Pope Pius Xii and the Principle of Totality

Sex Reassignment Surgery and the Catholic Moral Tradition: Insight from Pope Pius XII on the Principle Totality

A common argument among Catholic theologians and ethicists against sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is that it either violates the principle of totality or constitutes a direct sterilization. These procedures generally fall into one of three categories: breast (augmentation mammoplasty, subcutaneous mastectomy), genital (vaginectomy, hysterectomy, scrotoplasty, phalloplasty, penectomy, castration...

Papal Responses to the Holocaust: Contrast between Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II

Encyclical of Pope Pius Xii on Promoting Biblical Studies Divino Afflante Spiritu Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Providentissimus Deus

Biotechnology, bioethics and Liberalism: problematizing risk, consent and law.

At the conclusion of the famous article of 1953 announcing the molecular structure of DNA, Watson and Crick observed “that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for genetic material.” Six months later, Pope Pius XII addressed the First International Conference of Medical Genetics on ethical issues. The Pope said that since the aim of genetics ...

Reading the Signs of Death: A Theological Analysis

Determinations of death made by physicians are clinical judgments, but nonetheless judgments involving metaphysical realities, the passing of persons from this life. Current controversy about the validity of neurological criteria for determining death suggests the need for careful study of anthropological reasoning as well as medical data. This article proposes charity and wisdom as a theologic...