Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 211 : Setting a Moral Vision as Parents

Setting a moral vision for one's children can be a Herculean task requiring enormous dedication.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationApril 28, 2023Imposing Our Beliefs, Parenting, Universal Morality

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 210 : Suicidal Fears and Authentic Accompaniment

We need to care for them in a more truthful way — accompanying, supporting, and helping them to address underlying issues — so they can begin to find real healing.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationMarch 31, 2023Gender Identity and Being Transgender, Parenting, Suffering

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 209 : Holding the Line on Brain Death

Even to be “slightly alive” is still to be alive. If the language of the UDDA ends up being changed to allow for a declaration of brain death even with continued hypothalamic functioning, individuals who are not-quite-dead will be treated as if they were already dead.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationFebruary 28, 2023Brain Death, Death and Dying, End-of-Life Issues, Organ Donation

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 208 : Young Women Giving Themselves Away For Nothing

When young women immodestly display their feminine attributes and participate in pornography, they end up objectifying themselves, trivializing their sexuality, and harming their interpersonal relationships.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationJanuary 31, 2023Human Sexuality, Premarital Sex, Sex Education, Pornography, Universal Morality

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 207 : Dissolving the Dead

We can ask whether alkaline hydrolysis or liquification of the human body meets the standard of reverent treatment of our earthly remains.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationDecember 30, 2022Respect for the Remains of the Dead

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 206 : Did I Make the Right Choices as Dad was Dying?

We need to “lovingly support our family members through the dying process and to make careful and morally correct decisions on their behalf as they decline in health.”

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationNovember 30, 2022Death and Dying, End-of-Life Issues

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 205 : Seeking the Spiritual Side of Dementia

As the symptoms and complications of dementia unfold, the challenges we face from the disease can unexpectedly become an invitation from God.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationOctober 28, 2022Caring for the Elderly and Infirm, Dementia, Suffering

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 204: Psychedelic Drugs and New Mental Health Treatments

Although these powerful psychoactive substances can be abused for their hallucinogenic/psychedelic properties, several strategies can help assure their therapeutic use in an ethically-sound way for the treatment of mental illness.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationSeptember 30, 2022Addiction and Substance Abuse, Alternative Medicine

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 203: Homosexual Men and Chaste Friendships

Cultivating a chaste heart demands a deep prayer life, strong spiritual support, and good fellowship, not to mention frequent reception of the sacraments…

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationMay 31, 2022Homosexuality and Gay Marriage

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 202: A Great Nation Begins to Come to Its Senses

As new legal initiatives begin appearing on state legislative dockets, Americans will have an opportunity to mount a full court press to bring abortion to an end in their home states.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationApril 29, 2022Abortion, Conscience, Natural Law, Universal Morality

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 201: Treasuring Our Future Timelines

Our choices today powerfully affect future timelines in either positive or detrimental ways.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationMarch 31, 2022Abortion, RU-486, Sexual Assault

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 200: Dehumanizing One Another

Renewing hope for conflict-laden humanity begins precisely in the acknowledgement of each other’s humanity, strengthening those fraternal bonds on which peace is grounded.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationFebruary 28, 2022Universal Morality

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 199: Too Much Morphine?

Careful attention to pain management is of paramount importance in end-of-life care and supports both the patient and the family in a dignified way during the dying process.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationJanuary 31, 2022Death and Dying, End-of-Life Issues, Pain Management-Palliative Care and Hospice, Proportionate and Disproportionate Means, Suffering

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 198 : The Ethics of Pig to Human Organ Transplants

Remarkable advancements have been made in "neutering" pig organs so they no longer provoke a powerful immune response in humans, and striking progress has been made in extending survival times for xenografts…

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationDecember 30, 2021Animal-Human Hybrids and Chimeras, Organ Donation, Genetics and Genome Editing

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 197 : Eugenics, Forced Sterilization, and Protecting the Mentally-Challenged

...the solution should never be direct sterilization but tailored care that addresses their specific mental health situation...

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationNovember 30, 2021Human Sexuality, Birth Control and Contraception, Disabilities and the Disabled, Eugenics, Sterilization

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 196 : New Cures from Embryonic Stem Cells?

Receiving a diabetes treatment produced with embryonic stem cells signals a willingness on our part to tolerate the killing of younger human beings in order to benefit others who are older.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationOctober 29, 2021Abortion, Cooperation in Evil, COVID-19, Embryos, Fetal Tissue Harvesting, Stem Cell Research, Vaccines and Vaccination

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 195 : Sexual Atoms and Molecules

Sex touches us at a deeper level than other activities, binding us to another. It speaks a language not of autonomy, but of communion and enduring self-gift.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationSeptember 30, 2021Informed Consent, Human Sexuality, Premarital Sex, Sex Education

Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 194 : Decisions of Consequence

Each day for us involves a walk along the threshold of eternity, through small and not-so-small gestures, even though we may not always see the full implications of each of our decisions.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD—Director of EducationAugust 30, 2021Abortion, Conscience, RU-486