ITEST Webinars

The New Genetic Medicine: Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both?This webinar was presented on April 18, 2026Our presentersFr. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, PhDThe New Genetic Medicine: Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both?Kevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., Ph.D., is the John A. Creighton University Professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine, at Creighton University. He received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics, and a Ph.D. in bioethics, from Georgetown University. His research efforts focus on the utilization of the Humanities in medical education, on the investigation of abnormal gene expression in cancer, and on ethical issues in biomedical research and medical genomics. He has published educational, scientific, and ethical articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press.Fr. FitzGerald has given presentations nationally and internationally, and has often been interviewed by the news media, on such topics as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and personalized medicine. He is a founding member of Do No Harm, and a member of the Genetic Alliance IRB. In addition, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2005.AbstractThis webinar explores the rapidly evolving field of genetic medicine, examining its promise of life-altering cures alongside the profound ethical questions it raises. Fr. Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, of the Creighton Institute brings theological, medical, and moral insight to discern whether these advances represent unqualified progress, serious concern, or a call to careful ethical stewardship.Fr. Dennis Billy, CSsRNavigating the Murky Waters of the New Genetic MedicineRev. Dennis J. Billy, C.Ss.R. is Professor Emeritus of the Alphonsian Academy of Rome’s Pontifical Lateran University. From 2019-2025, he served as Professor and holder of The Robert F. Leavitt Distinguished Service Chair in Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. From 2008-2016, he was scholar-in-residence, professor, and holder of the John Cardinal Krol Chair of Moral Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Fr. Billy holds advanced degrees from Harvard University, The Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum, Rome), and the Graduate Theological Foundation. Father Billy has authored more than 65 books and published over 400 articles in a variety of scholarly and popular journals. He is also very active in retreat work and in the ministry of spiritual direction.AbstractThis presentation will look at the various areas of genetic medicine: those compatible and those not with Catholic teaching. It will go on to explore the liabilities of utilitarianism, deontology, and even virtue ethics when applied to genetic medicine, and then explore how Catholic ethical principles such as the dignity of the human person, natural law, totality, social justice, cooperation with evil, double effect, and scandal, can help Catholic institutions and medical personnel to navigate the turbulent ethical waters that genetic medicine presents to them both now and in the future. It will conclude by presenting a theonomous ethics coupled with rigorous case study by Catholic ethicists as a way of finding answers to the tension between autonomy and heteronomy, as well as a reminder that true justice must reach a common, universal understanding of rationality that embraces a sound Christian anthropology, the inherent dignity of all human life, and the common good for all human society.The New Genetic Medicine: Miraculous Cures, Ethically Challenging Advances, or Both? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology

Robert Kurland, Ph.D.Can AI Have a Soul? What Science Fiction SaysDr. Robert Kurland, a convert to Catholicism in 1995, is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center, has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism, he has tried to spread the message that there’s no war between Catholic teaching and science.AbstractMuch before AI tools became available, science fiction stories had shown how it might be manifested in computers, robots, and humanoid androids. As with other Speculative Fiction (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis) one takes the contrapositive beings and situations in such tales not as possible reality, but as parables illustrating the human condition. Three stories will be discussed: “Deus X” in which human consciousness can be transplanted to computers as life after death“The Measure of a Man—Star Trek, Next Generation,” a trial to determine whether the android Data is more than a machine “Our Lady of the Artifacts,” a novel in which an android with superhuman capabilities is possessed by a devilFr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.Why AI Can’t Have a Soul: The Transphysical ParadoxFor more on Magis AI, see https://wcatradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MagisAI.pdfFr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. is President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith (magiscenter.com), one of the largest science, faith, and reason apologetics institutes in the world. He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009, where he increased the student body by 75%, oversaw the construction of 20 new facilities, and raised $200+ million for scholarships and buildings. He is the author of nineteen books, including the award-winning books New Proofs for the Existence of God and Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible. He has also authored many scholarly articles on faith and science, metaphysics, and happiness and ethics. Father Spitzer has his own weekly EWTN television show called Fr. Spitzer’s Universe. He has appeared on the Larry King Show (in discussion with Stephen Hawking and Deepak Chopra), the History Channel, the Today Show, and a PBS series. He started seven institutes dedicated to faith and reason and happiness/purpose in life. He was a professor at Georgetown University, Seattle University, and Gonzaga University and was awarded the teaching medal at both Georgetown University and Seattle University. He has held two major academic chairs—the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair in Professional Ethics (Seattle University) and the John L. Aram Chair of Business Ethics (Gonzaga University), and has won multiple academic and professional awards including the DeSmet Medal (Gonzaga University’s highest award), the Aquinas Medal (for Catholic philosophical scholarship), honorary doctorates, Phi Beta Kappa (honorary), and professional society awards.AbstractThe human soul performs five functions that cannot be reduced to physical processes and structures: (1) Self-consciousness, (2) Abstract intellection through conceptual ideas, (3) Conscience and moral awareness, (4) Transcendental awareness, and (5) Spiritual-numinous awareness. Since AI is reducible, and will always be reducible to physical processes and structures, AI will not replace a human soul – or be like a human soul.

In this webinar sponsored by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Randal Mandock and Francis Etheredge present on Why the Unborn Matter. Our presentersRandal Mandock, PhDA Rational Case for Life Dr. Randal Mandock balanced careers in science and religious education. With a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, he worked as a geophysicist, professor, and researcher. Simultaneously, he served over 40 years as a Catholic catechist and apologist. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he remains active in parish ministry and faith formation. Abstract As a free agent (i.e., not officially representing any Church, ecclesial body, or religion), I choose to propose a method of revising definitions and terminology in the area of human pregnancy. I believe the changes inspired by this method will better serve the pro-life cause than the continued adoption of and acquiescence to popular notions about certain definitions and terminology used in popular accounts. My only authority in proposing these changes rests on reason and a desire to assist medical personnel, lawyers, judges, legislators, and the devoutly religious to better position themselves to defend mothers and their unborn children. It is evident that the Magisterium of the Catholic Church has charted for two millennia a masterful path between authority and reason in pursuit of expanding the Kingdom of God on earth. This is evident very recently in its recognition, once again, of the virtue of prudence in assessment of the start of an individual person’s life.Francis EtheredgeThe Catholic Faith’s Contribution to Understanding the Moment of Human ConceptionFrancis Etheredge is a Catholic married layman, with eleven children, three of whom he hopes are in heaven and the rest of whom are alive and well and stepping through life’s stages of school, university, and career. In the last ten years, he has returned to being a self-employed writer. Find some of his books listed in the resources section below. Abstract On the one hand it would seem that Faith has no contribution to make to an investigation of the beginning of human personhood in that it is a matter of what embryologists can discover, although embryologists do not necessarily recognize that the beginning of the human person transcends the biological action of sperm and egg-cell. On the other hand, then, while Scripture is ordered to our salvation in Christ, we cannot overlook that the question of conception is not without salvific significance. Thus the Scripture speaks of conception, while the dogma of the Immaculate Conception speaks of both the conception of Mary and implicates us. At the same time, the Second Vatican Council, in Gaudium et spes, speaks of both the unity of the human person (14) and the mystery that “For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man” (22). What, then, are we to make of these contributions to understanding the beginning of human life? https://faithscience.org/why-unborn-matter/

In this webinar hosted by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology and the Magis Center, Fr. Robert J. Spitzer introduces the Magis AI app. Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, PhDChallenges and Opportunities of Artificial Intelligence: The MagisAI AppFr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. is President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith (magiscenter.com), one of the largest science, faith, and reason apologetics institutes in the world. He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009, where he increased the student body by 75%, oversaw the construction of 20 new facilities, and raised $200+ million for scholarships and buildings. He is the author of nineteen books, including the award-winning books New Proofs for the Existence of God and Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible. He has also authored many scholarly articles on faith and science, metaphysics, and happiness and ethics.Father Spitzer has his own weekly EWTN television show called Fr. Spitzer’s Universe. He has appeared on the Larry King Show (in discussion with Stephen Hawking and Deepak Chopra), the History Channel, the Today Show, and a PBS series. He started seven institutes dedicated to faith and reason and happiness/purpose in life. He was a professor at Georgetown University, Seattle University, and Gonzaga University and was awarded the teaching medal at both Georgetown University and Seattle University. He has held two major academic chairs—the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair in Professional Ethics (Seattle University) and the John L. Aram Chair of Business Ethics (Gonzaga University), and has won multiple academic and professional awards including the DeSmet Medal (Gonzaga University’s highest award), the Aquinas Medal (for Catholic philosophical scholarship), honorary doctorates, Phi Beta Kappa (honorary), and professional society awards.AbstractArtificial Intelligence, no doubt, presents many challenges – hallucinations, fraud, privacy issues, skewing of truth, and even the “dumbing” of America. Furthermore, there is considerable confusion about whether AI will become sentient, self-conscious, and intelligent. Fr. Spitzer will discuss these challenges and confusing issues, and will then examine the opportunities that AI presents for evangelization, noting specifically his MagisAI App which can help young people to maintain and defend their faith. This App is capable of answering literally thousands of questions about the confluence between science, reason, faith, scripture, and morality for a modern secular audience. With rapid distribution, it could become a premiere tool of evangelization for Christianity and the Catholic Church.Thomas P. Sheahen, PhDAI Comprehension: Sure Things, No-Chance Topics, and MaybesDr. Thomas P. Sheahen, director emeritus of ITEST, earned BS and PhD degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his 45-year career as a research physicist, predominantly in energy sciences, he worked for various industrial and national laboratories. In the 1990s, Sheahen wrote the textbook Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity. More recently, he wrote the book Everywhen: God, Symmetry and Time, which stands at the intersection of faith and science, and explains how mankind’s limited capabilities have led to a deficient and weak perception of God.AbstractArtificial Intelligence is rapidly improving and expanding into many fields, and the AI App of the Magis Center is part of that. As a search-aide to locating information about the Catholic Church, especially for persons conflicted about the alleged struggle between faith and science, it will be hard to beat. But creative thinking and the transcendental characteristics that make us truly humans won’t fit into even very advanced machine learning. The question is about where the boundary (however foggy and ill-defined) lies. Can we expect to reach an asymptotic limit of AI content? Will AI no longer be helpful beyond some level? This presentation explores some parameters of such uncertainties.Christopher M. Reilly, ThDAI as a Medium for TruthChristopher Reilly, Th.D. is editor of the journal for ITEST and a board member. He writes and speaks about a Christian response to technology, bioethics, moral theology, and philosophy, and is author of the book AI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates Evil.     AbstractMagisAI is an extraordinary vehicle for teaching the Christian truth. AI, however, poses broader challenges to our understanding and expression of truth. How can we best meet these challenges with the help of such tools?

The Holy See and the United Nations: The International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) as a Case StudyPresenters:Jane Adolphe, LLB/BCL/JCL/JCD Dr. Jane F. Adolphe is a professor of law at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida (2001-present), with degrees in common law, civil law (LLB/BCL), and canon law (JCL/JCD). She is also a lawyer qualified to practice law in Alberta, Canada and New York, USA, with an expertise in international human rights law and the Holy See. She is a former external advisor (2002-2011) and internal advisor (2011-2020) to three Popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis through her work with the Papal Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States. Jane is Founder and Executive Director of the International Catholic Jurists Forum.AbstractProfessor Adolphe will discuss the nature and mission of the Holy See within the international community and its status within the United Nations Organization (UN), with an overview of the Holy See’s role during the 1990’s when the UN launched a series of international conferences that form the basis of the current UN document: Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainability Goals, and the Holy See’s extensive reservations to the same.  John Klink, M.A. Former Papal Diplomat and Chief Negotiator for the Holy See over UN World Summits in mid-1990s Gift of Divine Providence: My Role as a Papal Diplomat under Saint John Paul IIJohn Klink holds a BA from Santa Clara University and an MA from Georgetown University in English Literature. John was an executive with Catholic Relief Services serving in underdeveloped countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He was recruited by the Vatican, and subsequently the White House, to serve as a diplomat/negotiator for scores of United Nations World Summits and Conferences during the critical period of the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the European Union. He became an advisor to Popes and Presidents, was elected President of the International Catholic Migration Commission, and with his wife Patricia began a sovereign securities firm on Wall Street.His distinctive honors include Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Knight of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George, Knight of Columbus (3rd Degree), and a Knight of Sts. Maurice and Lazarus. Royal Thai Armed Forces Award for Humanitarian Assistance to Displaced Persons in Thailand; 41st CRS Anniversary Award for Humanitarian Assistance; Legatus Ambassador Award.AbstractThe Population World Battle of CairoWhile the Holy See’s Mission to the United Nations observer status normally precludes its active participation in member state negotiations, the creation in the 1990s of UN world conferences/summits allowed for the Holy See’s delegations to participate as Conference state members. Thus, when a gauntlet was thrown by the draft document for the Cairo Population Conference of 1994 prepared by the Secretariat of the infamously “progressive” UN Population Fund and the nomination of its Director, Dr. Nafis Sadik as the President of the Cairo Conference, the Holy See actively intervened. Pope St. John Paul II, who providentially had taken the time to read the draft document, confronted Dr. Sadik at her private Papal audience, and he issued a clarion call to his fellow heads of state to be aware of the dangers to humanity that lurked in the Cairo draft declaration pages. In my remarks, I will recount some of the background history of how John Paul’s inspiration led to the blocking of attempts by the “progressive” governments of the US and EU to create an international right to abortion.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, ITEST presents a webinarentitled  "Bioethics & AI as Human Flourishing: Where Catholic & Orthodox Social Teaching meet in One Christian Social Ethos" (June 14, 2025)Dr. Constantine PsimopoulosBIOETHICS AND AI AS HUMAN FLOURISHING: WHERE CATHOLICS AND ORTHODOX MEET IN ONE CHRISTIAN SOCIAL ETHOSConstantine Psimopoulos is a Professor (Adj.) of Bioethics at Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, teaching Christian Ethics and Social Ministries and is on the faculty at Harvard’s Initiative on Health, Spirituality and Religion, of which he is also Senior Program Administrator, and the Human Flourishing program. He has another Academic research appointment in Global Health and Social Medicine and the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, he co-teaches the course Religion and Public Health and a new required module taught to all MD/PhD students. Constantine serves as the Director of the Division of Bioethics of the Orthodox Academy of Crete (Ecumenical Patriarchate), and as an Invited Member to the Inaugural National Committee on AI – Artificial Intelligence (and Theology) of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.AbstractThis presentation draws a comparison between Catholic social teaching and the Social ethos of the Orthodox church. Both traditions have some parallels in the way they approach AI, from a bioethical perspective that addresses social justice. The document ‘For the Life of the World’ (F.L.O.W.) of our Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, emphasizes that science and technology are a wonderful product of a God-given human creativity, and that “the desire for scientific knowledge flows from the same wellspring as faith’s longing to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of God.” It is an imperative to use AI for Human Flourishing. From a Christian bioethical lens, science and technology, and in particular Artificial Intelligence (AI), can serve as one concrete example of how this can be addressed.Fr. Michael Baggot, LCProgramming with Purpose: Guiding AI through Catholic Social TeachingFr. Michael Baggot is Legionary of Christ, an Associate Professor of Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and an Invited Professor of Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) and the Catholic Institute of Technology (CatholicTech). He also serves as a professor for the Joint Diploma in Leadership: Service through Virtues and the Catholic Worldview Fellowship summer program. In addition, Fr. Michael is a Research Scholar at the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights and a member of the Scholarly Advisory Board for Magisterium AI. He is also a fellow of the Fr. James L. Heft, SM Generations in Dialogue program at the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.AbstractAs an expert in humanity, the Catholic Church is deeply interested in the AI technologies that are shaping family life, education, medicine, religious practice, and other key aspects of social life. The presentation draws on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church to highlight the virtues and social structures most conducive to using AI tools to promote human flourishing. It gives special attention to the influence of AI companion systems on the loneliness epidemic and the quest for social connections. The conference also examines the significance of ecumenical dialogue, interreligious dialogue, and dialogue with secular traditions in addressing the perennial philosophical questions that emerging technologies raise.Bioethics and AI as Human Flourishing: Where Catholic and Orthodox Social Teaching meet in One Christian Social Ethos - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology

In this webinar entitled AI and Sin: Medieval Robots and the Theology of Technology, hosted by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Dr. Chris Reilly and Dr. Jordan Joseph Wales offer their insights into the promises and challenges of Artificial Intelligence. (April 5, 2025)Christopher M. Reilly, ThDAI and Sin: How Today’s Technology Motivates EvilChristopher M. Reilly writes and speaks in regard to a Christian response to advanced technology, and he has written numerous articles on bioethics and moral theology and philosophy. Chris holds a doctor of theology degree and three masters degrees in philosophy, theology, and public affairs. He resides in the greater Washington, DC region. His website is ChristopherMReilly.com. Chris is Associate Director of ITEST.AbstractArtificial intelligence technology (AI) motivates persons’ engagement in sin. With this startling argument drawn from Catholic theology and technological insight, Christopher M. Reilly, Th.D. takes on both critics and proponents of AI who see it as essentially a neutral tool that can be used with good or bad intentions. More specifically, Reilly demonstrates that AI strongly encourages the vice of instrumental rationality, which in turn leads the developers, producers, and users of AI and its machines toward acedia, one of the “seven deadly sins.”Jordan Joseph Wales, PhDResponse: Medieval Robots and the ​Theology of TechnologyJordan Wales is the Kuczmarski Professor of Theology at Hillsdale College. With degrees in engineering, cognitive science, and theology, his scholarship focuses on early Christianity as well as contemporary theological questions relating to artificial intelligence. He is a member of the AI Research Group for the Holy See’s Centre for Digital Culture, under the Dicastery for Culture and Education; a fellow of the Centre for Humanity and the Common Good; and a fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion.AbstractMedieval theologians and storytellers grappled with humankind’s tendency to confine our aims to what a technology can represent rather than to situate that technology within the wider horizon of the human journey to God. Responding to Dr. Reilly, I draw on legends of robots that illustrate a theological approach to AI as a perilous but also potent instrument mediating between human volition and our natural and social environment. In their diverging outcomes, these texts suggest paths toward a more humane positioning of AI within our lives.Webinar resourcesChris Reilly’s ResourcesRadio interview on Relevant Radio, Trending with Timmerie: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/ai-reason-acedia–64575876Book – AI and Sin: How Today’s Technologies Motivate Evil: https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/aiandsin/Chris Reilly’s website: https://christophermreilly.com/Chapter – “Seven Christian Principles for Thriving with Artificial Intelligence”: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e3ada1a6a2e8d6a131d1dcd/t/66bb63fdcdba62679b200277/1723556861413/Artificial+Intelligence-1.pdfJordan Wales’ Resources“What Will a Future with Androids among Us Look Like”: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/what-will-a-future-with-androids-among-us-look-like/“The Image and the Idol: A Theological Reflection on AI Bias”: https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-image-and-the-idol-a-theological-reflection-on-ai-bias/“Encountering Artificial Intelligence: Ethical and Anthropological Investigations”: https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/91230-encountering-artificial-intelligence-ethical-and-anthropological-investigations

Bob Kurland's Slide LinksIn all protein functions, parts of the proteins bind loosely to other parts of the protein and thus form appropriate structures that are essential to their function. This is shown very nicely in this TED YouTube video, by Professor Ken Dill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm-3kovWpNQ Here is another nice YouTube video showing protein flexibility https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ2aY5lxEGE Webinar TitleThe Anthropic Principle: “Are We Special?”--Did God make our “Goldilocks Universe” for man?Abstract The universe in which we live and came to be is not ordinary, but unusual. As the Church Lady in Saturday Night Live of old would say, “Now, isn’t that special!” Or is it? Some scientists would agree with Roger Penrose – that if it weren’t special, we wouldn’t be here to remark on it. Many other scientists and philosophers would agree with Thomas Nagel that an explanation giving only the result is not an explanation. (And, of course, if it is special, then there is the implicit conclusion that this is so because of a Creating Intelligence, which we Catholics recognize as the Trinitarian God.) In my presentation I will discuss some of the so-called “anthropic coincidences” necessary for carbon-based life. Although some examples from cosmology and particle physics will be included, I’m going to focus on the wonderful parts of chemistry and molecular biology, processes that point to the hand of a Creating Intelligence. And of course the prophets of the Old Testament and saints of the early Church knew this all along, without the benefit of science. Dr. Robert Kurland, a convert to Catholicism in 1995, is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center, has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism, he has tried to spread the message that there’s no war between Catholic teaching and science.Respondent: William M. Briggs, PhD Against the Anthropic Principle Dr. William M. Briggs, the Statistician to the Stars, has a background in statistics, philosophy, meteorology, and cryptography. Born in Detroit, he left the city when it was at its peak, which some might jokingly suggest led to its decline. Briggs holds a PhD in Mathematical Sciences and an MS in Atmospheric Physics, and has served in various roles including professor, consultant, and statistician. He is known for his work in probability and statistics, as well as his cultural commentary on various social and scientific issues.

Christ, Science, and Reason: What We Can Know about Jesus, Mary, and Miracles. Our presentersChrist, Science, and Reason: What We Can Know about Jesus, Mary, and MiraclesFr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, PhDFather Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. is President of the Spitzer-Magis Center of Reason and Faith (www.magiscenter.com). He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009. He is the author of fifteen books, including the award-winning New Proofs for the Existence of God, and most recently, Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible. Father Spitzer has his own EWTN weekly television show called Father Spitzer’s Universe. He has appeared on the Larry King Show (debating Stephen Hawking), the History Channel, the Today Show, and PBS. Father Spitzer has partnered with Sophia Institute in publishing apologetics courses for middle and high school students, arming them with contemporary science-based evidence of the complementarity of faith and science.AbstractFather Robert Spitzer, S.J., closely examines the scientific evidence for: The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus from the Shroud of Turin The Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist from three recent scientifically investigated Eucharistic miracles The supernatural dimensions of the apparitions of Mary manifest in the Tilma of Guadalupe, the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, and many healing miracles connected with the Grotto of Lourdes. This work also presents a summary of contemporary historical and exegetical evidence for the historicity, Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus, and concludes with a consideration of the Catholic Church and science—particularly the Church’s contributions to science, the complementarity of science and the Bible, and the complementarity of physical evolution and the creation of a soul. The book makes clear that the Catholic Church is not anti-science, but quite the opposite—it is one of the most scientifically aware religious denominations in the world. It will also be clear that science is not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religious. On the contrary, its tools and methods give considerable credible evidence for all of them.The Importance of Fr. Spitzer’s Christ, Science, and ReasonThomas P. Sheahen, PhD Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen, director emeritus of ITEST, earned BS and PhD degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During his 45-year career as a research physicist, predominantly in energy sciences, he worked for various industrial and national laboratories. In the 1990s, Sheahen wrote the textbook Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity. More recently, he wrote the book Everywhen: God, Symmetry and Time, which stands at the intersection of faith and science, and explains how mankind’s limited capabilities have led to a deficient and weak perception of God.AbstractLong ago it was recognized that, outside of mathematics, no one can prove a proposition. The nearest thing to a proof is to assemble evidence which is strongly convincing and then draw the most reasonable and responsible conclusion. This was termed an “informal inference” by Cardinal Newman in the 19th century. With this book, Fr. Spitzer has examined a number of miraculous events over many centuries and has provided the detailed evidence necessary to draw the reasonable and responsible conclusion that they are truly supernatural occurrences. He devotes attention to the scientific instruments and techniques used to research these miracles, and therefore, the attentive reader is much better able to counter the superficial dismissive arguments put forth by atheists and secularists. For example, in 1988 a carbon-dating measurement seemed to indicate that the Shroud of Turin was of medieval origin, which delighted the atheists. Father Spitzer looked carefully at many other kinds of experimental evidence that has been found in more recent decades, and he demonstrates why the 1988 measurement was incorrect. In reality, the shroud dates from the first century AD. Similarly, Fr. Spitzer takes on the critics of the Tilma of Juan Diego in the 16th century, the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima in the 20th century, and several Eucharistic miracles in the modern age where scientific evidence shows that there is NO naturalistic explanation. In all cases, what differentiates this book from other authors is Fr. Spitzer’s commitment to following the Scientific Method to test each hypothesis and his excellent knowledge of both the capability and the limitations of science. Consequently, “Christ, Science, and Reason” is a major contribution to our understanding of miracles and gives the reader great confidence that the asserted claims of the Catholic Church are the most reasonable and responsible position to hold. Once again, Newman’s “informal inference” is that Catholicism is verified by these miracles.

In this ITEST webinar, Dr. Rob Koons and Dr. Terrence Lagerlund deliver talks on Brain and Artificial Intelligence: A Tale of Two Computers, but Only One Made in the Image of God (October 12, 2024)AI and Aristotle: Why No Artifact could ever be ConsciousRobert C. (“Rob”) Koons is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds an M. A. from Oxford and a Ph.D. from UCLA. He is the author or co-author of five books, including The Atlas of Reality with Timothy H. Pickavance (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017) and Is Thomas Aquinas’s Philosophy of Nature Obsolete? (St. Augustine Press, 2022). He is the co-editor of four anthologies, including The Waning of Materialism (OUP, 2010) and Classical Theism (Routledge 2023).  He has been working recently on an Aristotelian interpretation of quantum theory, and on defending and articulating hylomorphism in contemporary terms.AbstractThe ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle developed a comprehensive philosophy of nature that laid the foundations for all subsequent scientific inquiry. A central notion of Aristotle’s notion is that of a substance (ousia in Greek)—an essentially independent entity that has the highest possible degree of unity (what Thomas Aquinas called ‘per se unity’). Living organisms have this kind of unity, which explains their possession of essentially unified causal powers, like nutrition, growth, and sensation. Simple, homogeneous inorganic substances also exist, like drops of water or quartz crystals. However, all human artifacts, including all robots and computers, are mere “heaps” of inorganic components, lacking the sort of unity required for life, sensation, and consciousness. AI programs can emulate the behavior of conscious organisms, but there is an irreducible gap between appearance and reality.Terrence Lagerlund, MD, PhDBrain, Soul, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum MysteryDr. Terrence Lagerlund has been a neurologist in the Division of Epilepsy at Mayo Clinic for 35 years, treating patients with epilepsy and interpreting their electroencephalograms. He also lectures to residents and fellows on electroencephalography including basic principles of electricity and neurophysiology. He has published papers and authored book chapters on electroencephalography and epilepsy, particularly regarding quantitative analysis of electroencephalograms. Prior to becoming a neurologist, he obtained a Ph.D. in physics and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science (doing research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN) and as a term physicist at Fermilab.AbstractSome computer scientists claim that artificial general intelligence systems will soon be created which can duplicate and eventually far exceed the intellectual abilities of humans. In this presentation we will compare the architecture and learning ability of artificial neural networks implemented on an electronic digital machine and the neural networks of the human brain (of which Professor Marvin Minsky of MIT once pronounced that “the brain is merely a meat machine”). We will demonstrate by philosophical arguments and a mathematical theorem involving Turing machines that understanding abstract concepts, abstract reasoning to ascertain truth, and making free decisions are powers of the human mind that exceed the capabilities of any physical system whether made of electronic circuits or of biological neurons; rather, these capabilities require a nonphysical soul that tightly integrates with the human brain, because of which we can truly say that humans are made in the image and likeness of God.  We will also discuss a new theory of how the soul may interact with the brain by influencing the outcome of quantum processes involving passage of ions through neuronal ion channels within the brain’s neural networks synchronized by the 40-70 Hz oscillation, and thereby continually influence retrieval of memories and behavioral choices occurring in these networks so as to allow the soul’s choice based on rational deliberation to cause a neuronal network undergoing chaotic behavior to converge upon a different final state (attractor), thereby allowing the soul’s choice to be implemented in the brain and body.Brain and Artificial Intelligence—A Tale of Two Computers—But Only One Made in the Image of God - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

In this ITEST webinar entitled "A New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics: Back to Aristotle and Aquinas" Dr. Robert Kurland, Kenneth Francis, and Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, discuss metaphysics, epistemology, and quantum physics. (August 17, 2024)In the order of appearance,Sebastian Mahfood, OP, PhD, "Introduction to Aristotelian-Thomistic Metaphysics"Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, Director of ITEST, is a Lay Dominican of the Province of Saint Albert the Great. He has served as a professor of intercultural and interdisciplinary studies in theological education for over two decades. In 2021, he transitioned full-time to developing his publishing house, En Route Books and Media, LLC, and his radio station, WCAT Radio, the missions of which are to promote the Catholic spiritual journey in the provision of resources that assist in the formation of priests and laity. He lives in St. Louis with his wife, Dr. Stephanie Mahfood, and children, Alexander and Eva Ruth.Abstract“All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses” – so begins Aristotle’s Metaphysics, less a metaphysical statement than an epistemological one, but it sets the tone for everything that follows in terms of the third level of abstraction, being qua being, since it indicates the hylomorphic nature of man as both spiritual and material. The immaterial mind learns when the body, formed by the soul, perceives through its senses an ambient reality, generating a phantasm which no longer relies on the sensory impression. One need only touch fire once, for example, to get the idea of “hot.” Are there ways in which metaphysics can help us understand quantum mechanics? Certainly! And that is the subject of this talk.Kenneth Francis, "God and Quantum Theory "Kenneth Francis is a freelance journalist and Contributing Editor at New English Review. For the past 30 years, he has worked as an editor in various publications and print media, as well as a university professor in journalism. He also holds an MA in Theology and is the author of The Little Book of God, Mind, Cosmos and Truth (St Pauls Publishing); The Terror of Existence: From Ecclesiastes to Theatre of the Absurd (with Theodore Dalrymple); and Neither Trumpets Nor Violins (with Theodore Dalrymple and Samuel Hux).AbstractIn understanding the universe, it seems that quantum theory, according to most physicists, is the final mysterious frontier of cosmic science. If so, I believe that this boundary can only be understood fully by a Mind possessing omniscience: God. The serpent in the Garden of Eden successfully conned Adam and Eve into believing they could achieve omniscience, and we all know what happened after that mother-of-all conceited errors. I often wonder did the serpent also tempt the ‘Adam and Eve’ scientists in Switzerland’s ‘Garden of CERN’, with its Large Hadron Collider in search of the so-called ‘God particle’. Even Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein was written by the shores of Lake Geneva, next door to CERN, with its potential for creating another Frankenstein’s monster.​Robert Kurland, PhD, "A ‘New’ Understanding of Quantum Mechanics: Back to Aristotle and Aquinas"Dr. Robert Kurland (a convert to Catholicism in 1995) is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). He began to learn about quantum mechanics at Caltech (BS, “with honor,” 1951) and Harvard (MS,1953; Ph.D.,1956) from courses taught by Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger. In teaching quantum mechanics to students at Carnegie-Mellon University and SUNY/AB he found that mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics was an obstacle to understanding. So, in his talk he will try to explain what quantum mechanics is about using a minimum of mathematics, as he did in his book Mysteries: Quantum and Theological.AbstractIn this talk, I’ll give a brief, qualitative, pictorial explanation of quantum mechanics, from a historical perspective. Two mysteries of quantum mechanics (behavior not in accord with our everyday intuition), the wavelike nature of particles, and entanglement, will be illustrated in simple examples. I’ll examine how philosophers of science have recently used two concepts, actus (actus essendi) and potentia, to explain these mysteries and put them into a context of Aristotelian/Thomistic metaphysics.

ABORTION PILL REVERSAL – TRUTH OR FICTION?Abortion Pill Reversal - Truth or Fiction? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)OUR PRESENTERSSTEPHEN SAMMUT, PHDABORTION-PILL REVERSAL: PRECLINICAL EVIDENCEDr. Stephen Sammut received a B.Pharm from Monash University (Victoria, Australia) and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Malta (Malta, Europe). His research utilizes preclinical models to investigate psychopathological behavior. He has authored and co-authored papers in leading scientific journals, including his groundbreaking studies relating to abortion and abortion-pill reversal. His research efforts currently focus on investigating: 1) the neurological, biological and behavioral consequences of drug-induced abortion, 2) the abortion-pill-reversal, 3) the development of an animal model for relocating the embryo in ectopic pregnancy and 4) mental health and related behaviors in the university student population.ABSTRACTAbortion-pill reversal (APR) is the process where a woman, regretting her abortion shortly after taking mifepristone (RU486), is administered progesterone in an effort to stop and reverse the abortion process. APR is treated as medically/scientifically unsound and dangerous to women. However, what does the reality tell us? Does objective reality support the narrative fed to the public? This presentation will seek to address the objective scientific reality underlying APR, including recent findings from my laboratory. The presentation will also address briefly the previous preclinical findings pertaining to the negative consequences of abortion and aspects relating to the abuses and manipulation of objective scientific truth in the current mode of operation of the scientific and medical fields that are driving the attack on APR.STACY TRASANCOS, PHDFROM BLUE JEANS TO VACCINES: THE CONSCIENCE OF AN ABORTIFACIENT WORLDStacy Trasancos has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and worked as a senior research chemist for DuPont before converting to Catholicism. She left her career to stay home with her children. In those years, she earned a M.A. in dogmatic theology and published five books on the integration of science and theology. Dr. Trasancos teaches online science and theology courses for Seton Hall University, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and Belmont Abbey College and is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. She is, at last, pursuing a second M.A. in systematic philosophy.ABSTRACTAn abortion is characterized by pro-choice advocates as a concern of personal autonomy, expressed most succinctly in Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992): “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State.” The abortion industry naturally exploits this narrative by politicizing in the name of human rights a procedure that denies those very rights. At the heart of these politics is an anti-personhood agenda that counts on the complicity of pro-life advocates. Such a shaky moral landscape became apparent during COVID when prominent Catholic leaders were promoting, under the principle of double-effect, immorally created vaccines as morally licit. This presentation will engage the moral dimension of an issue that pervades even those areas of our lives where we least expect it to surface.

In this webinar of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Sr. Marysia Weber, RSM, and Dr. Kevin Powell, discuss the effects of social media on children. (April 13, 2024)Is the increasing number of hours that children are spending using smartphones having any effects on their brains and psychosocial well-being? Research is telling us that the answer to this question is a resounding yes! This presentation will address how excessive use of digital devices is impacting psychosocial maturation and is altering brain development in ways similar to the alterations noted in substance use disorders. Practical means of addressing these detrimental effects will also be highlighted.Technology changes communication and social lifestyles. This has been true since the invention of the printing press and the telephone. Technological progress will have both positive and negative effects on society. It is not enough to measure harms and act like outraged Luddites. Ethical societies measure and balance the positive impacts. It is not enough to weigh pros and cons. Communities should regulate technology so that positives are appropriately rewarded, negatives are mitigated, and just remediation is provided for economic externalities that generate profit for some while harming other people, society, and the environment. Laws are not enough. Moral formation needs to be updated and augmented to enable beneficial development and adoption of technology. Children, who have never known anything different, are the most strongly impacted by the harms, the least able to resist trends, and the most in need of the moral formation.How Does Social Media Affect Children? - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

WILLIAM BADKE - ENGAGING FACULTY IN TEACHING RESEARCH PROCESSESWilliam Badke grew up in Kelowna, BC, Canada. After completing a B.A. at the University of British Columbia in 1971 and a Master of Divinity (1975) and Master of Theology (1977) he taught at a college in Nigeria, West Africa for two years before returning to teach at Northwest Baptist Theological College in Vancouver, BC. In 1985 he earned a Master of Library Science degree at the University of British Columbia and currently serves as Associate Librarian for Associated Canadian Theological Schools and Information Literacy at Trinity Western University, in Langley, BC. He has published extensively in the area of information literacy as well as fiction and spirituality. His column on information literacy (Infolit Land) appears every two months in Online Searcher and, as of 2023, in Computers in Libraries.MR. BADKE’S ABSTRACTToday’s information landscape, whether popular or scholarly, has been radically transformed by the World Wide Web. This has provided significant benefits to human freedoms, education, and development. Yet our knowledge base overall is uneven in quality and possesses a significant power to mislead us. Yet academia has failed to understand that today’s education must include a strong program that will increase the ability of students to handle information and do research. This is not a remedial task but a detailed one that is akin to learning a new language. To achieve these student skills, faculty members in concert with librarians, must rethink the way they educate their students. This is an urgent matter in the theological setting where searching for and knowing the truth is paramount.STACY A. TRASANCOS, PH.D. - HOW TO RESEARCH SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE IN THE LIGHT OF FAITHStacy Trasancos has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and worked as a senior research chemist for DuPont before converting to Catholicism. She left her career to stay home with her children. In those years, she earned a M.A. in dogmatic theology and published five books on the integration of science and theology. Dr. Trasancos teaches online science and theology courses for Seton Hall University, Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and Belmont Abbey College and is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. She is, at last, pursuing a second M.A. in systematic philosophy.DR. TRASANCOS’ ABSTRACTThis brief presentation will show you how to navigate scientific literature that is published in global scientific journals by scientists in various fields so that you can determine for yourself the research methods and conclusions. Often in the faith and science dialogue, secondary sources in popular magazines or news outlets present a biased version of the scientific literature. A Catholic scholar can more accurately assess scientific claims by reading the scientific literature him- or herself. The reports are much easier to navigate once you understand their structure. If you can read Aristotle and Aquinas, you can read modern scientific papers.

In this ITEST Webinar "Bridging the Chasm: Quantum Mechanics and Christian Spirituality," Dr. Bob Kurland and Dr. Terrence Lagerlund (December 16, 2023)BRIDGING THE CHASM: HOW QUANTUM MECHANICS BRINGS TOGETHER THE PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLDS BY TERRENCE D. LAGERLUND, MD, PHDDr. Terrence Lagerlund has been a neurologist in the Division of Epilepsy at Mayo Clinic for 35 years, treating patients with epilepsy and interpreting their electroencephalograms. He also lectures to residents and fellows on electroencephalography including basic principles of electricity and neurophysiology. He has published papers and authored book chapters on electroencephalography and epilepsy, particularly regarding quantitative analysis of electroencephalograms. Prior to becoming a neurologist, he obtained a Ph.D. in physics and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science (doing research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and CERN) and as a term physicist at Fermilab.ABSTRACTThe God of Judeo-Christian tradition is the Lord of the universe, and scriptures affirm God’s sovereignty over the course of events. However, the discoveries by Newton and others that the universe is governed by rigid laws of cause and effect that are expressed as mathematical formulas engendered the belief that the universe is a complete, closed system of cause and effect (the principle of “causal closure”), and therefore that God cannot possibly influence or change what happens in the physical universe. In this worldview, God, even if he exists, is irrelevant to our lives, and our souls, even if they exist, are irrelevant to what we believe, say, or do. However, quantum mechanics may provide an opening for the spiritual world to influence the physical. Quantum mechanics (QM) describes physical systems by a state vector (SV), a collection of superimposed possible states. During the quantum to classical transition, possible states reduce to one actual state (SV collapse). QM predicts the probability of each possible outcome. SV collapse seems to be an uncaused process with a random result, breaking the deterministic chain of physical causes and effects. Wolfgang Smith hypothesized that God causes SV collapse and chooses the outcome.TOURING THE WONDERLAND OF QUANTUM MECHANICS BY ROBERT KURLAND, PHDDr. Robert Kurland (a convert to Catholicism in 1995) is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). He began to learn about quantum mechanics at Caltech (BS, “with honor,” 1951) and Harvard (MS,1953; Ph.D.,1956) from courses taught by Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger. In teaching quantum mechanics to students at Carnegie-Mellon University and SUNY/AB he found that mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics was an obstacle to understanding. So, in his talk he will try to explain what quantum mechanics is about using a minimum of mathematics, as he did in his book Mysteries: Quantum and Theological.ABSTRACTThe talk will give a brief, qualitative, pictorial explanation of quantum mechanics, from a historical perspective. I’ll illustrate two mysteries of quantum mechanics—superposition of states (the Schrödinger Cat paradox) and entanglement—by use of simple examples. Also, I’ll discuss some of the many interpretations of quantum theory, focusing on how they might be related to Catholic teaching.

ITEST Webinar entitled "Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible" with Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, and Dr. Tom Sheahen (December 2, 2023)Built into our very nature is a desire to know about the world around us. The big questions of human existence are inescapable: Who am I? Why am I here, and where am I going? Why is there evil in the world? What is the meaning of life?This yearning for truth ultimately leads us to our Creator. God knows the longings of the human heart, and he reveals himself to us through creation, through Scripture, and ultimately through the Incarnation. Because God the Son became man, we have a person to look to in our pursuit of truth: Jesus Christ himself, who is Truth. Christ helps us see that truth is not just the object of science and reason, but what animates the mysterious and loving power of faith.In Science, Reason, and Faith, Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ, explores in depth the Bible and the intersection of three realms that the secular world tells us are separate and incompatible. Fr. Spitzer draws the modern reader’s attention to the many seeming conflicts between science, reason, and Catholic teaching. By tackling these difficult questions, he shows that it is precisely through the integration of science, reason, and faith that we can truly discover ourselves, our world, and our God.Fr. Spitzer’s new book Science, Reason and Faith is subtitled Discovering the Bible because it displays the unity between science, the Biblical texts, and the presentation of the Christian faith contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For the scientific reader, it is a reassuring surprise to discover how the elements of faith and science fit together so well.Matters such as finding compatibility between modern physics and cosmology and the text of Genesis 1, or the significance of Old Testament miracles, are explained carefully in a way that a reader without expertise in Biblical scholarship or science can understand. New Testament questions range from the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ miracles, through the full understanding of the real presence of the Eucharist, to the need for there to be an organized religion.Structured in question-and-answer form, multiple topics containing a scientific component are explored across both Old and New Testament. This format enables the reader to quickly locate a particular topic of interest; and thus, the book serves as a handbook or reference guidebook. Several hundred citations guide the reader pursuing greater depth.In my supplement to Fr. Spitzer’s presentation at this Webinar, I will develop some of these topics further, relating them to the principle of God’s omnipresence, which includes God’s supremacy over time, enunciated in my own book Everywhen: God, Symmetry and Time. Our independent approaches converge, which further shows the compatibility of faith and science.Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents Greg Miller and Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, in a webinar entitled Education and Evangelization in the Age of AI: Promise and Perils (November 18, 2023)his session will be led by a former Catholic principal and theology teacher, Greg Miller. Dive deep into the intersections of faith and technology, understanding how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed for the greater glory of God while being vigilant of its challenges. Discover the potential of AI in enhancing Catholic education and evangelization and engage in meaningful discussions of its risks to the people of God.In a mediated world filled with dystopic science fiction that problematizes a transformative technology like AI, our culture is embracing its promise, perhaps forgetting Marshall McLuhan’s salient point that our technologies first ape us, then shape us. Our Christian faith is already a counter-cultural phenomenon, so authentic and integral human and spiritual formation has never been more important than it is today for the restoration of our human identity created as it was in the image and likeness of God.

In this webinar, D. Kristina Olsen, OCDS, talks about Principles of Change: Teresa of Avila’s Carmelite Reform and Insights from Change Management (November 4, 2023)Dr. Olsen's book draws from organizational change management principles to examine Teresa of Avila’s 16th-century reform of the Carmelite Order. During the last twenty years of her life, Teresa addressed the problems she saw in the Carmelite monasteries of her day, including ineffective administration, overcrowding, and laxity in spiritual practices. By returning to the original purpose and written Rule of the Carmelite founders, Teresa launched a reform of the Carmelite Order using principles similar to those used in change management and information technology (IT) adoption today. This book examines her reform in light of change management theory and practice, in order to shed light on what made her reform successful and how we might apply her approach to the management of change in spiritual and secular organizations today.Principles of Change by Kristina R. Olsen | En Route Books and Media

DR. PATRICK CASTLELIFE Runners President & FounderREAL HEALTHCARE DEFENDS LIFE AT ALL STAGESABSTRACTDid you know that Hippocratic Oath specifically forbids abortion and euthanasia?Did you know the American Medical Association in 1859 unanimously voted that life begins at conception and that abortion is criminal?Did you know that Google makes it more difficult for mothers to find pregnancy help centers online?Did you know that the FDA removed the warning that Plan B can cause an abortion?Did you know that the current administration is working to repeal conscience protections for healthcare workers?Did you know that running is optional for LIFE Runners?And much more!GEORGE DELGADO, M.D.President of Steno InstituteABORTION PILL REVERSAL: GIVING WOMEN A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFEABSTRACTMifepristone chemical abortions account for about 60% of all abortions in the United States. Some women, after starting the chemical abortion process, change their minds and want to continue their pregnancies. Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) utilizes supplemental progesterone, the maintenance hormone of pregnancy, to out-compete the abortion drug. APR offers women a second chance at life. Women offered the option of reversing their chemical abortions are very grateful.Mainstream medical organizations, Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU have fought vigorously to discredit APR and make it less available. The evidence in the medical literature is very reassuring that Abortion Pill Reversal is safe and effective.DR. CYNTHIA TOOLIN-WILSONAcademic Dean – Pontifex UniversitySURVIVING ABORTION AS THE VICTIMABSTRACTThe most important event of my life occurred when I was eleven years old. That was when I found out that Ma and Grandpa tried to kill me, with the knowledge and agreement of many family members, including Pa.On a hot summer evening in her kitchen, Ma told me after several hesitations, that in 1949 Grandpa bought a chemical at the drugstore that would make her lose me. She was annoyed that I didn’t understand what that meant. So, she told me that she didn’t want a baby and the medicine would make me go away. I asked her why the medicine didn’t work, and she explained that when she started bleeding, she was afraid she might die too, so she stopped drinking it. The fact that she was afraid of dying was the second most important event of my life.I never felt the same about her or the family members. I suspect that her cousin, who had married a Catholic man, and had used medicines for years to prevent a pregnancy, had told Ma what medicine to buy.Here I am 62 years later (that is, I am now 73 years old). I am the age my mother was when she passed. My husband Jimmy Toolin, a devout Catholic, died of cancer; my second husband Bill Wilson, who I managed to bring back to being a practicing Catholic, died of heart, liver, and kidney failure. Between them, if I count all the way to great grandchildren, I have 38 descendants.

In this ITEST Webinar, "Science at the Doorstep to God," Fr. Robert Spitzer presents on his latest book, Science at the Doorstep to God, which is an especially important book at the present time because the realization that our universe had to be created by a super-intelligent Transcendent Being is emerging into the public domain.Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen, responding to Fr. Spitzer's presentation, says that Fr. Spitzer builds upon science to convincingly establish that God created the Universe, and mankind does have a soul, containing both intellect and free will. These are the points that well-informed Christians must be prepared to defend.The reader of Science at the Doorstep to God can be confident that there IS solid scientific evidence underpinning the theological statements we assert about mankind. We can promote a resurgence of faith, backed by reason and scientific evidence.Our religious leaders, both clergy and laity, need to be better informed about new scientific evidence and its implications.Several recent discoveries have strengthened the case for transcendent intelligence in the universe:The unlikeliness problems of an infinite multiverse and eternal inflation, particularly in Stephen Hawking’s final article.The narrowing of feasible naturalistic explanations of “fine-tuning for life” in our universe.Fr. Robert Spitzer will examine these new developments along with previous ones, showing that the most reasonable explanation is transcendent creative intelligence – akin to the God of Christian revelation.

Classical metaphysics is grounded in a philosophy of Being (States of Being) with God as the Supreme Being or Pure Actuality. Potentiality is seen in descending states of being: first, the order of angels, human beings, higher-order and lower-order animal species, plants, insects, minerals, their molecular and atomic components, prime matter. Process- or systems-ordered metaphysics is grounded in Stages of Becoming: Infinite Potentiality/Energy Source, subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, minerals, cells, plants, animal species, human beings, an all-encompassing network of relations between participants that continues to evolve in new and different ways through all its parts or members but especially its primordial components. Everything else depends upon the right choice in terms of these opposing world views. ​Transformative learning theory, which explains the reframing of one’s worldview in light of a transformative experience, may assist in articulating the dynamic relationship between the One and the Many. Fr. Bracken’s explanation of a reciprocal causal relation among constituent parts and the whole to which they belong provides an opportunity to explore a process-oriented metaphysics in the understanding of an event-based efficient causality. The creative interplay among the relational paradigms through which an individual organism moves over the course of its existence demonstrates the interdependence of all things regardless of their material causes, and this seems to give a quantum meaning to any kind of final causality of adaptive systems.

ITEST Presents...CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IN A CULTURE OF DEATH: CREATING THE WORLD’S MOST FAITHFUL CATHOLIC MEDICAL SCHOOLSTEPHEN MINNIS, President of Benedictine College, JERE PALAZZOLO, President ofCatholic Healthcare International, GEORGE MYCHASKIW, II, DO, President of the Saint Padre Pio Institute for the Relief of Suffering, School of Osteopathic MedicineOur society is declining in a culture of death and self-interest. Higher education is contributing to this cultural decline by renunciation of Western, Judeo-Christian values and ethics. This is particularly true in medical schools, which have advanced the causes of abortion, gender ideology, organ harvesting and in-vitro fertilization, without regard to Catholic and other religious ethical standards. Catholic Healthcare International and Benedictine College intend to reclaim the culture and change society by creating the world’s most faithful Catholic medical school, which will stand for the worth and dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death, as created in the image and likeness of God. This webinar will discuss the challenges of contemporary Catholic higher education, the charism of St. Padre Pio and the relief of human suffering, and the creation of a new, faithful Catholic medical school as an instrument to change the culture.Catholic Higher Education in a Culture of Death: Creating the World’s Most Faithful Catholic Medical School - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

In this webinar we will discuss the work of Mary Kloska’s books in renewing and spreading the Catholic faith in Pakistan. Joined by Aqif Shahzad, her translator and a great missionary in his own right, the two will explain specifically the founding of Children’s Prayer Groups (named Children of the Cross) who are dedicated to meet at least once a month to pray for priests and persecuted Christians. Aqif will also share how he has used Mary’s writings for retreats, seminars, and personal one-on-one encounters with people, which in turn have become life-saving. How does one spread the faith in a primarily Muslim nation that persecutes Christians? It’s through becoming little, “meek and humble of heart” like Jesus. Join us and you will find out.Sowing Wildflowers in the Desert: God's Powerful Work of Love in Pakistan - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

The heinous scientific experiments performed on living human beings at the hands of Nazi doctors and researchers was internationally condemned and prohibited as “crimes against humanity” by the Nuremberg Code that was formulated seventy-five years ago in August 1947. In 1987, forty years later, the Magisterial Instruction Donum vitae added important new bioethical standards regarding the ethical and medical treatment of human embryos:– Are Therapeutic Procedures Carried Out on the Human Embryo Licit?– How is One Morally to Evaluate Research and Experimentation on Human Embryos?The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2274, also clearly teaches that “Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.” This webinar will discuss the moral imperative to “treat human embryos as human patients” and to protect them – “like any other human being” – from “heinous crimes against humanity.”ELIZABETH B. REX, MBA, PH.D., TH.D. (CANDIDATE)The Magisterial FAQS Regarding the Ethical Treatment – and the Legal Protection – of Human Embryos who are Human BeingsDr. Elizabeth Rex is the President of the The Children First Foundation, a charitable and educational organization dedicated to promoting Adoption as a positive and loving choice for unwanted unborn children, including unwanted frozen embryos. Dr. Rex has taught Bioethics at Holy Apostles College & Seminary and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University. Dr. Rex has spoken at major conferences and is a frequent contributor to National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly regarding the moral arguments in the embryo adoption debate.ABSTRACTMy presentation will discuss the most important Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church in Donum vitae (in 1987), Dignitas personae (in 2008), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church that magisterially define and defend the ethical treatment of human beings from the first moment of their conception. These major magisterial documents also call for the “intervention of political authorities and legislators” to establish civil laws that ensure the legal protection of “human beings, even at the embryonic stage.” (Donum vitae III: Conclusion). My presentation will conclude with a brief review of important international and national laws that have already been legislatively enacted to provide the legal protection of embryos as human beings, who must be treated as human persons and patients.GEORGE MYCHASKIW II, DO, FAAP, FACOP, FASAThe Medical FAQS Regarding the Ethical and Therapeutic Healthcare of Human Embryos who are Human PatientsDr. George Mychaskiw is a founder and President of the Saint Padre Pio Institute School of Osteopathic Medicine (proposed), which will be co-located on the campus of Benedictine College, Atchison, Kansas. Dr. Mychaskiw is a thought leader in medical education and has developed four operating US osteopathic medical colleges and is in the process of developing four more. A practicing cardiac anesthesiologist, Dr. Mychaskiw is a graduate of the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency and fellowships in pediatric and cardiothoracic anesthesiology at the Yale University School of Medicine.ABSTRACTIn vitro fertilization (IVF) and the creation of human embryos are assisted reproductive technologies that have come into widespread use ahead of a structured foundation in medical ethics. As a result, the commercial applications of IVF have outpaced ethical restraint and consideration, such that millions of human lives are being created, without thought to their ultimate disposition. This presentation will discuss the biomedical aspects of IVF technology and illustrate the numerous unintended consequences of its proliferation. A case will be made for a prohibition or moratorium on IVF until legislation and regulations are enacted to protect these human lives and prevent further erosion of unborn human rights.

FR. KEVIN FITZGERALD, SJ, PHD, PHD​Healing Post-Covid Healthcare by Greater Integration of the Humanities and Ethics into Healthcare EducationKevin T. FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., Ph.D., is the John A. Creighton University Professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine, at Creighton University. He received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics, and a Ph.D. in bioethics, from Georgetown University. His research efforts focus on the utilization of the Humanities in medical education, on the investigation of abnormal gene expression in cancer, and on ethical issues in biomedical research and medical genomics. He has published educational, scientific, and ethical articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press.Fr. FitzGerald has given presentations nationally and internationally, and has often been interviewed by the news media, on such topics as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and personalized medicine. He is a founding member of Do No Harm, and a member of the Genetic Alliance IRB. In addition, he has been a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2005.ABSTRACTThe Covid pandemic greatly exacerbated deep flaws in our healthcare institutions and educational programs. To help heal these deep flaws, Creighton University is intentionally and intensively integrating the humanities and ethics into all its health professions programs, both undergraduate and graduate. Though early in this process, evidence is already manifesting the value this integration is having with our students and faculty, and, hence, with those they care for and work with. A brief introduction and summary of this effort will be presented in hopes of generating further discussion of how all of us can create a healthcare education program adequate to meet the enormous financial, social, moral and spiritual challenges healthcare faces today.KEVIN POWELL, MD, PHD The Application of Faith and Reason to Clarify Truth in Medical CareKevin Powell, M.D. Ph.D. FAAP, is a retired pediatrician who specialized in the care of hospitalized children. Prior to medical school he worked as a chemical engineer in industry and academia, earning a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering from a joint program of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alongside clinical care, for 18 years he served on or chaired hospital ethics committees and was a clinical ethics consultant. His last academic position was on faculty at Saint Louis University and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. He is Lutheran.ABSTRACTMedical knowledge is constantly evolving and occasionally advancing. Most of what I was taught in medical school became obsolete, contradicted, or was shown to have always been flat out wrong by the time I retired. The practice of clinical medicine requires continuous adoption, improvement, refinement, and frequently rejection of new knowledge. That knowledge needs to be adapted to function within evolving moral norms and cultural values. The search for truth is ever-present. The encyclical Fides et Ratio says “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”REV. FR. NICANOR PIER GIORGIO AUSTRIACO, O.P.An Ethical Assessment of Puberty Blocking Hormonal Treatments for Gender Dysphoria in Children​Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP is a Professor of Biological Sciences and a Professor of Sacred Theology at the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, summa cum laude, and then earned his Ph.D. in Biology from M.I.T. where he was a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). He earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.Th.D.) at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, in 2015. His first book, Biomedicine and Beatitude: An Introduction to Catholic Bioethics, was published by the Catholic University of America Press in 2011. It was recognized as a 2012 Choice outstanding academic title by the Association of College and Research Libraries.ABSTRACTShould puberty blockers be used to treat gender dysphoria (GD) in children? For activists promoting transgender rights, the answer to this question is a clear yes. However, several recent reviews of the medical literature have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to assess the long-term effects of hormone treatment on prepubescent children who experience GD. Therefore, in the absence of a robust risk-benefits analysis, it is unethical to promote this controversial medical intervention. It is not surprising that in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, public health officials are warning that for teens with adolescent-onset dysphoria, the use of these puberty blocking drugs may do more harm than good.

In this ITEST Webinar entitled Finding God in Space Exploration and Extraterrestrial Life (April 22, 2023), Paul Segura and Ted Peters talk about space and the possibility of life outside the earth. The Space Race to the Moon in the 1960s is an example of science and engineering excellence peaking at the national level to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. Yet even in the midst of this technological achievement, God could not only be found but made a lasting impact. In addition, as the search for intelligent life beyond Earth continues, it’s reasonable to expect we have morally ambiguous space neighbors who have been similarly graced by a loving creator and redeemer.Finding God in Space Exploration and Extraterrestrial Life - Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (faithscience.org)

PREACHING WITH THE SCIENCES AND THE SCIENCE OF PREACHING - FR. FOLEY’S ABSTRACTThe sciences are seldom employed by Roman Catholic preachers in their homilies. This presentation will narrate how they became important for my own preaching, which in turn generated the grant in preaching from the Templeton Foundation. That grant and our scientific collaborates, homilists, and resulting resources will be described. This work has triggered further wonderment about the sciences, not “in” but “behind” the preaching. Neuroscience seems particularly valuable in gaining new perspectives on what contributes to effective preaching, across languages and even cultures. While this work is preliminary, I will report some of my preliminary findings about the ways the neuroscientific work collaborates some well held wisdom about crafting effective preaching.PREACHING WITH THE SCIENCES REAWAKENING WONDER IN WORSHIP - DR. WOLF-CHASE’S ABSTRACTScience and technology pervade every aspect of modern life. Over the past several decades, their interplay has increased our knowledge of ourselves, our planet, and the Universe, exponentially. Faith is often seen as becoming increasingly detached from “real life” and the multiple challenges our world faces today. Religious leaders have a very important role to play in helping their communities relate science and faith intellectually and meaningfully. However, science offers more than intellectual stimulation; it offers wonderment. Many religious thinkers have pointed out that, in an excessive focus on legalism, religion loses precisely that sense of awe and wonderment that inspired so many of the Scriptures. I’ll offer some ways that astronomy, in particular, can help reawaken religious awe and wonder.PREACHING WITH THE SCIENCES: A PROTESTANT REFLECTION - REV. LIU’S ABSTRACTThe sciences rarely make a substantive appearance in Protestant preaching. I will reflect upon how participation in the Templeton Preaching with the Sciences Grant led by Ed Foley has provided opportunity to anchor scientific knowledge and inquiry as foci for preaching preparation and practice in an ecumenical way that has broadened my own homiletic imagination as an ordained United Methodist Minister and the possibilities for enlivening preaching scientifically in partnership with Roman Catholic neighbors. The grant has also helped me to think more directly about how engaging scientific knowledge and inquiry homiletically can strengthen the public relevance of preaching for ethical questions in our contemporary era.

In this ITEST Webinar, entitled Evangelizing the Real Presence – Miracles, Scripture, and Quantum Physics, Dr. David Keys and Raymond Gerard present on the Eucharist.Recognizing the importance of the Eucharist in today’s challenging culture, the USCCB has begun a 3-year initiative to promote faith in the Eucharist, culminating in a national Eucharistic Congress next year in Indianapolis. To help proponents evangelize the Real Presence, Dr. David Keys, a scientist turned theologian, and Raymond Gerard, a lawyer by trade, will discuss certain means toward that end. Dr. Keys will discuss various Scriptural reasons for belief, as well as certain Eucharistic miracles. Mr. Gerard will discuss various miracles focused on the reliability of witness testimony. There will also be a limited discussion on the theological and philosophical implications of quantum physics.​Belief in the Real Presence has declined significantly. Many have lost their trust in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Without trust in one’s sources of knowledge, there can be no belief. To restore belief, trust and catechesis are critical. However, many still will not believe. God knows man and knows this. As a result, God has provided multiple, extraordinary miracles to help man in his unbelief of the Real Presence. Dr. Keys will review the faith-based reasons for belief in the Real Presence, and he will discuss a few of the miraculous interventions God has given us to support the Church’s Eucharistic teaching.While most people think of bleeding Hosts when Eucharistic miracles are mentioned, there are a number of other miracles for which reliable evidence may be found in the testimony of witnesses. By its nature, the reliability of such evidence is recognized in Scripture and our English-based legal system. The reliability for particular Eucharistic miracles can be found in the number of witnesses to such miracles or the reliability of the witnesses themselves. Four particular instances will be discussed in detail: 1) the French island of Reunion (1902), 2) Andre Frossard (1935), Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1943), and San Mauro la Bruca (1969). The logical and philosophical implications of a certain discovery in quantum physics will also be raised.https://faithscience.org/eucharistic-miracles/

For the Time Dilation Video, click here: https://youtu.be/yuD34tEpRFwWCAT TV is an en air wing of En Route Books and Media working with WCAT Radio to share the joys of the Catholic faith. To support the station, please visit our Patreon account at https://www.patreon.com/wcatradioIs science only another human intellectual achievement, as is music, literature, philosophy? Or is it something more? Are the techniques used in science—mathematics, experiment, and rational inquiry—given to humankind by God so that His creation be understood and glorified, as in Psalm 19A? What ethical constraints, if any, does God set on science? And why did science develop only with Christendom? And finally, why should we not worship the idol of Science? These questions will be addressed in this webinar.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, ITEST presents a webinar with Dr. Gerard Verschuuren and Dr. Stacy Trasancos on Faith That Makes You Think (December 10, 2022)Can faith ever make you think? For most people, thinking contradicts having faith. People who think do not have faith. And people who have faith do not think. That is the most common perception nowadays. But that perception is seriously flawed.In fact, there is a strong connection between thinking and having faith. St. Augustine expressed this quite clearly saying, “Believers are also thinkers: in believing, they think and in thinking, they believe.… If faith does not think, it is nothing.” In the Catholic tradition, this connection has been known as “faith and reason.” Pope John Paul II even wrote an encyclical on this issue, making them two sides of the same coin.https://faithscience.org/faith-think/

Dr. Thomas Sheahen and Dr. Stacy Trasancos present on How Science and Theology Read One Another (October 29, 2022)Pope St. John Paul II began his famous encyclical, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen, with a Ph.D. degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines truth from the wing of science. Scientists depend on empirical data for conclusions. Dr. Stacy A. Trasancos, with a Ph.D. in chemistry and M.A. in dogmatic theology, explains how we find truth from the wing of faith. Theologians derive formulations from divine revelation. Together they seek an understanding of the axiom, truth cannot contradict truth.https://faithscience.org/two-wings/

This webinar will develop essential American Constitutional law principles and their relationship to the most significant bioethical issues of the day. Without this knowledge, meaningful participation in ongoing debates related to bioethics is seriously compromised. Topics will include the judicial lens by which legislation and regulations are examined for their constitutionality, including the tests applied to determine the validity of a claim of fundamental liberty. The meaning and application of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Constitution will be presented and applied to topics such as: end of life health care, advance medical directives, capital punishment, contraception, marriage, and abortion – with special attention to the recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. If time permits, we will also examine government health care mandates and sexual orientation and gender identity laws and their relationship to constitutional and statutory rights to free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.https://faithscience.org/catholic-bioethics/

In this webinar entitled "A Post-Roe World," Dr. Pat Castle and Kiki Latimer offer their insights into the science of the human person and the morality of abortion. Moderated by Francis Etheredge.With the overturn of Roe, let us double down in our ministry to eliminate abortion from every community. There is no acceptable amount of abortion. Every life is a gift from God. We eliminate abortion by reaching students before abortion lies reach them and by serving abortion-vulnerable mothers. Mothers from Pro-Life states can still travel to pro-abortion states. The longer the travel time the better, allowing more time for mothers to encounter a life-encouraging person or message. 78% of post-abortion mothers said if they had encountered ONE supportive person or encouraging message, they would have chosen life. More at liferunners.org/stats.https://faithscience.org/post-roe/

* Science, Technology, Engineering, and MathematicsAbstract for WebinarSignature Courses at Seton Hall: STEM engages the Catholic Intellectual TraditionThe SHU University Core—taken by all undergraduate students—includes a sequence of three Signature courses. These are rooted in questions central to but not exclusive to the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The third course, Engaging the World, encompasses a set of courses building on the first two from many differing academic perspectives. We look at challenges in developing such courses in STEM disciplines, and then at three particular courses, Science and Theology of Food; Logic, the Limits to Knowledge, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; and Creation and Science (which is also taken by students at the Seminary/School of Theology).The purpose of these courses is to inform and engage, and not at all to persuade or convert, and their goal to make better and wiser Catholics of Catholics, and everyone more informed and reflective.https://faithscience.org/food/DR. THOMAS MARLOWECREATING A STEM SIGNATURE COURSEThomas Marlowe is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Computer Science at Seton Hall University, where he taught in both disciplines for over 40 years. He holds a Ph.D. in each discipline from Rutgers University. He has always had an interest in interdisciplinary and integrative studies, in both his teaching and his research. He worked with Fr. Laracy and others over the past seven years to develop an interdisciplinary upper-level course for Seton Hall’s University Core program on Logic, the Limits to Knowledge, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and consulted with Fr. Buonopane on his course on Science, Food, and Theology. This work has led to several conference and journal publications.FR. GERALD BUONOPANESCIENCE AND THEOLOGY OF FOODOrdained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark in 2006, Rev. Buonopane’s area of specialization is food chemistry. Prior to seminary and the priesthood, Fr. Buonopane held a number of positions in academia, the federal government (USFDA), and in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Among the courses Fr. Buonopane teaches, and has taught, are a graduate level course in food chemistry, as well as Core curriculum courses, including a Core 3 course, “Science and Theology of Food.” His research areas of interest are: Chemical Deterioration of Food Lipids: Oxidative Reactions; Essential Oils as Natural Antioxidants; and Cold Plasma Treatment of Botanicals and Essential Oils. In addition to this work, Fr. Buonopane was appointed Minister to the Priest Community on June 1, 2020.FR. JOSEPH LARACYCREATION AND SCIENCEThe Rev. Joseph R. Laracy, S.T.D., a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, serves as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University. He is also an affiliated faculty member with the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as well as the Catholic Studies Program. Father Laracy is the author of Theology and Science in the Thought of Ian Barbour: A Thomistic Evaluation for the Catholic Doctrine of Creation (Peter Lang, 2021) and the co-editor of Stanley Jaki Foundation International Congress (Gracewing, 2020). His scholarly articles have appeared in publications such as The Seminary Journal; Logos; The Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics; The Journal of Religion and Theology; The International Journal of Communications, Network, and System Sciences.FR. LEO PATALINGHUG, IVDEIWEBINAR INTRODUCTION AND PRAYERFr. Leo Patalinghug is a priest member of a community of consecrated life, Voluntas Dei (The Will of God). He is the creator and founder of an international food and faith movement called Plating Grace.com, and founder and chair of the nonprofit group, The Table Foundation. He is a best-selling author, acclaimed international speaker, host for radio, podcast and a weekly international food and faith show on EWTN, Savoring our Faith. His unique background as a professional chef and his previous experience as a two-time black belt martial arts instructor and former award-winning break dancer and choreographer has earned the attention of major media outlets, including the Food Network. The mission to see food as a gift from God to nourish your family and to strengthen relationships is making this world a better place one meal at a time.

In an age of communicative media, free speech appears to be ubiquitous. Anyone can say anything in any of a hundred social media apps that can go viral worldwide in an instant throughout all of them. And this opens the thoughts of anyone to the commentary of anyone else. But are there limits on free speech in a global world? How is our freedom of speech bound by legal, ethical, and content restrictions? In what way is our freedom really free? Presenters from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia join with a Canadian moderator to walk us through some considerations on what it means to speak freely in the modern world.Lawrence Hopperton (ret.) was the founding director of distributed learning at Tyndale University in Toronto, Canada. He has published extensively on the theory and practice of online learning and won an international award for instructional design and disability compliance. He has also published four textbooks on writing skills, two chapbooks of poetry, and a full collection, Table for Three, through En Route Books and Media, which also published three of his chapters concerning disability compliance in a book entitled Teaching and Learning in the Age of Covid-19. His next book of poetry, Such Common Stories, will be released by En Route later this year. Rachel Fischer is a researcher and information ethicist who collaborates with academic institutions, civil society organisations and intergovernmental entities. She is the Co-Chair of the International Centre for Information Ethics, Deputy Editor for the International Review of Information Ethics and member of UNESCO IFAP’s Working Group on Information Accessibility. Rachel was an editor and one of the authors for the Nelson Mandela Reader on Information Ethics which was released in 2021. Learn more about this reader at https://www.i-c-i-e.org/publications.Francis Etheredge is a Catholic married layman, with eleven children, three of whom he hopes are in heaven and the rest of whom are alive and well and stepping through life’s stages of school, university, and career. In the last seven years, he has returned to being a self-employed writer, adding twelve books to one already published. Find his books on bioethics at En Route Books and Media. The Human Person: A Bioethical Word, Conception: An Icon of the Beginning, Mary and Bioethics: An Exploration, The ABCQ of Conceiving Conception, and Reaching for the Resurrection: A Pastoral Bioethics. Forthcoming later in 2022 is his new book, Human Nature: Moral Norm.Peter Breen is a defamation and media lawyer and former member of state parliament in Australia. He is the author of several books including his latest book, Prodigal Pilgrim Letters to Pope Francis from Lourdes, Fatima, Garabandal and Medjugorje. Coming in July 2022, his book Dear Mr. Putin will be published by En Route Books and Media. In this book, Peter expresses outrage at the unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian people, at the same time placing the war in a religious context, with the prospect that its outcome may be the historical events prophesied at Fatima in 1917.https://faithscience.org/free-speech/

The only standard we have for judging all of our social economic, and political institutions and arrangements as just or unjust, as good or bad, as better or worse, derives from our conception of the good life for man on earth, and from our conviction that, given certain external conditions, it is possible for men to make good lives for themselves by their own efforts.There must be sufficient truth in moral philosophy to provide a rational basis for the efforts at social reform and improvement in which all men can join, regardless of their religious beliefs or disbeliefs. Such common action for a better society presupposes that the measure of a good society consists in the degree to which it promotes the general welfare and serves the happiness of its people—this happiness being their earthly and temporal happiness, for there is no other ultimate end that the secular state can serve.The Mission of the Center for the Study of The Great Ideas”Philosophy is Everybody’s Business”To help awaken citizens from their moral and intellectual slumbers, and to help them understand why philosophy is everybody’s business. The possibility of finding sound and practical answers to questions about the good life and good society. Philosophy’s ability to answer the most basic normative questions. What ought we seek in life? And how ought we seek it?To promulgate the insights and ideals embedded in Dr. Adler’s lifelong intellectual work in the fields of Philosophy, Liberal Education, Ethics and Politics.To continue functioning as THE resource for, access to, and the on-going interpretation of his work.Presented by ELAINE WEISMANNhttps://faithscience.org/thegreatideas/

How can a Catholic scientist speak about “a beautiful mind and soul”? Dr. Gerard Verschuuren does so as a Catholic who knows that science has nothing to say about mind and soul, but also that science has nothing to say against it. Using a lively, conversational dialog between a skeptical scientist and a religious scientist, this book provides an enlightening tour through the pivotal questions raised by our human minds and souls, which were created in God’s image.https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/beautifulmindandsoul/

Fr. Dominic Ibok, D.Min., presents on his Faith and Facebook: Evangelizing a Rural Parish Community in Southeast Missouri through Social Media with Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, OP, as respondent for the April 23, 2022, ITEST webinar. The book description is below:In Southeast Missouri, where Catholics are a minority, the challenge of diminishing participation and reduced membership requires an intentional engagement of the inactive members and the unaffiliated within the community. Unfortunately, many members of the laity do not have the awareness or skills to evangelize. In a rural community, the challenges seem more significant due to limited personnel and resources.This book aims to equip the laity with the skills and tools to evangelize inactive Catholics and the unaffiliated. It involves their growing in prayer, study, generosity, evangelization, and the discernment of their charisms. With the benefit of social media engagement like Facebook live stream, an opportunity to engage and evangelize is available for our rural parish community. The resources from experienced lay evangelists in evangelization and social media engagement will provide a template that can enhance the development of a program on evangelization for my rural parish community.To test the effectiveness of these resources, seventeen participants engaged in a nine-week program to learn how prayer, study, generosity, evangelization, the discernment of their charisms, and teamwork can prepare them for evangelization. This thesis engaged the inactive Catholics and the unaffiliated in rural Southeast Missouri by using Facebook live stream as an evangelization tool. The focus of this project is thus reminding active Catholics of their responsibility to evangelize and how utilizing a familiar social media portal like Facebook can enhance the process even in a rural community.For more, see https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/faithandfacebook/

ITEST has the challenge to engage the young and the old by showing how science and faith are compatible. Many have left our Church. Many more will leave if they do not hear something different and compelling. In this webinar we will discuss what the Philosophy of Conscious Energy is and how it can help ITEST with this challenge.We will be discussing a new paradigm, or way of looking at reality. This new paradigm provides a way to express and explore items of faith using terms from modern science like evolution, energy and change of state. We will provide at least three examples.https://faithscience.org/conscious-energy/For information concerning the 1962 Vatican monitum on the Writings of Fr. Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, please see https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/monitum-on-the-writings-of-fr-teilhard-de-chardin-sj-2144

This webinar focuses on the philosophical movement of Transhumanism and its quest to transcend biological limits toward enhanced life. The emphasis on transhumanist transcendence will be compared to the hybridity of posthumanism. Both movements will be contextualized within an evolutionary framework.SISTER ILIA DELIO, OSF, PHDTranshumanism advocates deeply transformative technologies for the betterment of humankind – a world in which the frailties of human biology are transcended. Sister Ilia will examine Transhumanism, compare it to Posthumanism, which emphasizes hybrid relationships, and contextualize these movements in an unfinished universe.NICHOLAS M. SPARKSA RESPONSE TO SISTER ILIA DELIOFirst, I register my agreement with Sister Ilia Delio, arguing that posthumanism can help Christians to recover insights obscured by Enlightenment humanism. Then, I note a few points of disagreement: (1) the relationship of nature and techne; (2) the account of nature as computational and informational; (3) to what extent a classical Christian view of the person and of nature is already consonant with the insights of posthumanism; (4) and finally, the proper understanding of the transition to a cybernetically-embedded and mediated mode of individual and social existence.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Dr. Stacy Trasancos presents for the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology on Assessing Contemporary Science in the Light of Faith. (January 15, 2022)Today we hear, “Follow the science!” People use that idiom as if to say that science is the path to all truth and that if we follow where science leads, we will never be led astray. But science doesn’t work like that. The Catholic Church has a long history, codified in Genesis and professed still in our Creed, that science is the study of the handiwork of God. Science is a search for truth, but it must be guided by the light of faith. Dr. Trasancos tells about her efforts to reunite contemporary science back with theology and philosophy in a more mature way than the Middle Ages when science was first born of Christianity. To authentically follow science in the light of faith will be the way to true progress in technology that benefits humanity, both in this world and the one to come.https://faithscience.org/theology-of-science/

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen and Rev. Lawrence C. Brennan, S.Th.D., discuss God's providence and omnipresence. (December 11, 2021)Have you been told that science and religion are incompatible? Do you think you have to give one up to be consistent?You don’t. In this book, MIT-trained physicist Thomas Sheahen explains how you can:trust in God more readily, by realizing that God is not limited by space and timeexpand your human thinking and step up to a higher plane of understandingrealize that religion and science are complementary paths to knowledge–not opposedunderstand that God thought up the laws of nature and uses them in creation.https://www.enroutebooksandmedia.com/everywhen/https://www.faithscience.org/everywhen

DR. STACY TRASANCOSThe Data from the Eucharistic MiraclesIn writing her latest book with Fr. George Elliott, Behold It is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence (Tan Books), Stacy Trasancos had to look deep into the data from the investigations of Eucharistic miracles. What she found was surprising and, at times, disappointing. In a commitment to the truth, she will present the data from the three miracles she studied: Lanciano, Bolsena, and Buenos Aires. Ultimately, she argues for the limits of science and the certainty of faith in Jesus Christ.MSGR. EUGENE MORRISAt the Church’s Foundation: the Lord’s Real PresenceHoly Mother Church teaches us that the Most Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1324). This means that Christian spirituality flows from the Most Holy Eucharist (the source) and so Christian actions should be directed towards Him (the summit). At the heart of this profound assertion is the Church’s consistent teaching regarding the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology presents Dr. Chiara Simeone-DiFrancesco in Counterfeit: The Psychology of Pornography -- The Science, the Effect on your Marriage or Vocation, and the Gospel Take on It (October 23, 2021)This presentation will look at understanding why persons of both sexes engage in pornography, and how it affects their relationships. The particular emphasis here is on matrimony and the wounds pornography inflicts, even when one spouse is unaware of the use of pornography. What is the draw? How does pornography connect with other mental health disorders? What is its psychological function and how does it affect marital intimacy? What about when pornography is engaged in together by a couple? Why and how is this still harmful to their relationship? What are the underlying areas that need developing and healing for a person to overcome it? What happens when these are not specifically addressed and the person just stops cold turkey? Are there still risks? If so, what are they? Why do partners often feel betrayed when they discover their spouse has been using pornography? What are the necessary ingredients for the traumatized spouse to be healed? What is the porn-engaging partner’s responsibility and task in the healing process? What controls over the situation can be attained?

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Catholic missionary and evangelist Romuald Simeone presents on Christ's Dialogue Method of Witnessing, Part 2: Becoming Witnesses of Jesus (September 5, 2021)

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Catholic missionary and evangelist Romuald Simeone presents on The Dialogue Method that Jesus Used to Gospel Witness. (September 4, 2021)

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Catholic missionary and evangelist Romuald Simeone presents The Gospel of John: Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? with ITEST (August 28, 2021)

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology hosts Joe Provenzano, Ron Morgan, and Dan Provenzano as they discuss the idea within their book that the fall of the angels may have resulted in the creation of the universe. (July 31, 2021)https://enroutebooksandmedia.com/fallenangelmodel/

In this webinar hosted by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Dr. Peter Redpath and Dr. Tom Sheahen speak on the topic of Media Bias. (June 19, 2021)https://faithscience.org/media-bias/

ITEST welcomes Dr. Charles Robertson and Dr. Elizabeth Rex on Embryo Adoption (May 8, 2021)For more, visit https://faithscience.org/embryo-adoption/