• Collections of Catholic information and documents
  
  
  • Catholic Resources on the Web: Catholic liturgy and worship, Catholic teaching, Catholic culture, Catholic people (saints, etc.), Catholic organizations, and links to other Catholic web sites
    
    
  • The Theology Library: a site with over 8000 links--extensive information on the Catholic Church, Church history and worship, sacraments; saints (a list of patron saints with information on individual saints--see also A Guide to Catholic Saints and The Saints Page, which offers brief biographies of individual saints, frequently asked questions about saints, and a calendar of feast days), Mary and Marian apparitions (see also The Mary Page, which features numerous links to most aspects of Marian devotion and theology including The Medjugorje Web), links to justice and peace sites and to most ethical issues considered in this class; descriptions of non-Catholic Christian denominations (including the First Church of Cyberspace, which offers online worship every Sunday evening at 9:00 PM E.S.T.), non-Christian religions, and other religions and belief systems; directories of Catholic resources on the internet; links to a broad spectrum of Catholic views; and a glossary of religious terms (under the "Religion" subheading). See also the religions of the world: from an online text and course by Dr. Philip A. Pecorino.
    
    
  • Web Links: great collection of Catholic links on liturgy, saints, religious orders, Catholic media and organizations, etc.
    
    
  • The Online Catholic Almanac: Catholic news and events, glossary of terms, saints, Church history, the papacy, the college of cardinals and U.S. bishops
    
    
  • DrCatholic: links to information on abortion, angels, Church documents, death penalty, dogmas, euthanasia, evolution, God, Jesus, Mary, sacraments, saints, shroud of Turin, stigmata, suicide and Vatican II.
    
    
  • Catholic Goldmine: an idiosyncratic, but fairly comprehensive collection
    
    
  • Catholic TV: Catholic video from the Vatican, Notre Dame, and other programming
    
    
  • Frequently asked questions about the Catholic Church: contains a nice Q & A format on major areas of Catholic belief and practice
    
    
  • The Catholic Internet Directory: a site featuring the top 40 most visited Catholic sites on the internet, Catholic diocesan web sites and e-mail directories, Catholic publications, Catholic organizations on the web, Christian service volunteer organizations, Catholic internet directories, religious orders, and catholic high schools and colleges on the web.
    
    
  • Catholic Online: major gateway to Catholic resources on the internet. This site also features news and current events relating to Catholicism.
    
    
  • The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion: Roman Catholicism Section: syllabi and teaching resources, electronic texts and journals, a guide to internet resources, bibliographies, and liturgical resources. See also the homepage for The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion which contains a great collection of resources.
    
    
  • Catholic-USA.com: This site has links to the Vatican, National Council of Catholic bishops, online dioceses and parishes, all Catholic colleges in the United States and many high schools and grade schools, male and female religious orders, Catholic news agencies and organizations.
    
    
  • Chester's Catholic Index: an extensive (and eclectic) list of Catholic links, arranged alphabetically
    
    
  • Resources for Catholic Educators: over 2300 links in an alphabetic listing of topics geared towards catechists.
    
    
  • Roman Catholic Church Colleges and Schools: a collection of all the Catholic colleges and universities in the United States, with information about them and links to their websites
    
    
  • Other Catholic Resources on the Net: billed as the largest index of Catholic sites on the web, this site features information on art & architecture, the Bible, online Catholic books and periodicals, Church teachings, reference resources, saints, college student organizations around the country, and traditional sites featuring Latin prayers and the Latin mass
    
    
  • Traditional Catholic Reflections and Reports: News, opinion and information with an emphasis on spirituality and social justice
    
    
  • Catholic Worship: a site devoted to the Catholic liturgy, with information on rites, prayers, sacraments, and music
    
    
  • The Catholic Democracy Project: an organization dedicated to educating Catholics about the fullness of Catholic Social Teaching. Their Catholic Media Report features news relating to social justice issues and a variety of links to particular topics.
    
    
  • Education for Justice: mostly a pay site showing the contemporary relevance of Catholic Social Teaching, but with some free resources as well about the Church's social tradition
    
    
  • ZENIT: an international news agency whose mission is to provide objective coverage of events, documents and issues emanating from or concerning the Catholic Church
    
    
  • The Radical Catholic Page: Catholic views from the left on liberation theology; "The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Catholic Handbook" (discussions of homosexuality in the Bible and in the Catholic theological tradition, including the 1997 U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Always Our Children. On the topic of the Catholic tradition and homosexuality, see also Hope College Libraries Perspectives on Sexual Orientation, the excellent Homosexuality and Catholicism: A Partially Annotated Bibliography; "What the Church has to say about homosexuality" in the Summer, 2004 Notre Dame Magazine; "Homosexuality and the Church," with contributions by Luke Timothy Johnson and Eve Tushnet exploring the testimony of Scripture and the witness of human experience; and a story about Fr. Gary Meier, an openly gay Catholic priest. This site also features extensive links to social justice issues.
    
    
  • "A Two-Way Bridge": a lovely essay by Fr. James Martin, S.J., "inviting the L.G.B.T. community and the Catholic Church into a relationship of mutual respect, compassion and sensitivity"
    
    
  • Gay marriage
    
    
    • "Gay marriage, the bishops, and the crisis of leadership": An article about the 2011 vote in New York state approving gay marriage, it sees and seeks to explain the diminishing social influence of the U.S. Catholic bishops. See also this essay about same-sex marriage and natural law. This article takes issue with recent statements by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago that same-sex marriage is a violation of the natural law.
      
      
    • U.S. v. Windsor: a 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme court ruling that held that restricting "marriage" to heterosexual unions is unconstitutional according to the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. See also this discussion of the ruling and select quotations from Justice Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, in U.S. v. Windsor. See also Andrew Sullivan on why this ruling was a profoundly Catholic one about the dignity of all people, vs. the response of the U.S. Catholic bishops to this Supreme Court ruling, which was less impressed by the Catholicity of the court's action.
      
      
      • "Right Decision, Wrong Reason": another way to think about the Court's ruling in ways that depart from Justice Kennedy's reasoning
        
        
      • "The Court and Same-Sex Marriage": excellent piece by a law professor saying what the Court's DOMA ruling said, and what it didn't say
      
      
      
    • "A Catholic's Case for Same-Sex Marriage"
      
      
    • A gay man's argument against same-sex marriage
      
      
    • "Legalize same-sex marriage": An essay from 2004 by Paul Griffiths, this makes the case that law and morality should part and that sacramental marriage and state-sponsored contractual marriage should be disentangled.
      
      
    • Why laws allowing gay marriage are an imposition on religious freedom by "forc[ing] religion institutions to recognize such marriages in their employment and benefits agreements."
      
      
    • For for laws allowing same-sex marriage are not an imposition on religious freedom, see "Marriage, the church and the Supreme Court",a good piece by Michael Sean Winters about why the Church may lose in the long run by its opposition to same-sex marriage. See also this good explanation for why the Supreme Court's ruling doesn't violate religious freedom.
      
      
    • Catholicism and Same-Sex Marriage: a collection of links from the pages of Commonweal magazine
      
      
    • United States Catholic Bishops statement on same-sex unions
      
      
    • Different possible legal definitions of marriage
      
      
    • The evolving tradition of 'traditional' marriage
      
      
    • Supreme Court strikes down laws banning same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.
      
      
    • The American Bishops' response after the Supreme Court ruling and an alternate one from a Franciscan friar
      
      
    • Helpful comparison of gay marriage (as an issue of religious liberty) to divorce
    
    
    
  • The Catholic Worker Homepage: not an online version of The Catholic Worker, but rather an 'unofficial' collection of links to issues relating to this periodical and its heritage, links to Catholic Worker houses around the world, links to writings by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and other WWW resources for Catholic workers
    
    
  • The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church: a group seeking to promote justice in the Church and an egalitarian understanding of what it means to be the People of God. This site also contains numerous links to sites relating to justice in the Church.
    
    
  • Academic Info: Christianity: meta-indexes and general directories, reference resources, online texts and archives, Christian thinkers and theologians, and a lot more.
    
    
  • Fidens Quarens Internetum: information and online works by notable Christian theologians like Augustine and Aquinas (and many others)
    
    
  • Ask-a-priest: e-mail your questions about the faith
    
    
  • Catholic Blogs: an interesting collection from the serious to the satirical
    
    
  • Catholic Answers: questions and discussion about official Church teachings regarding such topics as God, creation, revelation, sin, salvation, eschatology, the Church, saints, sacraments, and morality
  
  
  
• Catholic hierarchy information and writings
  
  
  • The Vatican Home Page: information about the pope, along with online versions of his major writings; and a wealth of other background about the Vatican, including the Roman Curia, the Vatican News Service, the Vatican Museums, and the Vatican Archives.
    
    
  • The Vatican Today: Launched with a tweet on an iPad by Pope Benedict XVI, this is the Vatican's news portal. There are links here to Vatican Radio, the newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Vatican Television Center, the Vatican press office and information service and the Fides missionary news agency. In a first for the Vatican, this site is social-media friendly. There's also a <New York Times story about this new Vatican website.
    
    
  • Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: website of the CDF with a profile of what the Congregation is, along with the latest Church teachings with doctrinal documents, disciplinary documents and documents on sacramental questions
    
    
  • The Church and the Internet: A 2002 document from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications which assesses the positive and negative contributions of the internet for both Church and world. A companion document entitled Ethics in Internet analyzes the ethical implications of this new form of communication. In his message for the 36th World Communications Day, Pope John Paul referred to the internet as "A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel."
    
    
  • The Vatican's You-Tube site
    
    
  • The Pope's Facebook page: allows users to send virtual postcards in five languages
    
    
  • Vatican Radio: news of the Holy See and real-audio hookup in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, and Swedish
    
    
  • Catholic Television: video from the Vatican, Notre Dame, and other programming
    
    
  • The Sistine Chapel: an extended visual tour. See also this history of stained glass windows, with several interesting links on the background and history of this art form. And see here for a collection of links on stained glass.
    
    
  • The "Unofficial" Pope John Paul II Web Site: information about the pope, major writings, the doctrine of papal infallibility, links to other Catholic WWW sites. See also the online version of John Paul II's Crossing the Threshold of Hope.
    
    
  • The Complete List of Popes with their dates and a brief biography, and links to many of their important writings. See also why the pope wears white.
    
    
  • How the pope is elected: a detailed explanation of procedures and customs. See also the process of electing a pope and "Conclave 101", which includes Joseph Ratzinger's response to whether the Holy Spirit picks the next pope.
    
    
  • Selected Papal Encyclicals and Pronouncements: organized by pope and by subject. See also Papal Encyclicals Online, which features an especially comprehensive list of writings by John Paul II's predecessors, The Magisterium: Encyclicals, Catechisms, and Papal Documents, and Church documents by subject: an alphabetical list of Latin titles along with the subject of the statement, and usually its author and date.
    
    
    • God is Love (Deus Caritas Est): the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI
      
      
    • Saved by Hope (Spe Salvi): Pope Benedict's second encyclical
      
      
    • Charity in Truth: Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, released July 7, 2009.
      
      
    • The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei): the first encyclical by Pope Francis (June 29, 2013). See also excerpts from the encyclical, a discussion in America by various scholars about Francis's first encyclical, a video of important points in first encyclical, and this discussion of the new encyclical as a way to talk about God.
      
      
    • The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium): the apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis which sets out his vision for the Church.
      
      
    • On Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si'): Pope Francis's second encyclical
      
      
    • Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia
      
      
      • The "radical shift" in Amoris Laetitia to see grace in imperfection
        
        
      • Suggestions about reading the apostolic exhortation by starting with chapter 4
        
        
      • Top Ten Takeaways from Amoris Laetitia by Fr. James Martin, S.J.. See also this video that boils down the top ten into a top five.
        
        
      • Summary of what Francis is saying in Amoria Laetitia
        
        
      • Various reactions, both positive and negative, to Amoris Laetitia
        
        
      • Another way to look at mercy by Peter Steinfels. This is largely a positive essay, but it concludes with some pointed questions about mercy in Amoris Laetitia, in light of the reaffirmation of the traditional teaching against artificial contraception.
        
        
      • Response to Amoris Laetitia by Equally Blessed, a coalition of Catholic LGBT advocacy and ministry organizations
      
      
    • Pope Francis's Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate
    
    
  • A primer on Pope Francis's positions on several controversial issues
    
    
  • Pope Francis's address to Congress on September 24, 2015
    
    
  • Information on the institution of the Church: the online code of canon law, Catholic teaching on the papacy; a complete list of all the world's cardinals, with links to those with their own home pages; home pages to Catholic religious orders and dioceses in the United States
    
    
  • The cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: a rich source with biographal information on all cardinals since 1900, documents on the origin and evolution of the Roman cardinalate, a photo gallery, and other links
    
    
  • The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church: current and historical information about bishops, cardinals, popes
    
    
  • The National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference Home Page: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) are organizations of the American Catholic hierarchy. This site contains the departments of the NCCB/USCC and recent events and publications from the U.S. Catholic Bishops.
    
    
  • The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops YouTube channel: extensive video resources on many different areas of the bishops' teachings
    
    
  • Sexual Abuse Crisis
    
    
    • "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People": approved by the U.S. bishops in their June, 2002 meeting in Dallas
      
      
      • Revised norms: A joint commission of Vatican officials and U.S. Catholic bishops worked to revise the original charter in response to comments about it from Rome.
        
        
      • a side-by-side comparison of the June 2002 norms with the revised norms of October, 2002
        
        
      • Restore Trust: Response to Clergy Sexual Abuse: a comprehensive site from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops featuring history and documents relating to the sexual abuse crisis
      
      
      
    • Pope John Paul II's "Address to the Cardinals of the United States": from April 23, 2002
      
      
    • Voice of the Faithful: a lay-led, lay-initiated group founded in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis, its motto is "Keep the Faith, Change the Church."
      
      
    • Clergy Abuse Tracker: a clearinghouse of stories from newspapers around the country pertaining to the sexual abuse scandal compiled through the Poynter Institute
      
      
    • Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People: the 2003 report on the compliance of the dioceses in the United States with the charter developed by the U.S. bishops at their 2002 meeting in Dallas. See also the reports by the National Review Board, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The former contains a national tally of the victims and abusers. The latter addresses the causes of the crisis. The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend was one of eight dioceses in the country to receive a special commendation for their compliance.
      
      
    • "Church Settlement Goes Beyond the Abused": a report from Louisville, Kentucky where the Church's payouts to victims of sexual abuse are effecting its ability to minister to the poor by depriving various social services of needed funds
      
      
    • "Can One Forgive a Child Molester?": an essay about forgiveness
      
      
    • The sexual abuse crisis and celibacy: an essay from the National Catholic Reporter that explores whether these are related
      
      
    • Report on the context and causes of the sexual abuse crisis by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice: the final report from May, 2011
      
      
      • "What Caused the Crisis?": An essay from June, 2011, by Kathleen McChesney, the first executive director of the newly established Office for Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, about the findings of John Joy College Study on clergy sexual abuse
        
        
      • "Myth-busters": an essay by the editors of Commonweal magazine, it asks how well some common explanations of the crisis far in light of the final John Jay report. In particular, they discuss homosexuality (frequently suggested by the right) and celibacy (frequently suggested by the left) as precipitating causes of clerical sexual abuse.
        
        
      • "Lagging Behind": an excellent analysis of the John Jay report by Dean Nicholas Cafardi, it suggests that the bishops themselves are the ones 'lagging behind' in this crisis
        
        
      • The limitations of the John Jay Study: an article for the National Catholic Reporter by Tom Roberts. One of the things left out in John Jay, Roberts says, is much discussion of the behavior of bishops in transferring abusive priests.
        
        
      • Accountability Gap among Bishops: important essay by Nicholas Cafardi about how some bishops are not meeting the public standards for accountability that they themselves set
        
        
      • Editorial from the National Catholic Reporter about Pope Francis's June, 2016, motu proprio concerning the removal of bishops: It especially raises the question of why progressive theologians and priests advocating the ordination of women have been subject to tighter strictures than bishops who endanger children.
  
  
  
• Significant Catholic documents of a general nature
  
  
  • The Documents of Vatican II: The Second Vatican Council (or Vatican II) was a series of meetings between the pope (first, John XXIII, and then Paul VI) and the world's Catholic bishops held from 1962-1965 in Rome which sought to re-evaluate or reappriase all aspects of the Catholic faith as they related to the modern world.
    
    
  • The online version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
    
    
  • Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
    
    
  • The Code of Canon Law: the juridical law of the Roman Catholic Church, canon law is the body of regulations made by Catholic ecclesiastical authority for the government of the Church and its members

• America: a weekly magazine published by Jesuits in the United States for thinking Catholics and those who want to know what Catholics are thinking
  
  
• Commonweal: the online version of this independent review of public affairs, religion, literature, and the arts. This site also contains a helpful index of past issues of Commonweal.
  
  
• The National Catholic Reporter: the online version of a weekly independent, lay-edited Catholic newspaper. If you want to keep up with current events in the Church and in the world as they relate to the Church, this is the best place to look.
  
  
• The Tablet: a Catholic weekly from the United Kingdom
  
  
• Sojourners: a publication dedicated to articulating the bibical call to social justice
  
  
• U.S. Catholic: the online version of the monthly Catholic magazine
  
  
• the website of St. Anthony Messenger
  
  
• First Things: A Journal of Religion and Public Life
  
  
• Our Sunday Visitor: updates on moral issues, Catholic teaching on a variety of issues, and an online Catholic almanac
  
  
• Today's Catholic: a publication of the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend
  
  
• Catholic periodicals and newspapers: assorted links to several periodicals, along with diocesan newspapers
  
  
• The Thomist: a speculative quarterly review centered around the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas

• Crosswalk: Here is the entire Bible online in the Revised Standard Version. Just select book and chapter.

• Latin Vulgate

• Search the entire Bible for any word. Every passage where that word appears will show up. Or, just type in a particular citation under "Passage," select "Look Up," and that portion of the Bible will appear.

• All-in-one Biblical Resource: Search the Bible in many versions and languages.

• Biblenotes: a summary of each book of the Bible

• World Wide Study Bible: an attempt to organize all the Bible-related resources on the web. This site features both text and commentary on all the books in the Bible.

• Goshen Net Bible Study: multi-translation concordance, Bible dictionary, dictionary of names in the Bible, Greek and Hebrew lexicon

• The Synoptic Gospels: View the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John side-by-side

• What is a search engine?: a good introduction with helpful explanations. See also WWW Search Engines, which offers a brief description of (and links to) all of the major search engines, with hints on how to use each one. Meta-Search Engines search more than one search engine at a time. Here is a coll ection of several of the best.
  
  
• The Best Search Engines: descriptions and search tips for operating a wide variety of search engines
  
  
• Choose the best searh for your information needs: great resource from NoodleTools that points you to various resources depending on your information needs
  
  
• Variety search engine: Comprehensive search engine, geographical directory with yellow pages and people search
  
  
• Google: probably the best search engine around
  
  
• alltheweb.com: scours 200 million web pages, most of the time in under a second
  
  
• Ixquick: a metasearch engine with hunts through 14 different search engines at once and ranks the results according to how many times they appear in each one's top 10 results
  
  
• Jux2: another good metasearch engine which pulls together results from Google, Yahoo, etc.
  
  
• Vivisimo: a clustering search engine which automatically groups search results into categories
  
  
• SearchOnline.com: another metasearch engine, and one of the newer ones
  
  
• Northern Light: Northern Light uses artificial intelligence software to divide your results into separate categories to help refine your search.
  
  
• GoTo.Com: searching made simple
  
  
• Ask Jeeves: a very helpful service which allows you to put your question into plain English. You'll receive a response listing places on the web where you can go to find the answer.
  
  
• AskMeHelpDesk: ask real people real questions
  
  
• All-In-One: a meta-search form and collection of an enormous number of search forms
  
  
• All of the known Internet Search Engines collected in one place

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• News and current events
  
  
  • The Catholic News Service: the oldest and largest news wire service specializing in reporting on religion, the Catholic News Service is the the primary source of national and world news that appears in the U.S. Catholic press. It is also a leading source of news for Catholic print and broadcast media throughout the world.
    
    
  • Catholic World News: good, up-to-date source for news relating to Catholicism
    
    
  • Catholic America Today: a Catholic social networking site
    
    
  • Goshen Net: news and current events in the world of religion with excellent archives for searching past news stories
    
    
  • Religion News Service: news from the world of religion culled from a variety of sources
    
    
  • Newshub: the top news stories of the day, updated every 15 minutes
    
    
  • CNN Interactive
    
    
  • ABC News
    
    
    
    • Nightline: complete transcripts of recent shows, along with video clips and other resources
    
    
    
  • CBS News
    
    
  • MSNBC News
    
    
  • PBS Online
    
    
  • Time Magazine Online
    
    
  • Newsweek Online
    
    
  • U.S. News & World Report Online
    
    
  • USA Today Online
    
    
  • New York Times Online: free subscription and "All the News that's Fit to Print"
    
    
  • Washington Post: great national coverage, links to the AP newswire and to online newspapers in each state
    
    
  • Online United States Newspapers
    
    
  • Snap: extensive links to newspapers and other online news sources, arts and humanities, weather, sports, etc.
    
    
  • Broadcast.com: real audio from radio stations around the world; including the BBC World Service, CNN, local TV stations, news & talk radio
  
  
  
• General reference
  
  
  • Miscellaneous Subjects
    
    
    • Reference Desk: billed at "the single best source of facts on the net," it probably is.
      
      
    • The Online Encyclopedia Britannica
      
      
    • The Online Columbia Encyclopedia
      
      
    • The Internet Public Library: reference collection, along with online newspapers, magazines and texts
      
      
    • Library Spot: a good collection of libraries, literature, and reference materials
      
      
    • Information Please: encyclopedia, almanac, and dictionary all in one
      
      
    • 1Up Info - Encyclopedia & Reference Resource: Browse articles in all areas of topics within Earth & Environment, History, Literature & Arts, Health & Medicine, People, Philosophy & Religion, Places, Plants & Animals, Science & Technology, Social Science, Law, Sports, and more.
      
      
    • Homework Central Reference Collection: dozens of dictionaries, thesauri, and encyclopedias
      
      
    • Debatepedia: helpful, wiki-generated information on different sides of controversial topics
      
      
    • Multiple perspectives on various social and moral issues: from the Multnomah County Library
      
      
    • LibrarySpot: designed to help locate library and reference information on the internet. The site is a gateway to other libraries, extensive reference information, and online books and magazines.
      
      
    • Librarian's Index to the Internet: a guide to just about everything online
      
      
    • GovSpot.com: an extremely comprehensive site featuring information on all branches of government at the state and national levels
      
      
    • Firstgov.com: good source of links to most areas of federal, state, and local government
      
      
    • FedStats: all the latest statistics at the federal and state levels
      
      
    • FindLaw.com: This site allows you to find every online state and federal court decision.
      
      
    • ChooseLaw: a wealth of legal information, including general law resources, business law resources, and various resources for law students and those aspiring to study law
      
      
    • Public Library of Law: excellent and comprehensive website featuring all aspects of US law, court cases, etc.
      
      
    • Scotus Blog: the blog of the Supreme Court of the United States
    
    
    
  • Religion
    
    
    • The Catholic Encyclopedia: not a recent version, certainly, but still helpful for many entries
      
      
    • Religious and theological glossaries
      
      
      • Glossary of Religious Terms
        
        
      • Online dictionary from Beliefnet.com: a great comprehensive resource
        
        
      • Glossary of Theological Terms
        
        
      • Glossary for the Study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
        
        
      • Glossary of Christian Terms
        
        
      • Foundations: an online glossary for beginning theologians, created by undergraduates at the University of Notre Dame
        
        Glossary to terms in ethics
      
      
      
    • Information on Other Religions and Christian Denominations
      
      
      • Religious Studies Resource Guide: a very helpful and thorough collection of resources for the study of religion. There are General Religious Studies resources, Eastern & Western Religion resources, Resources for reading religious texts, and Teaching Resources.
        
        
      • Homework Central's Religion Resources: explanations of various faiths and theologies; along with reference sources, religions by location, interreligious studies, religion research tools
        
        
      • The Theology Library on other Christian denominations and non-Christian religions: descriptions of non-Catholic Christian denominations (including the First Church of Cyberspace, which offers online worship every Sunday evening at 9:00 PM E.S.T.), non-Christian religions, and other religions and belief systems
        
        
      • Resources on other religions from the Pluralism Project of Harvard University
        
        
      • Guide to Resources in Theology: Anglican resources, Catholic resources, Evangelical and Ecumenical resources, Orthodox resources, Protestant resources, along with links to various sacred texts and manuscripts
        
        
      • Links to religion resources: information on the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, as well as Eastern traditions
        
        
      • Religion Depot: discussion forums, artwork, quotations from and information on Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism. There's also a good section on the meaning of life.
        
        
      • Beliefnet.com: a site exploring religion, spirituality, and morality, with a good bit of information on other religions as well featuring online versions of different faiths' sacred texts, some interactive quizzes, and information about various forms of spirituality. See also sacred texts of the world's religions.
        
        
      • Brief summaries of world religions: about a paragraph on each major religion
        
        
      • Statistical and geographical information on the religions of the world packed with interesting information
        
        
      • The Religious Movements Homepage at the University of Virginia: a site "dedicated to the study of religious movements on the web and in the world"
        
        
      • Sacred and Religious Texts: excellent resource with links to sacred texts from many world religions
    
    
    
  • Language and Writing
    
    
    • Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus: a wonderful online resource
      
      
    • OneLook Dictionaries: searches 625 online dictionaries at once
      
      
    • Roget's Thesaurus
      
      
    • The online Free Thesaurus
      
      
    • Grammar Resources: lots of help for writers. This site includes a grammar handbook, an online style checker, rules for punctuation, Strunk's Elements of Style, and many other useful links.
      
      
    • Style Manuals and Citation Guides: MLA, APA, Strunk's
      
      
    • How to Footnote Electronic Sources: See also Citing the Internet, MLA Style of Citation or APA Style of Citation.
    
    
    
  • Resources on computing and the internet
    
    
    • Starting Points for Web Explorers: help in using the web, frequently asked questions about the web, basic tutorial on the Internet and the WWW, other search and indexing resources
      
      
    • Tips for Evaluating Internet Resources: extensive bibliography to sources and tips for responsible use of world wide web resources
      
      
    • Computer terms and definitions
      
      
    • The Yale Hypertext Style Guide: excellent resource on creating and maintaining web pages
      
      
    • Web tools
      
      
      • Adobe Acrobat Reader
        
        
      • RealPlayer

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Background on ethics and important ethical concepts
  
  
  
  • Catholic Morality website: a good collection of links to various concepts drawn from the Catholic moral tradition
    
    
  • Ethics: annotated bibliography and links to notable concepts and writers in the field of ethics
    
    
  • What is Ethics?: a brief introduction
    
    
  • Introduction to Ethical Systems: a clever and informative background on different ways of doing ethics and thinking about morality, with lots of examples and illustrations
    
    
  • Ethical issues, news, and resources both about ethical theory and some ethical issues
    
    
  • Ethical theory and applied ethics
    
    
  • Relativism: a description of what ethical relativism is and some criticisms
    
    
  • "Why Our Children Don't Think There are Moral Facts": great piece on the relativism encouraged by the seemingly benign distinction between facts and opinions
    
    
  • Interesting video debate on the objectivity of morality. See also this defense of moral objectivity based upon peoples' reactions to being wronged.
    
    
  • The presence of moral relativism in contemporary academic circles
    
    
  • Consequentialism: a good description of consequentialism (or utilitarianism, as it's sometimes called)
    
    
  • Natural Law: a good description and explanation of what natural law is, especially as it relates to sexual matters. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy definition of natural law is also available.
    
    
    • For a good essay examining some of the difficulties in reasoning from what's natural, see Daniel Callahan's "What's natural?: It's hard to say." Prof. Charles Rice's column also provides a helpful exposition of this concept.
    
    
    
  • The Principle of Double Effect: This moral concept distinguishes between directly and indirectly intended actions and is significant for many aspects of Catholic teaching, especially that on abortion and other medical issues.
    
    
    • An interesting application of double effect to a tragic case concerns the conjoined twins born in England on August 8, 2000. See especially the comments of Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, and the ruling of the court who denied the appeal of the parents not to separate Mary and Jodie. Read about the results of the surgery.
    
    
    
  • Moral Argument and Divine Command Theory: lots of good links to full-text articles about various areas relating to morality and God
    
    
  • Background on religion and morality
    
    
  • Bioethics for Beginners: a site from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics which explains what bioethics is and how it it studied
    
    
  • A site containing excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on morality and moral issues, an annotated list of the 7 deadly sins, a directory to ethics sites on the WWW, morality and conscience
  
  
  
• Background on Christian ethics
  
  
  • "The Indispensability of Theological Meta-ethical Foundations for Morality": a lecture by William L. Craig which very coherently sets out why morality can be nothing more than subjective opinion without the existence of God.
    
    
  • The Nature of Christian Ethics: This excerpt from the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes ethics from within a Christian worldview and gives special attention to the human vocation to beatitude (heaven) and how the purpose of life affects Christian ethics (see especially #1729ff.).
    
    
  • A blog about Catholic moral theology: timely articles about contemporary events
    
    
  • The Splendor of Truth (Veritatis Splendor): a 1993 encyclical by Pope John Paul II, which features a strong critique of ethical relativism from the perspective of a Christian worldview
    
    
  • The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae): a 1995 encyclical by Pope John Paul II, which does an excellent job of showing how ethics becomes Christian when God is brought in as the "definitive goal," the "final end," and the "very purpose of life."
    
    
  • Faith and Reason (Fides et Ratio): a 1998 encyclical by Pope John Paul II in which he affirms the existence of absolute truth and explains the relationship between faith and reason and the need each has for the other

• Catholic teaching and background to it
  
  
  • Birth Control and the Catholic Church: a very complete site on most aspects of this issue. It features a short history of Catholic teachings on birth control, an explanation of Church teaching, natural law and human sexuality, a comparison between natural family planning and artificial contraception, a discussion about whether the present teaching can be changed, letters about the Church's official teaching, and a list of further links and references.
    
    
  • "What are the Benefits of Practicing NFP?": a list from the Natural Family Planning information Site. See also this statement about natural family planning from a young couple
    
    
  • Early Catholic views on birth control: statements on contraception from notable sources in early Christian history
    
    
  • Casti Connubii: the 1930 encyclical by Pope Pius XI, which sets the stage for Humanae Vitae and for approval of natural family planning by affirming the morality of sexual intercourse during times of diminished or absent fertility
    
    
  • Humanae Vitae: the 1968 encyclical by Pope Paul VI on birth control.
    
    
  • Interview with Britain's Cardinal Heenan: an entraordinary exchange between the late David Frost and Britain's Cardinal Heenan only months after Humanae Vitae appeared in 1968. This interview explores what 'openness to the transmission of life' really means, and contains a forceful affirmation by Cardinal Heenan of the priority of individual conscience.
    
    
  • "The Encyclical Crisis": an essay by Fr. Bernard Häring from 1968 on Humanae Vitae
    
    
  • "Responses to Questions Proposed Concerning 'Uterine Isolation' and Related Matters": a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which essentially presents the Church's conclusions on the Principle of Double Effect as it relates to abortion
    
    
  • "Ideals Collide as Vatican Rethinks Condom Ban": concerning what was thought to be at the time a forthcoming document in which the Church will address whether condoms are permissible for a married heterosexual couple one of whom is HIV-positive. That document was later shelved under Pope Benedict. Other observers, however, see more tolerant signals coming from the Vatican about the use of condoms for H.I.V. prevention.
    
    
  • Marcella Alsan, MD., "The Church and AIDS in Africa": an excellent essay about what really is a culture of life where condom use for AIDS is concerned
    
    
  • "Ethical Treatment after Rape": an essay by Fr. William Saunders which outlines the Church's moral teaching about the treatment of a woman who has been raped. See the following about pregnancy following rape, featuring some statistics in the wake of the Congressman Todd Akin comments from August, 2012, about "legitimate rape."
    
    
  • the role of religion in the FDA's decision to require a prescription for the Plan B contraceptive
    
    
  • "Catholic Hospitals to Follow Plan B Law": A 2007 state law in Connecticut requires hospitals to administer emergency contraception to all rape victims. The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut and leaders of the Catholic hospitals said in a joint statement "since the teaching authority of the church has not definitively resolved this matter and since there is serious doubt about how Plan B pills work," the hospitals will be allowed to provide Plan B to rape victims without first requiring ovulation tests. Nonetheless, there are concerns that Plan B may be abortifacient.
    
    
  • Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics: a 1975 statement by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that reaffirmed the ban on artificial contraception
    
    
  • The Catholic Church and sexuality: a brief background
  
  
  • "What the Church Has to Say" by John Monczunski: a good primer to Catholic teaching on homosexuality
  
  
  
  • "It's time to end the hypocrisy on birth control": an essay by Kathy Coffey from the June 1998 issue of U.S. Catholic, which features several useful links to Catholic teaching on birth control
    
    
  • "Does Method Matter?"essay by Lisa Fullam arguing that Humanae Vitae is unnatural in two important respects
    
    
  • "Humanae vitae: what has it done to us? And what it to be done now?": an excellent essay by the late Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw which reflects on the pastoral consequences of the encylical. It also has a memorable image of geography and cartography for how people come to learn truth.
    
    
  • "Pope Paul VI as prophet: Have Humanae Vitae's bold predictions come true?": an essay by Janet Smith
    
    
  • Karl Rahner on Humanae Vitae: an essay from 1968 offering a good introduction to lots of issues relating to conscience and the natural law, etc.
    
    
  • "The Truth of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae" by Karol Wojtyla: a statement from 1969 by the future pope
    
    
  • An argument why Paul VI's predictions in Humanae Vitae have come true
    
    
  • Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body
    
    
  • "On sexuality, the hierarchy has usurped the entire teaching office": an article from the National Catholic Reporter about deductive vs. inductive views of sexuality, and the importance of human experience in articulating the norms for human sexuality
    
    
  • Pope Benedict's interview about condom use and prostitution
  
  
  • Pope Benedict's statements from 2010 about condom use by prostitutes
    
    
  • Some historical context for Benedict's remarks
    
    
  • Condom use as the first step in taking responsibility for the life of another
    
    
  • Clarification from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that condom use is not a lesser evil in the case Benedict discussed
  
  
  
  • Personal reflection on Humanae Vitae's 45th anniversary: an important essay which explains some of the issues being discussed during the time that Humanae Vitae was issued. It also hints at some of the difficulties for the Church's moral teaching, especially on matters pertaining to sexuality, when the experience of women is neglected.
    
    
  • Pope Francis on the use of contraception to combat the Zika virus. But see questions about the pope's statement on the Zika virus in light of the case about the nuns and this investigation of the pope's history about nuns using contraception at the permission of Pope Paul VI.
  
  
  
• Background on contraception
  
  
  • Natural Family Planning Information Site: introduction to, and effectiveness of methods of natural family planning. See also the Chicago Couple to Couple League for educational information about natural family planning and the Ovulation Calendar Pro, natural family planning software for helping couples chart ovulation.
    
    
  • Lady Timer claims to be "your personal menstrual cycle alarm clock" and will send you a notice on your cellphone to track your most fertile days.
    
    
  • FertilityFriend: a free interactive online chart to identify fertile days
    
    
  • The Glow app: allows women to track ovulation data and menstrual cycle. Glow also offers something like an insurance program for women who end up needing fertility treatments
    
    
  • First Response ovulation kit
    
    
  • iPhone apps for charting fertility
    
    
  • Fertility Scope: a fertility test using saliva
    
    
  • Couples' experience with NFP
    
    
  • How do birth control pills work?
    
    
  • Ultimate Birth Control Links Page
    
    
  • "Contraceptive Confusion": profiles contemporary contraceptive choices, including benefits and risks of different methods. See also the Birth Control Learning Center by Healthline.
    
    
  • Emergency contraception: a site of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University designed to provide information derived from the medical literature about methods of preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. See also frequently asked questions about emergency contraception and emergency contraception at Catholic hospitals.
    
    
  • Emergency pregnancy counseling centers

  
  
  
  

• Church teaching on conscience and dissent
  
  
  • Vatican II on conscience: This link is to the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Once at this site, see Paragraph #16 for the teaching on conscience.
    
    
  • Collection of Vatican II statements about conscience
    
    
  • The Catechism of the Catholic Church on moral conscience
    
    
  • "Following Conscience Faithfully": wonderful essay from January, 2015, that gives an overview of Catholic thought about conscience. It contains several helpful quotations from Catholic tradition, including many from St. Thomas Aquinas.
    
    
  • Good explanation of the Catholic view of conscience by Fr. James Martin, S.J. in light of Pope Francis's teaching in Amoris Laetitia
    
    
  • The Magisterium of the Church: an historical perspective
    
    
  • Does doctrine change? Excellent piece on how doctrine may change (and has changed) depending on how it is received and lived in the community's relationship with Jesus Christ
    
    
  • What Kind of Catholic are You?: an interactive quiz
    
    
  • "Confessions of a bad Catholic: an essay by a Catholic laywoman, Ann LeBlanc, about a lack of perfect obedience to Church teaching
    
    
  • "Bishops' model of conscience makes light of practice reason": excellent essay by David DeCosse which argues that recent papal and episcopal discussions of conscience emphasize obedience to law to the relative exclusion of the application of practical reasoning, which is found in, for example, the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas
    
    
  • Bishop Thomas Gumbleton on the primacy of conscience: He discusses this in relation to homosexuality, but the points he makes are valid for all moral issues.
    
    
  • "An Inconvenient Conscience" by George Cardinal Pell: Disagreement with Catholic teaching, says Cardinal Pell, is a first step and not a last one, because "a Catholic conscience cannot accept a settled position against the Church, at least on a central moral teaching."
    
    
  • Ad Tuendam Fidem: an apostolic letter issued on June 30, 1998 by Pope John Paul II "TO PROTECT THE FAITH of the Catholic Church against errors arising from certain members of the Christian faithful," it revised the Code of Canon Law by adding "new norms which expressly impose the obligation of upholding truths proposed in a definitive way by the Magisterium of the Church, and which also establish related canonical sanctions." This letter was directed primarily towards theologians and teachers of theology.
    
    
  • Donum veritatis: a 1990 statement by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) on the ecclesial vocation of the theologian
    
    
  • The 'Sense of the Faithful' in the life of the Church: a document issued in June, 2014, by the International Theological Commission giving biblical and historic background for the concept of the sensus fidelium, as well as its implications in the current life of the Church, including the relationship between the lay faithful and the Magisterium, as well as the ongoing role of theologians
  
  
  
• Dissent in the Church: background and some cases
  
  
  • Syllabus of Papal & Magisterial Error: a compendium of mistakes, both moral and theological, from popes and official Catholic teaching sources
    
    
  • Can the Teaching [of Humanae Vitae] Be Changed?: a discussion which applies mostly to birth control, but raises the wider issues about how Church teaching can be changed and when it has changed in the past
    
    
  • "Confession of Sins and Asking for Forgiveness": a prayer from Pope John Paul II on March 12, 2000 asking for forgiveness on behalf of those in the Church who have sinned in the service of truth, harmed the unity of the body of Christ, wounded the people of Israel, and violated the dignity of women and the fundamental rights of the person
    
    
  • "Who Says the Church Can't Change?": an article by Christine Gudorf from the July 1998 U.S. Catholic
    
    
  • "Silencing No Safeguard of Truth": excellent essay from July, 2001 National Catholic Reporter by Sr. Jeannine Gramick which brings the aggiornamentio worldview of Vatican II into conversation with modern efforts to silence theologians and religious
    
    
  • 'Can Catholics Disagree with the Pope?': various responses to a heartfelt letter written by someone interested in becoming Catholic
    
    
  • The Virtual Diocese of Partenia: In 1995, outspoken Bishop Jacques Gaillot was exiled by Pope John Paul II from his diocese in Evreux, France to Partenia, Africa, a place with much sand and few people. Since then, he has set up his own 'virtual' diocese over the internet, a place with little sand and many people. As bishop of Evreux, Gaillot openly supported women priests, a married clergy, the acceptance of homosexuals, and greater voice for the laity in church decisions. This site contains Bishop Gaillot's farewell homily to his congregation in France, as well as more recent writings on a variety of subjects. You can even e-mail Bishop Gaillot.
    
    
  • The excommunication of Fr. Tissa Balasuriya: the text of the 1997 Vatican decree of excommunication of Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, 72, of Sri Lanka because of his views on papal infallibility, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, the dogma of original sin, and baptism. In January 1998, this excommunication was rescinded following six days of negotiations.
    
    
  • Fr. Richard McCormick disinvited in New Orleans: Fr. McCormick was to deliver a lecture in New Orleans in January, 1997, having been invited by Notre Dame alumni in that region. The alumni were then warned by New Orleans Archbishop Francis Schulte that some people might be offended if McCormick spoke. The lecture was then precipitously cancelled. This site contains an exchange of letters on this sequence of events.
    
    
  • The controversy surrounding Sr. Elizabeth Johnson's book, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God: This essay critiques how the bishops handled the dispute and includes several other links pertinent to this particular case. See also Sr. Elizabeth's response to the bishops and the full text of her letter to the Bishops' Doctrine Committee.

• Church teaching and Catholic perspectives on abortion
  
  
  • The 1973 Vatican Declaration on Abortion
    
    
    • The Didache: thought to be the oldest surviving piece of non-canonical literature (c. 60-100 AD), it was basically a handbook for new Christian converts. The Vatican Declaration on Abortion draws on the Didache when discussing Church tradition on abortion. The important section from the Didache is 2.2.
    
    
    
  • Papal and episcopal statements about abortion: various collected statements from pope and bishops about abortion
    
    
  • Catholic teachings on abortion: links to an overview, papal encyclicals and statements, and teachings from various Catholic bishops
    
    
  • Pope Francis's statement about abortion and mercy
    
    
    • Indirect abortion and the Phoenix case
      
      
      • Nun excommunicated for allowing abortion done to save the mother's life: the story of Sister of Mercy Margaret McBride, a member of a Phoenix Catholic hospital's ethics committee. See also this story about Sr. Margaret by ABC News.
        
        
      • Statement from the bishop and from the hospital involved
        
        
      • Statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Phoenix case and on indirect vs. direct abortion. See also this analysis of the bishops' statement on this case.
        
        
      • Statement from the office of Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix on indirect abortion and excommunication. See also excommunication in canon law and "Does excommunication do any good?"
        
        
      • Ethicists fault bishop's action in the Phoenix case. See especially this competing analysis by Prof. Therese Lysault of Marquette University and her contention that that no direct abortion occurred here due to a patholic present in the placenta.
        
        
      • The Catholic Health Association (CHA) backs St. Joseph's Hospital: This essay also contains a good summary of the case.
        
        
      • Bishop Olmsted removes St. Joseph's Hospital's Catholic status. Here is the decree issued in this case.
        
        
      • "Sister Margaret's Choice," by Nicholas Kristof
        
        
      • Sr. Mary Margaret McBride finds healing: lessons from her excommunication and a reunion with the woman whose life she saved
        
        
    
    
  • Canon Law and Abortion: the law of the Church as it relates to abortion
    
    
    • Vatican backs excommunication stemming from abortion: a tragic case of a 9 year-old girl from Brazil who had an abortion after being raped
    
    
    
  • A site containing selected statements on abortion from both Catholic and non-Catholic Christian sources, a brief history of abortion in the Catholic Church's tradition, polling statistics relating to Catholic views on abortion
    
    
  • "The Ultimate Pro-Life Resources List"
    
    
  • Silent No More Awareness Campaign: a campaign whereby Christians seek to make the public aware of the effects of abortion on women and men. The campaign seeks to expose and heal the secrecy and silence surrounding the emotional and physical pain of abortion. The Campaign is a project of Priests for Life.
    
    
  • Abortion fact sheet (from 2002). You might also consult, if you wish, U.S. abortion data, which gives information on the timing of abortions; as well as the age, race, and religion of those women receiving them. The Guttmacher Institute also publishes a fact sheet induced abortion which explains who's getting abortions and for which reasons. And see this site for demographics of abortion by race and poverty level.
    
    
  • Different abortion procedures
    
    
  • "Ethical Treatment after Rape": an essay by Fr. William Saunders which outlines the Church's moral teaching about the treatment of a woman who has been raped. See also this article from the National Catholic Reporter from 2013, entitled "German bishops give leeway on contraception in rape cases".
    
    
    
    • Church officials approve morning-after pills in rape cases
      
      
    • Competing studies about whether Plan B is abortifacient
      
      
    • Plan B and Ella not abortifacient
    
    
    
  • "When Pregnancy Goes Awry">: an essay by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk about ectopic pregnancy. The principle of double effect plays a prominent role here, as it does in the Phoenix case mentioned above.
    
    
  • PBS Frontline documentary, The Abortion Clinic. See also the Frontline documentary from 2005, The Last Abortion Clinic.
    
    
  • Catholics for a Free Choice: the home page of a pro-choice Catholic group. See also the 1993 Statement by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops on Catholics for a Free Choice.
    
    
    • The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice: an organization based in Washington, D.C. which affirms that it is both pro-faith and pro-choice. A helpful part of this site is its collection of official position statements on choice from U.S. religious groups.
    
    
    
  • "The Theology of Abortion": a brief history of Catholic views of abortion, and how both of the main sides in the abortion debate site Scripture to support their positions
    
    
  • Hope After Abortion: a description of the Church's Project Rachel, articles on the psycho-social consequences of abortion, and first-person accounts from women who have had abortions
    
    
  • Pregnant on Campus?: Support for pregnant college students, including locations of free pregnancy and parenting resources on your campus and in your community
    
    
  • Abortion and Catholic Politicians
    
    
    • The Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics: a statement by the U.S. Catholic bishops from November, 1998, in which they discussed the role and responsibilities of the Catholic politician in the issue of abortion
      
      
    • U.S. Catholic Dioceses' positions on pro-choice Catholic politicians: a diocese-by-diocese rundown of positions, public statements, and so on
      
      
    • Catholics in Political Life a 2004 statement from the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops that allows individual bishops to deny communion to politicians who support abortion
      
      
    • Letter from Catholic politicians about denying communion: This letter was sent to Cardinal McCarrick of Washington, D.C. by 48 Catholic House members.
      
      
    • "Doctrinal Note on the Participation of Catholics in Political Life": from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (January, 2003). You can also view a synopsis of this document.
      
      
    • Mario Cuomo, "Religious Belief and Public Morality: A Catholic Governor's Perspective"
      
      
    • "Catholics, Politics & Abortion: My Argument with Mario Cuomo": an essay by Kenneth Woodward from the September 24, 2004 Commonweal. See also Mario Cuomo's "Persuade or Coerce? A Response to Kenneth Woodward".
      
      
    • "'Imposing Our Beliefs' on Others," by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk: What's the role of the law in terms of imposing beliefs on others?
      
      
    • "Religion on the Stump: Politics and Faith in America": a debate between Mario Cuomo and Mark Souder sponsored by the PEW forum. See also the "One Electorate Under God" talks.
      
      
    • February, 2006 statement by 55 Catholic Democrats in the US House of Representatives expresses the commitment to the dignity of life and belief that government has 'moral purpose.' A United States Council of Catholic Bishops Statement on "Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life" (March, 2006) responds to this statement by the 55 House Members
      
      
    • Bishop John Myers's (formerly of Peoria, IL; and recently named bishop of Newark, NJ) essay on politicians and abortion. See also Bishop Myers's home page. Myers is also quoted in a story from Commonweal about denying pro-choice Catholic politicians communion. You may read his essay "A Time for Honesty", in which he argues for these eucharistic sanctions.
      
      
    • U.S. Catholic dioceses positions on pro-choice Catholic politicians: gives a run-down of dioceses and any statements made by the local ordinary about pro-choice Catholic politicians
      
      
    • The United Bishops and Abortion Law: a helpful essay by Fr. Charles Curran about the history of the U.S. bishops on abortion legistration in this country, and which is ultimately critical of the bishops' exercise of their teaching authority on this particular area. It also includes a discussion of intrinsic evil.
      
      
      • "Intrinsic evil vs. run-of-the-mill evil": an exploration by Father Richard McBrien of the concept and implications of intrinsic evil
        
        
      • Prudence and intrinsic evil: an essay about "translating moral principles into public policy"
        
        
      • "Intrinsic Evil and Public Policy": a great essay by Dan Cloutier on how the language of intrinsic evil works (and how it can derail) in matters pertaining to public policy
      
      
      
    • "Catholics in Political Life": a statement from the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops that allows individual bishops to deny communion to politicians who support abortion. It was also widely quoted around the time of the 2009 President Obama commencement address at Notre Dame.
      
      
    • "I'm Catholic, staunchly anti-abortion, and support Obama," by Prof. Nicholas Cafardi: Cafardi is the former dean of the Duquesne University Law School. See also "Obama and the Catholics," an editorial from the National Catholic Reporter.
      
      
      
  • President Barack Obama's Commencement Address at Notre Dame (May 17, 2009)
    
    
    • Video of the address
      
      
    • Text of the address
      
      
    • Bishop John D'Arcy's statement about the Obama speech: Bishop D'Arcy is the bishop of Fort Wayne/South Bend
      
      
    • U.S. Bishops warn President Obama about abortion
      
      
    • "Why was Obama ND visit 'Eloquence Incomplete?'" by Douglas Kmiec
      
      
    • Former Papal theologian praises Obama's talk: praises Obama's "realism" and his desire to find common ground on abortion, and compares his approach to that of St. Thomas Aquinas
      
      
    • Sr. Joan Chittister on Obama's July 10, 2009 meeting with the pope
    
    
    
    
• Legal considerations
  
  
  • Roe v. Wade: the complete text of the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case. You can also hear oral arguments from the case and read a summary of Roe and other important Supreme Court abortion decisions.
    
    
  • The United States Constitution. See especially the 14th Amendment, which plays a crucial part in the Roe v. Wade decision. You can also search the U.S. Constitution by typing in a word or phrase.
    
    
  • South Dakota outlaws all abortions except those needed to save the life of the mother. Here is the text of the bill, also known as the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act and an interview with South Dakota governor Mike Rounds, a Catholic, who signed it into law in 2006. A repeal initiative sought to overturn that law and was successful in the November 2006 elections. There's a good Q & A page about the South Dakota law.
    
    
  • State attempts to reduce abortion by legal restrictions, as of May, 2011. Here's an update as of May, 2012. The latter includes the latest on so-called 'personhood' amendments.
    
    
  • Several states forbid abortion after 20 weeks.
    
    
  • New Indiana abortion law bans most abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy with exceptions for the life or health of the mother. It also cuts off all government Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood and other private abortion providers in the state. That led to a federal challenge to the Indiana law as it pertains to funding for Planned Parenthood.
    
    
  • "Abortion rights are under attack, and pro-choice advocates are caught in a time warp": an essay by Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice
    
    
  • The Ultimate Abortion Law Home Page: an excellent resource to the background and state of abortion law in America. You'll find U.S. Supreme Court cases here as well as the laws of the different states, state statutes and penalties, federal law, canon (Church) law, etc., as well as abortion-related legal terms
    
    
  • Supreme Court decisions on abortion: from Roe v. Wade (1973) to Gonzalez v. Carhart (2007)
    
    
  • Medicaid Funding for Abortion: a site from the American Civil Liberties Union which provides background to the public funding of abortion: information on Medicaid, the Hyde Amendment that limited medicaid funding for abortion, and current state practices relating to medicaid funding for abortion. In addition, here is a breakdown of Medicaid funding for abortion, and adherence to the Hyde amendment, by state. See also a statement from the National Abortion Rights Action League on actions to restrict abortion coverage for rape and incest victims and a statement from Planned Parenthood on the need to overturn the Hyde Amendment, which it feels discriminates against women and makes abortion more difficult to obtain.
    
    
  • Statistics and concerns about Medicaid funding for abortion, with emphasis on the relationship between poverty and abortion
    
    
  • Planned Parenthood's 9 reasons why abortion should be legal
    
    
  • The Planned Parenthood videos: coverage by America magazine in the wake of videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of body parts from aborted fetuses
    
    
  • Violence against abortion doctors: a report profiling the case of abortion doctor, Barnett Slepian, who was murdered on October 23, 1998
    
    
  • The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1833): the complete text of the bill which was vetoed by President Clinton on April 10, 1996
  
  
  
• Background on abortion
  
  
  • Timeline on abortion: notable dates and events in the abortion debate in the United States
    
    
  • Guttmacher Institute: excellent source for statistics and facts about abortion in the United States. It also has resources on in the states in a helpful chart.
    
    
  • Internet links relating to abortion: a survey of and references to some of the more important essays on abortion, a very complete annotated bibliography to essays about significant aspects of the abortion issue, the complete 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, other Supreme Court decisions regarding abortion since 1990, texts of Humanae Vitae and The Gospel of Life, texts of the House bill banning partial-birth abortions, links to both pro-life and pro-choice sites
    
    
  • Abortion Questions and Answers: an excellent resource in a very helpful Q & A format. There's a good explanation of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, information on fetal development, abortion facts and figures, abortion procedures, and a thorough exploration of the topic of illegal abortions. On the latter, see also this article about abortion in Poland.
    
    
  • Abortion & Ethics: extensive resources, including a bibliography, to political, theological, and legal issues pertaining to abortion
    
    
  • background on ectopic pregnancies. In May, 2008, there was a very rare full-term ectopic pregnancy.
    
    
  • Personhood: a nice discussion of this crucial issue with a good analysis of different views. See also whether dolphins should be considered persons.
    
    
    • "Is the Embryo a Person? Arguing with the Catholic Traditions": a good article comparing the immediate hominization views of official Catholic teaching with other views from the Catholic tradition, most notably Thomas Aquinas's view that the fetus doesn't become a person until some time after conception
      
      
    • "Distinctly Human: The When, Where, and How of Life's Beginnings": an essay by John Collins Harvey, M.D., which gets into the biology of developing fetal life. Andre Hellegers's "Fetal Development" is also a classic here.
      
      
    • The state of the current debate on whether and when fetuses can feel pain
      
      
    • "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion," by Mary Anne Warren: The author sets out five criteria for personhood, and on that basic concludes that a fetus at no point of its pre-natal development can be considered a person.
      
      
    • Prof. Peter Singer of Princeton University
      
      
      • Background on Prof. Singer's views
        
        
      • Letter to the Princeton community by President Harold Shapiro explaining Singer's hiring
        
        
      • Utilitarian Philosophers
      
      
      
    • "Abuse Laws Cover Fetus, a High Court Rules": the story of Cornelia Whitner who was arrested and jailed for child abuse after her baby was born with traces of cocaine in its system. The Supreme Court of South Carolina upheld the verdict, which was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. This site also has lots of links about the prosecution of women for child abuse against the unborn. See also the story of a woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her fetus. Regina McKnight was a rape victim and drug addict and was sent to prison in South Carolina following a stillbirth. And an was prosecuted for attempting suicide during her pregnancy.
      
      
      • The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Whitner's case:
      
      
      
    • Fetal homicide laws in Indiana
      
      
    • "The War Over Fetal Rights": how attacks on pregnant women are affecting state laws and causing others to rethink previous core beliefs about the personhood of the fetus
    
    
    
  • Feminists for Life of America: the home page of a pro-life feminist group. See also "The Feminist Case Against Abortion," which gives a helpful historical context to pro-life feminism.
    
    
  • Religion and choice: articles defending the woman's right to choose from within a theological perspective. There's also a collection of statements by various religious groups defending the right to choose. See also current abortion beliefs by religious groups.
    
    
  • "An Ethical Challenge to Prochoice Advocates": an important essay by Daniel Callahan which examples the notion of 'choice' and suggests that unless moral concerns are a part of that choice, the pro-choice movement will not survive
    
    
  • Abortion, Adoption, and Surrogacy: This site from the New York Online Access to Health (= NOAH) has some interesting links on abortion (from a largely pro-choice perspective) along with many resources on adoption. See also About Adoptions for comprehensive access to adoption related news, books and web resources
    
    
  • Reproductive Health and Rights Center: a pro-choice, abortion rights site
    
    
  • "Who owns your organs?": The strange case of Peter Lucia raises all sorts of interesting questions about whether we can do whatever we want with our own body.
    
    
  • "Heart and Soul": a tragic case from 2000 in England about conjoined twins and the medical and moral issues involved in their attempted separation. The principle of double effect is very significant here, as is (interestingly enough) Church teaching about euthanasia.
    
    
  • Abortion Bibliography: good collection of articles on abortion (many of them fairly recent) from a variety of perspectives on abortion
    
    
  • Hard Choices: women tell why they had abortions. This site also features information and statistics on who's having abortions, when women are having them, and why.
    
    
  • Second Look Project has information about fetal development and other statistics on abortion.
    
    
  • Abortion in other countries: the state of abortion law and practice in the United Kingdom, Nambia, Bulgaria, South Korea, Canada, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Columbia. See also abortion in Brazil, China, Germany, India, and Nigeria.
    
    
  • Map of abortion restrictions worldwide
    
    
  • Unsafe abortions on the rise throughout the world
  
  
  
• Recent developments
  
  
  • Partial-Birth Abortion: excellent background on the procedure, why and when it's usually performed, and different views of its morality. See also late-term abortions for more on partial-birth abortions, the legal issues surrounding them, and one woman's personal experience. In October, 1999, the United Senate by a vote of 63-34 voted to ban the procedure.
    
    
    • Supreme Court strikes down Nebraska's ban on partial-birth abortions: In a ruling from late June, 2000, the court by a 5-4 majority overturned a Nebraska law which prohibited partial-birth abortions. Nebraska was one of 30 states which had banned partial-birth abortions, but its law went further than most by not containing an exception for the woman's health. On the side of the majority were Justices Breyer, Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, and Ginsburg. Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy dissented. See a related story through the CNN website. You can also see the text of the Supreme Court's decision. In 2003, the federal partial-birth ban on abortion was enacted.
      
      
    • Gonzalez v. Carhart: from April, 2007, the Court by a 5-4 majority overturned a federal district court's injunction against enforcing the 2003 federal partial-birth ban on abortion. This law was now deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court. Here's a good summary of the case and what was decided.
      
      
    • The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act: Signed into law on August 5, 2002 by President Bush, this act amends the legal definition of "person" to include "every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive." This site features links to the text of the act, as well as background and reactions.
      
      
    • Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRIP) on partial-birth abortion bans: a good set of links on many of the legal aspects of partial-birth abortions
      
      
    • President Bush signs ban on partial birth abortion: November 5, 2003
      
      
    • "Regulating Abortion: What Did the Roberts Court Do?": an essay by Cathy Kaveny about the Supreme Court's upholding the law banning partial-birth abortions
    
    
    
  • Fact sheet on RU-486: the French abortion pill. See also frequently asked questions about medical abortions at the website of the Population Council. This contains a description of mifepristone (RU-486) safety, use, and trials.
    
    
  • Abortion pill reversal: Resources for women who have taken the first dose of RU-486 and change their minds
    
    
  • RU-486 approved by the FDA, September 2000: a Time magazine article from October, 2000
    
    
  • Main page for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act: On April 6, 2004, President Bush signed it into law. The new law recognizes as a legal victim any "child in utero" who is injured or killed during the commission of a federal crime of violence.
    
    
  • "Bad Law: What FOCA is--and isn't," by Cathleen Kaveny: excellent essay about the Freedom of Choice Act
    
    
  • "The Right to Refuse": an essay on conscience protections for health-care providers which attempts to outline components of sound legislation on this issue
    
    
  • New strategies in the pro-life movement
    
    
  • Fetal Pain Law in Nebraska prohibits abortions after 20 weeks based upon the pain the unborn would potentially perceive from the abortion procedure. See also this criticism of fetal pain laws and ways abortion providers might choose to circumvent them.

• Catholic teaching
  
  
  • Donum Vitae--The 1987 Vatican Declaration on Reproductive Technologies
    
    
  • Dignitas Personae: the most recent Catholic statement on bioethics from December, 2008; it has been billed as the successor to both Donum Vitae (1987) and Evangelium Vitae (1995).
    
    
    • Summary of Dignitas Personae
      
      
    • "Science, Technology, and the Human Future" by Drew Christiansen, S.J.: a good article explaining Dignitas Personae
    
    
    
  • Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology: a statement by the U.S. Catholic bishops from 2009 that looks at a number of reproductive technology procedures, such as in vitro fertilization, embryo adoption, sperm and egg donation and surrogacy. The USCCB website offers additional links to related Church teaching and additional resources.
    
    
  • Reproductive Technology Guidelines for Catholic Couples: a 2009 statement from the U.S. Catholic Bishops that lists approved technologies, disapproved technologies, and technologies that are still under discussion (and so neither approved nor disapproved).
    
    
  • Pope Benedict condemns in vitro fertilization: a video
    
    
  • Infertility and in vitro fertilization: a nice, concise explanation of Catholic teaching by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
    
    
  • Helping Childless Couples Conceive: an explanation of the Church's teaching about assisted reproduction, with a good statement of those issues that remain unresolved
    
    
  • "Do Married Couples Have a 'Right' to a Child?": a 1991 article by Prof. William E. May of Catholic University of America
    
    
  • "Where do babies come from: The Church and IVF": an article from U.S. Catholic about IVF, GIFT, and infertility among Catholic couples, including contemporary treatment options.
    
    
  • Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Facilities: Part IV is entitled "Issues in Care for the Beginning of Life" and deals with reproductive technologies.
    
    
  • Human Destiny: a very helpful series of articles from the October 22, 1999 National Catholic Reporter
    
    
  • "Unnatural Selection: How biotechnology is redesigning humanity": good article from the January 2000 edition of U.S. Catholic discussing stem-cell research, cloning, and germline therapy in light of Catholic moral principles
    
    
  • The Catholic Church and Surrogate Motherhood: a brief overview of Catholic teaching as it pertains to surrogacy. This article is offered as a service of the American Surrogacy Center of Atlanta, GA, to assist Catholic couples seeking surrogacy arrangements.
  
  
  
• Procedures and background on reproductive technologies
  
  
  • FertileThoughts: Infertility Resources: an extensive site featuring resources developed by infertility patients, websites of reproductive endocrinologists and infertility clinics, descriptions of various assisted reproduction procedures, adoption information, insurance information, and legal resources
    
    
  • Your Fertility Friend: resource page for those navigating the IVF process
    
    
  • Assisted reproduction linked to heart defect risk: What remains unresolved is whether this is linked to the procedures themselves or to the underlying cause of infertility in the parents.
    
    
  • Tubal ligation reversal: an outpatient procedure to reverse tubal ligation that would allow women to become pregnant naturally rather than undergo procedures like in vitro fertilization
    
    
  • In vitro fertilization and insurance--who pays?
    
    
  • Uterus Transplants
    
    
    • "Uterus Transplant Faces Technical, Ethical Hurdles
      
      
    • Womb transplants. The world's first was in 2002 in London. See this update from 2012. In 2014, nine women from Sweden received transplanted wombs from relatives.
      
      
    • First womb transplant patient gives birth: In September of 2014, a 36 year-old woman from Sweden gave birth to a boy following a transplant of a uterus donated by a woman in her 60s. See also other work in Sweden involving transplanted uteruses.
      
      
    • The first successful uterus transplant in the United States from a live donor: October, 2016, at Baylor University
    
    
    
  • the story of Kelly Romenskos, a Wisconsin Catholic woman who was fired from her teaching job at a Catholic school after she announced that her child was conceived through in vitro fertilization. Much the same thing happened to an Indiana Catholic high school teacher in 2012, who was also fired from her job after it was learned she was pregnant through IVF.
    
    
  • Resolve: The National Infertility Association. See also this story about the toll infertility takes on relationships.
    
    
  • Information on male infertility: risk factors and causes. See also this for information on vasectomy reversals.
    
    
  • "The Spiritual Test of Infertility": an article from the January 2006 edition of U.S. Catholic
    
    
  • NaPro Technology uses natural family planning techniques to help diagnose and treat infertility.
    
    
  • Fertility alerts through cell phone
    
    
  • Making Babies: a Frontline special from PBS. This site contains a glossary of procedures, a transcript of the program, interviews with fertility specialists and bioethicists, links and additional readings, and an online quiz to test your knowledge of reproductive technologies.
    
    
  • InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination (INCIID): a nonprofit organization committed to providing the most current information regarding the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infertility. INCIID is the largest infertility advocacy site on the internet. Their home page features fact sheets, directories and the latest news about treatments for infertility.
    
    
  • Reproductive Technologies and Bioethics: internet resources and an annotated bibliography; extensive links on cloning, bioethical institutes, post-menopausal women becoming pregnant, and Pope John Paul II on genetic engineering
    
    
  • A glossary of terms associated with reproductive technologies
    
    
  • Infertility Procedures: a good and concise description of GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, Artificial Insemination/IUI from the Midwest Fertility Center
    
    
  • Pacific Fertility Center: information on various infertility treatments and available options
    
    
  • Costs of infertility treatments
    
    
  • In Vitro Fertilization: good background and description of IVF. Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby, recently turned 30. See this 3D animation for how in vitro works.
    
    
  • The Augment procedure: This new procedure extracts mitochondria from egg stem cells to make a woman's older eggs act young again, thereby 'augmenting' traditional IVF.
    
    
    • In Vitro Fertilization Cryopreservation Permit: a form from the Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre that would allow spare embryos from IVF procedures to be frozen for later use
    
    
    
  • G.I.F.T.: background and details on Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer and links to other infertility resources. See also the nice essay by John F. Wagner from January 1999 entitled "Reproductive Technology: A GIFT for Catholics?" which does a good job explaining the G.I.F.T. procedure and providing pro and con views about its morality from a Catholic perspective.
    
    
  • Frozen Eggs: On October 16, 1997, for the first time in the United States, babies were born from eggs that were frozen--and then thawed--before they were fertilized. While it had been routine to freeze entire embryos, eggs had been considered too fragile to survive the freezing and thawing process. See also the story of a baby born from 21-year old frozen sperm.
    
    
  • Bringing eggs to maturity of young cancer patients prior to freezing them
    
    
  • Ovary freezing to help women being treated for cancer. The Oncofertility Consortium at Northwestern University places special emphasis on the impact of cancer treatment on a patient’s fertility. On the horizon is harvesting ovaries from young female cancer patients (or sperm-producing stem cells from young males) prior to treatment. Survery now helps some men regain fertility after cancer treatment.
    
    
  • Extend Fertility: a company formed, as the name implies, to extend women's fertility through egg freezing
    
    
  • Eggs on the Rocks: an essay about egg freezing of a 35 year-old woman
    
    
  • "Why I Froze My Eggs: a first-person account
    
    
  • The Florida Center for Reproductive Medicine is making advances in the freezing of eggs
    
    
  • Informative blog by a woman going through the egg-freezing process
    
    
  • EggBanxx: A national network of physicians who want to make egg freezing affordable, their slogan is "Real women freeze."
    
    
  • Bringing the eggs of a young cancer patient to maturity before freezing them
    
    
  • a 66 year-old Romanian woman gives birth: She was the world's oldest woman to give birth until a 67 year-old Spanish woman gave birth to twins in December, 2006. They were both topped by a 72 year-old Indian woman who gave birth to twins in July, 2008. This woman already has five grandchildren. And in May of 2015, a 65 year-old German woman gave birth to quadruplets.
    
    
  • A woman gives birth after an ovarian tissue transplant: This is the first time that ever happened.
    
    
  • A woman has a baby after receiving a donated ovary from her identical twin.
    
    
  • Ovary transplant between non-identical twins
    
    
  • Triplets born to a women with two wombs
    
    
  • Girl could give birth to her half sibling using eggs donated by her mother.
    
    
  • Children with 3 biological parents: Part of a donor egg is used with the DNA of biological mother and father using mitochondrial replacement to try to eliminate the possibility of genetic diseases.
    
    
  • The family of a dead soldier can have his sperm to allow him to have children with a woman he never met. In another similar case, a woman has a baby with her dead Iraqi war soldier husband.
    
    
  • Doctors deny lesbian couple artificial insemination. See also the California Supreme Court rules that docs can't deny fertility care to lesbian couples because of their religious beliefs.
    
    
  • Genetic engineering: a description of the possibilities and the Pandora's Box attendant upon exploring them
    
    
  • Multiple Births
    
    
    • Octuplets both in California in January, 2009
      
      
    • The McCaughey Septuplets: born to Bobbi McCaughey of Iowa on November 19, 1997. Fertility drugs helped to produce this pregnancy. This site contains a link to a photo album with pictures of each baby, along with the story of their birth.
      
      
    • Identical quadruplets born on May 25, 2005 to a Houston woman with no fertility drugs
      
      
    • Should the number of implanted embryos be regulated?
      
      
    • The Fetal Reduction Procedure: This procedure, also called selective reduction, is sometimes performed when a woman is carrying too many fetuses for her to bear safely. See this exchange on what's sometimes called "reduction to a singleton." Another helpful resource is "I.V.F. Without the Risk of Multiple Births".
      
      
      
    • The rise in multiple births occasioned by reproductive technologies: a 1997 article from The Salt Lake Tribune
      
      
    • "The Ethics of Octuplets": Should there be restrictions on the numbers of fertilized eggs doctors can implant into women? This essay follows upon the birth of octuplets by Nadya Suleman of California.
      
      
    • The 'twin epidemic' in fertility treatments: background essay along with a description of researchers' attempts to cut the rate of multiple births
    
    
    
  • Sex Selection
    
    
    • "A Quandry That Isn't: Picking a Baby's Sex Won't Lead to Disaster": The author, a genetics professor at Princeton, argues that fears relating to sex selection are overblown. He also addresses the issue that sex selection violates nature.
      
      
    • Sex selection procedures from the Fertility Institutes of Los Angeles
      
      
    • A U.S. fertility clinic offers sex selection of babies
      
      
    • Choose the sex of your baby
      
      
    • Selecting the sex of your child
      
      
    • The Vatican on sex-change operations
    
    
    
  • Cloning
    
    
    • What the Church teaches about cloning: from Our Sunday Visitor
      
      
    • What's religion got to do with cloning?
      
      
    • "Cloning Human Beings"--Report of the National Bioethics Commission: charge from the president, background on cloning, moral and religious aspects
      
      
    • President Bush's Council on Bioethics rejects a complete ban on cloning but narrowly favors a 4-year moratorium on research cloning.
      
      
    • The Cloning Home Page: the original New York Times report on the cloning of Dolly, an introduction to the ethical issues surrounding cloning, divergent opinions (including one by Daniel Callahan) on cloning experiments, links to other web sites on cloning (including the complete text of the research paper originally published in Nature magazine describing this ground-breaking event).
      
      
    • South Korean researchers report major breakthrough in cloning a human embryo to harvest its stem cells: from February, 2004
      
      
      • South Korean University claims Dr. Hwang's research, which was initially billed as a major breakthrough in cloning a human embryo to harvest its stem cells was faked.
      
      
    • "The Perils of Cloning": an assessment from July, 2006 on the 10-year anniversary of the first cloned sheep
      
      
    • How is cloning done?: a brief animated explanation of cloning
      
      
    • Therapeutic cloning: a brief animated explanation of cloning embryos to produce human stem cells to treat other medical problems
      
      
    • Creating babies so that they could serve as stem-cell donors for sick brothers and sisters
      
      
    • Scientists make embryo clones from adult cells: The tissue matching for treating diseases is perfect, though an embryo is destroyed in the process.
      
      
    • "Mature Human Embryos Created From Adult Skin Cells": a story from January, 2008, about making cloned human embryos from skin cells in the attempt to derive stem cells
      
      
    • An interactive timeline of developments in cloning
      
      
    • Human cloning: 'One shouldn't do this': ethical objections to cloning
      
      
    • "Ban Stand": a persuasive essay by Leon Kass and Daniel Callahan for why so-called 'therapeutic cloning' would inevitably lead to reproductive cloning
      
      
    • Washington Post coverage of cloning: stories about cloning, the president's proposals about cloning, scenarios in which humans could be cloned, editorials about the ethics of human cloning
      
      
    • Frequently asked questions about human cloning
      
      
    • Interviews with various experts on how soon we will see human cloning
      
      
    • "Cloning is no way to operate a civilized society": an Observer column by Prof. Charles Rice from December 4, 2001
      
      
    • "The Case for Cloning Humans": features an explanation about cloning the dead
      
      
    • Human cloning: supermodels, sheep, genes: recent news and good background on cloning, with some of the possible benefits and applications, along with actual letters from people who want to be cloned
      
      
    • Clonaid: This company, affiliated with the Raelian movement and billing itself as "The First Human Cloning Company," offers to clone you for "as low as $200,000" and claims that "This service offers a fantastic opportunity to parents with fertility problems or homosexual couples to have a child cloned from one of them." In addition, for a $50,000 fee, Clonaid "will provide the sampling and safe storage of cells from a living child or from a beloved person in order to create a clone if the child dies of an incurable disease or through an accident. In the case of a genetic disease, the cells will be preserved until science can genetically repair it before recreating the child (or an adult)." In December, 2002, it issued an as-yet unconfirmed report that it had produced the world's first human clone baby.
      
      
    • "The Wisdom of Repugnance: a criticism of cloning by Dr. Leon Kass
      
      
    • The Potential for Abuse: some concerns about where we're headed, including the possibility of growing human clones for 'spare parts'. See also "Of Headless Mice ... and Men" which speaks of cloning human organ farms as 'the ultimate cloning horror.'
      
      
    • human cloning experiment via parthenogenesis a success
      
      
    • The American AMA opposes human cloning
      
      
    • "Many oppose human cloning": good article from October, 1999 National Catholic Reporter
      
      
    • Human Clones to Help Infertile Couples: In early January 1998, Dr. Richard Seed announced his intention to open up a clinic outside of Chicago with the intention of creating human clones for infertile couples. This site features that story, as well as related stories and links to other sites concerning cloning. There's a nice description of how cloning works, a video report with more on Dr. Seed and his intentions, and audio on President Clinton's reaction to Seed's proposal. Read more on the man who's been called "Cloning's Kevorkian".
      
      
    • Religious and Ethical Aspects of Cloning: includes the history of the developments related to cloning and a brief description of the biology behind it. See also the report of the Pontifical Academy for Life on cloning.
      
      
    • "Many Oppose Human Cloning": an October 22, 1999 article in the National Catholic Reporter that does an excellent job surveying the recent history of cloning while putting its ethical and theological issues in a helpful context
      
      
    • Christians for the Cloning of Jesus: Why wait for the Second Coming when you have the Shroud of Turin and a little DNA from the Savior?
      
      
    • The first cloning of pigs: A story from March 2000 in which 5 pigs were successfully cloned. Dr. Ron James of the lab in Scotland where the pigs were cloned foresees an end to the shortage of human organs for transplant: "We can now work with genetically modified pig cells, and use the cloning technology to make genetically modified pigs, which will ultimately provide organs which are compatible with humans."
      
      
    
    
  • Genetic Savings and Clone: For $50,000, they offered to clone your cat. GSC sponsored efforts to produce the first cat clone, named CopyCat(!). This company closed recently, and its previous website directs one to Viagen, which offers only tissue banking (no cloning) for cats and dogs; but it does clone livestock and horses.
    
    
  • "Of Mice and Men": the cloning of adult mice, first reported in July, 1998
    
    
  • President Bush presses the Senate to ban all cloning: a report from April, 2002.
    
    
  • State human cloning laws
  
  
  
• Stem Cells
  
  
  • Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning: Questions and Answers: good presentation of Catholic teaching on these matters
    
    
  • What the Church teaches about the use of stem cells: from Our Sunday Visitor
    
    
  • Video of Cardinal Justin Regali, Chairman of the Bishops' Pro-Life Committee, explaining Church teaching on stem cells
    
    
  • Cathoilc Bishops statement on embryonic stem cell research: from 2008
    
    
  • Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells: a statment from 2000 by the Pontifical Academy for Life
    
    
  • "Stem-cell debate has personal ramifications for Catholic family": a story about a woman with Parkinsons who is against the use of embryonic stem cells to find a cure for her
    
    
  • Stem cells: Fact sheets and testimonies & letters to Congress: from a United States Council of Catholic Bishops' site
    
    
  • "Stem-Cell Research: The Quest Resumes": a good essay from 2009 that shows the evolving nature of the pursuit of medically effective and morally appropriate sources for stem cells
    
    
  • "Stem Cell Diversification": another good recent essay that goes through adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and gives the advantages and disadvantages of each. A related article gives a description of these three different kinds of stem cells.
    
    
  • Animation about how embryonic stem cells work
    
    
  • "The Ethics of Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research," an essay by Richard Doerflinger: This essay raises the issue of complicity with abortion.
    
    
  • "Remaking Ourselves? The ethics of stem-cell research," an essay by Thomas Shannon: This essay picks up on issues pertaining to the personhood of a fertilized egg and the time of individuation. On that basis, it argues in support of stem-cell research from a Catholic perspective.
    
    
  • Stem Cells: A Primer: from the National Institute of Health
    
    
  • "Stem Cells Stir Controversy": helpful introduction to the moral and theological issues by Mark Waymack from a July, 2001 National Catholic Reporter
    
    
  • Religious perspectives on stem cell research
    
    
  • Leon Kass on alternate sources of stem cells besides those involving the destruction of embryos. In addition, see "Alternate Sources of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells," a 2005 report by the President's Council on Bioethics.
    
    
    • See also Efforts to create pluripotent stem cells without destroying human embryos.
      
      
    • E. Christian Brugger does a nice job with the science behind this possibility in "Moral Stem Cells.
      
      
    • Along the same lines, "Production of Pluripotent Stem Cells by Oocyte Assisted Reprogramming", is a proposal for producing pluripotent stem cells without creating and destroying embryos.
      
      
    • Potential major stem-cell breakthrough: Creating stem cells without using embryos.
      
      
    • "A Biomedical Revolution": induced pluripotent stem cell technology aims to produce stem cells without the destruction of human embryos. You can also listen to the accompanying podcast.
      
      
    • "It's easy to be misled on stem cell research": argues against the Church's view on the basis of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)
      
      
    • Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) vs. Altered Nuclear Transfer (ANT) vs. Oocyte Assisted Reprogramming (OAR): a moral analysis of the alternatives
    
    
    
  • Stem cells discovered in amniotic fluid: a potential breakthrough from January, 2007
    
    
  • Stem Cell Research Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services: dated January 2001
    
    
  • "Mounting the Slippery Slope," by Charles Krauthammer: concern about where embryonic stem-cell research may be taking us
    
    
  • President Bush & stem cells
    
    
    • President Bush's decision about stem cells: from August 9, 2001. See also coverage from Time magazine.
      
      
      • Bishop Joseph Fiorenza's statement on President Bush's decision: Bishop Fiorenza was the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
        
        
      • Cardinal Trujillo suggests excommunication for stem cell researchers: Trujillo is head of the Pontifical Council for the Family.
        
        
      • Charles Rice, "Bush's Decision Devalues Life"
      
      
      
    • President Bush's interview with Claire Shipman of ABC News on the stem cell decision
    
    
    
  • President Obama & stem cells
    
    
    • Stem-cell research under President Obama:
      
      
    • National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Guidelines
      
      
    • "Life and Science": an essay critical of President Obama's position on stem cells
      
      
    • Federal judge overturns Obama policy on stem cells: argues that it violates the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, that prohibits the use of federal money for the creation or destruction of human embryos for research purposes. An appeals court later lifted that ban. See also "Embryonic-Stem-Cell Research Wins Another Round Before Federal Appeals Court". As of May, 2011, the lawsuit continues. The National Institutes of Health webpage provides news and updates on these developments. The case now goes back to the original court to determine if the stem cell guidelines are legal.
      
      
    • Presidential policy on stem cells from Bush to Obama
      
      
    • Stem Cell Research: good history of the issue along with scientific and legal developments, and commentary on the new NIH Guidelines from April, 2009.
    
    
    
  • Creating embryos to harvest stem cells
    
    
  • A chat about the ethics of stem cell research: with Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota
    
    
  • "The Ethics of Stem Cell Research," an essay by Gene Outka: very good overview of what the author terms, 'right, center, and left positions'
    
    
  • "The Faustian Bargain of Stem Cell Research": an essay by Lance Morrow
    
    
  • Researchers at Harvard University said they have started efforts to clone human embryos as a source of valued stem cells, using only private money to bypass federal restrictions on such work.
    
    
  • Review of some of the legal issues in the United States about stem cells as of June, 2007. The Senate later removed the provision in the bill that was opposed by President Bush.
    
    
  • Egg donation for cloning blastocysts for stem-cell production. This article also raises issues about whether women should be compensated for egg donation. Some states have made this illegal already.
    
    
  • Adult and umbilical cord stem cells are already being used to treat more than 70 disorders: See the list here.
    
    
  • Scientists claim to have cloned monkey embryos as source of stem cells
    
    
  • Human/animal hybrids to produce stem cells. See here also. Cow eggs are being used to bypass the need for human eggs in generating stem cells.
    
    
  • "The Vaccination Question" by Timothy P. Collins, MD: An interesting analogy to the use of stem cells from aborted fetuses is the use of vaccines whose virus was grown in cultures of cells obtained from aborted fetuses. Collins argues that there is no moral difference here. For the Church's teaching on this matter, see the Vatican's "Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared From Stem Cells Derived From Aborted Human Fetuses" and the United States Bishops' statement about the use of cell-lines derived from aborted fetuses.
  
  
  
• Infertility clinics, embryonic adoption services, sperm banks, and surrogacy centers
  
  
  • Clinics
    
    
    • Infertility clinics: a state-by-state rundown of clinics with web pages
      
      
    • Assisted reproductive technologies success rates: the Center for Disease Control report on fertility clinics in the United States
      
      
    • In vitro fertilization clinics around the world: This site profiles reproductive technology clinics and provides educational materials and videos.
      
      
    • Reproductive Technology Success Rates: statistics from the Center for Disease Control, along with state-by-state fertility clinic reports
      
      
    • Options National Fertility Registry: profiles and photographs of screened egg donors, sperm donors, gestational surrogates (though these require a subscription and a password), as well as names and numbers of infertility physicians worldwide. This site also features general background to the legal, emotional, and medical issues involved with assisted reproduction.
    
    
    
  • The Donor Sibling Registry: helps donor children, half siblings, and donors find each other
    
    
  • When anonymous egg donors have genetic diseases
    
    
  • Embryonic adoption
    
    
    • Snowflakes: An Embryonic Adoption Program: a rather unique adoption service that places embryos left over from infertility procedures with adoptive parents
      
      
    • What to do with frozen embryos?
      
      
    • A divorcing couple fights over frozen embryos
    
    
    
  • Personhood and Infertility: the impact of 'personhood' legistration on infertility procedures and clinics, as well as infertile Catholics leaving the Church to try to start a family through assisted reproduction
    
    
  • Sperm banks
    
    
    • California Cryobank Donor Catalog: Select a sperm donor online. On the "PowerSearch Form," you can specify race, ethnicity, religion, height, weight, hair color, hair texture (straight, curly, or wavy), eye color, education level, and occupation. California Cryobank also aggressively recruits college students who comprise about 90% of American sperm donors. It also offers a Donor Look-a-Like Program. But see this cautionary tale about selecting a sperm donor.
      
      
    • Xytex: one of the country's largest sperm banks, they also offer the ability to select donors according to hair color, eye color, etc.. storage services.
      
      
    • Sperm Bank of California: You can do a search for a donor, or select from a list of donor profiles. In the "Profile" column, in addition to physical characteristics, you'll get information about hobbies, the donor's family medical history and the results of a physical exam on the donor. The donor also has offered a brief statement about why he wanted to be a sperm donor and (in some cases) has recorded a message to the recipient of the sample.
      
      
    • Fertility Center of California which has a featured sperm donor-of-the-month.
      
      
    • Cryos Sperm Bank: Leading international sperm bank which specializes in delivery of cryopreserved semen from screened donors from across the world. Located in New York City, but will ship anywhere in the world. On their donor search page, you can also occasionally get pictures of what the donors looked like as children. Cryos has recently stopped accepting sperm from people with red hair.
      
      
    • Dave Anderson: web page of a MENSA member willing to be your sperm donor
      
      
    • "Confessions of a sperm donor": the downside of sperm donation
      
      
    • Testing required by the FDA on donated sperm, eggs, and embryos
    
    
    
  • Surrogacy, surrogacy centers, and egg donors
    
    
    • Information about Surrogate Motherhood: general background and information on legal issues that should be investigated when setting up a surrogacy contract.
      
      
    • Surrogate Mothers Online: billed as a "Virtual Meeting Ground for the Surrogacy Community," and featuring news and the latest developments about surrogate motherhood. See this slideshow about surrogate motherhood, and see also their classifieds section.
      
      
    • Surrogacy and the Law: the laws in different states relating to surrogacy (click on a state to get to their laws), recent legal developments relating to surrogacy, and answers to several legal questions about surrogate motherhood and surrogacy contracts. See also a legal overview of surrogacy laws by state. See this link for an up-to-date rundown of state laws. The Comprehensive Guide to State Surrogacy Laws features a map of surrogacy laws by state, as does this link, which is an interactive map with different kinds of legal arrangements keyed to various colors.
      
      
    • Children of paid surrogacy wage a campaign to have the practice outlawed
      
      
    • The American Surrogacy Center, Inc.: Billed as "the most complete source of surrogacy and egg donation information on the web," this site provides information on the legal and medical aspects of surrogacy as well as links to surrogacy providers; classified ads from prospective parents, surrogate mothers, egg donors, and couples willing to adopt out their spare frozen embryos; and online support groups relating to surrogacy.
      
      
    • The Center for Surrogate Parenting and Egg Donation, Inc.: the home page of a Beverly Hills firm brokering the arrangements for egg donors and surrogate mothers. It features descriptions of the processes, information for potential parents, information for potential surrogates and egg donors, and information on fees and legal issues. In addition, the Egg Donor Database has pictures and information on over 300 available egg donors. Access to this database is available only for potential recipient couples (who have been given a special access code). Once into this database, couples can run a search based on the state the donor lives in, ethnic origin, religion, eye color, hair color, and height. Though the database isn't open for general viewing to the public, the other information at this site (especially, the letters from previous egg donors on why they did what they did, what they got out of it, etc.) is interesting nonetheless.
      
      
    • ConceiveAbilities: ConceiveAbilities is a Chicago surrogacy agency and egg donor site.
      
      
    • Circle Surrogacy. See also one woman's story about becoming a surrogate.
      
      
    • Donor Concierge: a unique surrogacy and egg donation company that helps parents find donor eggs and surrogate mothers
      
      
    • Parenting Partners: an Illinois full service surrogacy agency helping people start families. Their website features profiles of surrogates and pictures of "new arrivals."
      
      
    • Reproductive Possibilities: a surrogate mother agency run by attorney Melissa Brisman. This site features an interesting table about the estimated cost of surrogacy.
      
      
    • Surrogacy America: also has an egg donor database and a surrogate roster, both with pictures. This site allows prospective parents to search a pre-screened list of surrogates and sort that list by age, experience, number of children, etc.
      
      
    • Growing Generations: provides surrogacy services to gays, lesbians, straight couples, and singles worldwide
      
      
    • Conceptual Options: a surrogacy and egg donation agency in California which offers a surrogate matching service.
      
      
    • Circle Surrogacy: an agency from Massachusetts that claims to be "the most supportive program in the country."
      
      
    • The Fertility Institutes: gestational surrogacy program for gay males. Conceptual Options is another agency offering this service. See this video on gestational surrogacy.
      
      
    • West Coast Surrogacy. They also have an egg donor agency.
      
      
    • Overseas Surrogacy
      
      
      • Surrogacy Centre India: overseas program in New Delhi
        
        
      • The Akanksha Infertility Clinic in India: caters to oversees clients, especially from the United States. See also this story on "Womb for Rent" about surrogacy in India.
        
        
      • Tabasco Surrogacy: find a surrogate mother from Mexico
        
        
      • Fertility doctor offers low-cost surrogates to infertile westerners
        
        
      • Medical tourism for babies, plastic surgery, etc.
      
      
      
    • Donor Network Alliance: Meant to be a comprehensive site for egg donor searches, this site includes listings from twenty different egg donor agencies.
      
      
    • Egg donor database: can search by race, ethnicity, religion, height, hair color, eye color
      
      
    • Creating Families: arranges surrogate parenting along with egg and embryo adoption
      
      
    • Be an egg donor at Reproductive Medicine of New Jersey.
      
      
    • Bright Expectations: Information on becoming an egg donor. This site features an application, a list of requirements, and the compensation.
      
      
    • the popularity of college women serving as egg donors. See also this article on whether egg donors should be compensated.
      
      
    • Donating eggs in a bad economy. See also here. See also women donating eggs for rent money.
      
      
    • "Egg Donation for IVF and Stem Cell Research: Time to Weigh the Risks to Women's Health: This essay investigates some of the potential dangers in the drugs used to hyperstimulate the ovaries of infertile women.
      
      
    • "Building a Baby, With Few Ground Rules": the story of a surrogate mother who sought custody of the twins she bore for another couple
      
      
    • Outsourcing surrogacy to overseas women. See also this story about the growing popularity of surrogacy in India. Surrogacy Centre India is a clinic in New Delhi.
      
      
    • Military wives and surrogate motherhood

  
  
  
  
  

• Catholic teachings
  
  
  • The 1980 Vatican Declaration on Euthanasia
    
    
  • To Live Each Day with Dignity: U.S. Bishops' Policy Statement on Assisted Suicide: approved on June 16, 2011. See also the accompanying commentary.
    
    
  • Living and Dying According to the Voice of Faith: a pastoral letter to the Catholics of the state of Michigan. The first part presents Catholic teaching on death and dying; the second develops a pastoral perspective on encountering death and dying in light of those teachings.
    
    
  • Freedom to Die?: a good discussion of end-of-life issues from within a Catholic Christian theological perspective
    
    
  • "Deathbed confusion: Struggling with decisions at the end of life": a good essay by Heather Grennan Gary which explores Catholic thinking on end-of-life care
    
    
  • Issues in Care for the Dying: part V of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops
    
    What makes a hospital Catholic: what it means for a healthcare institution to claim Catholic identity
    
    
  • Development of Church teaching on prolonging life: a helpful overview and survey of Catholic theology on end-of-life decisions
    
    
  • "How Long Must We Preserve Life?" by Thomas Shannon: excellent piece that shows the difference Christian theology makes for how one thinks about life, death, and dying
    
    
  • "Catholicism, Death and Modern Medicine," by Lisa Sowle Cahill: helpful essay from 2005 reflecting on the Catholic tradition in light of the then-recent deaths of Pope John Paul II and Terry Schiavo. She also discussed John Paul's March 2004 statement about artificial hydration and nutrition. In addition, Cahill also raises broader social questions about how medical decision-making is often perceived.
    
    
  • "Nutrition and Hydration: Moral and Pastoral Reflections": a 1992 document by the U.S. Catholic Bishops
    
    
  • The Church on feeding tubes
    
    
    • John Paul II's statement on feeding tubes from March 2004: Address to the Participants in the International Congress on "Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegetative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas." This site offers analysis of that statement. See also how a feeding tube works. See also "Patient with a Gastronomy Tube"
      
      
    • "Pope John Paul II Affirms Obligation to Feed Patients in the 'Vegetative' State": a good background piece by Richard Doerflinger
      
      
    • "John Paul II on the 'Vegetative State'": This is another good piece by Doerflinger, which makes the point that John Paul II's March 2004 statement is a culmination of other Church teachings.
      
      
    • "Pope Says Patients Must Receive Nutrition, Hydration".
      
      
    • "Pope reprimands 'euthanasia by omission'"
      
      
    • Reactions to the pope's statement on feeding tubes
      
      
    • Evaluation of John Paul II's statement on feeding tubes in light of previous Catholic tradition
      
      
    • Thomas Shannon and James Walter, "Artificial Nutrition, Hydration: Assessing Papal Statement": criticism of John Paul II's statement on feeding tube
      
      
      
      
    • "Pope decries care shutdowns"
      
      
    • "Catholic Stance on Tube-Feeding is Evolving": an essay by Manuel Roig-Franzia from the March 27, 2005 Washington Post, which talks about the disagreements still present in light of John Paul II's 2004 allocution about feeding tubes and shows how what the pope was saying seems in tension with centuries of Catholic tradition about these matters.
      
      
    • "Nutrition and Hydration: Moral Considerations": a statement from 1999 by the Pennsylvania Catholic Bishops arguing that feeding tubes for PVS patients are morally obligatory
      
      
    • Briefing note on the obligation to provide nutrition and hydration: This 2004 statement from the Australian Catholic bishops makes a good case for why feeding tubes should be seen as medical treatment.
      
      
    • "Responses to Certain Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration": the latest teaching from 2007. See also the commentary accompanying the statement.
      
      
    • Q&A from the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and Committee on Pro-Life Activities regarding the Vatican's new teaching about feeding tubes
      
      
    • The Vatican has ruled against the removal of feeding tubes.
      
      
    • "Take and Eat": helpful background essay by Fr. Gerald Coleman about the Catholic tradition and artificial nutrition and hydration. See also Fr. Coleman's "What's Extraordinary?: Catholic Wisdom on End-of-Life Care"
      
      
    • "Preserving Life? The Vatican & PVS" by Daniel P. Sulmasy: a very good essay from the December 7, 2007 Commonweal analyzing the latest Vatican statement about feeding tubes and explaining what it means for the use of feeding tubes by both PVS and non-PVS patients
      
      
    • "At the End of Life: Are Feeding Tubes Now Obligatory?": a very recent article by Thomas Shannon which analyzes the Church's 2007 ruling on feeding tubes in light of the 1980 Vatican Declaration on Euthanasia (1980).
      
      
    • "In Defense of Human Life": a response to recent essays (including the Shannon one directly above) by Archibishop Justin Rigali and Bishop William E. Lori
      
      
    • Directive 58 of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Facilities
      
      
    • Questions & Answers about Directive 58
      
      
    • The impact of this new teaching on Catholic hospitals
      
      
    • A change to the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services" (Directive #58) due to the changed teaching on feeding tubes for PVS patients. See also this commentary from Compassion & Choice on this change.
      
      
    • Feeding tubes and Catholic hospitals: potential conflicts between what patients want and what Catholic hospitals will allow
      
      
    • The impact on the Ethical and Religious Directives governing Catholic hospitals
      
      
    • "Undue Burden: The Vatican and Artificial Nutrition and Hydration" by the Consortium of Jesuit Bioethics Programs provides an excellent statement on artificial nutrition and hydration that is sensitive to recent developments while trying to preserve the best of the Catholic moral tradition on end-of-life care
      
      
    • "On Basic Care for Patients in the 'Vegetative' State": an article from 2008 by Cardinal Justin Rigali, chair of the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William Lori, chair of the Committee on Doctrine
    
    
    
  • A site containing several statements from religious sources about euthanasia, a description of recent developments in Australia on physician- suicide and the text of recent laws from Oregon and relating to physician-suicide, a glossary of terms associated with euthanasia
  
  
  
• Background and history of the euthanasia debate
  
  
  • Some definitions relating to euthanasia
    
    
  • Internet links relating to euthanasia: legislation, court decisions, an annotated bibliography, DeathNET ("an international archive specializing in all aspects of death and dying"), the student research center on euthanasia and assisted suicide, information on living wills, debates about euthanasia, and links to other sites relating to death and dying
    
    
  • "From Quinlan to Schiavo: medical, ethical, and legal issues in severe brain injury": good background on a range of brain injuries as well as some of the prominent legal and ethical cases that have surrounded them
    
    
  • Prominent Right-to-Die Cases: brief descriptions of the cases of Karen Ann Quinlan, Clair Conroy, and Nancy Cruzan. This site mentions Conroy and Baby Doe. See also the case of an Arkansas man who awakes after 19 years of unconsciousness. There are indications that his brain has partially healed itself.
    
    
  • Some notable euthanasia cases and developments
    
    
  • "Whose Right to Die?": provides some details about the case of Nancy Cruzan
    
    
  • The Death of Nancy Cruzan: transcript of a PBS documentary
  • A talk by William Colby, the Cruzan family attorney and author of The Long Goodbye: The Deaths of Nancy Cruzan
    
    
  • Terri Shiavo's website.
    
    
  • Bishops' statements on Terri Schiavo
    
    
    
    • Background on the Terri Schiavo case
      
      
    • "Schiavo autopsy points up need for end-of-life discussions": shows the lack of consensus in the Church about the removal of nutrition and hydration, even in the wake of John Paul II's March, 2004 statement on feeding tubes
      
      
    • Edward Sunshine, "Truncating Catholic Tradition": This is probably the best commentary out there on this case. It evaluates the statements of Florida bishops in light of traditional Catholic teaching about end-of-life decisions.
      
      
    • "Schiavo case highlights divisions in Catholic views on treatment"
      
      
    • Florida Catholic bishops on Terri Schiavo case
      
      
    • "Is Terri Schiavo Alive?": a good report on Terri's condition when she was alive and information on Persistent Vegetative State
      
      
    • Timeline in the Terri Schiavo case
      
      
    • Latest developments in the Terri Schiavo case
      
      
    • Terri Schiavo died from dehydration. See also "Dehydration main concern after tube's removal.
      
      
    • "'Till Death Do Us Part': Why Spouses Get the Final Say in Coma Cases": good background on who gets appointed as legal guardian in cases like these
    
    
    
  • Coma vs. Persistent Vegetative State: description of coma and persistent vegetative state, their difference, treatment options, and prognosis for patients in these conditions
    
    
  • Description of PVS
    
    
  • Medical aspects of the Persistent Vegetative State: You'll first have to register for a free account at New England Journal of Medicine.
    
    
  • "When Does the Brain Go Blank?": explanation of what a persistent vegetative state is, how it differs from being brain dead, etc. See also ethical and Legal considerations about brain death in a helpful question-and-answer format.
    
    
  • "Man roused from coma by magnetic field": Josh Villa came out of a persistent vegetative state after being treated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). John Whyte of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, cautions that as intriguing as Villa's case is, it alone does not show that TMS is a useful treatment. "Even after eight months, it is not uncommon for patients to transition from the vegetative to the minimally conscious state without any particular intervention," he points out.
    
    
  • Man falsely thought to be in a coma for 23 years: the remarkable story of Rom Houben, who was thought to be in a PVS, but was really totally paralyzed and completely conscious
    
    
  • Traumatic brain injury: a helpful introduction to a range of brain injury
    
    
  • Artificial Nutrition and Hydration
    
    
    • Questions surrounding the withdrawal of artificial hydration and nutrition from PVS patients: a helpful overview of the issues in Question & Answer format. This site also includes a profile of Rita Greene, believed to be the longest surviving PVS patient in the United States.
      
      
    • "Withholding or Withdrawing of Artificial Nutrition and Hydration": gives arguments on both sides of this issue
      
      
    • An exchange between Gilbert Meilaender and Robert Orr about the removal of feeding tubes
      
      
    • The History of Surgically-Placed Feeding Tubes
    
    
    
  • The text of the Hippocratic Oath
    
    
  • The National Hospice Organization: helpful site with a good description of hospice care at the end of life
    
    
  • On Our Own Terms: end-of-life tools, care options, views of death and dying on a website from a Bill Moyers's PBS special from 2000
    
    
  • Dying Well: resources for dying patients, their families and their caregivers
    
    
  • Center for Practical Bioethics: resources about end-of-life care
    
    
  • The diary of Nancy Crick: an ongoing diary by a 70 year-old woman with bowel cancer who argues for physician assisted suicide
    
    
  • Completing a Life: great collection of personal stories and medical and legal facts concerning options at the end of life
    
    
  • Animal euthanasia: an essay that asks 'If euthanasia is compassionate for our pets, why isn't it compassionate for our human fellows?'
  
  
  
• Court rulings and legislation on euthanasia
  
  
  • Does the constitution protect the right to die?
    
    
  • Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health (1990): Also available is a summary of the case and the high court's conclusions, along with a link to real audio from the oral arguments. You might need to download RealPlayer to hear them.
    
    
  • Legal opinions on several prominent right-to-die cases (including Nancy Cruzan)
    
    
  • The Oregon Death with Dignity Act (1994): The Death with Dignity Act allows terminally ill adult Oregon patients to obtain a physician's prescription for drugs to end their life. A repeal effort was soundly defeated in November, 1997. This makes Oregon the first state in the nation to legalize physician-assisted suicide. See also the helpful FAQs about Physician-Assisted Suicide. Included also are the forms used for the patient and physician to arrange an assisted suicide.
    
    
    • The Oregon Death with Dignity Act: Annual Reports. You can also find Frequently Asked Questions and Death with Dignity forms.
      
      
    • Five years of assisted suicide in Oregon: a report
      
      
    • 37 people in Oregon had assisted suicide in 2004
      
      
    • Federal appeals court backs Oregon's assisted suicide law: from May, 2004
      
      
    • U.S. Supreme Court upholds Oregon suicide law: The case is Gonzales v. Oregon.
    
    
    
  • Washington State legalized Physician-Assisted Suicide in 2008
    
    
    • Washington State Death with Dignity Act (which went into effect on March 5, 2009): information and the text of the bill
      
      
    • The first death in Washington State from physician-assisted suicide
      
      
    • "Doctors without borders: Washington state's new physician-assisted suicide law": an essay by Daniel Callahan which takes up slippery-slope worries, the importance of self-control for those advocating assisted suicide, and the notion that opposition to this practice is a religious imposition on people who don't necessarily share the faith
    
    
    
  • Montana becomes the third state to allow physician-assisted suicide. On December 31, 2009, the Montana Supreme court in Baxter v. Montana that physician-assisted suicide did not violate Montana state law. Already, this ruling has provoked concerns about slippery slopes and flawed reasoning. Montana legislators have put a physician-assisted suicide law on hold.
    
    
    
    • Montana judge rules in favor of assisted suicide: On December 5, 2008, Montana judge Dorothy McCarter ruled that laws banning assisted suicide violate the right to privacy found in the Montana consistution.
    
    
    
  • Compassion in Dying v. State of Washington (1996): a ruling by Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirming a person's right to die and the right to physician-assisted suicide. See the prior ruling from 1995 by Judge John Noonan on this case.
    
    
  • Vacco v. Quill (1996): another significant ruling on physician-assisted suicide, this one by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1991, a Rochester, N.Y., physician wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine that he prescribed enough pills for a leukemia patient to kill herself. With that article, Dr. Timothy Quill became the first practicing physician in the United States to publicly admit aiding a patient's suicide.
    
    
  • The U.S. Supreme Court on Physician Assisted Suicide. In Vacco v. Quill, decided on June 26, 1997, the court overturned the second circuit's Vacco v. Quill ruling and asserted that there is no consitutional right to physician assisted suicide. This site contains the principal opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist, along with some concurring opinions. Other concurring opinions. Washington v. Glucksberg was the companion ruling which came out on the same day. See also various amici curiae briefs filed in these cases, including the so-called Philosophers' Brief.
  
  
  
• Physician-assisted suicide
  
  
  • Physician-Assisted Suicide: All Sides: definitions of terms, beliefs about suicide and euthanasia, ethical questions raised by euthanasia, religious questions and statements by religious groups, public opinion on euthanasia, legal status of euthanasia in the United States and elsewhere in the world
    
    
  • Various resources on physician-assisted suicide from the U.S. Catholic Bishops: Church teaching, fact sheets, prayers, and selected articles
    
    
  • "Killing the Pain, Not the Patient: Palliative Care vs. Assisted Suicide": an excellent article co-written by a physician about pain-relief, and including a good discussion of the principle of double effect
    
    
  • United States law on assisted suicide: nice and concise overview
    
    
  • Update from 2015 on the right to die and physician-assisted suicide
    
    
  • Pennsylvania woman goes to jail after witnessing her elderly father's suicide
    
    
  • New York Times video on the right-to-die: profiles people like Dr. Jack Kevorkian and Brittany Maynard
    
    
  • "The Supreme Court and Physician-Assisted Suicide: the Ultimate Right": an essay by Marcia Angell, M.D. in which the author argues that PAS is "simply a part of good medical care"
    
    
  • "Choosing Their Time: the appeal of physician-assisted suicide for those near death
    
    
  • "Euthanasia: A Bedside View": a nurse's reflections on (and approval of) physician-assisted suicide
    
    
  • Assisted suicide becomes legal in California
    
    
  • "Physician-Assisted Suicide: Reflections of a Young Doctor: This article, written by Louis Vernacchio, a third-year resident, explains the author's opposition to physician-assisted suicide. (You need to scroll down a bit on this page to get to the essay.)
    
    
  • "Bottom of the Slope": slippery-slope concerns about physician-assisted suicide
    
    
  • "A License to Kill?": the move from physician-assisted suicide to legal active euthanasia in the Netherlands, which occurred in the fall of 2001. Besides Belgium and the Netherlands, euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalized in Luxembourg and declared "nonpunishable" in Switzerland and are under parliamentary consideration in Britain and France.
    
    
  • The euthanasia of deaf Belgium twins: 45 year-old Dutch twins, neither of whom was in extreme pain or terminally ill, used assisted suicide to end their lives. Both were going blind and couldn't stand the idea of never seeing their twin again.
    
    
  • In February, 2014, Belgium becomes the first nation to allow euthanasia for children. On this development, see also this radio interview with Kenneth Chambaere, a sociologist based at the Free University of Brussels, who specialises in end-of-life issues and this.
    
    
  • "Competent Care for the Dying Instead of Physician-Assisted Suicide": an essay by Kathleen M. Foley, M.D., in which the author argues against assisted suicide and in favor of better end-of-life care
    
    
  • True Compassion Advocates: advocates for the seriously ill and dedicated to offering alternatives to physician-assisted suicide
    
    
  • The new Netherlands euthansia law See also euthanasia in the Netherlands.
    
    
  • Dutch euthanasia for newborns: another step down the slippery slope.
    
    
  • Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide around the world
    
    
  • The Euthanasia Debate: excellent collection of links about euthanasia laws in the 50 states as well as laws around the world pertaining to euthanasia
    
    
  • Euthanasia in Britain, from a 1st-person perspective
    
    
  • "Tourists Trek to Mexico for 'Death in a Bottle'": a report on 'suicide tourism' to Mexico
    
    
  • "The Doctor Will Kill You Now" talks about the Oregon woman for whom the state health plan wouldn't pay for her cancer treatment, but would pay for her suicide. See also this story for how Health Plan covers assisted suicide, but not more expensive therapy.
    
    
  • Brittany Maynard, a 29 year-old with cancer, chooses to end her life: story and video
    
    
  • Dr. Jack Kevorkian
    
    
    • Dr. Kevorkian and his Patients: transcripts and real audio interviews of 4 of Dr. Kevorkian's patients and their families, Dr. Kevorkian's private life and public career, summary of legal rulings relating to physician-assisted suicide
      
      
    • Dr. Kevorkian admits to active euthanasia: In a 60 Minutes broadcast on November 22, 1998, Kevorkian admitted to actively euthanazing 52 year-old Thomas Youk in late September, 1998.
      
      
    • Dr. Kevorkian sentenced to prison for the death of Thomas Youk
      
      
    • Dr. Kevorkian asks for his sentence to be commuted: In June, 2006, because of his failing health, Kevorkian asked to be released from prison after serving seven years of his sentence.
      
      
    • "Right-to-Die issues divide Americans": A good update on the issue, as well as information about Dr. Kevorkian's release from prison on June 1, 2007.
      
      
    • Dr. Kevorkian dies at age 83: June 3, 2011
    
    
    
  • Timeline on Physician-Assisted Suicide: notable events and figures that have gotten us to where we are now
    
    
  • A Bibliography on Physician Assisted Suicide
    
    
  • Answers to Frequently Asked Questions: a service of the International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force
    
    
  • The Self-Deliverance Computer Program: This is billed as "A program for patient controlled medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill." It was developed (and has been used on at least three occasions) by Dr. Philip Nitschke of Australia's Northern Territory, the only place in the world where physician assisted suicide was legal (the law legalizing it was recently overturned). Dr. Nitschke visited his patients with this program loaded into a laptop computer. The laptop was connected to an IV in the patient's arm. As you'll see from the program, the patient is asked a series of YES/NO questions. If the patient answers "Yes" to the last question, she or he will be given a lethal injection through the IV. See this link for information on Dr. Nitschke's new suicide machine.
    
    
  • "Dying Like a Dog" from First Things of April, 1995
    
    
  • Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide around the world
  
  
  
• Living wills
  
  
  • "The Catholic Case for Advance Directives": very good essay by Dr. Daniel Sulmasy that explores various kinds of advance directives and locates them within Catholic tradition about end-of-life care
    
    
  • Living Will forms for different states: First read through the Frequently Asked Questions, and then go to the forms for different states. You may also find the various state forms here. When you click on a state, you may get a few pages of instructions about how to fill out these forms. Skim through these (or skip entirely). Then you may get a series of forms: a power of attorney for heath care form, a living will form, and perhaps even a life-prolonging procedures declaration (which essentially says that you want everything done as long as possible).
    
    
  • Commonly Asked Questions on Living Wills
    
    
  • Guide to living wills from Nolo.com legal encyclopedia
    
    
  • The Patient Self-Determination Act: the law relating to living wills, which took effect in December, 1991
    
    
  • Living will registry: an innovative service to register living wills online and provide the information to hospitals
    
    
  • Physician Orders for Sustaining Treatment (POST): a new kind of advance directive requiring collaboration between patient and physician. There is a site for Indiana and a downloadable form.

• Church teachings
  
  
  • Economic Justice for All, the 1986 pastoral letter on the economy by the U.S. Catholic Bishops
  
  
  • A Decade After Economic Justice for All: subtitled "Continuing Principles, Changing Context, New Challenges," this message from November 1995 looked back on where the U.S. has come and what problems remain in light of the principles first articulated ten years ago.
    
    
  • A Catholic Framework for Economic Life: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued this statement in November, 1996 to mark the 10th anniversary of their 1986 pastoral, Economic Justice for All. This is a very brief statement on economic justice. It lists the ten major principles of Catholic social thought.
    
    
  • "American Pastoral: Revisiting Economic Justice for All: a 2012 essay by retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland, chair of the committee who drafted the 1986 pastoral letter on the economy, in which he describes changing conditions and analyzes factors since 1986 that would have to be included in any current statement on poverty and the U.S. economy
  
  
  
  • The Consistent Ethic of Life: a description of the seamless garment of Catholic concerns about life issues first articulated in 1983 by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, along with a download featuring lots of other links to Catholic sources.
    
    
  • Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice: a pastoral reflection by the U.S. Catholic bishops from November, 1998 on lay discipleship for justice in a new millenium
    
    
  • "Educating Young People in Justice and Peace": Pope Benedict XVI's 2012 World Day of Peace Message. The pope speaks about the transcendent dimension of justice and the need for redistribution of wealth on a global scale.
    
    
  • Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: a 1998 document from the National Council of Catholic Bishops
    
    
  • What is Catholic Social Thought?: quick video summarizing what Catholic social thought is, whence it came, and what some of its major principles are. Another great video resource is "The Biblical Roots of Catholic Social Teaching", a reflection from Meghan J. Clark of St. John's University on the Old and New Testament roots of Catholic social teaching.
    
    
  • "Social Justice: What's tarnishing its good name?": an essay from 2012 that surveys current views about social justice and discusses religion and politics, charity vs. justice, and religion as public or private. It also provides a definition of social justice as "people working together to transform societal structures for the common good."
    
    
  • Reflections on the concept of a living wage: helpful discussion of what a living wage is and its roots in the Church's social teachings. See also living wage facts. The Living Wage Resource Center offers news about the living wage and organizing efforts. Interfaith Worker Justice is about faith-based organizing and solidarity with low-wage workers. It seeks to improve wages and benefits, as well as working conditions, for workers, especially low-income workers.
    
    
  • "The Living Wage and Catholic Social Teaching": includes the history of the living wage movement, its support within the Church's social teaching, and the views of recent popes on labor
    
    
  • If a business won't pay a living wage, it shouldn't exist: an article that considers the example of Wal-Mart and asks how much this private company is indebted to public funds. As a result, the essay makes the case that companies have a positive obligation to the rest of society to pay a living wage to its employees.
    
    
  • Catholic politicians and minimum wage: a discussion of proposals to raise the minimum wage in light of Catholic social teaching's emphasis on a living wage
    
    
  • Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States: from November, 2007. See also the bishops' 10 questions on social justice issues for Catholics to ask those running for office.
    
    
  • Abortion and single-issue politics
    
    
  • Centesimus Annus, the 1991 encyclical by Pope John Paul II on justice in the economy
  . The Office of Social Justice for St. Paul has the encyclicals of John Paul in everyday language. See its rendering of Centesimus Annus.
  
  
  • Laborem Exercens, the 1981 encyclical by Pope John Paul II on justice for workers
    
    
  • Ecclesia in America (The Church in America): an apostolic exhortation from Pope John Paul II from January, 1999
    
    
  • Deus Caritas Est: the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI. See also the pope's own commentary on his encyclical.
    
    
  • Charity in Truth: Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, released July 7, 2009. See John Allen's overview of the encyclical and his statement of what's really new in it. Richard McBrien's "The pope's social encylical" situates this particular papal writing within the context of the Church's social tradition. See also this collection of brief essays about Benedict's encyclical.
    
    
  • From Crisis to Home: Working to Achieve the Common Good: a 2011 pastoral statement from the Catholic Bishops of Ireland about economic justice
    
    
  • "Towards reforming the international financial and monetary systems in the context of the global public authority": a 2011 document from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
    
    
  • The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium): the apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis which sets out his vision for the Church.
    
    
    
    • U.S. Catholic has a helpful presentation of how themes from Catholic social thought come into this apostolic exhortation
      
      
    • For a conservative critique of what Francis is saying about capitalism, see this criticism by radio host Rush Limbaugh.
      
      
    • The place of the poor in The Joy of the Gospel
    
    
    
  • The words and witness of Pope Francis on how luxury may compromise Christian witness
    
    
  • Pope Francis says that "Inequalty is the root of social evil": reaction from U.S. conservatives
    
    
  • Pope Francis's critique of libertarianism: If we are made in the image of a God who is triune, then we are made for community and solidarity.
    
    
  • Pope Francis says "our faith is revolutionary" and indicts a global economy of exclusion
    
    
  • Key documents of Catholic social teaching: collection of major papal and episcopal documents relating to the Church's social teaching
    
    
  • Catholic teachings on the rights of workers: key statements from the Church's social tradition about the rights of workers and the importance of organized labor unions
    
    
    • Catholic teaching on unions
      
      
    • Key excerpts from encyclicals and bishops' letters about labor unions
      
      
    • "Catholic Teaching Supports Unions: an editorial from St. Anthony Messenger
      
      
    • "Bishops and the assault on unions": explores the actions of bishops in response to the 2011 demonstrations in Wisconsin by teachers unions. See also "Madison: Labor's wake-up or its last stand?".
      
      
    • "Labor Pains: What Wisconsin Tells us about Catholics and Unions"
      
      
    • A history of American Catholic support for unions
      
      
    • Various religious views on unions from different Christian churches
      
      
    • "Which Side Are They On? When a Catholic College Resists a Union": an article about Manhatten College in the Bronx, shows the conflict of a Catholic institution being challenged to apply Catholic social teachings to itself
      
      
    • Background on Indiana's right-to-work law
  
  
  
• Background on Catholic social teaching
  
  
  • Biblical statements of God's preferencial option for the
    
    
  • The Sisters of the Holy Cross work for justice
    
    
  • "An Itinerant Preacher: Following the Poor Jesus": This is an excellent shorter essay that mines the Scriptural evidence about Jesus's own economic standing, his identification with the poor, and what this means for those who follow him today
    
    
  • Statements from the Catholic tradition on the preferential option for the poor: what the "option for the poor" means and some of this history of its use within the Catholic tradition
    
    
  • Preferential love for the poor by Pope John Paul II
    
    
  • "Why the Preferential Option for the Poor is not Optional," by Jack Jezreel: See also the the letter written to Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner by faculty at Catholic University in protest of Boehner's selection to give the commencement address at Catholic U. The letter especially criticizes Boehner's record relating to the preferential option for the poor.
    
    
  • The Kingdom of God in the teaching of Jesus: part of an interview with Professor John Dominic Crosson on what Jesus would have meant by the kingdom of God and how this concept figured in his life and teachings. See also the political significance of the crucifixion of Jesus which features a good discussion of the danger Jesus constituted to the Roman Empire and the nature of the punishment of crucifixion.
    
    
  • What is 'the Kingdom of God'?: an essay by Fr. Richard McBrien
    
    
  • Fr. Robert Barron on the threatening Jesus who upset worldly powers: vs. a "defanged, privatized, spiritual teacher [who] poses little threat to the status quo." See especially his analysis of how the Greek of the New Testament reveals challenges to Roman rule.
    
    
  • Pope Francis affirms that a good Catholic "meddles in politics."
    
    
  • "Almost heaven: we pray for God's kingdom to come, but we need to be doing more to get it here": the kingdom of God and its role in Christian thought about social justice
    
    
  • Catholic Social Teaching: statements from official Catholic sources, descriptions of the main principles of Catholic social teaching, links to other Catholic social justice sites
    
    
  • Office for Social Justice, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: issues, resources, parish tools, papal and episcopal documents relating to Catholic Social Teaching, other web links to justice issues
    
    
  • Answers to 25 questions about Catholic social teaching: very brief but helpful renderings of key concepts and documents arranged in Q & A form
    
    
    • Key themes from Catholic social teaching: brief definitions with links to quotations relating to the specific concepts
      
      
    • Notable quotations from the Catholic tradition on human rights
      
      
      
      • "Our Expanding Menu of Rights," by George Will: the proliferation of all sorts of unusual rights. See also "The Spread of Rights Babble," by John Leo.
        
        
      • "The morality of human rights: a problem for nonbelievers?": addresses the question of whether the existence of God is needed to make sense of the existence of human rights. "Can there be rights without God?" takes up the same issue and raises (and then tries to respond to) objections by those who would answer 'yes' to this question.
      
      
      
    • Notable quotations from the Catholic tradition on community and the common good
      
      
    • "The Pope or the Tea Party": a commentary profiling the differencess between the Tea Party and the Church's social tradition. See also "Catholicism is not the Tea Party at Prayer".
      
      
    • Circle of Protection: a Christian perspective on why we need to protect programs for the poor. See also this essay about lobbying efforts to help protect the poor from budget cuts made to programs that fight the effects of poverty.
      
      
    • "Saving 'Subsidiarity'": excellent article by Vincent Miller that argues that the principle of subsidiarity is an application of the principle of solidarity, not a principle for small government as it has been recently construed by some Catholic politicians
      
      
    • "True Now--Truer Then: Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Turns Twenty-Five": a re-appropriation of John Paul II's encyclical, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, especially for what it says about solidarity and the preferential option for the poor
    
    
    
  • Salt of the Earth: review of social justice issues and the practical ways men and women across the United States are seeking social change
    
    
  • St. Thomas Aquinas on the Universal Destination of All Created Goods: Aquinas explains why in cases of extreme necessity, taking what one needs to survive is not stealing.
    
    
  • "God's stewards": a good essay on the universal destination of all things
    
    
  • Private property vs. the Universal Destination of All Goods
    
    
  • The Universal Destination of all things as an "oft-forgotten" Church teaching
    
    
  • "The Market is My Shepherd and I Shall Want and Want and Want...": nice essay by Harvey Cox bringing out how the market assumes an almost god-like role in our lives
    
    
  • "Can this market be saved?": an interview with an economist about the present state of the U.S. economy
    
    
  • Plutocracy or Democracy?: a great essay showing how plutocracy is a perversion of the Golden Rule (plutocracy = those with the gold, rule) and is incompatible with CST
    
    
  • "A New Vision": what Catholic social teaching leads Charles Wilber to conclude about the U.S. economic crisis. See also "Building on sand: the economy & the common good" by Bill Cavanaugh.
    
    
  • "'I didn't do it alone': Society's Contribution to Individual Wealth and Success": This piece does a great job exploring the "myth" of the "self-made man." See especially pp. 7-8 and 11-15.
    
    
  • The Busy Christian's Guide to Catholic Social Teaching: an online timeline with helpful summaries of all of the Church's major social teachings from Rerum Novarum in 1891 to Centesimus Annus in 1991
    
    
  • "Because we are Catholic": the origin of the Catholic responsibility to hear the cry of the poor, along with a reflection on just who the poor are in our day
    
    
  • How to be a Church of the poor: the Church's challenge in light of Pope Francis
    
    
  • An excellent summary of the main points in the Church's social teaching and links to other social justice sites
    
    
  • A primer on Catholic social teaching, with a brief description of its foundational principles
    
    
  • "Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching": an essay by Fr. William Byron
    
    
  • Education for Justice. Enter HolyCrossJustice as the ID and HCJustice as the password.
    
    
  • Business education as a "noble vocation": good article why Catholic colleges should teach business
    
    
  • Justice and Peace: ecumenical statements on economic justice issued by Catholic and non-Catholic Christian groups, non-Catholic Christian statements on justice, non-Christian religions' statements on justice, Bible verses dealing with social justice, relevant directories to faith and justice sites on the WWW (including an especially good one to Catholic organizations)
    
    
  • A chart comparing Charity & Justice. See also this essay by Jim Dinn about charity vs. justice (you'll have to scroll down about half-way to get to the essay). And this site describes the relationship between justice and charity in the Church's social teachings.
    
    
  • Notable statements on the themes of charity and justice
    
    
  • Charitable works vs. social justice: explanation by the United States Catholic bishops along with this graphic
    
    
  • Prof. Michael Sandel's lectures on justice: links to twelve videos from the Harvard professor
    
    
  • Catholic Charities USA: the largest private network of social service organizations in the United States works to support families, reduce poverty, and build communities. Its mission is to provide service for people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.
    
    
  • "Four Stages of Spiritual Growth in Helping the Poor," by Fr. Albert NolanThe stages are compassion, realizing poverty is a structural problem, discovering that the poor must save themselves, and acknowledging the humanity and imperfection of the poor.
    
    
  • Catholic Worker Home Page: The Catholic Worker movement was founded in 1933 during the Great Depression by Dorothy Day at the urging of Peter Maurin. It is best known for its houses of hospitality and commitment to social justice.
    
    
  • "It's a poor Christian who ignores poverty": resistance to Gospels passages about poverty and the responsibility to overcome it
    
    
  • "Is it a sin to be wealthy?" by St. Clement of Alexandria
    
    
  • A Church for the Poor: Pope Francis's vision for the Church
    
    
  • Pope Francis calls for "the legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state"
    
    
  • Pope Francis's differences with dominant assumptions behind the American economy: very clear essay by Bishop Robert McElroy that sets out assumptions undergirding American capitalism and presents the challenges posted by Pope Francis and the Church's social teaching to them
    
    
  • "The rise of the 99 percent: Social justice groups see unexpected upsurge in allies": an essay making the point that current protests have “opened up a space” for people concerned about social justice issues to speak on a national scale
    
    
  • Liberation theology: brief background on what it is and the theology behind it.
    
    
  • Wikipedia on liberation theology
    
    
    • A related site presents gives a more expansive presentation of liberationist views of God, Jesus Christ, sin, Church, and salvation.
      
      
    • Liberation theology and Pope John Paul II
      
      
    • Instruction on Certain Aspects of "Theology of Liberation": the 1984 statement by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See also John Paul II and Oscar Romero.
      
      
    • Archbishop Oscar Romero: champion of the poor of El Salvador and defender of human rights and dignity. This site contains a brief biography. You can also see
      
      
    • Monseñor: The Last Journey of Oscar Romero: wonderful film about Romero's life and legacy by Fr. Robert Pelton some pictures and an icon of Romero.
      
      
    • Oscar Romero: bishop of the poor: background on the life and death or Romero
      
      
    • Remembrance of Romero: from the Religious Task Force of Central America
      
      
    • "Oscar Romero and the Nonviolent Struggle for Justice" by Fr. John Dear
      
      
    • Romero Resources for Catholic educators features a number of links on Romero's life and influence. See also this collection of resources from America magazine.
      
      
    • "Pastoral Teaching of Archbishop Oscar Romero" by James R. Brockman
      
      
    • Seven Lenten sermons of Oscar Romero
      
      
    • Remembrance of Oscar Romero: a site devoted to keeping Romero's memory alive. See also Remembering Romero.
      
      
    • Oscar Romero and Pope Francis: comparison between the two figues in the context of Vatican II
      
      
    • The beatification of Oscar Romero: from May, 2015
      
      
    • A history of El Salvador from colonial times to post-civil war
      
      
    • An update on the conditions in El Salvador from May, 2015: See also this story from the National Catholic Reporter
      
      
      • The Internet Movie Database on the film Romero: extensive information about characters, plot, significant lines from the movie, as well as links to other reviews
        
        
      • Reviews of Romero
    
    
    
  • The Church and the Environment
    
    
    • Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All of Creation: Pope John Paul II's 1990 World Day of Peace Message
      
      
    • Renewing the Earth: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on the Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching: a 1991 pastory statement by the United States Catholic bishops
      
      
    • Vatican Statement from the Pontifical Academy of Science about Climate Change: Analysis of this statement is available at "Green smoke is sighted as Vatican releases glacier report" and "Vatican working group calls for concrete steps to combat climate change"
      
      
    • Climate change quotations from Catholic sources
      
      
    • Catholic social teaching and climate change: a helpful application of major principles of the Church's social teaching to the issue of climate change
      
      
    • Global climate change and the Catholic response: a helpful and brief presentation of what the issue is, why people of faith should care, how this issue affects the poorest among us, and what response is needed
      
      
    • "Climate for Change: What the Church can do about Global Warming": excellent piece by Prof. Elizabeth Groppe that situates environmental matters as pro-life concerns
      
      
    • Faithful Stewards of God's Creation: A Catholic Resource for Environmental Justice and Climate Change: the U.S. Bishops on climate change
      
      
    • A Catholic perspective on caring for the environment
      
      
    • Environmental statements by Pope Benedict XVI
      
      
    • "If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Care for Creation": Pope Benedict, in his 2010 World Day of Peace message, on the relationship between cultivating peace and protecting creation. See the response of some environmental sceptics to this talk.
      
      
    • Recent popes and bishops on ecological concerns: a collection of statements
      
      
    • Pope Benedict on why the protection of the environment and the protection of human life go together: a New Year's 2010 address to the papal diplomatic corps
      
      
    • Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good: a 2001 statement by the United Stated Conference of Catholic Bishops. This link also has a good sidebar on "The Science of Global Climate Change."
      
      
    • Catholic Climate Covenant: a coalition of Catholic groups supporting and complementing the work of the U.S. Catholic bishops on the environment. This website includes a history of Church teaching on the environment along with links to primary sources.
      
      
    • Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home: Pope Francis's encyclical on climate change. See also this helpful summary of the encyclical from the Vatican Press Office, and this glossary of important terms in Laudato Si.
      
      
      • Analysis of the encyclical: several links from America magazine to articles analyzing the encyclical as well as to other recent documents from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI on the environment
        
        
      • A commentary summarizing the major points in the encyclical
        
        
      • Excellent appraisal of the major themes and impact of Laudato Si
        
        
      • Ten takeaways from Laudato si: an essay by Fr. James Martin, S.J. Here's a video version. Another 10 takeaways
        
        
      • The environment and the poor in Francis's encyclical. See also this essay about the interconnected themes of peace, justice, and care for the environment. This in turn relates to the Franciscan character of Laudato Si.
        
        
      • Theological themes in the encyclical See also this exposition of a href="https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/theological-heart-laudato-si?utm_source=Main+Reader+List&utm_campaign=236192451b-July+18_The_Week_at_Commonweal&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_407bf353a2-236192451b-92370193">theological themes in Laudato Si.
        
        
      • Seven predictions about the encyclical
        
        
      • Pope's views on climate change add pressure to Catholic candidates
        
        
      • Previous statements on the environment from Francis since becoming pope
        
        
      • Papal and episcopal precursors to Laudato Si: the recent history of the Church's environmental concerns. See also Francis's connections to John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
        
        
      • The surprising tale told by the footnotes in Laudato Si. See also "Pope Francis's Earthquake, which makes some of the same points.
        
        
      • Laudato Si's message spares no one: an essay from The New Yorker arguing that the targets of the pope's criticisms are not neatly aligned on one or other side of the political or ideological spectrum
  
  
  
• Poverty and welfare
  
  
  • Poverty Quiz: Answer 10 questions and see how much you know about poverty in the United States.
    
    
  • "A New Kind of Poverty": explores what the author, Anna Quindlen, calls the "precarious latticework of myth" around poverty in the United States
    
    
  • "The Poor Among You": an essay on the working poor which does a good job on the topics of individualism, charity vs. justice, and the deserving vs. undeserving poor
    
    
  • "It's expensive to be poor": an essay by Barbara Ehrenreich about the hidden costs of poverty
    
    
  • "Being Poor," by John Scalzi: tries to give an almost-experiential sense of what it means to be poor. See also "Behind the Poverty: Real Lives, Real Pain."
    
    
  • "Getting Off the Welfare Carousel": a single mom on welfare describes her life and its difficulties. See also "Battered Welfare Syndrome".
    
    
  • The poverty line: for different sizes of families. See also the Federal Poverty Guidelines. In 2010, the Obama administration announced that it would publish a new way to measure poverty, which looks less at people's income and the cost of food (as the measure that's been used since the 1960s does). See also how to count who's poor and this analysis of the political implications of how we measure poverty.
    
    
  • Quick facts about states, counties and cities: includes the number of people below the poverty line
    
    
  • A site containing several statements on poverty from religious sources, facts about poverty, literature on poverty and welfare, links to several different organizations working for justice for the poor
    
    
  • Barbara Ehrenreich, "The Vision-Impaired Rich": addresses the question of 'where have the poor disappeared to'?
    
    
  • "Rich Man, Poor Man," by Mortimer Zuckerman: examines and attempts to account for the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States. (Not) spreading the wealth is a more recent series of charts and graphs to show the growth in the income gap between the wealthy and the rest of the country.
    
    
  • The Unequal Opportunity Race: clever video portraying hidden advantages and disadvantages in how some get ahead and others fall behind through no fault of their own
    
    
  • "I Didn't Do it Alone: Society's Contribution to Individual Wealth": explodes the myth of the 'self-made man'
    
    
  • The Story of Stuff: consumerism and all its ramifications socially and environmentally. See also "Slavery Footprint", which contains information about human trafficking and an interactive survey designed to tell you how many slaves are working to sustain your lifestyle.
    
    
  • "Radical individualism and the poverty rate": how our notions of individualism collide with tax policy
    
    
  • Poverty facts and the face of American poverty by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development
    
    
  • Poverty line in the state of Indiana. See also Indiana's poverty rate on the rise. You can find information about the poverty rate of South Bendhere.
    
    
  • "Class Matters": a special report by the New York Times about the effects of social class in America
    
    
  • Discrimination Experiment: a PBS Frontline documentary about a famous experiment conducted by an Iowa schoolteacher who, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in 1968, gave her third-grade students a first-hand experience in the meaning of discrimination. This is the story of what she taught the children, and the impact that lesson had on their lives.
    
    
  • U.S. Census Figures on Poverty: who's poor? how many are poor? where do they live? This is a very nice resource with tables and graphs.
    
    
  • Household Income in the United States: several graphs which break down income by race, gender, education, etc.
    
    
  • "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack": an essay by Peggy McIntosh
    
    
  • "Welfare: A White Secret": race and public assistance
    
    
  • Poverty facts and figures: tables and government figures on who's poor in America today from the Instititute for Research on Poverty, the poverty line, information on children in poverty, and links to other poverty related sites
    
    
  • Frequently asked questions about children in poverty
    
    
  • Children in the States: data from the Children's Defense Fund about population and family characteristics, economic security and federal program participation, health and disabilities, child care and early childhood education, and youth development.
    
    
  • "Taxation without equal education": how property taxes fund education in the United States, and the issues of justice that emerge from this arrangement
    
    
  • Kids Count: a project ofthe Annie E. Casey Foundation, this site is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. There's a nice database which can generate detailed information about a single state or the nation as a whole.
    
    
  • SAT scores and family income. Family income remains the most reliable way to predict SAT scores. See also the charts on this page. This story shows how advantages continue to follow students based upon the selectivity of the institution at which they matriculate.
    
    
  • Links and articles concerning poverty and welfare
    
    
  • Fact sheet on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): from the Department of Health and Human Services.
    
    
  • Myths and facts about welfare
    
    
  • Introduction to TANF
    
    
  • How cuts to entitlement programs affect women
    
    
  • The Self-Sufficiency Standard in the State of Indiana
    
    
  • Welfare and Welfare : federal and state resources, the complete text of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, poverty statistics and links to other electronic sources relating to these issues
    
    
  • Welfare Reform: facts and myths, other web links on welfare reform, summary of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, advocacy organizations, research data. This site also contains facts about welfare and welfare spending, links to welfare reform, and poverty statistics from the U.S. Census Office
    
    
  • An introduction to TANF
    
    
  • Average TANF payments by state. See also this site and click here for the most recent numbers. See the benefits in Indiana.
    
    
  • State Low-Income Benefit Programs: great collection of links to programs in all 50 states
    
    
  • Catholic Charities proposes legislation to end poverty
    
    
  • Welfare facts and myths. See also these facts and myths about welfare.
    
    
  • Media use and perceptions of welfare
    
    
  • The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program: an overview from the Department of Health and Human Services
    
    
  • The food stamp program: information and eligibility. See if you qualify for food stamps.
    
    
  • 10 Myths about the Food Stamp Program
    
    
  • First-person story about the realities of being on food stamps
    
    
  • First-person story about the realities of being on food stamps
    
    
  • Social Security and Catholic Social Teaching: Protecting Human Dignity: a position statement on Social Security reform by Catholic Charities USA
    
    
  • The wage gap between men and women. This article provides another look at the wage gap by interpreting the numbers in a slightly different way.
    
    
  • Life expectancy by poverty and race: an animated chart going from 1900-1980. See also Life expectancy by sex and race, 1940-1999. See also this great demonstration of lifespan in 200 countries over 200 years.
  
  
  
• Homelessness
  
  
  • The 1987 statement by the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace, entitled "What Have You Done to Your Homeless Brother? The Church and the Housing Problem"
    
    
  • This Land is Home to Me: a beautifully written 1975 pastoral letter by the Bishops of Appalachia, which still rings true today
  • Homelessness in America: a very nice site that features statistics on who's homeless, causes of homelessness, resources on how to combat it, and links for further exploration
    
    
  • Fact Sheet about Homelessness: who's homeless, how many are homeless, why people are homeless; homelessness and mental illness, additions, domestic abuse; health care and homelessness
    
    
  • "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids": examines the growing phenomenon of homeless children
    
    
  • "The Biology of Soul Murder: the effects of poverty on early-childhood brain development. See also "The Crucial Early Years".
    
    
  • The link between poverty and prison
    
    
  • Why Are People Homeless?: a good overview of the several factors who lead to homelessness
    
    
  • Becoming homeless: one family's story
    
    
  • Homeless families living in cars: a 60 Minutes report
    
    
  • Homeless youth: a video by college student Jessie McCormick
    
    
  • Resources for homeless college students. See also how some colleges are responding to homeless students.
    
    
  • A report on homeless students enrolled in Indiana public schools
    
    
  • Veterans make up 25% of the homeless
    
    
  • "Dumpster Diving": a first-person account of surviving on the street
    
    
  • Prison as refuge: why some resort to prison rather than face life on the streets
    
    
  • National Alliance to End Homelessness: This site features statistics and analysis of homelessness in the United States and information on issues related to homelessness.
    
    
  • Homelessness in the United States: a site maintained by the Theology Library, featuring Church statements on homelessness, a fact sheet on homelessness, homeless newspapers, voices of the homeless, a state-by-state listing of homeless shelters across the United States (and a brief description of services offered at each), homeless organizations and local efforts, and links to lots of other sites on homelessness
    
    
  • The 'Homeless Jesus' sculpture
    
    
  • The United States Health and Human Services Homelessness Website: Information on homelessness, including programs, funding, resource centers, documents and links related to homelessness in America.
    
    
  • National Coalition for the Homeless Home Page: online information on homelessness and poverty, hear homeless people share their experiences, facts about homelessness, links to other internet resources concerning homelessness and poverty
    
    
  • The South Bend Center for the Homeless: nationally recognized as among the best such facilities in the nation, the South Bend Center for the Homeless offers a full range of programs and services. This site contains a description of these programs (especially the Continuum of Care), the history of the Center, its staff and facilities. Note that the Center is not a shelter.
    
    
  • Saint Mary's College students begin a 'poetry jam' at the Center
    
    
  • Prof. Terri Russ's "Public Communication" class at Saint Mary's takes students into the Center for the Homeless.
    
    
  • A site containing information on shelters and programs for the homeless, links to other resources on the net, the homeless discussion list (a global electronic discussion list focused on the subject of homelessness, featuring input from those currently homeless, those formerly homeless, and many other involved in this issue)
    
    
  • Homeless shelters in the United States
    
    
  • Picture the Homeless: a blog about homelessness with documentary films about the homeless. See also the videos Journey Towards Dignity, a video about homelessness; Kicking Ass All Over This City: Homeless Civil Rights Warriors; and Homeless People Count: Vacant Property in Manhattan.
    
    
  • A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities: a 2006 Report by the National Coalition for the Homeless
    
    
  • Statement about criminalizing homelessness written by someone who used to be homeless herself
    
    
  • "The Meanest Cities": retaliation against the homeless in cities across the United States
    
    
  • 54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless: education about homelessness, what to do when confronted by the homeless, volunteer opportunities, what children can do, and a list of resources
    
    
  • "Fed-up cities turn to evicting the homeless": the contemporary urban response to homelessness
    
    
  • Profile of the Homeless: Though this profile comes from San Diego, it's pretty typical of the rest of the country as well.
    
    
  • Memories of Homelessness: discussion and first-person accounts of homelessness
    
    
  • Homeless Voices: a site maintained by the National Coalition for the Homeless featuring first-person stories from those who are homeless
  
  
  
• Immigration and Immigration Reform
  
  
  • Strangers No Longer: a joint pastoral statement on immigration by the bishops of the United States and Mexico. A helpful summary of the document has been prepared.
    
    
  • The U.S. Catholic bishops on immigration reform: a video explanation by Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair of the U.S. Bishops Committee on Immigration.
    
    
  • Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity: a pastoral letter on immigration from the U.S. Catholic bishops from 2000
    
    
  • Catholic Social Teaching and Immigration: a good resource from the Archdiocese of Chicago
    
    
  • John Paul II's message from 1995 on World Immigration Day. See also other messages from Pope John Paul II on World Immigration Day.
    
    
  • Instruction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi (or The Love of Christ Towards Migrants) by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (May, 2004)
    
    
  • Exsul Familia (On the Spiritual Care to Migrants) by Pope Pius XII from 1952
    
    
  • The Church's position on immigration reform
    
    
  • "Called by God to Help": an editorial appearing in the March 22, 2006 New York Times by Cardinal Roger Mahoney. You can also hear an NPR interview with Cardinal Mahoney. See also Immigration, the American Economy and the Constitution" by Cardinal Mahoney: Mahoney asks who the 'we' in "We the People" is and goes through Scripture about treatment of the stranger. He asks what the relationship is between justice and the law. Mahoney also delivered a speech at Fordham University entitled "Immigration Reform" . In it, he refers to these video interviews with "our undocumented brothers and sisters".
    
    
  • Pledge of Resistance to Oklahoma House Bill 1804 by Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran of the Archiocese of Oklahoma City and diocesan clergy. A podcast is available about this law from a diocesan representative.
    
    
  • The Bishop of Tuscon, AZ, said that no person is illegal in the eyes of God/a>
    
    
  • Letter on immigration by U.S. Hispanic bishops
    
    
  • the Church's position on immigration. See also the Justice for Immigrants Campaign, which features information about Catholic teachings that underpin this Campaign, as well as proposals from the Catholic Bishops to achieve reforms in our nation's immigration laws and policies that better reflect our values as a nation of immigrants.
    
    
  • "Justice, Prudence, an Immigration Reform": an excellent, concise presentation of Catholic teaching on immigration reform
    
    
  • Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J., offers biblical reflections immigration, what causes it, and how people of faith should respond to it. In this piece, Brackley refers to another essay he wrote, entitled "Christians and the Law: The Case of Unauthorized Immigration."
    
    
  • National Immigration Law Center: helpful clearinghouse of information from an organization whose mission is to defend & advance the rights & opportunities of low-income immigrants and their family members
    
    
  • The Immigration Issue: A Notre Dame Forum: Excellent resources on the economic, legal, moral, and political facets of this issue. The forum identifies the core questions of the debate, and provides a Catholic perspectives on the issue and additional resources on the topic. It also offers a four-part online course, which includes podcasts on the following subjects:
    
    
  • Undocumented students tell their stories. Related to this, see an explanation of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Program.
  • The Economics of Immigration and Catholic Social Teaching
    
    
  • The Economics of Immigration
    
    
  • Catholic Social Teaching and Immigration
    
    
  • The Current Policy Debate
    
    
  • Do illegal immigrants pay taxes? See also "Here Illegally, Working Hard and Paying Taxes".
    
    
  • 10 Myths about immigration: with corresponding corrections of these commonly held misconceptions
    
    
  • "Borderline faith: Mass on the Rio Grande": an account by Fr. Joe Corpora of Notre Dame. Fr. Daniel Groody authored this reflection on immigration and the eucharist that in many ways goes with Fr. Corpora's essay. Fr. Groody's "Theology in an age of migration" is another helpful resource, as is the film he produced, Dying to Live.
    
    
  • "Welcoming the Stranger: What Christian faith can bring to the immigration debate": an essay by Kristin Heyer
    
    
  • Church teaching about controlling borders complements Church teaching about the rights of migrants
    
    
  • Frequently asked questions about pending legislative proposals
    
    
  • Immigration Impact: A website offering the latest news about immigration issues, it seeks to contribute to a national conversation on immigration to achieve comprehensive policy reform.
    
    
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): This memo, signed by President Obama on June 15, 2012, allows for deferred action for certain undocumented young people who came to the U.S. as children and have pursued education or military service here.
    
    
  • The Dream Act: proposed legislation (still not passed) that would allow a path to full citizenship for immigrant children not born in the United States
    
    
  • The Arizona law
    
    
    • The Supreme court rejects mch of the Arizone immigration law, but upholds its centerpiece.
      
      
    • The court's immigration ruline leaves some issues unresolved.
      
      
    • Text of the June, 2012, court decision in Arizona v. United States
    
    
    
  • No more deaths: a website about life at the border
    
    
  • "Easy Targets: the plight of migrant women" excellent essay by Kristin Heyer about the special vulnerabilities of migrant women
    
    
  • Immigration and national security concerns
    
    
  • An article explaining why maintaining the status quo on immigration serves the very politicians most critical of it
    
    
  • Illegal immigrants by state. See also a map.
    
    
  • Map of slavery in the world
  
  
  
• Health Care
  
  
  • The Church and Health Care
    
    
    • The Consistent Ethic of Life & Health Care: a talk from 1986 by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in which he lays out his understanding of the consistent ethic of life and applies it to issues relating to health care. He also shows the relationship between the "right to life" and the quality of life.
      
      
    • The Catholic Health Association of the United States: the national leadership organization of more than 1200 Catholic healthcare sponsors, systems, facilities, and related organizations and services. This site features abundant links to healthcare resources and organizations, governmental agencies related to healthcare and information about managed care.
      
      
    • Ann Carey, "No dearth of second opinions for an ailing system": Catholic approaches to health care reform
      
      
    • Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services: a 1994 statement from the U.S. Bishops covering all aspects of health care delivery from Catholic hospitals
      
      
    • Pope John Paul II on health care: selected papal statements and writings
      
      
    • Who Speaks for the Bishops on Health Care?": an editorial from the National Catholic Reporter that takes up apparently competing episcopal perspectives about health care reform
      
      
    • Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. on health care reform
      
      
    • "Realigning Catholic Priorities," by Lisa Sowle Cahill: discusses the need to look beyond life issues such as abortion to wider social issues which also have a significant effect on who lives and dies around the world. Cahill portrays "Catholic bioethics as social ethics."
      
      
    • Sister Maura Brannick, CSC, Health Center: a community outreach clinic operated through the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center which provides primary care to uninsured residents of St. Joseph County in northern Indiana
      
      
    • Diana Hayes, "Our Individualism Should Shame Us". See also this editorial from America about 'the new Americanism of individualism.' For a defense of individualism, see "Mandated Giving Doesn't Come from the Heart" by Fr. Robert Sirico.
      
      
      • "Those Rugged Individuals": good essay about the tradition of individualism in the United States
      
      
      
    • World Health Organization Fact Sheet on Women's Health
      
      
    • "Why Do Blacks Die Young?": the consequences of racism in the delivery of health care
      
      
    • Racial disparities in the treatment of breast cancer
      
      
    • Continuing healthcare disparity for African Americans: an article from June, 2011
      
      
    • The U.S. ranks 61st in the world in maternal mortality.
      
      
    • "Poverty Kills": the impact of poverty on one's health. See also "Is Poverty a Death Sentence?" by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
    
    
    
  • Health Care Reform under President Obama
    
    
    • Understanding the Affordable Care Act
      
      
    • Video explaining the ACA
      
      
    • Excellent summary of the Affordable Care Act and its rationale
      
      
    • The Basics of the health reform law: a short summary of the new law, interactive charts about how this law will affect individuals, timeline for implementation, a quiz on the new law, a glossary of terms associated with the new law, and how the law expands coverage
      
      
    • An explanation of the Affordable Care Act with charts and a FAQ section
      
      
    • Why an individual mandate is absolutely required for the new health insurance law to be economically viable for the insurance companies
      
      
    • What the new healthcare law means for people with pre-existing conditions
      
      
    • Who's still not covered under the new law: categories of the about 20 million people who still won't have health insurance
      
      
      • Millions of poor still left uncovered by Affordable Care Act: because of states' decisions not to participate in Medicaid expansion. See also this link that attributes these states' decisions to ideological grounds.
        
        
      • The Affordable Care Act excludes undocumented immigrants.
      
      
      
    • "What Health Reform Means for Women": an essay by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. See also this essay by Sr. Joan Chittister about the effects when women lack health care.
      
      
    • "The 'Reform' that Ate America" by Mortimer Zuckerman offers a great overview of the "warped incentives" for healthcare spending and a sobering analysis of the economic cost of reform
      
      
    • "The Bomb Buried in Obamacare": about the medical loss ratio and the provision in the new law that recquires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers' premium on medical care rather than overhead
      
      
    • Health care plan fact checks: what the bill really says about abortion coverage. Sr. Mary Ann Walsh reponded to this fact checking and painted a less optimistic picture about health care reform and abortion coverage. See too "Episcopal Oversight: How the Bishops Conference gets Health-Care Legislation Wrong," an essay by Timothy Jost in Commonweal.
      
      
    • Support for health care reform by Catholic sisters: along with a letter written to Congress by the President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Sr. Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA, and others in positions of leadership within religious congregations across the country. In the nuns' view, the health care reform bill would be "life-affirming." See also "The Sisters' Witness", an editorial from America.
      
      
    • 5 Questions on health care reform with Sr. Carol Keehan, D.C., president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association. See also this print interview with Sr. Carol in U.S. Catholic.
      
      
    • Editorial from the National Catholic Reporter in support of the health bill.
      
      
    • Nuns' Letter in support of the Affordable Care Act: This letter, composed by Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, and signed by 60 heads of women religious orders, said that the Affordable Care Act is a truly pro-life measure.
      
      
    • Commentary from Karen Sue Smith, editorial director of America magazine.
      
      
    • Various Catholic organizations and women religious criticized for supporting the Obama healthcare reform plan.
      
      
    • Statement by Cardinal Francis George, OMI, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on the health care bill
      
      
    • Health Care Reform and the U.S. Bishops: a page from the USCCB website with several links to articles pertinent to health care reform
      
      
    • Video of Bishop William Murphy, chairman of the U.S. Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, addressing health care reform
      
      
    • Abortion Funding and the Affordable Care Act: an essay which argues the point that "the ACA may be the single most prolife piece of legislation ever adopted by Congress." Though see also the continuing difficulties of determining whether particular health plans cover abortions as well as these concerns that the ACA may cover abortion. This latter essay by Richard Doerflinger (associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) also contains good background on the Hyde Amendment.
      
      
    • The Supreme Court upholds the Obama health care law. See the text of the June, 2012, decision from National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius.
      
      
    • "Upheld health care law a blessing for the U.S.": an editorial from the National Catholic Reporter.
      
      
    • Continuing problems with the implementation of the ACA: the sub-title of this essay is "Obamacare Is Down but Not Out."
      
      
    • The real benefits of the Affordable Care Act, despite the sloppy rollout
      
      
    • Ending Obamacare would lead to more deaths: The author argues that even if more deaths result, that's still okay.
      
      
    • Supreme Court in June, 2015, upholds federal exchanges in Obamacare. You can read the Court's opinion in King v. Burwell.
      
      
    • Does your health plan cover abortion?
      
      
    • The conscience exemption for contraceptive services
      
      
      • Origin of the HHS mandate on contraception
        
        
      • The Health and Human Services requirement for contraceptive services and the USCCB reaction
        
        
      • HHS delays but doesn't change the rule on contraceptive coverage
        
        
      • Six Things Everyone Should Know about the HHS Mandate: a fact sheet by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops
        
        
      • White House fact sheet regarding the contraception mandate
        
        
      • Commentary from the National Catholic Reporter about why President Obama is wrong about the conscience exemption
        
        
      • "Obama administration went too far with contraception ruling": an editorial by the National Catholic Reporter
        
        
      • "Bad Decision": an editorial by Commonweal Magazine
        
        
      • "Back to Barefoot and Pregnant": a criticism of the criticisms of HHS mandate by Laurie Fendrich
        
        
      • An attempt at compromise by the administration
        
        
      • The U.S. Bishops' response to the White House compromise
        
        
      • "A Balancing Act: What Catholic teaching says about the church's rights and the rights of all": an essay by David Hollenbach and Thomas Shannon which argues that the Church's commitment to the common good could justify acceptance of the Obama compromise
        
        
      • An interesting take on why paying for health insurance for contraception is different from paying taxes for things one doesn't support
        
        
      • "Bad Reaction," by the editors of Commonweal, which argues that the HHS mandate would be at best remote material cooperation
        
        
      • Senate rejects change to contraction rule: On March 1, 2012, the Senate defeated a Republican-led bid to insert a religious exemption into the federal mandate to provide contraceptive coverage. This essay also raises consistency issues about legislators who would back a religious exemption here while also favoring 'anti-Shariah law' bills elsewhere. Also, it points out that there is a tradition that allows for-profit employers and taxpayers to be protected from supporting abortions.
        
        
      • Have the bishops overplayed their hand?: the move from religious liberty to individual conscience exemption for contraception coverage
        
        
      • "Contraception Cudgel: Catholicism is not the Tea Party at Prayer": This essay voices the concern that social justice issues will be left behind in this debate over contraception coverage.
        
        
      • "We are complicit: It goes well beyond contraception": raises issue of taxpayer support for all manner of moral evil and the apparent lack of consistency in the Church's response to this
        
        
      • An article which asks whether the religious freedom the bishops are defending also applies to members of their own flock
        
        
      • The Obama administration issues new contraceptive rules: a further compromise by the administration with new rules issues March 16, 2012 that provide, for example, an exemption for institutions who self-insure. A related editorial is "Compromise or Statemate?"
        
        
      • "War no more, or at least, peace with Obama": does a good job on the most recent events related to this issue, as well as how not buying health insurance has economic ramifications and so truly is an issue of commerce
        
        
      • United States Catholic Bishops, "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty"the USCCB statement on religious liberty from April, 2012. While it goes beyond the contraception issue, that particular matter plays a prominent role in the statement.
        
        
      • "A Losing Strategy": an essay by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels that includes an interesting point about the government's ability to distinguish what's a religion from one that isn't
        
        
      • U.S. Catholic bishops threaten to sue the Obama administration for mandating that insurance plans provide birth control to women without a co-pay
        
        
      • Peter Steinfels on religious liberty: some difficult cases in relation to the U.S. bishops' opposition to the HHS mandate
        
        
      • "A Cherished Accommodation: When the Bishops Surrendered Their Religious Liberty": by Nicholas Cafardi, which describes other instances over the past 10 years in which religious liberty has been lost, but against which bishops have said nothing
        
        
      • "The Bishops and Religious Liberty": a series of essays from Commonweal. See especially Cathy Kaveny's essay, which is a helpful presentation of relevant legal precedent. For a broader view on religious liberty, see David DeCosse's essay for a contrast between the notion of religious liberty championed by Vatican II with the notion that emerges in recent American episcopal concerns.
        
        
      • The Catholic Hospital Association (CHA) objects to the HHS mandate: It goes on to suggest that the government itself should pay for contraceptive coverage.
        
        
      • New proposal from February, 2013, designed to ease religious college's objections to contraception coverage
        
        
        
        • HHS Fact Sheet on Preventive Services for Women
          
          
        • The Obama Administration's compromise on contraception: an article from the National Catholic Reporter
          
          
        • Policy altered to allay concerns: an article from the New York Times
          
          
        • What does Notre Dame want in its requested health care exemption?: The University has sought to distance itself from any cooperation with the contraception mandate, even from its third-party insurance administrator.
          
          
        • Excellent article on legal history regarding religious liberty and application to the case before the Supreme Court where private corporations are asserting religious liberty claims
          
          
        • Burwell v. Hobby Lobby: the 5-4 decision from June, 2014, that extended to a closely held for-profit corporation the same accommodation that non-profits have under the Affordable Care Act. This ruling includes Justice Ginsberg's dissent.
          
          
        • Wheaton v. Burwell: a short, unsigned opinion, in which the Supreme Court said Wheaton College, at least temporarily, does not have to comply even with compromise provisions in the law that the college says still violate its religious beliefs. This ruling was vigorously opposed by the three female justices on the Court
        
        
        
        • Description of the latest revision of the HHS Contraception Mandate from August, 2014, and summary of the seven previous revisions
          
          
        • Ruling against the Little Sisters of the Poor: This essay does a nice job of setting out the concerns about complicity with something regarded as immoral.
          
          
        • Why the birth control mandate infringes on the rights of religious groups: essay written by the vocations director for the Little Sisters of the Poor
          
          
        • Who pays for contraception for self-insured institutions?. See also health care reform and contraceptive costs.
      
      
      
    • Health Care and Health Policy Information
      
      
      • "Health Care Spending, Quality and Outcomes": policy brief from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice which shows a lack of correlation between medical spending and positive outcomes
        
        
      • MedWeb: a good collection of links relating to health care and health policy issues
        
        
      • Medical Resources: enormous collection of links arranged alphabetically to medical sites and issues
        
        
      • Online Health Library: a very complete list of web resources for health plans and health-related issues. It features several links to the major health plans, 'consumer resources,' and political party positions on health care reform
        
        
      • A video primer on health insurance. Here's another video about health care lingo, made specifically for college students. Finally, here's an explanation of copays and deductibles.
        
        
      • Medicare: the official government site which provides an overview of the program, eligibility criteria, and a glossary of managed care terminology as it applies to Medicare.
        
        
      • Medicaid: an overview of the program, with information on eligibility, and information on Medicaid eligibility in light of welfare reform. See also this primer on Medicaid.
        
        
      • State Medicaid Fact Sheets: excellent interactive tool. Just click on a state and that state's Medicaid information comes up, along with many other important markers for who's insured and who's not in each state.
        
        
      • "Kicked Off the Rolls": an essay describing some of the history of Medicaid and the consequences of being 'kicked off the rolls'
        
        
      • Financial challenges to Medicaid and how some states are responding by cutting physicians' fees, and ultimately raising concerns about whether there will be a "shortage of physicians and other providers participating in Medicaid"
      
      
      
    • Children and Health Care
      
      
      • Key facts about children's health coverage in 2000 See also how infant mortality rates vary for different races and ethnicities
        
        
      • The United States has the 2nd worst newborn death rate in the modern world
        
        
      • What's CHIP? An introduction to the Children's Health Insurance Program
        
        
      • Children's Health Insurance Timeline: notable developments over the last 50 years, with a running total of Medicaid enrollment, and, after the mid-1990s, enrollment in CHIP.
        
        
      • State health insurance programs: click a state on the map for additional information
        
        
      • Hoosier Healthwise: a health insurance program for children from the state of Indiana. See the overview at the Children's Defense Fund site.
        
        
      • Healthy Indiana Program (HIP)Medical coverage for uninsured Indiana adults (ages 18-64) who are not eligible for Medicaid
        
        
      • Hoosier Connection 2009: resources compiled by the office of Senator Richard Lugar for public assistance in food, housing, medical care, etc.
        
        
      • Indiana's immunization rates
        
        
      • "Uninsured are the Young": Young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 are the largest and fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population lacking health insurance, according to a report released in May, 2006.
        
        
      • What's a recent college graduate to do about health insurance? : a good article which quotes Saint Mary's College Business Professor Susan Vance
        
        
      • State health data: a good source for basic health-related data for all 50 states
        
        
      • Free medical clinics: Click on a state and a city to see what resources are available there.
        
        
      • A primer on who's uninsured in America today.
        
        
      • Health consequences from a lack of medical insurance
        
        
      • Hospitals charge the uninsured 2-4x what they charge the insured.
        
        
      • Good site with information about the uninsured in America, as well as the ability to pull up information about each state
        
        
      • Some stories about the human cost when people are uninsured and have to depend on clinics for health care. See also this video accompanying those stories.
        
        
      • Free eye exams
        
        
      • A great site on a variety of benefits from federal and state government
        
        
      • Does your family qualify for free or low-cost insurance?: a helpful series of tables from the Children's Defense Fund
        
        
      • Maternal and Child Health WWW Sites: great clearing-house of an enormous amount of statistics relating to maternal and child health
        
        
      • The Children's Health Insurance Program: the government site featuring an overview of the new law
        
        
      • 14 Things you should know about the new Child Health Program: a site from the Children's Defense Fund featuring background on the 1997 law signed by President Clinton, which also contains highlights of the new law,
      
      
      
    • HMOs and Managed Care
      
      
      • "Playing the HMO Game": a Time cover story from July 13, 1998
        
        
      • The HMO Page: featuring basic information along with the downside of managed care. Includes how HMOs work, along with a helpful glossary of terms associated with managed care.
        
        
      • John Stossel, "Health Insurance Isn't All It's Cracked Up to Be": a vigorous criticism of health insurance as bad for medicine and for the country
        
        
      • The rich get the donated organs of the poor
        
        
      • Pres. Obama's view of health insurance in the United States
        
        
      • "When Times Were Tough, We Went 'Bare'": a story about how one family coped without health insurance
        
        
      • "Health Care's New Lottery," by Jane Bryant Quinn: what happens when one loses the health care lottery and joins the uninsured
        
        
      • Who's afraid of corporate medicine?: has some good stats about US health care (worse than Costa Rica, along with child mortality, etc.)
        
        
      • "Death of the Health Insurance Industry": This article provides a good explanation of some of the main options for financing and running a healthcare system, and ultimately advocates a single-payer system.
        
        
      • "Healing Health Care" by Guy Clifton, M.D.: provides a gripping example of the failure of the U.S. medical system, speaks about the role of the free market when it comes to distributing health care, and concludes with some suggestions for reform.
        
        
      • "Plain Talk About Health Care": tries to make a case for health-care reform by focusing on the questions: what did Jesus do? who is uninsured? does the market already handle health care fairly? etc.
        
        
      • "We're Ready": an editorial about the need for the reform of health care, which shows why we may finally be ready to tackle its complexities
        
        
      • Health care in the United States vs. Health care in Europe
        
        
      • "The True Cost of Care," by Uwe Reinhardt: good background about various kinds of health care, with examples from Europe
        
        
      • Sick Around the World: a Frontline special from 2008 that gives the ways that different countries around the world fund medical care
        
        
      • Foreign nationals coming to the United States to pay for organ transplants
        
        
      • Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?: a documentary series that explores racial and socioeconomic inequalities in health. Transcripts, videos, interactive comparisons between countries on various health markersand a quiz is available.
        
        
      • The Canadian Health Care System
        
        
        • "The Facts on Canadian Health Care System: More Myths Dispelled"
          
          
        • Life expectancy and infant mortality in Canada vs. Life expectancy and infant mortality in the United States: look under the heading labeled "People" for this information from the World Factbook
        • Health Care in Canada: Organization, Financing, and Access. This is another helpful site.
          
          
        • A more negative assessment of Canadian health care
          
          
        • Against socialized health care
          
          
        • Access to health care in Canada: a report by the Canadian Medical Association featuring polls of Canadian patients and physicians
          
          
        • NBC News report on Canadian health care: how the system works, problems with it as well as success stories
          
          
        • "Canadian confidence in Health System Falters": from June, 2004 National Catholic Reporter

    
    
    
    
    

  
  
  
  
• Writings on women from the Church magisterium
  
  
  • Women, Men, & Justice: statements from Pope John Paul II and from previous popes on women, links to sites relating to female imagery for God, issues concerning women in the work force, links to literature on gender
  
  
  • The importance of female imagery for God: a brief background, including a description of Jesus's references to God as female
  
  
  
  • Women in society and in the church: an excellent collection of papal writings about women with some scholarly analysis of them as well. It includes subsections on the Christian vision of women, women in society, and women in the life of the Church.
    
    
  • Magisterial Documents on Women: a collection of several papal sources from Pope Leo XIII onwards
    
    
  • Pope John Paul II's 1995 Letter to Women: an extraordinary statement in which the pope actually and explicitly apologizes to women for injustices committed by members of the Church
    
    
  • Pope John Paul II's 1988 letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women
    
    
  • Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World: a 2004 statement
    
    
  • "Confession of Sins and Asking for Forgiveness": a prayer from Pope John Paul II on March 12, 2000 asking for forgiveness on behalf of those in the Church who have (among other things) violated the dignity of women and the fundamental rights of the person
    
    
  • Pope Pius XII, "Papal Directives for the Woman of Today" (1947)
    
    
  • Catholic Perspectives on Women in Society and Church: a collection of resources on various subjects with links to writings by Pope John Paul II and many others on Christian views of women, women in society, women in the life of the Church, and women in the history of Catholic thought
    
    
  • From Words to Deeds: Continuing Reflections on the Role of Women in the Church: an October, 1998 document from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Women in Society and in the Church which says that women's contributions have historically been "unnoticed and undervalued." It encourages appointment of women to leadership positions in the Church, calls for collaboration in ministry, and encourages the use of inclusive language.
    
    
  • The Madeleva Manifesto: a message of hope and courage from sixteen prominent women, issued as a joint statement at Saint Mary's College on April 29, 2000
    
    
  • Vatican controversy with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR)
    
    
    
    • Sisters Under Scrutiny: a blog from the National Catholic Reporter that aims to collect the latest news about the Vatican's action against the LCWR, the organization representing 80% of American Catholic sisters
      
      
    • Support our Sisters: a Facebook page in support of women religious
      
      
    • "Rome and Women Religious": a Commonweal editorial
      
      
    • "Why is Rome Investigating U.S. Nuns?": an anonymous essay by "Sister X"
    
    
    
  • The Church's changing views of women: helpful background on the development of a tradition
    
    
    
    • Mary Magdalene
      
      
    • Women and Justice: Religious Sites
      
      
    • "Jesus was a feminist" by Leonard Swidler
      
      
    • Women in Scripture and the attitude of Jesus toward women
      
      
    • Women in the writings of St. Paul
  
  
  
• Can women be ordained?
  
  
  • The 1976 Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's statement on women's ordination (Inter Insigniores).
    
    
    • Commentary on Inter Insigniores by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
    
    
    
  • Apostolic Letter on Ordination and Women (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis), the 1994 Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II reiterating the 1976 statement by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
    
    
  • The 1995 statement by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on reserving priestly ordination to men. It reiterated the 1994 apostolic letter by Pope John Paul II and invoked the concept of infallibility.
    
    
    • Papal Infallibility: a primer on Catholic teaching
      
      
    • Canon Law on Infallibility
      
      
    • Vatican II on infallibility: also includes a good description of the doctrine of infallibility, how it is used, and responses to objections to infallibility. See also this brief video introduction to papal infallibility, "Can the Pope ever be wrong?". Conversely, see how Pope Francis freely admits mistakes and lack of knowledge about things in this interesting essay on what's been dubbed "the dogma of papal fallibility."
      
      
    • How to understand papal infallibility: The essay argues that papal infallibility belongs not to a person, but to a narrowly circumscribed action.
      
      
    • "This Teaching Cannot be Infallible": response by the National Coalition of American Nuns to Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
      
      
    • Is the teaching against women priests infallible?
      
      
    • Response ty WomenPriest group to claim of infallibity
      
      
    • Another response to whether not ordaining women is an infallible teaching
      
      
    • 'Creeping infallibility' as applied to women's ordination: profiles Pope Benefict XVI's use of the word 'infallible' in relation to the ban on women's ordination. Additional historical context is available here. One point that frequently recurs in these discussions is that something isn't infallible unless it is manifestly declared as such. Fr. Richard McBrien makes the same point in this column
    
    
    
  • Women's Ordination Conference: the website of a group actively working for the ordination of women as Catholic priests and bishops. It also narrates the evidence of women priests in the early Church and female priests secretly ordained in Communist countries to keep the Church alive. Pink Smoke over the Vatican is a documentary film that tells some of these stories. A description can be found here.
    
    
  • Womenpriests program: a group which has been ordaining groups of women as priests and deacons (obviously without the approval of the Catholic Church hierarchy)
    
    
  • Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "On the Delict of Attempted Sacred Ordination of a Woman": the penalties for trying to ordain a woman
    
    
  • "Did Jesus Exclude Women from Priesthood?": A very important essay by Sr. Sandra Schneiders looks at what she terms "the theoretical question" of determining the criteria for which cases the behavior of Jesus binds the Church as well as "the factual question" of what Jesus actually did about priesthood for women.
    
    
  • A letter from a priest, Fr. John Shea, to Boston's Cardinal O'Malley, asking for an explanation of the Church's teaching about why women cannot be ordained
    
    
  • "Ordination of women would correct an injustice": A 2012 editorial from the National Catholic Reporter that labels the exclusion of women from the priesthood "an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand." It also provides a helpful update on recent developments related to this issue.
    
    
  • The evolving meaning of ordination and 'orders' and how women were gradually excluded from both
    
    
  • Exploration of whether women should be allowed to preach at mass
    
    
  • Women called to be Catholic priests: examples and stories from the past and present
    
    
  • Group ordains 8 women as priests: from August, 2006, aboard a riverboat outside of Pittsburgh
    
    
  • Does anyone have the right to be ordained? See also interesting debate on whether priests should be allowed to marry. In addition, see this exploration of married priesthood as a potentially powerful countercultural witness. The author also explores three earlier rationales for celibate priesthood and evaluates how each fares today.
    
    
  • A variety of perspectives on the ordination of women
    
    
  • Ten Frequently Asked Questions About the Reservation of Priestly Ordination to Men: an October, 1998 pastoral response by the Committee on Doctrine of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Q & A format
    
    
  • Women Priests: The Case for Ordaining Women in the Catholic Church: gives a very helpful and clear overview of the Church's official teachings vs. those favoring female ordination. This site discusses Scripture, tradition, Church teaching authority, and women deacons. It also sponsors a petition to Pope Benedict XVI asking him to reinstate the ministry of the diaconate for women. See also this open letter to Pope Benedict asking that women be ordained deacons.
    
    
  • "Why not women? A bishop makes a case for expanding the diaconate": an essay by Bishop Emil A. Wcela, retired auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre
    
    
  • Can the Church ordain women deacons?: an interview with Phyllis Zagano, who is an advocate for ordaining women as deacons, and who argues that this isn't necessarily a step on the way to ordaining women priests
    
    
  • "It's time: the case for women deacons"uses historical research and the contemporary needs of the faithful to come to the conclusion in the title
    
    
  • Pope Francis to create a commission to study female deacons. See the composition of this committee created on August 2, 2016.
    
    
    • Historical and theological examination of women deacons: an essay by Phyllis Zagano, a recognized expert on this element of Church history. Listen to an interview with Prof. Nagano
      
      
    • Historical examination of female deacons
      
      
    • Female deacons in light of the distinction between the transitional and permanent diaconate
      
      
    • Bibliography of female deacons
    
    
    
  • Sr. Joan Chittister's Address at the Women's Ordination Worldwide conference in Dublin, June 30, 2001
    
    
  • Pope Benedict removes Australian Bishop William M. Morris of Toowoomba who expressed support for ordaining women. Some wondered why it was so easy to summarily remove a bishop for questioning women's ordination when it has proven so difficult to remove bishops who transferred abusive priests to other positions. Bishop Morris himself has said that his own forced retirement is a message to all bishops.
    
    
  • In June, 2011, Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo of Lisbon, Portugal, was quoted as saying that there’s "no fundamental theological obstacle" to the ordination of women as priests in the Catholic church.
    
    
  • Altar girls and the decision of the Arlington, Virginia diocese to leave the decision to allow them up to individual priests
    
    
  • Female clergy in Protestantism and Judaism: a description of which religious groups allow female clergy and when they began to allow it. This site includes biblical passages which relate to women's ordination and profiles on notable women in the early Christian tradition as well as an analysis of other arguments pertaining to women's ordination.
    
    
  • Biblical passages relating to women and women's ordination: a discussion of the portions or Scripture most often used to support or deny the ordination of women, biblical passages directly relating to women's ordination, and lots of links to ordination-related resources
    
    
    
    
  • The impact of women theologians
  
  
• Gender and sexism
  
  
  • Women and Justice: great links to religious resources (featuring significant statements from the Catholic tradition about women, as well as analysis of the Christian tradition and women, and a guide to inclusive language), women's history, women in comtemporary life, violence against women, and economic justice for women
    
    
  • Resources on gender and sexism, as well as information on affirmative action
    
    
  • Bradwell v. Illinois (1873): landmark U.S. Supreme Court case about an Illinois woman, Myra Bradwell, who passed the bar but was nonetheless refused permission to practice law by the U.S. Supreme Court
    
    
  • And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible: a comprehensive reference to sexuality and gender issues in the Bible
    
    
  • "All About Eve": what the Bible tells us about women. This essay focues on the work of a diverse group of scholars seeking to reinterpret the role of women in the Bible. It includes links to many related sites.
    
    
  • Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World: lots of excellent primary sources, many of them ecclesiastical or theological. See especially early Church writings about women.
    
    
  • The Medieval Feminist Index: scholarship on women, sexuality, and gender
    
    
  • The Malleus Malificarum: the inquisitor's manual published in ~1484 by two Dominican priests. This site features extensive excerpts.
    
    
  • Lectionary Watch: information on the process to incorporate inclusive language into the Catholic liturgy
    
    
  
  
• Feminist theology
  
  
  • Women and Theology: an extremely comprehensive collection from the Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries; it features links to general sites, women and Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other traditions.
    
    
  • SisterSite: a clearinghouse for information on women's religious congregations, the history of religious life, and the contemporary concerns of women in Church and society. This site also features extensive links to women's theology and spirituality, as well as more general women's studies links.
    
    
  • Feminist Theology Resources: a wealth of material from and for feminist theologians; including information on women and the Bible, and women's ordination
    
    
  • Feminist Theology Bibliography: a list of scholarly publications in the field of Christian and Jewish feminist theology and religious studies

• Church teaching and Christian considerations
  
  
  
  • The 1980 statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops on capital punishment
    
    
  • "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death": a 25th-anniversary statement by the U.S. Bishops of their 1980 statement on the death penalty
    
    
  • A Good Friday Appeal to End the Death Penalty: a 1999 statement by the Administrative Board of the U.S. Catholic Conference. This was the first statement focusing exclusively on opposition to the death penalty in 19 years from the U.S. Catholic bishops.
    
    
  • "A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death": a 2005 statement by the U.S. Catholic bishops. This actually takes you to the Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. There are lots of resources available here, including the above recent statement by the bishops.
    
    
  • "Witness to Life: The Catholic Church and the Death Penalty": a May 2000 address by Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles
    
    
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church on capital punishment: See especially sections 2266 & 2267.
    
    
  • The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae): The 1995 encyclical by Pope John Paul II discusses the death penalty in sections 9, and 56-57.
    
    
  • Revision of the Catechism in light of Evangelium Vitae: The final version of the Catechism strengthened its initial stand regarding capital punishment.
    
    
  • A Catholic Call to Abolish the Death Penalty: a statement signed by more than 300 Catholic theologians, scholars, and social justice advocates
    
    
  • "Dead Wrong: Catholics must no longer support capital punishment": a nice, concise overview of recent Catholic teaching about the death penalty up to Pope Benedict XVI
    
    
  • Capital punishment and Catholic politicians: tensions between Church teachings and elected Catholic officials
    
    
  • Pope Benedict reiterates his support to end the death penalty
    
    
  • Pope Francis calls for the abolition of the death penalty. See also this link from February, 2016.
    
    A new Catholic consensus on the death penalty?: from March, 2015
    
    
  • "Intrinsic evil vs. run-of-the-mill evil": an essay by Fr. Richard McBrien that responds to the charge that capital punishment differs from abortion in that only the latter is an 'intrinsic' evil
    
    
  • Recent papal statements on capital punishment: from John Paul II's January 1999 visit to Saint Louis. This site also contains statements from death row chaplains, links to pro & con articles on the death penalty, and a history of capital punishment.
    
    
  • "The Price of Death": great essay by the editors of America about declining support for the death penalty
    
    
  • Upcoming legal challenges to capital punishment: from November, 2016
    
    
  • Christians and the death penalty: a series of reflections, including Mother Teresa's visit to death row inmates
    
    
  • "The Pope's Executioner": a fascinating profile of Giovanni Battista Bugatti, nicknamed "Mastro Titta," who supervised and carried out several hundred executions at the Vatican in the 19th century under the direct orders of the pope. His story shows that the current Catholic position on the death penalty represents more fundamental changes than mere development of doctrine.
    
    
  • "Catholicism and Capital Punishment": an essay by Cardinal Avery Dulles which looks at the history of the Church's teaching on the death penalty and assesses the present teaching in light of that history
    
    
  • "The Purposes of Punishment" by R. Michael Dunningham: an essay in favor of capital punishment from a Catholic perspective
    
    
  • "The Order of Justice & the Order of Charity": argues that Christian public officials can support capital punishment because "the Christian is bound is act for the temporal good according to the order of justice."
    
    
  • Links on capital punishment from a Catholic perspective
    
    
  • Catholics Against Capital Punishment: the website of a national advocacy organization working for abolition of the death penalty in the U.S., this page contains links to the Catechism and a great bibliography of recent Catholic bishops' statements on the death penalty.
    
    
  • Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty
    
    
  • "No to the Death Penalty," by Dale Recinella: The author has a ministry on Florida's death row
    
    
  • The Bible on the death penalty: extensive excerpts and citations from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. See the crimes punishable by death in the Bible, as well as additional verses from the Bible in favor of the death penalty. "Is Capital Punishment Biblical?" is another good source.
    
    
  • A site containing statements on the death penalty from several religious sources (including a speech by Sr. Helen Prejean), death penalty facts and figures, Supreme Court decisions, etc. You'll also be able to examine the views of some different Christian denominations on the death penalty.
    
    
  • Policies by religious groups about the death penalty: a table with links and some explanation of the different stances taken by different groups
    
    
  • Biblical Justice: a nice statement of the preferential option for the poor as applied to capital punishment
    
    
  • The Christian case for the death penalty: references from Scripture and responses to various objections against capital punishment
    
    
  • Speech by Justice Antonin Scalia on the death penalty: A Pew Forum-sponsored event on "Religion, Politics, and the Death Penalty" from January 25, 2002 in which Associate Justice Scalia defended capital punishment and voiced his disagreement with official Catholic teaching. See also a summary of his remarks.
    
    
  • "On the Death Sentence": a book review by retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
    
    
  • Resources for teachers on the death penalty
    
    
  • News and events relating to the death penalty
  
  
  
• Legal and consitutional considerations
  
  
  • Furman v. Georgia (1972): the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which said that death penalty laws, as then enforced, were unconstitutional. It effectively abolished the death penalty in the United States. See also the 8th Amendment of the Constitution which prohibits 'cruel and unusual punishment.'
    
    
  • Gregg v. Georgia (1976): The U.S. Supreme Court ruling which upheld the constitutionality of capital punishment per se, as long as states passed laws which prevented it from being imposed arbitrarily and capriciously. It restored the death penalty in the United States.
    
    
  • Atkins v. Virginia (2002): The U.S. Supreme Court rules the death penalty unconstitutional for those who are mentally retarded. This judgement overturned 1989's Penry decision. See also The Death Penalty and Offenders with Mental Retardation.
    
    
  • The fuzzy lines surrounding executing the mentally ill
    
    
  • Roper v. Simmons (2004): the ruling from 2004 in which the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for those who committed their crimes before they were 18 years old. See also this description of the ruling. In 2012, the high court ruled that states may not impose mandatory life sentences (without possibility of parole) on juvenile murderers.
    
    
  • Kansas v. Marsh: In this ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a Kansas death penalty law. The ruling was 5-4, where all those in the majority (Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Kennedy, Scalia) were Catholic.
    
    
    • "Ending the Death Penalty," by Dale Recinella: In light of the ruling in Kansas v. Marsh, Recinella shows what just one Catholic Supreme Court justice could do to abolish the death penalty and how the distribution of Catholics throughout the country tends to influence how many executions go on in a given area.
      
      
    • Baze v. Rees: This ruling from 2008 upheld the 'three-cocktail' method of lethal injection and said that it did not violate the 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment. Prior to this ruling, many states (such as Texas), had stopped executing people until the Court decided this case. For a description of the case, see this Wikipedia article and this New York Times story. For background on lethal injection, see "Lethal Injection on Trial".
      
      
    • U.S. Supreme Court upholds lethal-injection drug as constitutional: By a 5-4 ruling, the Justices in Glossip v. Gross held that Oklahoma's method of execution did not violate the Eighth Amendment.
      
      
    • Kennedy v. Louisiana: In this ruling, the Court rejected the death penalty for the rape of a child. The Court also ruled out the death penalty for any crimes (except treason, etc.) where a victim's life is not taken. You can also listen to the oral argument in the case.
      
      
    • The Supreme Court said that there is no constitutional right to DNA testing to prove innocence: article about a ruling from June, 2009, involving an Alaska man, William G. Osborne, who was convicted of a 1994 kidnapping and rape
      
      
    • The Federal Government and the Death Penalty: a description of federal law, including those crimes for which the death penalty may be imposed
      
      
    • A Capital Defender's Toolbox: capital and criminal law links, legal terms, capital and habeas litigation, death penalty news, organization contacts, general death penalty links, human rights links, individual prisoners, prisoner support, death penalty advocacy, religious perspectives, court cases, and legal information.
      
      
    • Supreme Court allows appeal about lethal injection: A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2006 that a death row inmate can bring a challenge under a federal civil rights law to the method of execution that uses a lethal three-chemical cocktail. See also "Lethal Injection Under Attack" and news that California and Florida have suspended executions. The Court reached a decision on April 16, 2008. See "Court Rejects Lethal Injection Challenge". For the full decision in this case of Baze v. Rees, see here.
      
      
    • "What Does the Future of the Death Penalty Look Like?": This article addresses what's next if the 3-drug cocktail for lethal injections is ruled unconstitutional.
      
      
    • The end of the death penalty: Time cover story from May 28, 2015
      
      
    • Hanging in the United States: information about this form of execution and which states continue to permit it
      
      
    • "RARE BREED: Death penalty lawyers defend rights of politically invisible": an article from the October 5, 2001 National Catholic Reporter. From the same issue, see also "Federal legislation impedes work of death penalty lawyers" and a background article on The Innocence Protection Act.
      
      
    • Warden says death penalty promotes "immeasurable burden" on corrections officers
      
      
    • Cornell University Death Penalty Law Site: federal and state sources, with links to state criminal codes and to other references on the death penalty
      
      
    • The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Sr. Helen refers to this in chapter 5 of Dead Man Walking.
      
      
    • A timeline of important events for the death penalty in the United States
      
      
    • Governor George Ryan commutes all death sentences in Illinois: On one of his last few days in office in Jan. 2002, Gov. Ryan of Illinois effectively brought the death row population in the state of Illinois down to 0. See an address on the death penalty by former Governor Ryan.
      
      
    • Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: news and recent events on the death penalty moratorium in the State of Illinois, which led to abolition on Ash Wednesday, 2011.
      
      
    • Coalition of Indiana death penalty abolition groups
      
      
    • Indiana Coalition Acting to Suspend Executions
      
      
    • New Jersey bans the death penalty
      
      
    • The U.S. Supreme Court to decide if lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
      
      
    • Texas apparently stops executions until the Supreme Court rules. See also the Texas Moratorium Network.
  
  
  
• Information and statistics on capital punishment
  
  
  • Death Penalty Quiz: test your knowledge of capital punishment with these ten true/false questions
    
    
  • Chronology of capital punishment from the 17th century to the present
    
    
  • A timeline of important events for the death penalty in the United States
    
    
  • Death Penalty Information Center: facts about the death penalty, race and the death penalty, the costs of execution; issues relating to deterrence and innocence; and a profile of particular segments of the death row population, including women and the mentally retarded.
    
    
  • "Death Penalty Walking": an overview of the death penalty in the United States, how it's practices, how much it costs, problems with its implementation, etc.
    
    
  • Financial facts about the death penalty. See also debating the cost of capital punishment
    
    
  • U.S. executions since 1976: a complete list with a breakdown of the methods used to execute
    
    
  • Executions in 2017
    
    
  • Executions in 2016
    
    
  • Executions in 2015
    
    
    • Death penalty decline in 2015: The 28 prisoners executed in 2015 represents the lowest total since 1991.
    
    
  • Executions in 2014
    
    
  • Executions in 2013
    
    
  • Executions in 2012
    
    
  • Executions in 2011. Also, the number of new death sentences hit a 35-year low
    
    
  • Executions in 2010
    
    
  • Executions in 2009
    
    
  • Executions in 2008
    
    
  • Executions in 2007
    
    
  • Executions in 2006
    
    
  • Executions in 2005
    
    
  • Executions in 2004
    
    
  • Executions in 2003
    
    
  • Executions by state in 2003 and overall
    
    
  • States with and without the death penalty
    
    
  • Crimes punishable in the United States by the death penalty
    
    
  • Death penalty worldwide in 2003
    
    
  • State-by-State Information on the Death Penalty: Just click a state, and up comes whether it has a death penalty, how many executions it's had since 1976, how many are on its death row (including the number of women, various laws relating to the death penalty, and the method that state uses to execute). In May, 2013, Maryland repeals the death penalty, the sixth state in the last six years to do so, leaving 32 states with capital punishment.
    
    
  • State methods of capital punishment
    
    
  • Statistics on death row population by state
    
    
  • Take a virtual tour of a Florida death row cell: also links to frequently asked questions about the daily routine of death row inmates, a list of inmates currently on death row in Florida, and links to the Florida death row prisons
    
    
  • Women and the death penalty. See also Women currently on death row, U.S. women executed since 1900, and women executed since 1976. The executive summary of a report entitled "The Forgotten Population: A look at Death Row in the United States Through the Experiences of Women" is also helpful.
    
    
  • Women executed in the U.S. since 1900. On June 26, 2013, Kimberly McCarthy became the 500th person executed in Texas and the the 13th woman executed in the United States since the restoration of the death penalty in 1976. Suzanne Basso was the 14th, and Lisa Coleman was the 15th.
    
    
  • Discrimination and the death penalty: features charts comparing the race of the victim with the race of the defendant
    
    
  • Racial discrimination in implementing the death penalty
    
    
  • The Death Penalty in Indiana: a good series by the South Bend Tribune from October, 2001 with information on death row in Indiana, views of prosecutors, a list of aggravating and mitigating circumstances under Indiana law, procedures leading up to the execution, and voices from death row. See also Capital Punishment in Indiana.
    
    
  • The Texas Department of Corrections Death Penalty Page: information on Texas death row inmates, including the menu of the final meal and the last words of those executed
    
    
  • Execution Tapes: actual audio from Georgia executions. See the story behind these execution tapes.
    
    
  • Clark County Prosecuting Attorney: Over 1,500 death penalty links, separated into 46 different categories, from wrongful convictions and DNA, to religion, Bush and Gore, juveniles, and names and statistics of those on death row in Indiana. Also includes 90+ pro-death penalty links and recent headlines.
    
    
  • Death Penalty talking points: helpful debate points for those arguing against the death penalty
    
    
  • The conservative case against the death penalty: an essay by George Will
    
    
  • Death Penalty Issues: a site containing lots of links relating to the death penalty
    
    
  • A site containing an annotated bibliography to articles on capital punishment, internet resources, texts of recent Supreme Court cases, wrongful murder convictions, prison information, selected Catholic Bishops' statements on the death penalty, famous articles about capital punishment, Amnesty International's position statement on capital punishment
    
    
  • National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: a great clearing house on all aspects of capital punishment and extensive links to other sites advocating abolition
    
    
  • Declining support for capital punishment: an article from 2012, just after Connecticut repealed the death penalty to make 17 states without capital punishment. See also this story from February, 2014, about the tide turning against the death penalty.
    
    
  • Declaration of Life: a document you can use to express your opposition to the death penalty should you become the victim of murder
    
    
  • The Other Side of the Wall: writings from those on death row and those with personal experience of the death penalty
    
    
  • Death Penalty Information: statistics about executions and death row populations, women on death row, methods different states use to execute, information about the race of the victim and the defendant, wrongful convictions (including those who may have been wrongfully executed and those currently on death row despite strong evidence of innocence--see especially the case of Paul Scott, a Florida death row inmate, a letter by Sr. Helen Prejean about Scott, and the text of a story about Scott in the Sept. 11, 1998 Observer, the student newspaper of the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College)--see also a website devoted to Paul's case called Alive, reasons in favor of the death penalty, other links to death penalty sites
    
    
  • Amnesty International report on mistakes in capital punishment: Good general background may be found in wrongful murder convictions in the United States for which the prisoner was later released, and some 20th century executions thought to be erroneous. The Death Penalty Information Center also has a page on Innocence and the Death Penalty featuring recent cases of innocence or possible innocence. Justice Denied is the magazine for the wrongly convicted.
    
    
  • The Innocence Protection Act: proposed legislation that would seek to minimize the chances an innocent person could be executed. It includes such things as mandatory DNA testing, for example.
    
    • "Innocence and the Death Penalty": a story about this act and the need for its existence
      
      
    • Up to 4% of inmates on U.S. death rows may be innocent: results of a report from 2014
      
      
    • How Texas put an innocent man to death: the case of Carlos DeLuna
    
    
    
  • Pro Death Penalty Pages: information and resources, scheduled executions, a paper in favor of capital punishment, articles and interviews. See the companion site Murder Victims, which is a memorial to the many innocent victims of violent crimes. See also Death Row, which offers very comprehensive statistics on capital punishment and provides vignettes of some of the more horrific crimes that have been committed by those awaiting the death penalty.
    
    
    • John Stuart Mill's 19-century "Speech in Favor of Capital Punishment"
      
      
    • Pro-death penalty links: a page with over 90 links to pro-death penalty sites
      
      
    • The death penalty and public safety: an argument in favor of capital punishment
      
      
    • Resources in support of the death penalty
      
      
    • Justice for All: a criminal justice reform and victims' rights organization
      
      
    • The Death Penalty: A Defense: 17 arguments in favor of capital punishment, answers to arguments against the death penalty, and the death penalty & the Bible
      
      
    • A new study showing that the death penalty may have a deterrent effect after all: The study's methodology is disputed by those arguing that the opposite is the care.
      
      
    • Amitai Etzioni disputes the deterrence argument about capital punishment
    
    
    
  • Pending Executions: with prisoners' names and states. See also scheduled executions, a site with more information on individual cases. Should you wish to register your views about any of these executions, you may do so through governors' contact information and web sites.
    
    
  • Should the Boston Marathon bomber be executed?
    
    
  • The crimes of those on death row in Texas. See also upcoming executions in Texas.
    
    
  • Murderpoedia: The Encyclopedia of Murderers: information on the crimes of convicted male and female murderers both in the U.S. and around the globe
    
    
  • New state-of-the-art execution chamber in California
    
    
  • Take a virtual tour of a Florida death row cell: also links to frequently asked questions about the daily routine of death row inmates, a list of inmates currently on death row in Florida, and links to the Florida death row prisons
    
    
  • Racial discrimination in implementing the death penalty: gives a number of areas in the justice process where race makes a difference for being sentenced to death
    
    
  • The North Carolina Racial Justice Act: background on "the nation's only law that allows death row prisoners to reduce their sentences to life without parole by proving racial bias in jury selection or sentencing"
    
    
  • Discrimination and the death penalty: features a chart comparing the race of the victim with the race of the defendant. See also possible racial disparity in executions.
    
    
  • Dead Teen Walking: young people on death row in America. The United States is one of the few nations that put juveniles on death row. This is the story of one of them. See also America's Shame--Killing Kids and Wasted Youth.
    
    
  • Methods of Execution: each method of execution is described and the states practicing that method are listed. This information is also available in chart form. See also the official protocols followed by various states for different methods of execution.
    
    
  • "So Long as They Die: Lethal Injections in the United States": a Human Rights Watch Report from April, 2006, this site describes the development of lethal injection protocols, the drugs used in lethal injection, lethal injection procedures, physician participation in executions, and botched executions.
    
    
  • Botched executions: statistics about the percentage of executions in which something goes wrong
    
    
  • Court challenges to the use of drugs in lethal injections
    
    
  • Interview with an executioner. See also this story about an ex-Virginia executioner who became an opponent of the death penalty.
    
    
  • Average length of stay on death row: a chart showing how long death row inmates must wait for execution in the various states that impose capital punishment.
    
    
  • State Prison Death Rows: official web sites of state correctional departments which provide death row information.
    
    
  • Drive Movement: a group of prisoners who seek to unite the death row community to bring about change in the living conditions of those on death row
    
    
  • List of countries that have the death penalty: includes dates of the last time an execution was performed in countries which either have abolished the death penalty entirely or have essentially stopped practicing it without necessarily making it illegal in all circumstances. See also the world's top executioners.
    
    
  • Equal Justice USA/Quixote Center: works state-by-state for a moratorium on executions
    
    
  • Campaign to End the Death Penalty
    
    
  • Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty in Alabama: execution alerts, editorials, links, and other information about the death penalty in Alabama
    
    
  • Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights: a national groups of family members of murder victims who oppose the death penalty
    
    
  • Journey of Hope: See the inspirational story of Bud Welch, whose daughter was murdered in the Oklahoma City bombing.
  
  
  
• Dead Man Walking
  
  
  • Sr. Helen Prejean's website
    
    
  • Background on Dead Man Walking: real-life cases from the book and movie, newspaper accounts of the crimes and executions of Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie; an interview with Sr. Helen Prejean, statements for capital punishment (including an article by Ernest van den Haag) and against
    
    
  • Angel on Death Row: transcript of the PBS documentary about Sr. Helen Prejean
    
    
  • "Would Jesus Pull the Switch?": by Sr. Helen Prejean
    
    
  • "Live Nun Talking": an interview with Sr. Helen Prejean
    
    
  • The Moratorium Campaign: Sr. Helen Prejean's national petition drive calling for a freeze on state and federal executions
    
    
  • Sr. Helen's home page. See also on her most recent book, The Death of Innocents.
  
  
  
• Correspond with someone on death row
  
  
  • Death Row Support Project: a site from the Church of the Brethren facilitating one-to-one correspondence with people sentenced to death. This site has a service where you can request names of those on death row using an online form. There is also a Frequently Asked Question page. Note what it says there about making specific requests to correspond with a female inmate. Before writing, please consult their guidelines for writing about what to say in your opening letter and what you may expect (and how to handle it) in return. In addition, there are numerous testimonials from those who have written to death row inmates. It says that it takes about a month for them to get back to you.
    
    
  • Write a prisoner: This site allows you to search for correspondents by selecting various criteria such as age, sex, location, religion, etc. Be sure to click the box "On Death Row" before you search.) This site gives you a great deal of information on each prisoner including the crime for which he or she (this site lets you search for females on death row, but only one came up the last time I looked) is on death row. writeaprisoner.com also includes a list of precautionary measures it sponsors to insure the safety of these communications.
    
    
  • Death row inmates seeking correspondence: extensive collection of links to individual death row inmates in Texas, Mississippi, Penn, Ohio, Alabama, Arizona, and Florida
    
    
  • Cyberspace Inmates: This site categorizes death row prisoners by last names and provides personal statements from each person describing their situation and desire for correspondence.
    
    
  • Voices from inside Texas death row
    
    
  • Death Row Speaks: Click on "Inmates/Profiles" and then select either "Federal death row" or "Military death row" to get a list of names and addresses. In addition to the profiles, this site features inmate art, poetry, and writings. There's also a section entitled "Ask Death Row" where you can leave questions for inmates to answer, or read their answers to previous questions left by others.
    
    
  • The women of death row: addresses to female death row prisoners, letters, and artwork
    
    
  • Background & Resources for writing to those on death row
    
    
    • FAQ section on writing to prisoners. Here's another good Frequently Asked Question page.
      
      
    • Guidelines for writing: suggestions about what to say in your opening letter and what you may expect (and how to handle it) in return
      
      
    • Address of male and female death row prisons in the United States. The Federal Bureau of Prisons also offers a locator service for all inmates convicted of federal crimes.
      
      
    • "Women on death row": some of the particularities about women on death row, including commonalities about their crimes and conditions on death row. See also this ACLU report on women on death row from 2011.
      
      
    • The women of death row: The site is organized by state and features pictures of female death row inmates and descriptions of their crimes. See also this listing of women on death row.
      
      
    • Article from The Cleveland Plain Dealer on a correspondence site which is no longer in operation (called Penn-Pals) from December 16, 2000
      
      
    • New York Times article on Penn-Pals and other internet correspondence services: good background on these online services that sponsor letter-writing to prisoners.
      
      
      • WARNING: Writing to death row inmates is not meant to excuse the crimes they may have committed or add to the pain of victims' families. Nor can one truthfully say that there is absolutely no risk attached in corresponding with someone who has committed very violent acts. But it is also true to say that none of my students has ever felt threatened or endangered, and there has never been a case that I know of in which a death row prisoner has been released (in itself, rare--and they don't usually get released unless they were innocent anyway) or has escaped (rarer still) and made unwanted contact with his or her correspondent. In the words of one of these online services, "This sounds all very serious, but it should be mentioned. Usually though your pen-pal will be someone who has been very lonely and is very glad to receive your letters. Most inmates do write back very quickly. You will discover that the inmate is as good a friend to you as you are to him/her." And note too: these services are only for those 18 years old and above.
    
    
    
  • Death Row Blogs and other forms of inmate writing
    
    
    • Compassion on Death Row: a newsletter developed and written by death row prisoners in the United States and distributed to all U.S. death row inmates. The newsletters contain art, poetry, and writings by death row prisoners. Past issues are available for download. Prison Express, while not confined to death row prisoners, also features the writing of those behind bars.
      
      
    • Cell Door Magazine: a magazine mostly written by prisoners or people who are closely associated with the prison experience. The content of the Cell Door runs the gamut from poetry to short stories, from art to op-ed commentary.
      
      
    • Death row bloggers: a story about death row inmates who blog about their experiences and those who support them on the outside of the prison walls
      
      
    • Between the bars blog by Maurice Harris: death row inmate at San Quentin
      
      
    • Death Row Poet: Ronald Clark's blog from Florida's death row. See also this story from ABC news about the woman who helps maintain the site.
      
      
    • Death Row Diary: a site maintained by the sister of convicted killer William Van Poyck. This site was profiled by CNN shortly after Van Poyck was executed by the state of Florida.
      
      
    • Minutes Before Six: Michael Wayne Hunter's blog from San Quentin Prison. Hunter spent 18 years on death row at San Quentin before his sentence was commuted to life without parole in 2002.
      
      
    • Dennis Mayfield Brewer's San Quentin blog
      
      
    • "The Art of Redemption": David Paul Hammer, on federal death row in Terre Haute, IN, writes about his life and his art
      
      
    • Donald (Duke) Palmer's Ohio death row blog
      
      
    • Other inmate correspondence groups
      
      
    • Dead Man Talkin': Dead Man Talkin' is a series of columns written by a man on death row, Dean Carter, in San Quentin Prison. Read Column 1 for a brief introduction to the prisoner who is writing these columns and providing a first hand eyewitness account of life on death row. You can also e-mail Dean Carter; but given the delay between the time the e-mail is received by a third party associated with Mr. Carter and then sent through the U.S. post to him, it would probably be quicker to mail him directly at his postal address.

    
    
    
    
    

• Christian considerations on war and violence
  
  
  • The Challenge of Peace: the 1983 statement from the U.S. Catholic Bishops
    
    
  • The Theology Library's Peace Section: extensive collection of links to pacifism and just war resources in the Christian tradition, as well as information on the Nobel Peace Prize and peace organizations
    
    
  • A site containing a summary of just war teaching, Peaceweb : (a Quaker site), links to organizations promoting nonviolence
    
    
  • Christian pacifism at a glance: explores the early nonviolent history of the Church and its subsequent move to the just war norms thanks to changes brought about when Constantine made Christianity the state religion. See also "How Christians went to war" by Scott Appleby.
    
    
  • "Thinking Biblically About Loving Enemies--Matthew 5:38-47": a very good piece about pacifism which contrasts Christianity with what the author terms the "secular mentality"
    
    
  • An essay by Pastor Mark Driscoll arguing that Jesus was not a pacifist, and a rejoinder to that essay.
    
    href="http://catholicanarchy.org/?p=83">"Loyalty oath: a matter of ultimate allegiance," by D. Brent Laytham: an essay which questions through the author's personal experiences where a Christian's primary loyalty should lie
    
    
  • What if America were a Christian nation?: a reflection on what it might mean for national defense, care for the poor, etc. Along the same lines, see also 5 reasons today's Christians wouldn't like the first Christians.
    
    
  • "Loving Your Enemies," by Martin Luther King, Jr.: written while King was in jail for nonviolent civil disobedience, this essay explores what it means to love our enemies. See also this debate about nonviolence between Dr. King and Malcolm X.
    
    
  • "History shows pacifists aren't dreamers," by Colman McCarthy: shows through historical examples that pacifism is not just an idea but has achieved real results in the world
    
    
  • Preventing war is 60x cheaper than fighting it: an infographic by the Friends Committee on National Legislation. One of the claims it makes is that for every $1 the world spends on conflict prevention, it spends $1885 on military budgets.
    
    
  • Pacifist responses to terrorism. See also Christian response to terrorism.
    
    
  • Peaceful resolution to a school-shooter incident: from August, 2013, in Atlanta, Georgia.
    
    
  • Pax Christi, a national Catholic peace movement: statement of the beliefs of Pax Christi members, names of prominent members, links to the nonviolence web
    
    
  • The Catholic Peace Fellowship: a revival of a Viet Nam-era Catholic peace group, now dedicated to stopping the war in Iraq
    
    
  • Jesus Radicals is a network of Christian anarchists
    
    
  • "To be prolife is to be nonviolent": a provocative essay by Fr. John Dear that argues on the basis of a consistent ethic of life that a prolife commitment needs to suffuse all issues and not just abortion
    
    
    
    • "Disturbing for peace": an interview with Fr. John Dear. Fr. Dear writes regular "On the Road to Peace" columns for The National Catholic Reporter, such as this one entitled "A Peace Movement Victory in Court," that describes how one Las Vegas trial allowed the motivations of fourteen anti-war activists to be aired in court. Another columnn provides the top 25 sayings of the nonviolent Jesus, and another speaks about Jesus's 'illegal' Holy Week activity, which led to his execution.
      
      
    • A critique of R.O.T.C. units at Catholic colleges
      
      
    • Fr. Jack McCaslin, a prophetic priest and witness for peace at the end of his life
    
    
    
  • Corporate Stand on Nonviolence by the Sisters of the Holy Cross: A longer version is available here.
    
    
  • Benedict XVI: A New Peace Pope", by Michael Griffin. See also Benedict's comments "On War".
    
    
  • Pope Francis's 2017 World Davy of Peace Message in which he says that “To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence.”
    
    
  • "Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice": a statement from 2000 by the U.S. Catholic Bishops about guns and violence. In it, they advocate measures that control the sale and use of firearms.
    
    
    
    • "Call For Action In Response To Newtown Tragedy": a statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops about the December, 2012, shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. One of the authors of this joint statement is Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN.
      
      
    • "Catholic stand for peacemaking wanting, some say": a reassessment of the Church's peace witness in light of the Newtown tragedy
    
    
    
  • An excerpt from Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God's Peace and Justice by Father John Dear
    
    
  • "Rejecting war and living the nonviolent life: an essay by Fr. John Dear
    
    
  • An essay by Fr. Thomas Merton on how fear is the root of all war
    
    
  • "Faith Fires Back": A conversation with Stanley Hauerwas
    
    
  • Religious Pacifists: transcript of a PBS broadcast
    
    
  • Jonah House: the homepage for Jonah House, a peace community in Baltimore, founded by Philip Berrigan and Liz McAlister, which organizes nonviolent resistance against war and nuclear weapons
    
    
  • Ten Myths You Need to Believe in Before You Can Go to War: a nice piece by Peter Willis of South Africa which provides myths and commentary about how violence can bring about peace
    
    
  • Jim O'Leary, "We're Not a Christian Country": an excellent essay which raises the question about the Christian's primary identity: as believer or as citizen. See also Dorothy Day's essay from 1948 in the Catholic Worker entitled "We Are Un-American: We Are Catholics".
    
    
  • "Christian Patriotism: Love for the 'Other'": very brief essay which raises the issue about boundaries and who is the 'other'
    
    
  • The Nonviolence Web: the philosophy of nonviolence, peace and taxes, conscience and the state, direct action for peace, and good issue pages for current events relating to war and peace. This site features recent articles on faith-based non-violence and current issues in the peace and justice movement. Includes a great list of other peace and justice websites." Also has some helpful introductory essays on pacifism,
    
    
  • "Without forgiveness, there's no room left for love": about forgiveness in the context of the 2006 murder of ten Amish girls aged 6 to 13 in an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa. A movie was made of this incident, which may be seen here. The movie was based on the book, Amish Grace, by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher.
    
    
  • War & Peace: a nice series of links from The Nation on arms spending, genocide, nuclear arms and proliferation, peace activism, terrorism, the U.S. military and wars abroad
    
    
  • School of the Americas Watch: The following is from their web page: "The US Army School of Americas, based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. Graduates of the SOA have been responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez of Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians. SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work."
    
    
  • The legitimation of Chrisitianity under Emperor Constantine: a narration of the crucial developments by which Christianity goes from persecuted minority to the religion of an empire
    
    
  • Summary of the jus ad bellum just war criteria and features what Robert McAfee Brown terms the three basic attitudes in Christian history toward war and fighting
    
    
  • A brief overview of the Catholic just war tradition: from the United States Catholic bishops
    
    
  • Just War and effects on the natural world: a podcast with Sr. Dianne Bergant about the neglect of war's environmental impact in just war thinking
    
    
  • "Just War and Pacifism: A 'Pacifist' Perspective in Seven Points" by Mike Baxter: notes points of commonality and divergence
    
    
  • Can war be abolished?: an excellent piece from Commonweal that reviews contemporary Church teaching about war as abolitionist but not pacifist while emphasizing the links between the development of Church teaching about the death penalty with the development of Church teaching about war.
    
    
  • Just War and the Catholic Church: discussion of catechism passages about war, summary of just war criteria, and analysis of ethical reasoning behind the just war norms (with an especially good discussion of the deficits behind consequentialism), and an interesting debate at the end between a pacifist and just war thinker
    
    
  • Why the Church is moving away from Just War Theory: wonderful piece by Terrence Lynne on the eve of a global conference scheduled for April 11-13, 2016, in Rome
    
    
  • "Wounds of War": The author is a National Guard chaplain who argues on the basis of his experience that the brokenness of the world sometimes requires violence
    
    
  • "War is Necessary": a video narrated by Major Peter Kilner of West Point. Major Kilner explains that you can’t believe in human dignity and human rights if you’re not prepared to defend them. See also Major Kilmer's blog, Thoughts of a Soldier-Ethicist.
    
    
  • Resources on Just War Theory: excellent set of links to web resources on Catholic teaching, Christian peacemaking, and the War with Iraq
    
    
  • What the Church teaches about just war: the Catholic position on the morality of warfare, from Our Sunday Visitor
    
    
  • Drones: some new issues for just war thought posed by the use of unmanned drones for bombing missions
  
  
  
• The military
  
  
  • DefenseLink: official website of the U.S. Department of Defense
    
    
  • The National Security Strategy of the United States of America: a White House report from September, 2002
    
    
  • R.O.T.C. at Notre Dame: information on R.O.T.C., links to the other units at Notre Dame, links to some other college R.O.T.C. units around the country, and a link to the United States Army Home Page
    
    
  • Catholics in the Military: a site serving personnel, chaplains and military families
    
    
  • Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: a great resource for lots of information on the military, including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; arms transfers and expenditures, and so on
    
    
  • Military History: originating from the Canadian Forces College, this site gives extensive information on conflicts from the Peloponnesian War to the Persian Gulf War
    
    
  • AntiWar.com: sponsored by "The Committee Against U.S. Intervention and billed as "Your best source for antiwar news, viewpoints and activities
    
    
  • Do unmanned drones make war more likely?: Or at least do they make the resort to war easier for a nation's leaders?
    
    
  • Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors Home Page: CCCO supports conscientious objectors and promotes individual and collective resistance to war and preparations for war. There is also a link here to the GI Rights Hotline, which provides information to members of the military about discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights.
    
    
  • Conscience in War: a website dedicated to honor and protect the freedom of conscience for our nation's service members. This site features several video testimonies of soliders' experience in battle. Four of the most gripping are collected here, and another one gives an overview of the series.
    
    
  • "The Path of Most Resistance" is a two-part documentary about conscientious objectors: Part I and Part II
    
    
  • "The Weight of Violence": an essay about the effects of killing on one soldier's soul. In 2012, the military lost more soldiers to suicide than to combat.
    
    
  • Excerpts from the documentary Soldiers of Conscience
  
  
  
• Terrorist Attack of September 11, 2001
  
  
  • Resources from the U.S. Catholic bishops
    
    
  • Statement from Pope John Paul II in his general audience of 12 September, 2001
    
    
  • Message for World Peace Day: Pope John Paul II's message for the World Day of Peace, celebrated on Jan. 1, 2002, pays special attention to the reality of terrorism in the world today and forcefully argues that there can be no peace without justice, and no justice without forgiveness.
    
    
  • Living WIth Faith and Hope After September 11: A Pastoral Message from the U.S. Catholic Bishops
    
    
  • Francis Cardinal George calls the U.S. military action a "just war"
    
    
  • "Arguably, a Just War" by Fr. John G. Yockey: an assessment from 2005 by a Milwaukee priest
    
    
  • Statement on Iraq by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
    
    
  • "Benedict XVI: A New Peace Pope": essay describing some of Benedict's views on war and violence, especially as they relate to the Iraq war
    
    
  • "Was Bush's Response to September 11th UnChristian?"
    
    
  • "Thinkers Face the Limits of a Just War": good article outlining the ethical issues involves with the use of force against terrorism from the September 22, 2001 New York Times.
    
    
  • Reflections on September 11 by members of The Ekklesia Project: petitions and laments; shorter and longer reflections and responses; sermons, homilies, and prayer services
    
    
  • Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero: a PBS Frontline documentary with transcripts of interviews from the program and extensive links to diverse writings on the theological dimensions of the terrorist attacks. See especially "The Question of God."
    
    
  • Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson say that the U.S. got "probably what we deserve" as a result of America's "secular and anti-Christian environment." Falwell later apologized for these remarks.
    
    
  • Christian vs. Islamic Fundamentalism: a helpful article by Marcus Borg
    
    
    • English paraphrases of the Koran
      
      
    • "Attacks find no justification in Islam, Muslim leaders say": an article from the October 5, 2001 National Catholic Reporter
    
    
    
  • The 9/11 Commission Report
    
    
  • Senate Intelligence Committee's "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community Prewar Intelligence Asssessments on Iraq"
    
    
  • The Project on Defense Alternatives: This is a nonpartisan group which has issued a report on the insurgency in Iraq. The report concludes that the occupation and the insurgency are locked in a circular conflict from which there is no logical escape. The insurgents are fighting because of the occupation , and the occupation forces are fighting because there is resistance.
    
    
  • Just Response: A website created in response to the terrorist acts, most of its contributions warn about the dangers of military action.
    
    
  • Iraq Body Count, which tries to determine the same information about the Iraq war and occupation. See also another estimate of civilian casualties and "Our Sacred Dead" about civilian deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
    
    
  • American military casualities in Iraq
    
    
  • Iraq Coalition casualties: by country and by month. There's also a specific list of U.S. fatalities confirmed by the Department of Defense.
    
    
  • "Our Moral Duty in Iraq" by Gerard F. Powers: This essay explores what the United States's obligations are now that we have intervened in Iraq and occupy the country.
    
    
  • The cost of the Iraq war: a running total
    
    Kevin Danaher, "Justice, Not War": lays out the case for nonviolence quite effectively
    
    
  • Colman McCarthy, "Pacifism remains a worthy alternative": answers the question, "Ok, you're opposed to violence, but what's your solution instead?"
    
    
  • Michael Kelly, "Pacifist Claptrap": says that pacifism and non-violence are pro-fascist and on the side of the enemy
    
    
  • "Is God a pacifist?": Pastor Mark Driscoll argues that "Jesus is not a pansy or a pacifist" and is "no one to mess with." See this rejoinder to his views.
    
    
  • Reflections on Sept. 11, 2001: an excellent collection of articles from historical, political, and religious perspectives from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
    
    
    • Jeanne Kirkpatrick, "The Case for Force"
      
      
    • Richard Perle, "Needed: a Sustained Campaign"
      
      
    • Howard Zinn, "Compassion, Not Vengeance"
    • John O. Voll, "Understanding Terrorism"
      
      
    • Richard Slotkin, "Our Myths of Choice"
      
      
    • Christopher Phelps, "Why We Shouldn't Call It War"
      
      
    • R. Scott Appleby, "Building Peace to Combat Religious Terror"
      
      
    • Thomas S. Hibbs, "What Kind of Evil?"
      
      
    • Azizah Al-Hibri, "Can We Restore America's Historical Role?"
      
      
    • Bernard Wasserstein, "Anti-Semitism and Anti-Americanism"
      
      
    • Joanne B. Freeman, "The American Republic, Past and Present"
      
      
    • Terry L. Deibel, "Finding a Middle Road"
      
      
    • Stanley I. Kutler, "Fanatics at Home and Abroad"
      
      
    • Stanley Hauerwas, "A Complex God"
      
      
      • Conversation with Stanley Hauerwas in the Duke University Alumni Magazing: covers many topics relating to pacifism and the events of September 11
    
    
  • Osama bin Laden: life story, interviews with, and terrorist networks
    
    
  • "The Causes of Terrorism": A paper by Martha Crenshaw probes the causes of terrorism.
    
    
  • A debate about whether the U.S. should go to war against ISIS
  
  
  
• War with Iraq
  
  
  • The First Gulf War
    
    
    • The Gulf War web site: chronology of the war; facts and figures on weapons, war dead, etc.
    
    
    
    • The Gulf War and Just War Theory: tries to show that the Gulf War met the criteria for a just war
      
      
    • "The Gulf War: Cleanly Fought": an essay by Prof. Nicholas Fotion from The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists from September, 1991, in which the author argues that the jus in bello criteria were observed
      
      
    • "The Gulf War: Not so Clean": an essay by Prof. George Lopez which describes the Allies' fighting strategy and its aftermath in Iraq
      
      
    • Voices in the Wilderness: a group of teachers, social workers, authors, health care professionals, tradespeople, and church workers (including Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit) dedicated to ending the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq
      
    
    
  • The Second Gulf War
    
    
    • The bishops and Iraq: a letter from September 13, 2002 from Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, to President George Bush. The letter applied Catholic just war principles to urge that the United States step back from the brink of war.
      
      
    • Church statements on Iraq: a more comprehensive collection of statements by bishops, pope and papal representatives about war with Iraq
      
      
    • Catholic Teaching and the Iraqi War: another collection of links to Catholic teachings about war, statements from Church leaders about the Iraqi war, and so on
      
      
    • Statement Against War With Iraq by Bishop John Michael Botean, Bishop of the Romanian Catholic Diocese of St. George in Canton, Ohio,
      
      
    • "Toward a Responsible Transition in Iraq" a 2006 Statement of Bishop Thomas G. Wenski Bishop of Orlando and Chairman, USCCB Committee on International Policy
      
      
    • "In the aftermath of war, what is there to be said about the pope's opposition to it?": an article by Peter Steinfels from the New York Times
      
      
    • Michael Poffenberger, "Iraq in Hindsight: A Colossal Mistake"
      
      
    • Commencement Speech of President George W. Bush at West Point in 2002: In this address, the president articulated what came to be known as the Bush Doctrine.
      
      
    • Background from C-Span: a comprehensive series of links and tools for understanding the history of US/Iraqi relations.
      
      
    • Iraq Navigator: the site used by research staff of the New York Times for stories on the Gulf War. It features information about the country of Iraq, its military and leadership, as well as U.S. military information, and the texts of various United Nations resolutions about Iraq.
      
      
    • Alternatives to War with Iraq: This website of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame offers links to online articles on politics & strategy, ethical concerns, and background on the sanctions against Iraq.
      
      
    • Assessing the war in Iraq: a retrospective analysis by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame
      
      
    • "A war of ambition" by Andrew Bacevich: the initial aims of the second Gulf War and a sobering assessment of their lack of success
      
      
    • The Ethics of Exit: a conference conducted at Boston College through the Kroc Center at Notre Dame with transcripts and video
      
      
    • Iraq Body Count: an estimation of civilian deaths in the second Iraq war. Another study by the World Health Organization puts the Iraqi death toll higher.
      
      
    • "What We Wrought" by Cathy Green: the continuing cycle of violence in Iraq
      
      
    • U.S. military deaths in Iraq
      
      
    • Values training for U.S. troops in Iraq in light of the purported massacre of civilians in Haditha
      
      
    • "Why I refused a second deployment to Iraq" by Sgt. Kevin Benderman. See also the Kevin Benderman Defense Committee.
      
      
    • Frontline documentary on the psychological cost of war on those who fight it. You can view the full program online.
      
      
    • "The Moral Quandary: Anti-imperialism vs. Hunanitarianism": an excellent article by Michael Massing from The Nation in which he carefully weighs the difficulties and the values involved in going to war with Iraq
      
      
    • "Nightmare in Iraq: On the Brink of Civil War" by Gary Dorrien for The Christian Century
      
      
    • President Bush's State of the Union Address: from January 28th, 2003. The address outlines the case for war against Saddam Hussein.
      
      
    • "Moral Clarity in a Time of War": a lecture by George Weigel in which he makes the case that war with Iraq meets Catholic just war principles. For similar arguments, see also Weigel's "The Just War Case for the War".
      
      
    • "At Odds with the Pope: Legitimate Authority and Just Wars by Bill Cavanaugh. This essay provides a reading of the Catechism in light of a recent piece by George Weigel about legitimate authority.
      
      
    • "Iraq: Then & Now" by George Weigel. This essay comes from the April 2006 First Things and attempts to "offer a just war defense of the moral probity" of the war in light of all that we know to this point.
      
      
    • "The Hawkish Doctrine of Mr. Bush": Fr. J. Bryan Hehir argues that a war against Iraq would not satisfy just war norms. In particular, he looks at issues relating to proportionality and the issue of preventive violence (military preemption).
      
      
    • "U.S. Miscalculates in Iraq": an essay by Fr. Andrew Greeley from May, 2003.
      
      
    • "No Exit from Iraq?": a debate between Andrew Bacevich and Matthew Shadle
      
      
    • "Why We Must Withdraw from Iraq" by Msgr. Robert W. McElroy Part I and Part II: good treatment from 2007 about how just war norms should now apply to the conflict in Iraq. Fr. McElroy gives particular attention to the criterion of proportionality and how advocates for the war now use it in ways they avoided before the war.
      
      
    • Various statements by the United Stated Council of Catholic Bishops on the war in Iraq. See also Bishop Wilton Gregory on the responsibilities that the United States now has to the people of Iraq as a result of occupying their country.
      
      
    • "There's no rationale left for Iraq": an essay from 2004
      
      
    • "Ethics Outflanked," by George Lopez: responds to arguments frequently adduced that argue against a strategically planned withdrawal from Iraq
      
      
    • "Tours of Duty: A Mother's Story": a moving account by Barbara Mujica of her son's service in Iraq
      
      
    • "Turning Point": an essay written in 2010 by the editors of America magazine assessing the results of the war in Iraq.
      
      
    • The high cost of the war in Iraq: an essay written at the time of the last U.S. soldiers leaving Iraq in December, 2011. See also this retrospective on the war in Iraq.
      
      
    • The end of the war in Iraq, and lingering questions about U.S. soldier involvement in the direct killing of innocent civilians
      
      
    • Iraq: Unintended Consequences and Lessons for U.S. Foreign Policy: article from June, 2014, which presents various statements made by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops about going to war in 2003 and how to understand that war's aftermath
      
      
    • "Path of destruction in Iraq began in 1991": an editorial from the National Catholic Reporter about the legacy of violence in Iraq, the persecution of Christians there, and recent statements by Pope Francis that it is licit to stop an unjust aggressor
      
      
    • What caused Isis?: Some blame Bush, some blame Obama.
  
  
  
• Syria
  
  
  • Background on the conflict in Syria: Nine questions you were afraid to ask
    
    
  • The role of religion in the Syrian civil war
    
    
  • President Obama's address on September 10, 2013 arguing for military intervention
    
    
  • U.S. Catholic politicians who support military action against Syria
    
    
  • Letter from the U.S. Catholic bishops to President Obama about military action in Syria
    
    
  • Pope Francis argues that war is "suicide of humanity"
    
    
  • What moral theologians are saying about military action against Syria over the use of chemical weapons: an application of just war norms
    
    
  • The Catholic case against attacking Syria: an application of the Just War norms
    
    
  • Should Christians support intervention in Syria?: The article argues against such support because it is not clear what violence is to accomplish, which creates a problem with just war criteria.
    
    
  • Editorial from Commonweal Magazine opposing military strikes: The article explains the many 'known unknowns' that would follow a U.S. strike. It also says that while hurting Assad helps his enemies, some of those groups are U.S. enemies as well.
    
    
  • Editorial dissent from Paul Baumann arguing for a limited and proportionate strike
    
    
  • Experts from various fields respond about Syrian military intervention.
    
    
  • Why attack Assad if he used chemical weapons, when that use accounted for only about 1% of those who have died in the Syrian civil war
    
    
  • Some reflections for Pax Christi members about military action against Syria
    
    
  • Why violence isn't the only answer in Syria
    
    
  • Syria is about people, not politics: The diplomatic route shows what pacifists have always said, that there are options other than violence.
    
    
  • The difference between waging war and building peace in Syria
    
    
  • The troubling consequences of using violence to inflame regional hostilities
  
  
  
• Torture
  
  
  • The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: from December, 1984. It was ratified by the United States Senate in 1994, and contains a definition of torture in Article 1.
    
    
  • Torture is a Moral Issue: A Catholic Study Guide: a 2008 study guide prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops which articulates the Church's teaching about the dignity of all and then goes on to explain the problem with torture and the need to uphold to Christ's teaching about love of enemy in an age of terrorism. See, especially, chapter 2: "The Problem with Torture."
    
    
  • Catholic statements on torture: a good overview
    
    
  • "No Excuses for Torture": the impact of torture on both victim and perpetrator, and an explanation of Catholic tradition on torture
    
    
  • "The Body in Pain: What do people of faith have to say about torture?": puts some important issues from the recent conversation about torture into recent historical context
    
    
  • Why torture doesn't work: This essay by a neuroscientist argues that the use of techniques of torture doesn't reliably deliver the information that motivates the torturer because of how the brain works under the stress of what's inflicted. Cryobank--https://www.cryobank.com/search?listview=0#
    
    
  • The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International: The TASSC was founded by and for torture survivors. Its mission is to end the practice of torture and to assist survivors and their families.
    
    
  • Frontline: The Torture Question: has some video excerpts from the Frontline series along with other resources on this issue
    
    
  • The Taguba Report about Iraqi prisoner-of-war abuse. See also The Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war.
    
    
  • General David Petraeus on U.S. violations of the Geneva Convention
    
    
  • Bill Cavanaugh, "Taking Exception: When Torture Becomes Thinkable": a truly excellent piece about the barriers that fall when torture becomes thinkable
    
    
  • Yes, Christians can support torture: various arguments designed to show that Christian conviction is consistent with supporting torture to save innocent lives
    
    
  • "Torturous Thoughts," by Fr. John Kavanaugh: asks whether there are certain actions which must never be done regardless of the circumstances or consequences
    
    
  • Tom Carney, "Americans, especially Catholics, approve of torture": points to surveys that show that roughly 3 out of 4 American Catholics believe that torture can be justified under some circumstances
    
    
  • Statement on torture from Pax Christi: A Pax Christi USA statement on the use of torture as a means of national security in the U.S. War on Terrorism, appeals to many documents from Catholic tradition
    
    
  • "Torture is Still With Us": editorial in America in the wake of the Senate Intelligence Committee's 2014 report on the CIA interrogation program
  
  
  
• The War in Afghanistan
  
  
  • "Alternatives to war in Afghanistan": excellent piece by David Cortright that argues against a military solution to the Taliban. See also Cortright's "No Easy Way Out" that reassesses U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.
    
    
  • Stanley Hauerwas on the war in Afghanistan
    
    
  • "Unjust and Indefensible--Iraq: A Case Study": compares Afghanistan vs. Iraq in terms of whether violence in those countries was justified: This essay is also a very good background both to the events leading away from 9/11 and up to war with Iraq, as well as the just war tradition as a whole.
    
    
  • Thomas E. Gouttierre, "An Abandoned Afghanistan"
    
    
  • Civilian victims of the U.S.'s bombing of Afghanistan: Professor Marc Herold of the University of New Hampshire has combed records and news reports to try to arrive at a tally of civilians killed in Afghanistan.
    
    
  • "In Harm's Way: Children, Born and Unborn, Trapped in Wartime": the dangers to children (including an increased incidence of abortion) during wartime. This essay raises the question of what really is collateral damage and how much is morally acceptable.
    
    
  • "Is This a Just War? Two Catholic Perspectives on the War in Afghanistan": Reflections on Sept. 11 from Lisa Cahill and Mike Baxter, from a December 2001 article in U.S. Catholic.
    
    
  • Selected stories on Afghanistan from Commonweal Magazine.
    
    
  • "War Without End": a piece from February, 2011, draws on Catholic teaching to argue for the immorality of this war.
    
    
  • "Christians must call for this war to end": an essay by Jim Wallis about the war in Afghanistan, written after the death of Osama bin Laden.
    
    
  • Extra-judicial killings and the killing of Osama bin Laden: is there a slippery slope here and have the views of Americans shiften on extra-judicial killing?
    
    
  • Non-violence in the wake of bin Laden's killing: Fr. John Dear makes the point that Barack Obama is as wrong about Christianity as Osama bin Laden was about Islam. See also the Vatican's response to this killing and the Archbishop of Canterbury's discomfort over bin Laden's unarmed death. Another commentator has likened bin Laden's killing to one of the exceptional cases allowed in Catholic teaching for the death penalty.
    
    
  • "A Death to Celebrate?: The Just War Tradition and the Killing of Osama bin Laden": good introduction to just war along with an application to the killing of bin Laden
    
    
  • "Stuck: What's our end game in Afghanistan?": an essay by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels
    
    
  • Sgt. Robert Bales's actions in March, 2012: a reflection about Sgt. Robert Bales and what appears to be a calculated slaughter on March 11, 2012, of 16 Afghan civilians, nine of them children. The author raises the question of why this act tends to stand out as an atrocity when much killing of innocent civilians routinely goes on in war.
    
    
  • "I killed people in Afghanistan: Was I right or wrong?": reflections by Marine Capt. Timothy Kudo
  
  
  
• Libya
  
  
  • "Hazardous Means: Libya & the Ambiguity of Humanitarian Intervention": a very good essay by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels which asks what the United States is doing in Libya and raises questions about the obligations posed by humanitarian intervention
    
    
  • Benedict XVI and John Paul II on humanitarian intervention
    
    
  • "A Just War in Libya?" by David Cortright
    
    
  • "Turmoil in the Middle East" by the editors of Commonweal.
  
  
  
• The War in Kosovo
  
  
  • The New York Times on the Kosovo war: background, maps, timelines, coverage of NATO airstrikes, and lots of web links related to the conflict
    
    
  • The NATO Home Page: includes the latest news on events in Kosovo
    
    
  • A Web Guide to the Balkan Conflict: good collection of links providing background to the Kosovo crisis, including ABC News's 'Beginner's Guide to the Balkans,' and a report from Amnesty International
    
    
  • The pope's statements on Kosovo, including the text of his Easter 1999 Urbi et Orbi message.
    
    
  • Statement on Kosovo by Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, President of the National Council of Catholic Bishops, March 24, 1999. See also his statement on the formal cessation of hostilities.
    
    
  • "Peacemaking and the Use of Force: Behind Pope John Paul II's Stringent Just-War Teaching": an essay by Drew J. Christiansen, S.J., which uses the Kosovo crisis to review the Pope's positions on warfare and notes that the tradition of just-war thinking is playing a decreased role in official Catholic teaching.
    
    
  • "Kosovo: A War of Values and the Values of War": an essay for America by Fr. Bryan Hehir, makes the case that US involvement in the Kosovo conflict meets the historic conditions of a just war
    
    
  • "Outcasts and the 'In' Crowd": an essay by Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J., argues that the bombing of Kosovo did not meet the conditions for a just war
    
    
  • Pax Christi statement on NATO bombing as a violation of international law and Catholic teaching. See also the Pax Christi's Kosovo Action Alert and "A Tragic Miscalculation,", an essay by Prof. Stephen Zunes.
    
    
  • The Kosovo Antiwar Page by the Nonviolence Web: home to many peace groups in the US. This page includes links, analysis, and background on the conflict in Yugoslavia.
    
    
  • Kosovo Organizing Packet from Sojourner's Magazine: criticisms of the US action and ways to work for peace
  
  
  
• Nuclear Weapons
  
  
  • Was dropping the bomb on Japan the only option?: good historical background on the decision and its aftermath
    
    
  • "Thank God for the Atom Bomb": This essay by Paul Fussell provides a utilitarian defense of dropping the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. This video from Prager University does the same.
    
    
  • The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Signed in 1970, it was meant to make the world a safer place by holding fixed the membership in the nuclear club.
    
    
  • Tracking Nuclear Weapons: a list of countries with declared nuclear-weapons capability, countries with undeclared nuclear-weapons capability, and countries suspected of having secret nuclear weapons programs
    
    
  • The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists:: excellent reporting on international security, military affairs, and nuclear issues
    
    
  • The Doomsday Clock: the current 'time,' along with a history of this symbol
    
    
  • Nuclear Posture Review: Submitted to Congress on December 31, 2001, this document details Bush administration policies on the use of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons for the defense of the United States. This report speaks of "a major change in our approach to the role of nuclear offensive forces in our deterrent strategy."
    
    
  • Nuclear Notebook: a regular feature of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, this it the most accurate source of information on nuclear weapons and weapons facilities available to the public
    
    
  • Status of the world's nuclear forces: the world's combined inventory of nuclear warheads
    
    
  • U.S. Nuclear Forces in 2015
    
    
    • See a picture and description of these weapons in the United States nuclear arsenal.
    
    
    Russian Nuclear Forces in 2015
    
    
  • Nuclear weapons and the Cold War: great site from the CNN special on the Cold War with extensive background into nuclear weapons and the issues pertaining to the atomic bomb during the Cold War
    
    
  • Nuclear Q & A: basic background on nuclear weapons, including who invented the atomic bomb and how an atomic bomb works
    
    
  • Where the bombs are: an article about which states house nuclear weapons
    
    
  • Loose Nukes: a PBS Frontline report on the threat of nuclear smuggling. This site has lots of good links pertaining to nuclear nonproliferation.
    
    
  • Nuclear Blast Mapper: an interactive site that will let you explode various sizes of nuclear weapons and see their damage on particular cities and surrounding areas
    
    
  • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' resources on nuclear weapons: letters and moral reflections on nuclear weapons going back to The Challenge of Peace
    
    
  • "The U.S. Bishops and the Bomb": the state of the question in 2010
    
    
  • "Nuclear Disarmament: Time for Abolition": a 2014 statement by the Vatican does an especially good job with the moral relation between intention and use and calls for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. See also this essay about the U.S. bishops and Vatican leading the charge for nuclear disarmament as well as "No More Nukes?" from America magazine.

Please e-mail me with questions, comments, or suggestions for links to add.


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