It is difficult for me to look at a photograph of a hungry child and simply turn the page. Perhaps it is because I have spent so many years working with young people at Kochi University and traveling across Asia to share the pro-life message. When you look into the face of a child who does not have enough to eat, hunger is no longer just a statistic. It has a face. It is a little boy or girl who is hungry today and whose parents may not know where tomorrow’s food will come from.
Continue reading29 Aug
The Beauty and Sanctity of Human Life
Through the Eyes of a Missionary Priest Working in Japan
Working in pro-life ministry for over 40 years as a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate has given me the opportunity to meet people at almost every stage of life. I have shared the happiness of families welcoming a new baby. I have spent time with young people at Kochi University trying to figure out who they are and where their lives are going. During my many pro-life trips throughout Asia, I have visited people in hospitals, listened to those going through difficult times, and prayed with people nearing the end of their lives. All of these experiences have taught me something very simple but very important: human life is beautiful, and human life is sacred.
Continue reading18 Aug
Preventing Cancer—but at What Cost?
Fallopian Tube Removal, Fertility, and the Catholic Respect for Life
Imagine that someday a doctor tells you, “There is an operation that could lower your chances of getting a deadly cancer in the future.” That sounds like good news. After all, who wouldn’t want to prevent cancer if possible? But then the doctor tells you something else. The operation would remove both of your fallopian tubes. You would still have your ovaries and your normal female hormones, but you would never again be able to become pregnant naturally. Would that change the way you looked at the decision?
Continue reading9 Aug
Nagasaki, 81 Years Later: A Wound That Calls Us to Peace
Remembering the People
Today, as we remember Nagasaki, I do not want simply to speak about an event in history. I want us to remember people – fathers and mothers, children and grandparents, students and workers, priests and religious sisters – whose lives were suddenly destroyed on August 9, 1945.
As a Catholic priest who has lived and served in Japan for 61 years, I have come to understand that Nagasaki is not simply a place on a map. Nagasaki is a sacred place of memory. It is a place where the history of Japan, the history of the Catholic Church, and the tragedy of war come together.
Continue reading21 Jul
IVF: Are We Playing God with Human Embyros
Imagine a young married couple. They have dreamed of having children since the day they were married. Month after month they hope, pray, and wait—but nothing happens. Eventually, their doctor suggests in vitro fertilization (IVF). Friends encourage them to try it. Social media is full of happy stories about babies born through IVF. It seems like the obvious answer.
In recent decades, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become one of the most widely accepted ways for couples struggling with infertility to have children. Millions celebrate IVF as a scientific miracle that fulfills the dream of parenthood. The pain of infertility is real, and every couple who longs for a child deserves compassion, understanding, and support. However, compassion should never prevent us from asking an important moral question: Does every technological possibility respect the dignity of human life?
From a Catholic perspective, the answer is not simply whether IVF works, but whether it respects God’s plan for human life and the dignity of every child. Two serious concerns arise. First, IVF attempts to replace God’s design for the beginning of human life. Second, it risks treating unborn babies as products that can be created, selected, bought, sold, or discarded according to human preferences.
Continue reading27 Jun
AI, Faith, and the Future: Becoming the Person God Created You to Be in a Digital World
Introduction
If I could sit down with a group of university students and young adults today, there is one conversation I would want us to have. It would not begin with computers or robots. It would begin with a much more important question: What kind of person do you want to become?
As you prepare for your future, you will make decisions about your studies, your career, your friendships, and perhaps one day your marriage and family. At the same time, you are entering a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday life. Technology will influence many of those decisions. But it should never define the person you become. That is why this article is not really about AI. It is about you. It is about building a life of wisdom, character, and faith in a world that is changing faster than ever before.
The eight questions that follow are an invitation to think beyond technology and to consider something far more important: how to build a life of character in an age of Artificial Intelligence.
Continue reading4 May
Human Life is Sacred from Conception
Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI – Pastoral Statement: Human Life is Sacred from Conception
1. The Bible clearly teaches that human life is sacred and precious from conception, and that murder is wrong (Genesis 9:6). This sacredness flows from the sacrament of marriage in which a married couple cooperates with God in bringing new human life into our world. Uniquely among all creatures created by God, only man, the human person; the human being, which includes each and every species of homo sapiens at all stages of life, has the capacity for a loving relationship with God. Only man has a soul and is the only one made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). It follows then the human soul must be present from conception. Body and soul cannot be separate until death as determined by God.
Continue reading16 Apr
Silent Suffering: The Hidden Persecution of Catholics Today
Imagine not being able to go to church without fear. Imagine having to hide your faith from your friends, your neighbors, or even your government. For millions of Catholics around the world, this is not just a possibility – it is their everyday life. Religious persecution is often talked about in general terms, but for many Catholics, it is deeply personal. In many countries, they face discrimination, violence, imprisonment, and even death simply because of their faith. While the modern world often presents itself as tolerant and progressive, the truth is that Catholic Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups today.
Continue reading28 Mar
When Silence Feels Too Easy: A Christian Reflection on Abortion Pills
There is a quiet change happening in our world. It is not loud, and many people do not notice it right away. But it matters. More and more, abortion is happening not in clinics, but at home, through pills. It is private, fast, and often done alone. I never imagined I would feel this deeply about something so often discussed in whispers, but headlines such as this, “Abortion Pills Now Kill 2/3 of All Babies Killed in Abortions”, make it harder to ignore.
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