POSTED ON 10 Nov 2020
Euthanasia legislation in Ireland
Ireland Some time ago we were approached by the organization ‘Family Solidarity Ireland’ with the request to share our experiences with and vision on (legislation on) the end of life in the Netherlands and Belgium. This in connection with the bill ‘Dying with Dignity’ that is now being discussed in Ireland. Now, legislation is not our specialty, but a more philosophical reflection on the social phenomenon underlying such legislation, related to the Catholic faith and based on our experiences in the Low Countries, was also welcomed. The ‘talk’ was titled ‘Living with Dignity’ This video of almost 30 minutes was ‘pre-recorded’, followed by a ‘Q& A’ with about twenty participants from Ireland, but also Belgium, the Netherlands and even Malta. The text of the nomination can be found here (pdf): Living-with-Dignity-IrelandDownload Vincent Kemme Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in...
POSTED ON 2 Mar 2020
Discover iAquinas.com
https://iaquinas.com/english/ Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new...
POSTED ON 15 May 2019
5th International Symposium on Theology of the Body...
Defending and Promoting Human Dignity in a Secular Age 2019 marks 40 years since John Paul II presented his first “Wednesday catechesis” on the Theology of the Body. This fifth International Symposium will be held on the week-end of the Feasts of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and of Saints Peter and Paul. It will discuss and promote John Paul II’s Theology of the Body within a general theme—Defending and Promoting Human Dignity in a Secular Age—centering around the 50th anniversary of the promulgation of Humanae Vitae. All the talks will be given in English. The goal is to make a contribution to healing the current cultural situation of the Church and humanity with respect to sexuality, marriage, the family, education and human happiness by exploring ever deeper the goodness, truth and beauty of the Divine plan for human life and love. We wish this event to be an opportunity for a deepening of...
POSTED ON 11 May 2019
Towards a Second Sexual Revolution – Good News for Pornography Addicted Persons...
Vincent Kemme in Barcelona, May 8th, 2019 In May 2019, we were invited to give a talk during a conference in Barcelona, about Alcohol, Drugs and Pornography addiction. We took it upon us to share our thoughts on pornography, in the broader context of the sexual revolution if the sixties and the seventies, the digital revolution in the seventies and later on, and the ‘second sexual revolution’, as a result of the ‘theology of the body’. You can watch the video here. Please find the official text here: It is an honor for me to to be invited to speak to you during this day devoted tot the theme of Alcohol, Pornography and Adolescence of the Fundació Casa de Misericòrdia de Barcelona. I am a biologist from the Netherland, founder and president of Biofides, an international association for biology and faith, living and workin in Belgium, amongst others with...
POSTED ON 30 Jan 2019
Bishop Robert Barron: Is Stephen Hawking Right About God?...
In Stephen Hawking’s final book, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions,” published just a few months after his death, the famed scientist suggests that God does not exist and the universe does not require an explanation. Is he right? Brandon Vogt and Bishop Robert Barron discuss in this episode of the Word on Fire Show. November 2018 Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new...
POSTED ON 4 Jan 2019
Question on the liceity of a hysterectomy in certain cases...
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Response to a question on the liceity of a hysterectomy in certain cases On July 31, 1993, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith published Responses to Questions Proposed Concerning “Uterine Isolation” and Related Matters. These responses, which retain all of their validity, consider the removal of the uterus to be morally licit when there is a grave and present danger to the life or health of the mother, and hold as illicit, insofar as they are methods of direct sterilization, the removal of the uterus and tubal ligation (uterine isolation) with the intention of making impossible an eventual pregnancy which can pose some risk for the mother. In recent years some very specific cases have been submitted to the Holy See also concerning the hysterectomy, which, however, present a different issue from that which was examined in 1993, because they regard situations...
POSTED ON 27 Nov 2018
A Positive Response to a ‘Tsunami of Secularism’...
Keynote Address of Vincent Kemme during the 25th FIAMC Congress Zagreb, 2018 June 1st, 2018 Vincent Kemme Dear ladies and gentlemen, It is an honor for me to be able to address you during this 25th Congress of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, here in Zagreb, the beautiful capital of Croatia. Allow me to introduce myself to you, before engaging in my reflections on a positive response to the ‘tsunami of secularism’. I am a biologist with training in theology, philosophy and bio-ethics. I come from the Netherlands, and have been living and working in Belgium – two of the most secularized countries in Europe. My background is education. Nine and a half years ago, I started ‘Biofides’, an association for biology and faith. Shortly after that, I was asked to join the board of directors of the Belgian Catholic Medical Association, in order to help physicians...
POSTED ON 19 Nov 2018
Pope Benedict and evolution
“It is not the elemental spirits of the universe, the laws of matter, which ultimately govern the world and mankind, but a personal God governs the stars, that is, the universe; it is not the laws of matter and of evolution that have the final say, but reason, will, love — a Person. And if we know this Person and he knows us, then truly the inexorable power of material elements no longer has the last word; we are not slaves of the universe and of its laws, we are free.” — Pope Benedict XVI in Spe Salvi (“Saved by Hope”). Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in...
POSTED ON 15 Nov 2018
Pope Francis: science provides the ‘charity of knowledge’...
On Monday, 12 November 2018, Pope Francis addressed himself to the participants of the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, asking the scientific community a positive service that we can call with Saint Paul VI the “charity of knowledge”. The pope sees himself as “the advocate of the peoples that receive only rarely and from afar the benefits of vast human knowledge and its achievements, especially in the areas of nutrition, health, education, connectivity, well-being and peace.”. Here the full text of his address. The scientific world, which in the past tended to assert its independence and self-sufficiency, and to show a certain distrust vis-à-vis spiritual and religious values, seems today instead to be increasingly aware of the ever more complex reality of the world and of the human being. We see signs of a certain lack of security and some fear before the possible evolution of a...
POSTED ON 31 Mar 2018
Robert Barron vs. William L. Craig – Divine Simplicity...
A symposium/debate on divine simplicity – by Bishop Barron and Dr. Craig. https://www.wordonfire.org/ Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new...
POSTED ON 15 Nov 2017
Jesuit Father James Martin and the LGBT community
Today, on the feast Albert the Great, father of the natural sciences, I have written a letter to Father James Martin SJ, author of amongst others “Laughing with the Saints” and – recently, “Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity”. From Belgium, Europe, where I learned about his work via the internet, about his great sense of humor, I wanted to share with him some of my thoughts on what I read about his book concerning sexuality or ‘LGBT’. As a 60 years old former biology teacher from the Netherlands, husband, father of six and since sex months grandfather, I have specialized in the relationship between biology and faith as well as bioethics, sexual morality included and studied at the Institute for Theological Studies in Brussels of the French speaking Jesuits in Belgium. This has...
POSTED ON 9 Oct 2017
Euthanasia in the Low Countries of Europe
Biofides is an apostolate that tries to shed light on the relationship between science (life sciences in particular) and faith (the catholic-christian faith in particular). Besides that, Biofides provides clarity on bio-ethics: how do we handle life, human life in all aspects of its existence, in every stage of life and in relationship to his natural environment: the earth with all its biological and other riches. We work closely together with physicians, in the Dutch speaking world (The Netherlands, Flanders in Belgium) on a European level and even on a global level. Recently, we were asked to deliver a speech in Rome, at a very short distance of the Vatican, about euthanasia and medically assisted suicide in the Low Countries (of Europe). It was at the occasion of a international medical congress of MaterCare, an ONG of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, (Fédération Internationale des Association Médicales Catholiques, FIAMC). The question...
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C.S. Lewis & Intelligent Design
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the death of beloved writer C.S. Lewis. “C.S. Lewis and Intelligent Design” is the third of three short documentaries inspired by the book The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society. Lewis is best known for his magical stories about Narnia, but a new documentary explores his life-long struggle to find intelligent design in a world filled with pain. Eventually, he is a strong defender of ‘intelligent design’ in nature.
Is There Intelligent Design in Nature?
Gerard M. Verschuuren, scientist, writer, speaker, and consultant, working at the interface of science, philosophy, and religion, explains the difference between intelligent design as a metaphysical concept and ‘ID’ as a scientific theory. He endorses the first, calling is ‘cosmic design’ and attributing it to God, the author of natural laws and creator of the world that is being investigated by natural sciences. He refutes ‘ID’ as a scientific theory which would lead to a ‘god of the gaps’. Nature, biological evolution includes, does not need the supernatural interventions to bring about complex structures. The metaphysical designer and his laws of nature, including natural selection, suffice.
Shroud of Turin: interview with Barrie Schwortz
Barrie Schwortz, jew and the official documenting photographer for the Shroud of Turin, joins Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe to discuss this remarkable image of a crucified man. A 56 minutes EWTN-interview with the real story about the research done and the seemingly unescapable conclusion: this is Jesus.
Can science eliminate God?
In a new 10 minutes video of his ‘Word on Fire’ apostolate, Fr. Robert Barron addresses the question of ‘Who God Is and Who God Is Not’. Where atheists present God often as a being among other beings, God is the subsistent act of being, according to christian philosophy. There is some reality who’s very nature is to be. That infinite source of reality which grounds and gives rise to the whole nexus of things, the non-conditioned and non-contingent ground of contingency. Sciences can not even begin with addressing the question of God. God is in no way a being within nature, the realm of science.
Life, the Universe and Nothing
We are happy to share with your the recent three-part discussion between Prof Lawrence Krauss and Dr William Lane Craig in august 2013 about ‘Life, the Universe and Nothing’. These debates were organized y the City Bible Forum and made available on their Youtube Channel. The first dialogue was held in Brisbane about the question ‘Has science buried God?’; the second in Sydney on the question ‘Why is there something rather than nothing?’ and the third in Melbourne on the question ‘Is it reasonable to believe there is a God?‘
Answering Atheism: how make the case for God with logic and charity
Today’s popular champions of atheism are often called New Atheists, because they don’t just deny God’s existence (as the old atheists did) — they consider it their duty to scorn and ridicule religious belief. But there’s nothing really “new” about their arguments. They’re the same basic objections to belief in God that mankind has wrestled with for centuries. We don’t need new answers for this aggressive modern strain of unbelief: We need a new approach. In Answering Atheism, Trent Horn responds to that need with a fresh and useful resource for the God debate, combining a thorough refutation of atheist claims with a skillfully constructed case for God based on reason and common sense. Just as important, he advocates a charitable approach that respects atheists’ sincerity and good will — making this book suitable not just for believers but for skeptics and seekers too.
Persistent Vegetative State explained
Neurologists define the Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) usually as a lack of awareness of self and of the environment. Nevertheless, more resent discoveries show that some patient are in fact conscious about their environment and of themselves as well. This has created controversy over the accurate diagnosis of PVS. Edward J. Furton MA, PhD of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia (USA) explains in a 3 minute video that we are happy to share with you.
Organ Donation: What is the Position of the Catholic Church?
Stephen R. Napier PhD, ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (Philadelphia, USA) gives a 3 minutes explanation of the position of the Catholic Church on Organ donation. This position is first and foremost a positive one. It is considered to be an act of generosity and charity. (Video)
Thomas Aquinas versus Intelligent Design: a Catholic Answer
Michael W. Tkacz, associate professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University, recounts that one day, he received a phone call from a professor of philosophy at a nearby private, religiously affiliated college who had just returned from an international conference devoted to challenges to evolutionary biology from intelligent design (ID) theory. He had something of a complaint to make about the absence of ‘Thomists’ and ‘Catholics’ in the ID movement and its challenge to Darwinism. Since the time of Charles Darwin there has been vigorous debate between Christian creationists and Darwinian evolutionists. Neither side has been especially interested in what Catholic Thomism might contribute to the discussion. Secular Darwinians often view Thomists as just another species of literalists attempting to substitute the Book of Genesis for good biology. On the other hand, Protestant creationists often have viewed Thomists as already halfway to secularism and naturalism, depending too little on a literal reading of Scripture and too much on philosophical reasoning.

