Professor Saunders and the MA in Human Rights students joined students from around the country in a special student-focused training session prior to the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. The Summit is a two-day gathering that convenes more than 90 partner organizations representing over 30 faith traditions. Professor Saunders lead the final session examining how each student could take […]
Father Michael Baggot, L.C. Compelling Comfort In times of stress, confusion, disappointment, or alienation, AI companions seem to offer exactly the kind of accessible, attentive concern that people desperately crave. They are available anytime, anywhere. An AI system’s extended context window can give the impression that it knows the user’s backstory and aspirations even better than human neighbors do. AI companion platforms such as Replika, Character.AI, Nomi, and others reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. They explicitly promise friendship, romance, and love. […]
By MA Student, Lina Maria Vera The March for Life is an experience unlike any other. When I first approached the location where the march was taking place, I wondered whether it truly was as significant as people claimed. However, that uncertainty quickly faded as I began to see individuals arriving with banners, hats, and signs. […]
By Lucia A. Silecchia Recently, my neighbor died. When I was at the funeral home and when I arrived at work late after his funeral, I was asked how I knew the gentleman who passed away. It was almost sheepishly, or with a note of apology that I said he was “a neighbor.” It was almost as though I thought that to mourn for one who […]
By Morgan Whitmer If Josef Pieper is known in the English-speaking world, it is usually for his work Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Frequently, moderns misunderstand leisure as a break from work, a time for refreshment before returning to the grindstone.1 For Pieper, however, leisure is not mere “free time.” Rather, Pieper argues that true leisure, according to […]
By: M.A. Student, Ellie Richards The M.A. students met with Prof. Robert Destro, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights. Destro, who is also a professor at CUA’s school of law, discussed the most effective ways to accomplish human rights work. He emphasized that often it is not only about what one knows […]
By Lucia A. Silecchia Recently, I have been the frequent, unwilling viewer of an interesting advertisement. In short, the advertisement begins by presenting the modern catastrophe of a family ordering dinner delivered to their home and discovering, to their horror, that each member of the family wants a different type of cuisine. To the rescue is the delivery app touted by the ad. It can save these poor people from […]
By Dr. Jonathan Wanner “The truth shall make you odd.”—Flannery O’Connor A paradox clears up the mud in your mind by making it dirtier, and the best paradoxes rely on an error to correct an error. G. K. Chesterton intuited this fact well, as he routinely confuses the reader only to enlighten him, teaching logical […]
By: M.A. Student, Ellie Richards The M.A. students met with the president of the March for Life and human rights attorney, Jennie Lichter to learn about the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world. The March for Life was founded by Nellie Gray in 1974 in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade to make abortion a constitutional right. Lichter explained that the annual march primarily […]
By: M.A. Student, Will Campbell Recently, the M.A. Students had the opportunity to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. Shortly after entering the building, the deep and abiding impact of such a man as Pope St. John Paul II became clear, as is the care by which the Shrine shepherds his legacy. The museum sets the stage with the gravitas of his accomplishments, very […]
By Lucia A. Silecchia Pope Leo XIV recently released the first extensive document of his papacy, Dilexi Te, an Apostolic Exhortation on love for the poor. Almost immediately, pundits responded, some thoughtfully and others with partisan “hot takes” that pulled a mere line or two from the document to illustrate how it aligned perfectly with their […]
By IHE Scholar Miriam Pritschet The IHE England pilgrimage was an unparalleled experience. Accompanied by a flock of faithful, joyful, intellectually curious fellow pilgrims and surrounded by the stunning architecture of Gothic spires and baroque facades, I could hardly believe how blessed I was to be experiencing the riches of the faith in Our Lady’s […]
