Issues of Morality

The Following articles are downloadable in PDF format:
Subject Index Issues of Morality What Makes Us Different Sacraments Spiritual Tools, Devotions The Bible Feast Days The Earth and Environment Explanations/Miscellaneous
Issues of Morality
A properly formed and informed conscience	The Catholic Church—the guardian of truth, the Bible, and all that Christ has taught—is the best source for faith knowledge, moral knowledge, and conscience formation.
We believe in Heaven - not early immortality	The heart of the issue of cloning and one of the issues of stem cell research is people acting as if there is no Heaven and trying to find ways to live forever.
Because we speak out when science oversteps its boundaries.	Science has opened Pandora's Box. Artificial insemination and fertilization has led to more than 50,000 frozen embryos (sperm and egg combined to begin a life) in our country alone--human beings who are not allowed to grow and to be born. Human life that sits in refrigerators waiting for someone to allow them the basic human right to be placed in a mother's womb and to have a chance to be born.
A Voice Against Abortion	We are the strongest and most consistent voice against abortion. And we continue to talk about the direct and indirect consequences of abortion and the abortion mind set.
Humanae Vitae	On July 25, 1968, Pope Paul VI in an encyclical letter explained why the use of artificial birth control is morally wrong. And he warned of the consequences of the attitudes and mindset that went into not cooperating with God’s plan for procreation.
We Don't Play God	The Church’s strong stance against science playing God—including when it comes to human life and reproductive technologies. It is morally wrong and irresponsible when babies are made in laboratories—sperm and egg combined in Petri dishes, life created outside the womb and outside the physical union of husband and wife, etc.
Trust and Faith in Jesus	Pope John Paul II spoke about this at a General Audience in 1985: “The extraordinary advances of science, particularly over the last two centuries, have sometimes led to the belief that by itself it is capable of answering all our questions and of resolving all our problems..."
Respect For Women	The Church’s growing commitment to the protection of and respect for women and its defense of and promotion of motherhood. “No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of “freedom” can take the place of love. So anything that destroys God’s gift of motherhood destroys His most precious gift to women—the ability to love as a woman,” stated Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta.
Modesty	The Church continues the promotion and protection of the virtue of modesty. Modesty is required of followers of Christ and we must encourage its practice.
The Virtue of Virginity	The Church’s defense of the virtue of virginity and its commitment to the living of a chaste life that includes sexual abstinence and moral discipline.
The Call to Self-Control	One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control. (Gal 5:23) When we receive the Holy Spirit, this is part of the fruit that God gives us to resist the works of the flesh which are obvious: “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.” (Gal 5:19-21)
God’s Commandments, Not Ours	...all the commandments are connected and at the end of the day, “a sin is a sin,” but God ordered the commandments and we need to respect and understand His order. Many people would say Murder is the worst sin or Adultery the worst sin. The first goes against the fifth commandment and the second against the sixth commandment. What makes them and all sins “the worst sin” is that they go against the First Commandment as well.
Strong Moral Voice	Because the Church is a firm spiritual and moral voice in a world full of ambiguity and uncertainty. A compass as we sail through the stormy seas of life.
We Hold Everyone Accountable	We speak out against sins involving groups, corporations, nations, and others who do not consider the impact of their actions on everyone else.
The Santity of Sex	No other church or denomination defends the issue in the same way we do. From the protection of marriage to the preservation of personal purity and chastity, we are the most consistent and comprehensive voice.
The Theology of the Body	This beautiful teaching comes from 129 lectures Pope John Paul II gave between September 1979 and November 1984 during his Wednesday audiences. It is based on the Bible, Church teaching, and Greek and modern philosophy and focuses on the reason we have a body and the purpose of the body.
Virtuous & Moral Living	In a world that has lost its moral compass, I appreciate the Church steadfastly upholding the virtues and challenging us to strive for the high standards of our faith. Christ calls us to be authentic witnesses through our thoughts, words, and actions. And He sets the bar.
We Promote Virtues	We continue to protect and promote the virtues of virginity, chastity, and abstinence and to explain their value, necessity, and importance.
The Church’s strong stance against pornography	The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that: “Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world.