LONDON — The debate over assisted suicide in Britain has reached fever pitch in recent weeks with the publication of the Crown Prosecution Service’s policy regarding cases of assisted suicide.

This followed two high-profile cases and the statement by fantasy genre author Sir Terry Pratchett that he would offer himself as a test case for euthanasia. The two cases involved mothers who both admitted killing their children with lethal doses of drugs.

On Jan. 20, for example, a jury found Frances Inglis guilty of injecting her brain-damaged son, Thomas, 22, with a lethal overdose of heroin. She said she did it to “free him from disfigurement, permanent disability and round the clock...READ MORE

The Vatican has issued a directive to a Polish diocese that emphasizes the freedom of priests to celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form whenever they choose.

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei made the clarification in January in a series of responses to questions from a Polish diocese, which sought clarification regarding the use of the traditional Latin Mass. The answers, which came to public attention in mid-February, concerned Pope Benedict’s 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, issued “motu proprio” (on his own initiative).
However, the Vatican stresses that the... READ MORE

This is not a pleasant column. I’m going to talk about something truly upsetting, and I doubt I’ll come to a satisfactory solution to what I believe is a great disgrace in our culture.

I’m not a lawyer, a doctor or a distinguished professor of ethics. But any guy with reasonable intelligence and the gumption to read a couple books can come up with a demanding question.

My question: “How do we define murder — specifically of a baby?”

One good place to look for the answer is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here is some of what it has to say:

“Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the Fifth Commandment: ‘Do not slay the innocent and the righteous.’ The...READ MORE

ORLANDO, Fla. — The bishops of the Anglican Church in America have voted to accept Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation to bring their 3,000 members into the Catholic Church.

The unanimous vote of eight members of the House of Bishops, who met in Orlando, Fla., brings 120 parishes in four dioceses across the country into the Church.

Also present at the March 3 vote and in support of it were representatives of “Anglican use” parishes admitted on a one-by-one basis to the Catholic Church in accordance with the Pastoral Provision of Pope John Paul II in 1980.

The move is seen as significant for both the “Anglo-Catholics” in the Anglican Church in America and the worldwide...READ MORE