You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that the present Iraq War is folly. But to form a principled judgment you need a moral framework.

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In Star Trek, the televised allegorical morality play about our human future, the mysterious character Q puts humanity on trial for its past sins. A dramatic rescue from the indictment of human history comes when Captain Picard proclaims: “Our species has evolved!”

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The Jesuits at St. Joe’s Prep taught me that the worst sin in religion is hypocrisy. So it is not an attack on religion to question if the politicians invoking God’s name to bless the United States of America are doing anything more than seeking votes.

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When it is the earth that created you, care of the environment becomes a central religious tenet. But believers who use the Hebrew Bible and Christian Scriptures as the basis for their concern about the environment have a bigger mountain to climb than witches.

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Catholics believe marriage is a sacrament. Since the sacraments give grace to the believer with their practice, the renewal of marital love in the physical act of sex is – for Catholics — a source of divine grace. The more times you have sex, the more grace you both receive.

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I make a distinction between “Mormons” and “Mormonism.” There is no doubt that both as citizens and religious believers, Mormons participate in America’s mainstream. They reach for the same achievements, make the same mistakes, and share hopes and dreams with virtually everyone else. However, Mormonism – as an ‘ism’ – is a different case.

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Christopher Hitchens is an author with a masterful domination of language and a compelling use of irony, who writes about only one thing: Christopher Hitchens.

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Actually, the question of Heaven or Hell depends upon the reality of the after-life. Is there a personal spirit existence for each of us that endures separately after the body dies? A thinking, rational person is hard put to deny evidence of spirits. In my opinion, the reality of such spirits is more proximate than the existence of God.

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My general tendency is to favor freedom. If some Catholics want to worship by attending a Mass using the Tridentine Latin ritual, let them. With a billion Catholics in the world today, the number of such old Latin enthusiasts will be negligible and have no real impact on Catholicism today.

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Whether or not Catholicism is the “fullest expression” becomes a question with two parts: first, “Is this true that Catholicism has this privileged place?” and second: “What does this statement do to ecumenical relations?”

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I will leave it to my colleagues to say the most obvious things about pluralism and separation of church and state. Since I believe government has no role in preventing people from practicing their religion, invoking divine protection BEFORE going to work seems harmless enough. Heaven knows, the U.S. Congress needs all the help it can get. If someone chooses not to pray, they can stay in the cafeteria or cloak room.

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Another way of formulating this question is to ask, “Is an atheistic doctor better than a religious one -- just because he or she is an atheist?” My answer is: “No.” Two issues need to be resolved about obligations to patients, and neither of them is dependent on whether the doctor believes in religion or atheism.

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The “revelation” that Mother Teresa endured a dark night of the soul proves beyond a doubt that atheists and non-believers in the modern world have opted for the easy path. As the just published reflections show, it is harder today to have faith in God that to lapse into disbelief.

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