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11The Great War and Christian Faith: The Firsthand Accounts of Three Priests in FranceHeythrop Journal 59 (2): 163-175. 2018.In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914-1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a glimpse of how faithful people responded to very challenging situations. Private Orr came into the war as an ordained priest, but lost his faith after two years of fighting. Monsignor Ayscough worked m…Read more
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2057The Book of Ruth: Solidarity, Kindness, and PeaceSolidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics 3 (1). 2013.I propose a reading of The Book of Ruth that takes seriously the pastoral concern for refugees, migrants, and their families that was embodied in the life and teaching of Pope John Paul II.The Book of Ruth models virtues and practices that can help build up a society in solidarity, kindness, and peace. Ruth’s decision to stand beside Naomi demonstrates the value of solidarity in creating a hopeful future for families and communities. Naomi’s role in bringing Ruth and Boaz together shows prudence…Read more
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18EmbodimentThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 11 (2): 239-248. 2011.The mystery of embodiment is ubiquitous in medical settings. Even so, health care professionals may find themselves driven by daily clinical tasks that prevent this mystery from coming to focal awareness. The author explores embodiment from five approaches, (1) offering a simple account of developing a skill that proceeds in several stages from novice to expert, (2) examining critically the “capabilities approach” of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum and what it says and does not say about embodim…Read more
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60Thomas Aquinas and Recent Questions about Human DignityDiametros 38 112-126. 2013.What is the status of human dignity in bioethics today? Ruth Macklin, Steven Pinker, and Peter Singer are among those who argue that “human dignity” is incoherent rhetoric, improperly smuggled into public discourse by religious people who are opposed to moral autonomy and want to block progress in cutting-edge medical research. In the moral philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, however, dignity is broader and deeper than its critics claim. It cannot simply be replaced by the concept of “autonomy.” Digni…Read more
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17The Great War and Christian Faith: The Firsthand Accounts of Three Priests in FranceHeythrop Journal 57 (6). 2016.In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914-1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a glimpse of how faithful people responded to very challenging situations. Private Orr came into the war as an ordained priest, but lost his faith after two years of fighting. Monsignor Ayscough worked m…Read more
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9The Great War and Christian Faith: The Firsthand Accounts of Three Priests in FranceHeythrop Journal 58 (3). 2017.In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914-1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a glimpse of how faithful people responded to very challenging situations. Private Orr came into the war as an ordained priest, but lost his faith after two years of fighting. Monsignor Ayscough worked m…Read more
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43Solidarity: Rival versions, conflicting interpretations, and the shape of hopeHeythrop Journal 53 (3): 405-417. 2012.What do we mean when we utter the word ‘solidarity’? How do we apprehend its meaning when we hear it spoken of by others? The ancient Greeks - Homer, Thucydides, and Aristotle - offer a vantage point from which this inquiry may begin. The Book of Genesis sets before us a cycle of stories about brothers, along with questions about the bonds that keep them together. The sagas of Iceland explore the nature of conflicts between one family and another. Thomas Aquinas gives a distinctive account of so…Read more
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