Find within these pages a clearinghouse of articles, news, links, events, collaboration tools and other resources shared with fellow priests. New pages every week — look forward to an expanding toolbox of practical resources at your fingertips!
Pro-Marriage Video
A U.S. bishops' panel has released the second of five videos for the promotion and protection of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. "Made for Life" features married couples reflecting on topics related to the gift of children, the indispensable place of fathers and mothers, and the difference between the sexes. Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, said, "Our culture is one that often forgets the sacred gift of the child, and in so doing it also fails to recognize the vital importance of a mother and a father together for the life and upbringing of that child."
Advance Directives
Today legislation requires patients to provide doctors, clinics and hospitals with "advance directives." An advance directive is a document by which a person makes provision for health care decisions in the event that, in the future, he is no longer competent to make such decisions for himself. Three types of advance directives are the "living will," the "durable power of attorney for health care," and, with growing popularity, the MOST form (medical order for scope of treatment). At least one of these has serious inherent problems, warns the Culture of Life Foundation.
News Bytes for Your Parish Bulletin
- Vigil for Refugees Who've Died Trying to Reach Europe
- US Bishops Revise Charter on Sex Abuse
- Bishop Reports Critical Situation at Sudan Border
- 60-Hour Adoration to Mark Pope's 60 Years as a Priest
Religious Freedom
Benedict XVI is calling for fresh insights on the topic of religious freedom, noting that it again faces threats in the world. The Pope made his appeal in a message to the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, on the occasion of the academy's annual meeting. The Holy Father affirmed that the Holy See calls on all states to "respect, and if need be protect, religious minorities who, though bound by a different faith from the majority around them, aspire to live with their fellow citizens peacefully and to participate fully in the civil and political life of the nation, to the benefit of all."
On Organ Donations
What organs can be donated upon death and in what clear circumstances? Moral theologian William E. May lists some criteria for judging the ethics of organ donations. One criterion: "If the harm (including the mutilation) suffered by the donor -- but in no way intended either by him or those involved in the transplant -- does not impair his functional integrity, the evil suffered is an unintended side-effect of an act of self-giving, a morally good act." May adds, "However, were the donor's own functional integrity and hence his own health and life to be impaired, it would be wrong for him to choose to give it …"