Podcasts about sebastianmahfood

Bob Kurland's Slide LinksIn all protein functions, parts of the proteins bind loosely to other parts of the protein and thus form appropriate structures that are essential to their function. This is shown very nicely in this TED YouTube video, by Professor Ken Dill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm-3kovWpNQ Here is another nice YouTube video showing protein flexibility https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ2aY5lxEGE Webinar TitleThe Anthropic Principle: “Are We Special?”--Did God make our “Goldilocks Universe” for man?Abstract The universe in which we live and came to be is not ordinary, but unusual. As the Church Lady in Saturday Night Live of old would say, “Now, isn't that special!” Or is it? Some scientists would agree with Roger Penrose – that if it weren't special, we wouldn't be here to remark on it. Many other scientists and philosophers would agree with Thomas Nagel that an explanation giving only the result is not an explanation. (And, of course, if it is special, then there is the implicit conclusion that this is so because of a Creating Intelligence, which we Catholics recognize as the Trinitarian God.) In my presentation I will discuss some of the so-called “anthropic coincidences” necessary for carbon-based life. Although some examples from cosmology and particle physics will be included, I'm going to focus on the wonderful parts of chemistry and molecular biology, processes that point to the hand of a Creating Intelligence. And of course the prophets of the Old Testament and saints of the early Church knew this all along, without the benefit of science. Dr. Robert Kurland, a convert to Catholicism in 1995, is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center, has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism, he has tried to spread the message that there's no war between Catholic teaching and science.Respondent: William M. Briggs, PhD Against the Anthropic Principle Dr. William M. Briggs, the Statistician to the Stars, has a background in statistics, philosophy, meteorology, and cryptography. Born in Detroit, he left the city when it was at its peak, which some might jokingly suggest led to its decline. Briggs holds a PhD in Mathematical Sciences and an MS in Atmospheric Physics, and has served in various roles including professor, consultant, and statistician. He is known for his work in probability and statistics, as well as his cultural commentary on various social and scientific issues.

In this ITEST webinar, Dr. Rob Koons and Dr. Terrence Lagerlund deliver talks on Brain and Artificial Intelligence: A Tale of Two Computers, but Only One Made in the Image of God (October 12, 2024)AI and Aristotle: Why No Artifact could ever be ConsciousRobert C. (“Rob”) Koons is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds an M. A. from Oxford and a Ph.D. from UCLA. He is the author or co-author of five books, including The Atlas of Reality with Timothy H. Pickavance (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017) and Is Thomas Aquinas's Philosophy of Nature Obsolete? (St. Augustine Press, 2022). He is the co-editor of four anthologies, including The Waning of Materialism (OUP, 2010) and Classical Theism (Routledge 2023).  He has been working recently on an Aristotelian interpretation of quantum theory, and on defending and articulating hylomorphism in contemporary terms.AbstractThe ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle developed a comprehensive philosophy of nature that laid the foundations for all subsequent scientific inquiry. A central notion of Aristotle's notion is that of a substance (ousia in Greek)—an essentially independent entity that has the highest possible degree of unity (what Thomas Aquinas called ‘per se unity'). Living organisms have this kind of unity, which explains their possession of essentially unified causal powers, like nutrition, growth, and sensation. Simple, homogeneous inorganic substances also exist, like drops of water or quartz crystals. However, all human artifacts, including all robots and computers, are mere “heaps” of inorganic components, lacking the sort of unity required for life, sensation, and consciousness. AI programs can emulate the behavior of conscious organisms, but there is an irreducible gap between appearance and reality.Terrence Lagerlund, MD, PhDBrain, Soul, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum MysteryDr. Terrence Lagerlund has been a neurologist in the Division of Epilepsy at Mayo Clinic for 35 years, treating patients with epilepsy and interpreting their electroencephalograms. He also lectures to residents and fellows on electroencephalography including basic principles of electricity and neurophysiology. He has published papers and authored book chapters on electroencephalography and epilepsy, particularly regarding quantitative analysis of electroencephalograms. Prior to becoming a neurologist, he obtained a Ph.D. in physics and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science (doing research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN) and as a term physicist at Fermilab.AbstractSome computer scientists claim that artificial general intelligence systems will soon be created which can duplicate and eventually far exceed the intellectual abilities of humans. In this presentation we will compare the architecture and learning ability of artificial neural networks implemented on an electronic digital machine and the neural networks of the human brain (of which Professor Marvin Minsky of MIT once pronounced that “the brain is merely a meat machine”). We will demonstrate by philosophical arguments and a mathematical theorem involving Turing machines that understanding abstract concepts, abstract reasoning to ascertain truth, and making free decisions are powers of the human mind that exceed the capabilities of any physical system whether made of electronic circuits or of biological neurons; rather, these capabilities require a nonphysical soul that tightly integrates with the human brain, because of which we can truly say that humans are made in the image and likeness of God.  We will also discuss a new theory of how the soul may interact with the brain by influencing the outcome of quantum processes involving passage of ions through neuronal ion channels within the brain's neural networks synchronized by the 40-70 Hz oscillation, and thereby continually influence retrieval of memories and behavioral choices occurring in these networks so as to allow the soul's choice based on rational deliberation to cause a neuronal network undergoing chaotic behavior to converge upon a different final state (attractor), thereby allowing the soul's choice to be implemented in the brain and body.Brain and Artificial Intelligence—A Tale of Two Computers—But Only One Made in the Image of God - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

In this ITEST webinar entitled "A New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics: Back to Aristotle and Aquinas" Dr. Robert Kurland, Kenneth Francis, and Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, discuss metaphysics, epistemology, and quantum physics. (August 17, 2024)In the order of appearance,Sebastian Mahfood, OP, PhD, "Introduction to Aristotelian-Thomistic Metaphysics"Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Director of ITEST, is a Lay Dominican of the Province of Saint Albert the Great. He has served as a professor of intercultural and interdisciplinary studies in theological education for over two decades. In 2021, he transitioned full-time to developing his publishing house, En Route Books and Media, LLC, and his radio station, WCAT Radio, the missions of which are to promote the Catholic spiritual journey in the provision of resources that assist in the formation of priests and laity. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and children, Alexander and Eva Ruth.Abstract“All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses” – so begins Aristotle's Metaphysics, less a metaphysical statement than an epistemological one, but it sets the tone for everything that follows in terms of the third level of abstraction, being qua being, since it indicates the hylomorphic nature of man as both spiritual and material. The immaterial mind learns when the body, formed by the soul, perceives through its senses an ambient reality, generating a phantasm which no longer relies on the sensory impression. One need only touch fire once, for example, to get the idea of “hot.” Are there ways in which metaphysics can help us understand quantum mechanics? Certainly! And that is the subject of this talk.Kenneth Francis, "God and Quantum Theory "Kenneth Francis is a freelance journalist and Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications and print media, as well as a university professor in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and Truth (St Pauls Publishing); The Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd (with Theodore Dalrymple); and Neither Trumpets Nor Violins (with Theodore Dalrymple and Samuel Hux).AbstractIn understanding the universe, it seems that quantum theory, according to most physicists, is the final mysterious frontier of cosmic science. If so, I believe that this boundary can only be understood fully by a Mind possessing omniscience: God. The serpent in the Garden of Eden successfully conned Adam and Eve into believing they could achieve omniscience, and we all know what happened after that mother-of-all conceited errors. I often wonder did the serpent also tempt the ‘Adam and Eve' scientists in Switzerland's ‘Garden of CERN', with its Large Hadron Collider in search of the so-called ‘God particle'. Even Mary Shelly's novel Frankenstein was written by the shores of Lake Geneva, next door to CERN, with its potential for creating another Frankenstein's monster.​Robert Kurland, PhD, "A ‘New' Understanding of Quantum Mechanics: Back to Aristotle and Aquinas"Dr. Robert Kurland (a convert to Catholicism in 1995) is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). He began to learn about quantum mechanics at Caltech (BS, “with honor,” 1951) and Harvard (MS,1953; Ph.D.,1956) from courses taught by Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger. In teaching quantum mechanics to students at Carnegie-Mellon University and SUNY/AB he found that mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics was an obstacle to understanding. So, in his talk he will try to explain what quantum mechanics is about using a minimum of mathematics, as he did in his book Mysteries: Quantum and Theological.AbstractIn this talk, I'll give a brief, qualitative, pictorial explanation of quantum mechanics, from a historical perspective. Two mysteries of quantum mechanics (behavior not in accord with our everyday intuition), the wavelike nature of particles, and entanglement, will be illustrated in simple examples. I'll examine how philosophers of science have recently used two concepts, actus (actus essendi) and potentia, to explain these mysteries and put them into a context of Aristotelian/Thomistic metaphysics.

ABORTION PILL REVERSAL – TRUTH OR FICTION?Abortion Pill Reversal - Truth or Fiction? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)OUR PRESENTERSSTEPHEN SAMMUT, PHDABORTION-PILL REVERSAL: PRECLINICAL EVIDENCEDr. Stephen Sammut received a B.Pharm from Monash University (Victoria, Australia) and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Malta (Malta, Europe). His research utilizes preclinical models to investigate psychopathological behavior. He has authored and co-authored papers in leading scientific journals, including his groundbreaking studies relating to abortion and abortion-pill reversal. His research efforts currently focus on investigating: 1) the neurological, biological and behavioral consequences of drug-induced abortion, 2) the abortion-pill-reversal, 3) the development of an animal model for relocating the embryo in ectopic pregnancy and 4) mental health and related behaviors in the university student population.ABSTRACTAbortion-pill reversal (APR) is the process where a woman, regretting her abortion shortly after taking mifepristone (RU486), is administered progesterone in an effort to stop and reverse the abortion process. APR is treated as medically/scientifically unsound and dangerous to women. However, what does the reality tell us? Does objective reality support the narrative fed to the public? This presentation will seek to address the objective scientific reality underlying APR, including recent findings from my laboratory. The presentation will also address briefly the previous preclinical findings pertaining to the negative consequences of abortion and aspects relating to the abuses and manipulation of objective scientific truth in the current mode of operation of the scientific and medical fields that are driving the attack on APR.STACY TRASANCOS, PHDFROM BLUE JEANS TO VACCINES: THE CONSCIENCE OF AN ABORTIFACIENT WORLDStacy Trasancos has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and worked as a senior research chemist for DuPont before converting to Catholicism. She left her career to stay home with her children. In those years, she earned a M.A. in dogmatic theology and published five books on the integration of science and theology. Dr. Trasancos teaches online science and theology courses for Seton Hall University, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and Belmont Abbey College and is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. She is, at last, pursuing a second M.A. in systematic philosophy.ABSTRACTAn abortion is characterized by pro-choice advocates as a concern of personal autonomy, expressed most succinctly in Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992): “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State.” The abortion industry naturally exploits this narrative by politicizing in the name of human rights a procedure that denies those very rights. At the heart of these politics is an anti-personhood agenda that counts on the complicity of pro-life advocates. Such a shaky moral landscape became apparent during COVID when prominent Catholic leaders were promoting, under the principle of double-effect, immorally created vaccines as morally licit. This presentation will engage the moral dimension of an issue that pervades even those areas of our lives where we least expect it to surface.

In this webinar of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Sr. Marysia Weber, RSM, and Dr. Kevin Powell, discuss the effects of social media on children. (April 13, 2024)Is the increasing number of hours that children are spending using smartphones having any effects on their brains and psychosocial well-being? Research is telling us that the answer to this question is a resounding yes! This presentation will address how excessive use of digital devices is impacting psychosocial maturation and is altering brain development in ways similar to the alterations noted in substance use disorders. Practical means of addressing these detrimental effects will also be highlighted.Technology changes communication and social lifestyles. This has been true since the invention of the printing press and the telephone. Technological progress will have both positive and negative effects on society. It is not enough to measure harms and act like outraged Luddites. Ethical societies measure and balance the positive impacts. It is not enough to weigh pros and cons. Communities should regulate technology so that positives are appropriately rewarded, negatives are mitigated, and just remediation is provided for economic externalities that generate profit for some while harming other people, society, and the environment. Laws are not enough. Moral formation needs to be updated and augmented to enable beneficial development and adoption of technology. Children, who have never known anything different, are the most strongly impacted by the harms, the least able to resist trends, and the most in need of the moral formation.How Does Social Media Affect Children? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

WILLIAM BADKE - ENGAGING FACULTY IN TEACHING RESEARCH PROCESSESWilliam Badke grew up in Kelowna, BC, Canada. After completing a B.A. at the University of British Columbia in 1971 and a Master of Divinity (1975) and Master of Theology (1977) he taught at a college in Nigeria, West Africa for two years before returning to teach at Northwest Baptist Theological College in Vancouver, BC. In 1985 he earned a Master of Library Science degree at the University of British Columbia and currently serves as Associate Librarian for Associated Canadian Theological Schools and Information Literacy at Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC. He has published extensively in the area of information literacy as well as fiction and spirituality. His column on information literacy (Infolit Land) appears every two months in Online Searcher and, as of 2023, in Computers in Libraries.MR. BADKE'S ABSTRACTToday's information landscape, whether popular or scholarly, has been radically transformed by the World Wide Web. This has provided significant benefits to human freedoms, education, and development. Yet our knowledge base overall is uneven in quality and possesses a significant power to mislead us. Yet academia has failed to understand that today's education must include a strong program that will increase the ability of students to handle information and do research. This is not a remedial task but a detailed one that is akin to learning a new language. To achieve these student skills, faculty members in concert with librarians, must rethink the way they educate their students. This is an urgent matter in the theological setting where searching for and knowing the truth is paramount.STACY A. TRASANCOS, PH.D. - HOW TO RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE IN THE LIGHT OF FAITHStacy Trasancos has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and worked as a senior research chemist for DuPont before converting to Catholicism. She left her career to stay home with her children. In those years, she earned a M.A. in dogmatic theology and published five books on the integration of science and theology. Dr. Trasancos teaches online science and theology courses for Seton Hall University, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and Belmont Abbey College and is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. She is, at last, pursuing a second M.A. in systematic philosophy.DR. TRASANCOS' ABSTRACTThis brief presentation will show you how to navigate scientific literature that is published in global scientific journals by scientists in various fields so that you can determine for yourself the research methods and conclusions. Often in the faith and science dialogue, secondary sources in popular magazines or news outlets present a biased version of the scientific literature. A Catholic scholar can more accurately assess scientific claims by reading the scientific literature him- or herself. The reports are much easier to navigate once you understand their structure. If you can read Aristotle and Aquinas, you can read modern scientific papers.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents Greg Miller and Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, in a webinar entitled Education and Evangelization in the Age of AI: Promise and Perils (November 18, 2023)his session will be led by a former Catholic principal and theology teacher, Greg Miller. Dive deep into the intersections of faith and technology, understanding how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed for the greater glory of God while being vigilant of its challenges. Discover the potential of AI in enhancing Catholic education and evangelization and engage in meaningful discussions of its risks to the people of God.In a mediated world filled with dystopic science fiction that problematizes a transformative technology like AI, our culture is embracing its promise, perhaps forgetting Marshall McLuhan's salient point that our technologies first ape us, then shape us. Our Christian faith is already a counter-cultural phenomenon, so authentic and integral human and spiritual formation has never been more important than it is today for the restoration of our human identity created as it was in the image and likeness of God.

In this webinar, D. Kristina Olsen, OCDS, talks about Principles of Change: Teresa of Avila's Carmelite Reform and Insights from Change Management (November 4, 2023)Dr. Olsen's book draws from organizational change management principles to examine Teresa of Avila's 16th-century reform of the Carmelite Order. During the last twenty years of her life, Teresa addressed the problems she saw in the Carmelite monasteries of her day, including ineffective administration, overcrowding, and laxity in spiritual practices. By returning to the original purpose and written Rule of the Carmelite founders, Teresa launched a reform of the Carmelite Order using principles similar to those used in change management and information technology (IT) adoption today. This book examines her reform in light of change management theory and practice, in order to shed light on what made her reform successful and how we might apply her approach to the management of change in spiritual and secular organizations today.Principles of Change by Kristina R. Olsen | En Route Books and Media

DR. PATRICK CASTLELIFE Runners President & FounderREAL HEALTHCARE DEFENDS LIFE AT ALL STAGESABSTRACTDid you know that Hippocratic Oath specifically forbids abortion and euthanasia?Did you know the American Medical Association in 1859 unanimously voted that life begins at conception and that abortion is criminal?Did you know that Google makes it more difficult for mothers to find pregnancy help centers online?Did you know that the FDA removed the warning that Plan B can cause an abortion?Did you know that the current administration is working to repeal conscience protections for healthcare workers?Did you know that running is optional for LIFE Runners?And much more!GEORGE DELGADO, M.D.President of Steno InstituteABORTION PILL REVERSAL: GIVING WOMEN A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFEABSTRACTMifepristone chemical abortions account for about 60% of all abortions in the United States. Some women, after starting the chemical abortion process, change their minds and want to continue their pregnancies. Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) utilizes supplemental progesterone, the maintenance hormone of pregnancy, to out-compete the abortion drug. APR offers women a second chance at life. Women offered the option of reversing their chemical abortions are very grateful.Mainstream medical organizations, Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU have fought vigorously to discredit APR and make it less available. The evidence in the medical literature is very reassuring that Abortion Pill Reversal is safe and effective.DR. CYNTHIA TOOLIN-WILSONAcademic Dean – Pontifex UniversitySURVIVING ABORTION AS THE VICTIMABSTRACTThe most important event of my life occurred when I was eleven years old. That was when I found out that Ma and Grandpa tried to kill me, with the knowledge and agreement of many family members, including Pa.On a hot summer evening in her kitchen, Ma told me after several hesitations, that in 1949 Grandpa bought a chemical at the drugstore that would make her lose me. She was annoyed that I didn't understand what that meant. So, she told me that she didn't want a baby and the medicine would make me go away. I asked her why the medicine didn't work, and she explained that when she started bleeding, she was afraid she might die too, so she stopped drinking it. The fact that she was afraid of dying was the second most important event of my life.I never felt the same about her or the family members. I suspect that her cousin, who had married a Catholic man, and had used medicines for years to prevent a pregnancy, had told Ma what medicine to buy.Here I am 62 years later (that is, I am now 73 years old). I am the age my mother was when she passed. My husband Jimmy Toolin, a devout Catholic, died of cancer; my second husband Bill Wilson, who I managed to bring back to being a practicing Catholic, died of heart, liver, and kidney failure. Between them, if I count all the way to great grandchildren, I have 38 descendants.

Classical metaphysics is grounded in a philosophy of Being (States of Being) with God as the Supreme Being or Pure Actuality. Potentiality is seen in descending states of being: first, the order of angels, human beings, higher-order and lower-order animal species, plants, insects, minerals, their molecular and atomic components, prime matter. Process- or systems-ordered metaphysics is grounded in Stages of Becoming: Infinite Potentiality/Energy Source, subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, minerals, cells, plants, animal species, human beings, an all-encompassing network of relations between participants that continues to evolve in new and different ways through all its parts or members but especially its primordial components. Everything else depends upon the right choice in terms of these opposing world views. ​Transformative learning theory, which explains the reframing of one's worldview in light of a transformative experience, may assist in articulating the dynamic relationship between the One and the Many. Fr. Bracken's explanation of a reciprocal causal relation among constituent parts and the whole to which they belong provides an opportunity to explore a process-oriented metaphysics in the understanding of an event-based efficient causality. The creative interplay among the relational paradigms through which an individual organism moves over the course of its existence demonstrates the interdependence of all things regardless of their material causes, and this seems to give a quantum meaning to any kind of final causality of adaptive systems.

In this episode of The Open Door , without special fuss, and certainly without making a scene, we'll explore the life and times of the man behind the scenes. Our welcome guest is our producer and, indeed, the producer of the full range of WCAT Radio & Television programs. The President of En Route Books and Media, the peripatetic Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Ph.D., will join us! Though his heart is in East Texas, St. Louis is the launching pad of his projects and peregrinations. He lives there with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and their children, Alexander and Eva Ruth. Among the questions we'll be asking are the following. Dr. Mahfood, Sebastian, could you tell us about your roots and introduce us to your family?How did you become a lay Dominican and what does it mean for you?Back in the day, and our audience should hear it directly, you wrestled professionally. Were you, even then, a voice from the periphery?Turning away from the distractions of youth, you left the ring for the groves of academe. Your tenure at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Holy Apostles College & Seminary was rich: teacher, administrator, and pioneer developer of on-line academic programs. Could you share with us the highlights of your career?You've authored half a dozen books of special interest. To name a few: Catholic Realism, The Narrative Spirituality of Dante's Divine Comedy and Missionary Priests in the Homeland: Our Call to Receive. Could you explain their themes to our audience?The Open Door, we understand, is your longest running WCAT Radio program. How did it start? What is its future?You are not one to let the grass grow under your feet. Could you tell us about your travels, especially in Africa and Europe?Before your retirement, what was the nature of your work as a professor of interdisciplinary and intercultural studies?How does the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology feature in your professional life?What's next for your publishing house and radio station?Some links: https://www.enroutebooksandmedia.comhttps://www.wcatradio.comhttps://www.faithscience.org

ITEST Presents...CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN A CULTURE OF DEATH: CREATING THE WORLD'S MOST FAITHFUL CATHOLIC MEDICAL SCHOOLSTEPHEN MINNIS, President of Benedictine College, JERE PALAZZOLO, President ofCatholic Healthcare International, GEORGE MYCHASKIW, II, DO, President of the Saint Padre Pio Institute for the Relief of Suffering, School of Osteopathic MedicineOur society is declining in a culture of death and self-interest. Higher education is contributing to this cultural decline by renunciation of Western, Judeo-Christian values and ethics. This is particularly true in medical schools, which have advanced the causes of abortion, gender ideology, organ harvesting and in-vitro fertilization, without regard to Catholic and other religious ethical standards. Catholic Healthcare International and Benedictine College intend to reclaim the culture and change society by creating the world's most faithful Catholic medical school, which will stand for the worth and dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death, as created in the image and likeness of God. This webinar will discuss the challenges of contemporary Catholic higher education, the charism of St. Padre Pio and the relief of human suffering, and the creation of a new, faithful Catholic medical school as an instrument to change the culture.Catholic Higher Education in a Culture of Death: Creating the World's Most Faithful Catholic Medical School - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

In this webinar we will discuss the work of Mary Kloska's books in renewing and spreading the Catholic faith in Pakistan. Joined by Aqif Shahzad, her translator and a great missionary in his own right, the two will explain specifically the founding of Children's Prayer Groups (named Children of the Cross) who are dedicated to meet at least once a month to pray for priests and persecuted Christians. Aqif will also share how he has used Mary's writings for retreats, seminars, and personal one-on-one encounters with people, which in turn have become life-saving. How does one spread the faith in a primarily Muslim nation that persecutes Christians? It's through becoming little, “meek and humble of heart” like Jesus. Join us and you will find out.Sowing Wildflowers in the Desert: God's Powerful Work of Love in Pakistan - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

The heinous scientific experiments performed on living human beings at the hands of Nazi doctors and researchers was internationally condemned and prohibited as “crimes against humanity” by the Nuremberg Code that was formulated seventy-five years ago in August 1947. In 1987, forty years later, the Magisterial Instruction Donum vitae added important new bioethical standards regarding the ethical and medical treatment of human embryos:– Are Therapeutic Procedures Carried Out on the Human Embryo Licit?– How is One Morally to Evaluate Research and Experimentation on Human Embryos?The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2274, also clearly teaches that “Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.” This webinar will discuss the moral imperative to “treat human embryos as human patients” and to protect them – “like any other human being” – from “heinous crimes against humanity.”ELIZABETH B. REX, MBA, PH.D., TH.D. (CANDIDATE)The Magisterial FAQS Regarding the Ethical Treatment – and the Legal Protection – of Human Embryos who are Human BeingsDr. Elizabeth Rex is the President of the The Children First Foundation, a charitable and educational organization dedicated to promoting Adoption as a positive and loving choice for unwanted unborn children, including unwanted frozen embryos. Dr. Rex has taught Bioethics at Holy Apostles College & Seminary and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University. Dr. Rex has spoken at major conferences and is a frequent contributor to National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly regarding the moral arguments in the embryo adoption debate.ABSTRACTMy presentation will discuss the most important Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church in Donum vitae (in 1987), Dignitas personae (in 2008), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church that magisterially define and defend the ethical treatment of human beings from the first moment of their conception. These major magisterial documents also call for the “intervention of political authorities and legislators” to establish civil laws that ensure the legal protection of “human beings, even at the embryonic stage.” (Donum vitae III: Conclusion). My presentation will conclude with a brief review of important international and national laws that have already been legislatively enacted to provide the legal protection of embryos as human beings, who must be treated as human persons and patients.GEORGE MYCHASKIW II, DO, FAAP, FACOP, FASAThe Medical FAQS Regarding the Ethical and Therapeutic Healthcare of Human Embryos who are Human PatientsDr. George Mychaskiw is a founder and President of the Saint Padre Pio Institute School of Osteopathic Medicine (proposed), which will be co-located on the campus of Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas. Dr. Mychaskiw is a thought leader in medical education and has developed four operating US osteopathic medical colleges and is in the process of developing four more. A practicing cardiac anesthesiologist, Dr. Mychaskiw is a graduate of the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency and fellowships in pediatric and cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Yale University School of Medicine.ABSTRACTIn vitro fertilization (IVF) and the creation of human embryos are assisted reproductive technologies that have come into widespread use ahead of a structured foundation in medical ethics. As a result, the commercial applications of IVF have outpaced ethical restraint and consideration, such that millions of human lives are being created, without thought to their ultimate disposition. This presentation will discuss the biomedical aspects of IVF technology and illustrate the numerous unintended consequences of its proliferation. A case will be made for a prohibition or moratorium on IVF until legislation and regulations are enacted to protect these human lives and prevent further erosion of unborn human rights.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, Archbishop Emeritus Alfred Hughes and Dcn. Larry Oney present on their book A Gospel Path to Racial Healing with (June 17, 2023)Racial eruptions continue to highlight our need for deeper racial healing. This book begins with two contrasting stories of a black deacon and a white bishop. They recapitulate the sad history of racial servitude and discrimination, while acknowledging the uneven history of the Church's response. Drawing on the Church's social teaching, they then propose a Gospel path to racial healing. This brief book can serve as a manual for teaching or discussion in parishes and schools. Archbishop Hughes - ahughes@arch-no.orgLarry D Oney - larryoney@hopeandpurpose.org https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/gospelpathtoracialhealing/

In this webinar delivered on Saturday, June 3, 2023, Jeannie Ewing engages a live audience on her book Waiting With Purpose: Persevering When God Says ‘Not Yet' (En Route Books and Media, 2017).All of life involves waiting. We wait at stoplights. We are caught in traffic jams. We agonize over medical test results. We hang on to a much-anticipated getaway. Sometimes, we wait to finish a project, welcome a new relationship, or open our hearts to the work God has begun in us. Regardless of how often we wait or upon what, Jeannie Ewing explains with clarity and encouragement how we can use the moments of waiting in our lives to grow spiritually. Waiting with Purpose will show you why God asks you to wait and how He is speaking to you in the times when nothing seems to be happening.https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/waitingwithpurpose/

FR. KEVIN FITZGERALD, SJ, PHD, PHD​Healing Post-Covid Healthcare by Greater Integration of the Humanities and Ethics into Healthcare EducationKevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., Ph.D., is the John A. Creighton University Professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine, at Creighton University. He received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics, and a Ph.D. in bioethics, from Georgetown University. His research efforts focus on the utilization of the Humanities in medical education, on the investigation of abnormal gene expression in cancer, and on ethical issues in biomedical research and medical genomics. He has published educational, scientific, and ethical articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press.Fr. FitzGerald has given presentations nationally and internationally, and has often been interviewed by the news media, on such topics as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and personalized medicine. He is a founding member of Do No Harm, and a member of the Genetic Alliance IRB. In addition, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2005.ABSTRACTThe Covid pandemic greatly exacerbated deep flaws in our healthcare institutions and educational programs. To help heal these deep flaws, Creighton University is intentionally and intensively integrating the humanities and ethics into all its health professions programs, both undergraduate and graduate. Though early in this process, evidence is already manifesting the value this integration is having with our students and faculty, and, hence, with those they care for and work with. A brief introduction and summary of this effort will be presented in hopes of generating further discussion of how all of us can create a healthcare education program adequate to meet the enormous financial, social, moral and spiritual challenges healthcare faces today.KEVIN POWELL, MD, PHD The Application of Faith and Reason to Clarify Truth in Medical CareKevin Powell, M.D. Ph.D. FAAP, is a retired pediatrician who specialized in the care of hospitalized children. Prior to medical school he worked as a chemical engineer in industry and academia, earning a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering from a joint program of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alongside clinical care, for 18 years he served on or chaired hospital ethics committees and was a clinical ethics consultant. His last academic position was on faculty at Saint Louis University and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. He is Lutheran.ABSTRACTMedical knowledge is constantly evolving and occasionally advancing. Most of what I was taught in medical school became obsolete, contradicted, or was shown to have always been flat out wrong by the time I retired. The practice of clinical medicine requires continuous adoption, improvement, refinement, and frequently rejection of new knowledge. That knowledge needs to be adapted to function within evolving moral norms and cultural values. The search for truth is ever-present. The encyclical Fides et Ratio says “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”REV. FR. NICANOR PIER GIORGIO AUSTRIACO, O.P.An Ethical Assessment of Puberty Blocking Hormonal Treatments for Gender Dysphoria in Children​Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP is a Professor of Biological Sciences and a Professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, summa cum laude, and then earned his Ph.D. in Biology from M.I.T. where he was a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). He earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.Th.D.) at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, in 2015. His first book, Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics, was published by the Catholic University of America Press in 2011. It was recognized as a 2012 Choice outstanding academic title by the Association of College and Research Libraries.ABSTRACTShould puberty blockers be used to treat gender dysphoria (GD) in children? For activists promoting transgender rights, the answer to this question is a clear yes. However, several recent reviews of the medical literature have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to assess the long-term effects of hormone treatment on prepubescent children who experience GD. Therefore, in the absence of a robust risk-benefits analysis, it is unethical to promote this controversial medical intervention. It is not surprising that in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, public health officials are warning that for teens with adolescent-onset dysphoria, the use of these puberty blocking drugs may do more harm than good.

In this ITEST Webinar entitled Finding God in Space Exploration and Extraterrestrial Life (April 22, 2023), Paul Segura and Ted Peters talk about space and the possibility of life outside the earth. The Space Race to the Moon in the 1960s is an example of science and engineering excellence peaking at the national level to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. Yet even in the midst of this technological achievement, God could not only be found but made a lasting impact. In addition, as the search for intelligent life beyond Earth continues, it's reasonable to expect we have morally ambiguous space neighbors who have been similarly graced by a loving creator and redeemer.Finding God in Space Exploration and Extraterrestrial Life - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

Authors and Illustrators of Catholic Children's Books provide an important imaginative link between our material and spiritual worlds.In this webinar, Dianne Ahern, Ben Bongers with illustrator Courtney Boatwright, TJ Burdick, Allison Lunsford, and Danielle Mesa share their books and illustrations in a webinar moderated by Sebastian Mahfood with the assistance of WCAT Radio show hosts Kiki Latimer and Cynthia Toolin-Wilson. Illustrated Catholic Children's Books Webinar | WCAT Radio

In this ITEST Webinar, entitled Evangelizing the Real Presence – Miracles, Scripture, and Quantum Physics, Dr. David Keys and Raymond Gerard present on the Eucharist.Recognizing the importance of the Eucharist in today's challenging culture, the USCCB has begun a 3-year initiative to promote faith in the Eucharist, culminating in a national Eucharistic Congress next year in Indianapolis. To help proponents evangelize the Real Presence, Dr. David Keys, a scientist turned theologian, and Raymond Gerard, a lawyer by trade, will discuss certain means toward that end. Dr. Keys will discuss various Scriptural reasons for belief, as well as certain Eucharistic miracles. Mr. Gerard will discuss various miracles focused on the reliability of witness testimony. There will also be a limited discussion on the theological and philosophical implications of quantum physics. ​Belief in the Real Presence has declined significantly. Many have lost their trust in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Without trust in one's sources of knowledge, there can be no belief. To restore belief, trust and catechesis are critical. However, many still will not believe. God knows man and knows this. As a result, God has provided multiple, extraordinary miracles to help man in his unbelief of the Real Presence. Dr. Keys will review the faith-based reasons for belief in the Real Presence, and he will discuss a few of the miraculous interventions God has given us to support the Church's Eucharistic teaching.While most people think of bleeding Hosts when Eucharistic miracles are mentioned, there are a number of other miracles for which reliable evidence may be found in the testimony of witnesses. By its nature, the reliability of such evidence is recognized in Scripture and our English-based legal system. The reliability for particular Eucharistic miracles can be found in the number of witnesses to such miracles or the reliability of the witnesses themselves. Four particular instances will be discussed in detail: 1) the French island of Reunion (1902), 2) Andre Frossard (1935), Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1943), and San Mauro la Bruca (1969). The logical and philosophical implications of a certain discovery in quantum physics will also be raised.https://faithscience.org/eucharistic-miracles/

In this episode of Saint Paul's Letters to America, Ray Gerard talks with Sebastian Mahfood, the Director of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (A Faith Science Conversation) (December 3, 2022)

WCAT TV is an en air wing of En Route Books and Media working with WCAT Radio to share the joys of the Catholic faith. To support the station, please visit our Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/wcatradio Linda Blosser-Medley, Thom Brucie, Grace Bourget, Ronda Chervin, and David Ross talk about their Catholic novels in this WCAT Radio webinar.A Sword Will Pierce by Linda Blosser-Medley https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/aswordwillpierce/ This is a love story, showing the great love Mary has for God, always saying, “God's will be done” and doing His will, always trusting fully in Him.Vale of Hope by Grace Bourget https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/valeofhope/ In 15th-century Spain, a reckless youth finds himself grounded with the worst punishment he can imagine: volunteering in a leper camp.Obsidian Mirth by Thom Brucie https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/obsidianmirth/ This is a heart-rending and beautiful story, and these characters will hover at the outskirts of your thoughts like whispering ghosts of past kinships.The Messiah of the Metro Cafe by Ronda Chervin https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/metrocafe/ It was 9:00 A.M., October 24, 2022. The reporters of the Catholic Weekly of Los Angeles met in the chief editor's office for their special assignments. “This cult leader is influencing some St. Mark's seminarians from his throne in a nearby café.” “I'll take that one,” Teresa grinned enthusiastically. And so began the conversion of Michael Kaufman.Goat-Song and Other Stories by David Ross https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/goat-song/ “Goat-Song” concerns an exclusive theatrical production, and the two people involved, one alive, the other dead. “Gaps” concerns a recluse who wakes to find a growing hole in his backyard. “Poison” concerns a small-business owner who invents a product that produces the ability to manifest memories in reality.

Masereka Wenceslaus Felix Cleto on the Virtue Orphanage in Kasese, Uganda (November 24, 2022) To support the Virtue Orphanage, please visit https://gofund.me/b8ec0d57

In this episode of "I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too," Dr. Craig Turczynski and Dr. Mary Anne Urlakis present an ITEST webinar entitled "In Vitro Fertilization and the Sanctity of Human Life." Assisted Reproductive Technology Violates Natural Law and Causes Harm by Dr. Craig TurczynskiThe leaders in the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are promoting the use of technology in an increasingly more radical direction. Separating the unitive and procreative purpose of marital intercourse is foremost, but there are many ways in which ART promotes evil that even non-Catholics can identify with. These share a common characteristic of violating natural law. The first principle of natural law is “the good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided.” This necessarily requires following an objective moral truth that can be ascertained using human reason. On the other hand, ART follows a subjective, relative interpretation of right and wrong. Application of the technology outside of objective moral boundaries often produces more complications and difficulty for the individual and society than the problem in which they intend to solve. This talk will summarize the 5 most undesirable consequences of ART's disordered approach as experienced by an Embryologist who left the field after having a crisis of conscience.Sanctity of Life: IVF: Science, the Church, & Bioethics by Dr. Mary Anne UrlakisFrom the moment of conception, a profoundly unique and sacred relationship exists between every human person and Almighty God. Each and every person, bearing the image and likeness of God, is created with a vocation to fulfill an eternal destiny of divine beatitude. The Church teaches us: “Endowed with “a spiritual and immortal” soul, the human person is “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake. From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1703, referencing Gaudium et Spes 14 §2; 24 §3).” In this presentation, we will examine the role of bioethics regarding In Vitro Fertilization and other Artificial Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). After a brief survey of the history and role of bioethics and the anthropology of the human person, this presentation will focus on both science and theology which underpins the Magisterial teaching regarding the sanctity of human life and the role of Artificial Reproductive Technology.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Catholic author Dr. MaryRuth Hackett talks about her book Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter. (November 17, 2022)https://maryruthhackett.com/shop/What is my purpose in life? Who am I, really?These are questions that every woman will find herself asking in a culture swirling with increasing confusion around meaning and identity.Struggle, failure real or perceived, loss, grief, suffering–these are the things that tend to bring us face-to-face with ourselves, stripping us of the illusion that our identity and calling has anything to do with what we do or accomplish in life–or what we want to become or think we must be, for that matter. A woman's deepest identity, however, is founded on something far more lasting and real. Her discovery of God's original design for her life, to be in a relationship of love as His daughter forever, is a truth that will set her radically free to live the fullest life possible, a life of integrity, authenticity, fulfillment, hope, trust, and joy.In Daughter by Design, MaryRuth Hackett offers every woman:The key to growth and good discernment: becoming aware of our God-given strengths and natural weaknesses.The means to prioritize our spiritual life and develop a healthy habit of daily prayer–the foundation of our Father/daughter relationship.The opportunity to identify and claim her own version of the feminine genius.The invitation to surrender as the only true cure for perfectionism.And much more.Daughter by Design is a must-read for every woman seeking to stake her life on the eternal truth of her existence: that she is a daughter forever. Available in paperback orAfter earning her PhD in Educational Psychology, Dr. MaryRuth Hackett left the halls of academia to be a stay-at-home mom. With her podcast Parenting Smarts and her blog, available through her website at MaryRuthhackett.com, MaryRuth offers resources for families everywhere. Her conversion from Protestantism to the Catholic Faith in 2006 allowed her to further embrace the Church's timeless wisdom around authentic femininity. As the key to both personal wholeness and effective parenting, she has come to appreciate the need to strengthen a woman's identity as daughter of God before anything else. She lives in Arizona with her husband and four children.

Catholic novelists provide an important imaginative link between our material and spiritual worlds. En Route Books and Media authors Rick Akins, Ben Bongers, Danny Fitzpatrick, Lucy Underwood-Healy, and Jim Papandrea present on their work in a special two-hour event moderated by Sebastian Mahfood.

Dr. Thomas Sheahen and Dr. Stacy Trasancos present on How Science and Theology Read One Another (October 29, 2022)Pope St. John Paul II began his famous encyclical, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen, with a Ph.D. degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines truth from the wing of science. Scientists depend on empirical data for conclusions. Dr. Stacy A. Trasancos, with a Ph.D. in chemistry and M.A. in dogmatic theology, explains how we find truth from the wing of faith. Theologians derive formulations from divine revelation. Together they seek an understanding of the axiom, truth cannot contradict truth.https://faithscience.org/two-wings/

* Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsAbstract for WebinarSignature Courses at Seton Hall: STEM engages the Catholic Intellectual TraditionThe SHU University Core—taken by all undergraduate students—includes a sequence of three Signature courses. These are rooted in questions central to but not exclusive to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The third course, Engaging the World, encompasses a set of courses building on the first two from many differing academic perspectives. We look at challenges in developing such courses in STEM disciplines, and then at three particular courses, Science and Theology of Food; Logic, the Limits to Knowledge, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; and Creation and Science (which is also taken by students at the Seminary/School of Theology).The purpose of these courses is to inform and engage, and not at all to persuade or convert, and their goal to make better and wiser Catholics of Catholics, and everyone more informed and reflective.https://faithscience.org/food/DR. THOMAS MARLOWECREATING A STEM SIGNATURE COURSEThomas Marlowe is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science at Seton Hall University, where he taught in both disciplines for over 40 years. He holds a Ph.D. in each discipline from Rutgers University. He has always had an interest in interdisciplinary and integrative studies, in both his teaching and his research. He worked with Fr. Laracy and others over the past seven years to develop an interdisciplinary upper-level course for Seton Hall's University Core program on Logic, the Limits to Knowledge, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and consulted with Fr. Buonopane on his course on Science, Food, and Theology. This work has led to several conference and journal publications.FR. GERALD BUONOPANESCIENCE AND THEOLOGY OF FOODOrdained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark in 2006, Rev. Buonopane's area of specialization is food chemistry. Prior to seminary and the priesthood, Fr. Buonopane held a number of positions in academia, the federal government (USFDA), and in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Among the courses Fr. Buonopane teaches, and has taught, are a graduate level course in food chemistry, as well as Core curriculum courses, including a Core 3 course, “Science and Theology of Food.” His research areas of interest are: Chemical Deterioration of Food Lipids: Oxidative Reactions; Essential Oils as Natural Antioxidants; and Cold Plasma Treatment of Botanicals and Essential Oils. In addition to this work, Fr. Buonopane was appointed Minister to the Priest Community on June 1, 2020.FR. JOSEPH LARACYCREATION AND SCIENCEThe Rev. Joseph R. Laracy, S.T.D., a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, serves as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University. He is also an affiliated faculty member with the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as well as the Catholic Studies Program. Father Laracy is the author of Theology and Science in the Thought of Ian Barbour: A Thomistic Evaluation for the Catholic Doctrine of Creation (Peter Lang, 2021) and the co-editor of Stanley Jaki Foundation International Congress (Gracewing, 2020). His scholarly articles have appeared in publications such as The Seminary Journal; Logos; The Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics; The Journal of Religion and Theology; The International Journal of Communications, Network, and System Sciences.FR. LEO PATALINGHUG, IVDEIWEBINAR INTRODUCTION AND PRAYERFr. Leo Patalinghug is a priest member of a community of consecrated life, Voluntas Dei (The Will of God). He is the creator and founder of an international food and faith movement called Plating Grace.com, and founder and chair of the nonprofit group, The Table Foundation. He is a best-selling author, acclaimed international speaker, host for radio, podcast and a weekly international food and faith show on EWTN, Savoring our Faith. His unique background as a professional chef and his previous experience as a two-time black belt martial arts instructor and former award-winning break dancer and choreographer has earned the attention of major media outlets, including the Food Network. The mission to see food as a gift from God to nourish your family and to strengthen relationships is making this world a better place one meal at a time.

In an age of communicative media, free speech appears to be ubiquitous. Anyone can say anything in any of a hundred social media apps that can go viral worldwide in an instant throughout all of them. And this opens the thoughts of anyone to the commentary of anyone else. But are there limits on free speech in a global world? How is our freedom of speech bound by legal, ethical, and content restrictions? In what way is our freedom really free? Presenters from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia join with a Canadian moderator to walk us through some considerations on what it means to speak freely in the modern world.Lawrence Hopperton (ret.) was the founding director of distributed learning at Tyndale University in Toronto, Canada. He has published extensively on the theory and practice of online learning and won an international award for instructional design and disability compliance. He has also published four textbooks on writing skills, two chapbooks of poetry, and a full collection, Table for Three, through En Route Books and Media, which also published three of his chapters concerning disability compliance in a book entitled Teaching and Learning in the Age of Covid-19. His next book of poetry, Such Common Stories, will be released by En Route later this year. Rachel Fischer is a researcher and information ethicist who collaborates with academic institutions, civil society organisations and intergovernmental entities. She is the Co-Chair of the International Centre for Information Ethics, Deputy Editor for the International Review of Information Ethics and member of UNESCO IFAP's Working Group on Information Accessibility. Rachel was an editor and one of the authors for the Nelson Mandela Reader on Information Ethics which was released in 2021. Learn more about this reader at https://www.i-c-i-e.org/publications.Francis Etheredge is a Catholic married layman, with eleven children, three of whom he hopes are in heaven and the rest of whom are alive and well and stepping through life's stages of school, university, and career. In the last seven years, he has returned to being a self-employed writer, adding twelve books to one already published. Find his books on bioethics at En Route Books and Media. The Human Person: A Bioethical Word, Conception: An Icon of the Beginning, Mary and Bioethics: An Exploration, The ABCQ of Conceiving Conception, and Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics. Forthcoming later in 2022 is his new book, Human Nature: Moral Norm.Peter Breen is a defamation and media lawyer and former member of state parliament in Australia. He is the author of several books including his latest book, Prodigal Pilgrim Letters to Pope Francis from Lourdes, Fatima, Garabandal and Medjugorje. Coming in July 2022, his book Dear Mr. Putin will be published by En Route Books and Media. In this book, Peter expresses outrage at the unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian people, at the same time placing the war in a religious context, with the prospect that its outcome may be the historical events prophesied at Fatima in 1917.https://faithscience.org/free-speech/

The only standard we have for judging all of our social economic, and political institutions and arrangements as just or unjust, as good or bad, as better or worse, derives from our conception of the good life for man on earth, and from our conviction that, given certain external conditions, it is possible for men to make good lives for themselves by their own efforts.There must be sufficient truth in moral philosophy to provide a rational basis for the efforts at social reform and improvement in which all men can join, regardless of their religious beliefs or disbeliefs. Such common action for a better society presupposes that the measure of a good society consists in the degree to which it promotes the general welfare and serves the happiness of its people—this happiness being their earthly and temporal happiness, for there is no other ultimate end that the secular state can serve.The Mission of the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas”Philosophy is Everybody's Business”To help awaken citizens from their moral and intellectual slumbers, and to help them understand why philosophy is everybody's business. The possibility of finding sound and practical answers to questions about the good life and good society. Philosophy's ability to answer the most basic normative questions. What ought we seek in life? And how ought we seek it?To promulgate the insights and ideals embedded in Dr. Adler's lifelong intellectual work in the fields of Philosophy, Liberal Education, Ethics and Politics.To continue functioning as THE resource for, access to, and the on-going interpretation of his work.Presented by ELAINE WEISMANNhttps://faithscience.org/thegreatideas/

Fr. Dominic Ibok, D.Min., presents on his Faith and Facebook: Evangelizing a Rural Parish Community in Southeast Missouri through Social Media with Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, as respondent for the April 23, 2022, ITEST webinar. The book description is below:In Southeast Missouri, where Catholics are a minority, the challenge of diminishing participation and reduced membership requires an intentional engagement of the inactive members and the unaffiliated within the community. Unfortunately, many members of the laity do not have the awareness or skills to evangelize. In a rural community, the challenges seem more significant due to limited personnel and resources.This book aims to equip the laity with the skills and tools to evangelize inactive Catholics and the unaffiliated. It involves their growing in prayer, study, generosity, evangelization, and the discernment of their charisms. With the benefit of social media engagement like Facebook live stream, an opportunity to engage and evangelize is available for our rural parish community. The resources from experienced lay evangelists in evangelization and social media engagement will provide a template that can enhance the development of a program on evangelization for my rural parish community.To test the effectiveness of these resources, seventeen participants engaged in a nine-week program to learn how prayer, study, generosity, evangelization, the discernment of their charisms, and teamwork can prepare them for evangelization. This thesis engaged the inactive Catholics and the unaffiliated in rural Southeast Missouri by using Facebook live stream as an evangelization tool. The focus of this project is thus reminding active Catholics of their responsibility to evangelize and how utilizing a familiar social media portal like Facebook can enhance the process even in a rural community.For more, see https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/faithandfacebook/

This webinar focuses on the philosophical movement of Transhumanism and its quest to transcend biological limits toward enhanced life. The emphasis on transhumanist transcendence will be compared to the hybridity of posthumanism. Both movements will be contextualized within an evolutionary framework.SISTER ILIA DELIO, OSF, PHDTranshumanism advocates deeply transformative technologies for the betterment of humankind – a world in which the frailties of human biology are transcended. Sister Ilia will examine Transhumanism, compare it to Posthumanism, which emphasizes hybrid relationships, and contextualize these movements in an unfinished universe.NICHOLAS M. SPARKSA RESPONSE TO SISTER ILIA DELIOFirst, I register my agreement with Sister Ilia Delio, arguing that posthumanism can help Christians to recover insights obscured by Enlightenment humanism. Then, I note a few points of disagreement: (1) the relationship of nature and techne; (2) the account of nature as computational and informational; (3) to what extent a classical Christian view of the person and of nature is already consonant with the insights of posthumanism; (4) and finally, the proper understanding of the transition to a cybernetically-embedded and mediated mode of individual and social existence.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Dr. Stacy Trasancos presents for the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology on Assessing Contemporary Science in the Light of Faith. (January 15, 2022)Today we hear, “Follow the science!” People use that idiom as if to say that science is the path to all truth and that if we follow where science leads, we will never be led astray. But science doesn't work like that. The Catholic Church has a long history, codified in Genesis and professed still in our Creed, that science is the study of the handiwork of God. Science is a search for truth, but it must be guided by the light of faith. Dr. Trasancos tells about her efforts to reunite contemporary science back with theology and philosophy in a more mature way than the Middle Ages when science was first born of Christianity. To authentically follow science in the light of faith will be the way to true progress in technology that benefits humanity, both in this world and the one to come.https://faithscience.org/theology-of-science/

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, Dr. Stephen Barr, author of Modern Physics Ancient Faith talks with Catholic Students at Holy Apostles College & Seminary about the Multiverse (May 31, 2018)https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Physics-Ancient-Faith-Stephen/dp/0268021988

DR. STACY TRASANCOSThe Data from the Eucharistic MiraclesIn writing her latest book with Fr. George Elliott, Behold It is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence (Tan Books), Stacy Trasancos had to look deep into the data from the investigations of Eucharistic miracles. What she found was surprising and, at times, disappointing. In a commitment to the truth, she will present the data from the three miracles she studied: Lanciano, Bolsena, and Buenos Aires. Ultimately, she argues for the limits of science and the certainty of faith in Jesus Christ.MSGR. EUGENE MORRISAt the Church's Foundation: the Lord's Real PresenceHoly Mother Church teaches us that the Most Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1324). This means that Christian spirituality flows from the Most Holy Eucharist (the source) and so Christian actions should be directed towards Him (the summit). At the heart of this profound assertion is the Church's consistent teaching regarding the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents Dr. Chiara Simeone-DiFrancesco in Counterfeit: The Psychology of Pornography -- The Science, the Effect on your Marriage or Vocation, and the Gospel Take on It (October 23, 2021)This presentation will look at understanding why persons of both sexes engage in pornography, and how it affects their relationships. The particular emphasis here is on matrimony and the wounds pornography inflicts, even when one spouse is unaware of the use of pornography. What is the draw? How does pornography connect with other mental health disorders? What is its psychological function and how does it affect marital intimacy? What about when pornography is engaged in together by a couple? Why and how is this still harmful to their relationship? What are the underlying areas that need developing and healing for a person to overcome it? What happens when these are not specifically addressed and the person just stops cold turkey? Are there still risks? If so, what are they? Why do partners often feel betrayed when they discover their spouse has been using pornography? What are the necessary ingredients for the traumatized spouse to be healed? What is the porn-engaging partner's responsibility and task in the healing process? What controls over the situation can be attained?

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents Dr. Chiara Simeone-DiFrancesco in Counterfeit: The Psychology of Pornography -- The Science, the Effect on your Marriage or Vocation, and the Gospel Take on It (October 23, 2021)This presentation will look at understanding why persons of both sexes engage in pornography, and how it affects their relationships. The particular emphasis here is on matrimony and the wounds pornography inflicts, even when one spouse is unaware of the use of pornography. What is the draw? How does pornography connect with other mental health disorders? What is its psychological function and how does it affect marital intimacy? What about when pornography is engaged in together by a couple? Why and how is this still harmful to their relationship? What are the underlying areas that need developing and healing for a person to overcome it? What happens when these are not specifically addressed and the person just stops cold turkey? Are there still risks? If so, what are they? Why do partners often feel betrayed when they discover their spouse has been using pornography? What are the necessary ingredients for the traumatized spouse to be healed? What is the porn-engaging partner's responsibility and task in the healing process? What controls over the situation can be attained?

Welcome to The Open Door! Jim Hanink here again, even though our producer, SebastianMahfood, is again in Italy. Today, we have an opportunity to learn about a remarkable initiativefor vulnerable people, especially children, in Uganda. The Site for Community ServicesProgramme (SCOSP) integrates education, health care, and human rights advocacy. Our specialand welcome guest is Michael Sabiiti. Our questions include the following.1. Mr. Sabiiti (Michael, if I may), as its founder, you have lived the history of your organization. How did it begin?2. What is the legal status of an approved Non-Governmental Agency (NGO)?3. SCOSP has a distinctive outreach program to serve albino children. Could you please explain for us the position of albino people in Uganda?4. How has COVID-19 impacted your work?5. What has your experience been with refugees from the strife in Congo?6. What financial resources can you draw on? Have your “gofund.me” efforts been fruitful?7. In addition to your service commitment, you help organize safaris. What does this involve, and why are safaris important for Uganda?8. Catholic priests from Uganda have served in my home parish in Inglewood, California. What is the role of the Catholic Church in Uganda?9. Have you ever visited the United States?10. Where do you see SCOSP in ten years' time?

In this webinar hosted by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Dr. Peter Redpath and Dr. Tom Sheahen speak on the topic of Media Bias. (June 19, 2021)https://faithscience.org/media-bias/

In this episode of The Open Door, Jim Hanink, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Christopher Zehnder talk with Sebastian Mahfood about his life, vocation, and work. (June 4, 2021)

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Dr. Arthur William McVey speaks on Soulful Organizational Leadership (March 29, 2021)In the “Postmodern” organizational era, the concept of soul, spirituality, rationality, telos, virtue, happiness, and meaning is becoming increasingly a mainstream component in scientific psychology. This situation presents a promising challenge for a Thomistic, organizational faculty-behavioral-psychology. As contemporary organizations emerge into hierarchical-heterarchical structures, it is argued that a return to a premodern Aristotelian-Thomistic, faculty-behavioral-psychology is the most appropriate organizational psychology for the digital-disruptive culture in quest of an executive-exemplar realist leadership. In responding to this cultural situation, we will develop a psychology of soulful organizational leadership grounded on a Thomistic, organizational faculty-behavioral-psychology.https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/leadership/

On this Dantedi 2021: Dr. Frank Ambrosio interviews Canadian Sculptor Timothy Schmalz and American Translator Daniel Fitzpatrick concerning their year-long translation project that produced three books, 100 emails, and some assistance to the refugees and migrants in Italy. See https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/helpdantehelpitaly/ for more! (March 25, 2021)

In this episode of Author to Author, Dr. Cynthia Toolin-Wilson interviews Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Dr. Timothy Westbrook, Dr. Victoria Dunnam, and Dr. Mary Lowe, the editors of Teaching and Learning in the Age of COVID19 (March 22, 2021)https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/ageofcovid/

In this episode of The Two Wings, Dr. Angelyn Arden speak on Metaxy, Forms, and Healing: Neo-Platonic-Christian-Augustinian Depth Psychology and Christianity (March 18, 2021) To download the bibliography, go to https://wcatradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Metaxy-Forms-Healing-Presentation-Bibliography.pdf

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents a Webinar on Gender Dysphoria with Dr. Paul Hruz and Fr. Philip Bochanski (March 6, 2021)

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Dr. Tom Sheahen, director of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, explains the Relationship between Faith and Science (February 23, 2021)For more about ITEST, see https://www.faithscience.org

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Dr. Louis Charles Willard explains his Organizational Research Methodology (February 15, 2021)

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Prof. Joseph Pearce presents on Teaching Literary Studies (February 8, 2021)

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Dr. Pat Castle and Bernadette Costello present on LIFE Runners as Extracurricular Activity for Catholic Students. (February 1, 2021)

In this episode of The Two Wings Seminar, Fr. Peter Stravinskas Speaks on the Master of Education in Catholic School Administration at Pontifex University (January 11, 2021)The Master's of Education in Catholic School Administration is a program conceived by the Catholic Education Foundation in conversation with Pontifex University, and is specifically geared toward current or aspiring Catholic school leaders; it is thoroughly professional in its demands, inclusive of all normal requirements, accredited, and unabashedly Catholic in its outlook. Course work is done on-line, in addition to a one week summer session, so as not to ignore the invaluable dimension of personal influence in the pedagogical enterprise. https://www.pontifex.university/page/show/502109