interlocutors posing as prospective buyers of the body parts of aborted infants.

While they slurp wine in elegant restaurants, the good doctors — both women — blandly talk about what price they would expect for providing valuable inner organs and how the skillful abortionists of Planned Parenthood know just how to murder babies so as not to damage the goods.

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On
Bishop-elect Robert Barron

Death of God and loss of human dignity

Many of you have seen the appalling hidden-camera videos of two Planned Parenthood physicians bantering cheerfully with interlocutors posing as prospective buyers of the body parts of aborted infants.

While they slurp wine in elegant restaurants, the good doctors — both women — blandly talk about what price they would expect for providing valuable inner organs and how the skillful abortionists of Planned Parenthood know just how to murder babies so as not to damage the goods.

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