Latest news with #CatholicFaith
WebMD
6 days ago
- General
- WebMD
Faith, God, and Dopamine
During my most severe manic episode, I became fixated on questions of spirituality and religion. I was a frequent visitor to a Buddhist temple near our house, and I began to revisit the Catholic faith of my youth. I even started entertaining thoughts that I might be a prophet or messiah. Interesting, given that I've been an atheist and a skeptic of all things spiritual my entire adult life. In the U.S., it's estimated that 15% to 22% of bipolar individuals with mania experience religious delusions, such as thinking that demons are watching them or that they are Christ reborn, according to a review of studies on the frequency of religious delusions in people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other severe mental disorders in the Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo). Short of delusions, hyperreligiosity can be hard to identify among those actively practicing a faith. Many people turn to the comfort of their faith to help them through trying times, so an uptick in religious thought and activity can be viewed by family, friends, and even mental health providers as a normal response to one's illness. It's only when behavior falls outside of social norms that it becomes concerning. Kanye West is arguably an example of this difficulty playing out against the backdrop of artistry and fame. Kanye's public on-again, off-again approach to medication for treating his bipolar disorder has been linked to erratic behavior. While he has referenced God and Jesus throughout his career, his adoption of the nickname 'Yeezus,' statements about his single 'I Am A God,' and leading of public and private worship services have been alternately interpreted as a 'God complex,' an artistic device, or an evolution of his personal faith. So there I was. An atheist turned dime-store Yeezus. What was going on? A clue lies in reports of patients dealing with a very different type of neurological disorder: Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's disease experience a degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons in certain prefrontal circuits. Because mania is associated with excess dopamine production in those same circuits, it's compelling to think that dopamine may be the fuel for religiosity in the brain. It also explains why, when my dopamine levels were curbed with antipsychotic medications, my hyperreligiosity was, too.[1] In my Roman Catholic boyhood, I had to choose a confirmation name based on a saint with whom I felt some affinity. I chose Saint Paul because he was smart, stubborn, and hard to win over. He only converted to Christianity after being struck temporarily blind by a bright heavenly light. Something about a saint who was a nonbeliever until God smacked him in the face resonated with me. I don't consider myself anti-religious, and I don't see religion and science as inherently at odds with one another. I think that science can elucidate the physiological mechanisms by which our brains work, regardless of whether you see the hand of God working through those mechanisms or not.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Vance says Roberts is ‘profoundly wrong' about judiciary's role to check executive branch
Vice President JD Vance called Chief Justice John Roberts' comments earlier this month that the judiciary's role is to check the executive branch a 'profoundly wrong sentiment' and said the courts should be 'deferential' to the president, particularly when it comes to immigration. 'I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That's one half of his job, the other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. And you cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they're not allowed to have what they voted for,' Vance told New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat on the 'Interesting Times' podcast, which was taped on Monday. Vance was responding to Roberts' remarks at an event in Buffalo, New York, where the chief justice stressed the importance of judicial independence. 'The judiciary is a coequal branch of government, separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law, and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president,' Roberts said at the event. The judiciary's role, Roberts added, is to 'decide cases but, in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or of the executive and that does require a degree of independence.' Vance's interview with The Times, which was taped in Rome after he attended the inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV, also delved into the vice president's Catholic faith and how it shapes his role as a political leader. While Vance said he believes the administration has 'an obligation to treat people humanely,' he also said it's an 'open question' how much due process is 'due' to undocumented immigrants. 'I've obviously expressed public frustration on this, which is yes, illegal immigrants, by virtue of being in the United States, are entitled to some due process,' Vance said. 'But the amount of process that is due and how you enforce those legislative standards and how you actually bring them to bear is, I think, very much an open question.' On Friday, the Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump from moving forward with deporting a group of immigrants in northern Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act – a win for Venezuelans who feared they were going to be removed under the wartime authority. The administration invoked the powers earlier this year to speed deportations of alleged gang members and has cited national security concerns. Asked about the justification for using those legal authorities to deport people, Vance conceded that 'we don't have 5 million uniform combatants.' But he pointed to thousands of migrants who he said, without evidence, 'intentionally came to the United States to cause violence' to argue that courts need to be deferential to the president on what he called a 'public safety' issue. 'I think that the courts need to be somewhat deferential. In fact, I think the design is that they should be extremely deferential to these questions of political judgment made by the people's elected president of United States,' Vance said. 'People under appreciate the level of public safety stress that we're under when the president talks about how bad crime is.' When asked how he would define success on immigration after Trump's term, Vance also pointed to the courts. 'Success, to me, is not so much a number, though, obviously I'd love to see the gross majority of the illegal immigrants who came in under Biden deported,' Vance said. 'Success, to me, is that we have established a set of rules and principles that the courts are comfortable with and that we have the infrastructure to do that, allows us to deport large numbers of illegal aliens when large numbers of illegal aliens come into the country.' Vance acknowledged he's sometimes had to reconcile his faith with the administration's policy decisions while going on to defend its actions on immigration. 'I understand your point and making these judgments, if you take the teachings of our faith seriously, they are hard. I'm not going to pretend that I haven't struggled with some of this, that I haven't thought about whether, you know, we're doing the precisely right thing,' Vance told Douthat. 'The concern that you raise is fair, there has to be some way in which you're asking yourself as you go about enforcing the law – even, to your point, against a very dangerous people – that you're enforcing the law consistent with, you know, the Catholic Church's moral dictates and so forth.' Douthat interjected, 'And American law and basic principles.' 'Most importantly, American law,' Vance said. Asked about his disagreements on immigration with Popes Francis and Leo, Vance – who said he was wearing a tie Francis gifted him before his death – said that you have to 'hold two ideas in your head at the same time' about enforcing border laws and respecting the dignity of migrants. 'I'm not saying I'm always perfect at it. But I at least try to think about, okay, there are obligations that we have to people who, in some ways, are fleeing violence or at least fleeing poverty. I also have a very sacred obligation, I think, to enforce the laws and to promote the common good of my own country, defined as the people with the legal right to be here,' Vance said. 'I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly,' he added. 'And so that's not because I hate the migrants, or I'm motivated by grievance. That's because I'm trying to preserve something in my own country where we are a unified nation.'
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Vance says Roberts is ‘profoundly wrong' about judiciary's role to check executive branch
Vice President JD Vance called Chief Justice John Roberts' comments earlier this month that the judiciary's role is to check the executive branch a 'profoundly wrong sentiment' and said the courts should be 'deferential' to the president, particularly when it comes to immigration. 'I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That's one half of his job, the other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. And you cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they're not allowed to have what they voted for,' Vance told New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat on the 'Interesting Times' podcast, which was taped on Monday. Vance was responding to Roberts' remarks at an event in Buffalo, New York, where the chief justice stressed the importance of judicial independence. 'The judiciary is a coequal branch of government, separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law, and strike down, obviously, acts of Congress or acts of the president,' Roberts said at the event. The judiciary's role, Roberts added, is to 'decide cases but, in the course of that, check the excesses of Congress or of the executive and that does require a degree of independence.' Vance's interview with The Times, which was taped in Rome after he attended the inaugural mass for Pope Leo XIV, also delved into the vice president's Catholic faith and how it shapes his role as a political leader. While Vance said he believes the administration has 'an obligation to treat people humanely,' he also said it's an 'open question' how much due process is 'due' to undocumented immigrants. 'I've obviously expressed public frustration on this, which is yes, illegal immigrants, by virtue of being in the United States, are entitled to some due process,' Vance said. 'But the amount of process that is due and how you enforce those legislative standards and how you actually bring them to bear is, I think, very much an open question.' On Friday, the Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump from moving forward with deporting a group of immigrants in northern Texas under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act – a win for Venezuelans who feared they were going to be removed under the wartime authority. The administration invoked the powers earlier this year to speed deportations of alleged gang members and has cited national security concerns. Asked about the justification for using those legal authorities to deport people, Vance conceded that 'we don't have 5 million uniform combatants.' But he pointed to thousands of migrants who he said, without evidence, 'intentionally came to the United States to cause violence' to argue that courts need to be deferential to the president on what he called a 'public safety' issue. 'I think that the courts need to be somewhat deferential. In fact, I think the design is that they should be extremely deferential to these questions of political judgment made by the people's elected president of United States,' Vance said. 'People under appreciate the level of public safety stress that we're under when the president talks about how bad crime is.' When asked how he would define success on immigration after Trump's term, Vance also pointed to the courts. 'Success, to me, is not so much a number, though, obviously I'd love to see the gross majority of the illegal immigrants who came in under Biden deported,' Vance said. 'Success, to me, is that we have established a set of rules and principles that the courts are comfortable with and that we have the infrastructure to do that, allows us to deport large numbers of illegal aliens when large numbers of illegal aliens come into the country.' Vance acknowledged he's sometimes had to reconcile his faith with the administration's policy decisions while going on to defend its actions on immigration. 'I understand your point and making these judgments, if you take the teachings of our faith seriously, they are hard. I'm not going to pretend that I haven't struggled with some of this, that I haven't thought about whether, you know, we're doing the precisely right thing,' Vance told Douthat. 'The concern that you raise is fair, there has to be some way in which you're asking yourself as you go about enforcing the law – even, to your point, against a very dangerous people – that you're enforcing the law consistent with, you know, the Catholic Church's moral dictates and so forth.' Douthat interjected, 'And American law and basic principles.' 'Most importantly, American law,' Vance said. Asked about his disagreements on immigration with Popes Francis and Leo, Vance – who said he was wearing a tie Francis gifted him before his death – said that you have to 'hold two ideas in your head at the same time' about enforcing border laws and respecting the dignity of migrants. 'I'm not saying I'm always perfect at it. But I at least try to think about, okay, there are obligations that we have to people who, in some ways, are fleeing violence or at least fleeing poverty. I also have a very sacred obligation, I think, to enforce the laws and to promote the common good of my own country, defined as the people with the legal right to be here,' Vance said. 'I really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly,' he added. 'And so that's not because I hate the migrants, or I'm motivated by grievance. That's because I'm trying to preserve something in my own country where we are a unified nation.'
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Historic moment Albo shakes hands with the new Pope - and the VERY Aussie detail the PM took with him to the Inauguration at the Vatican
Anthony Albanese brought along with him a very Aussie accessory as he met Pope Leo XIV at the inauguration mass on Sunday. The Prime Minister donned an Akubra as he joined world leaders and royalty at the Vatican in Rome for the historic event watched by millions around the world. Mr Albanese shared footage his meeting with the new Pope on Instagram, writing: 'Honoured to attend the inaugural Mass and meet His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, who is in the prayers of Australia's five million Catholics today.' Ahead of the ceremony, he told reporters in Rome: 'It will be a special day for the five million Australians of Catholic faith ... and it is a great honour for me to be here representing Australia 'It is a great honour for me to be here representing Australia.' Since arriving in Rome, Mr Albanese has met with Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli at Domus Australia. The mass, attended by tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square, began at 10am local time (6pm on Sunday AEST). Church leaders will then present the Pope with the pallium, a vestment that signifies his assumption of the papacy, and a fisherman's ring, the symbol of the first apostles being 'fishers of men' in the gospels. Mr Albanese said the Pope would be invited to Australia for the International Eucharist Conference in 2028. Australia's ambassador to the Holy See Keith Pitt said one of his jobs would be to lobby hard to get the Pope to visit Australia in 2028 for the congress. 'It's been a long time since a Pope has been in Australia,' Mr Pitt told Sky News. Mr Pitt said the Pope, who hailed from America but spent much of his life in Peru, was 'a student of the world'. 'He's been to Australia a number of times ... and I was reminded again this morning by an archbishop that apparently he loves Tim Tams,' he said. Mr Albanese, who is also Catholic, said he did not often talk about his religious views but they had helped inform his politics. 'One of my first memories is of Pope Paul VI visiting Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown, across the road from my house,' he said. 'My mum took me across to get close to Pope Paul. 'It was one of the very important moments in my mum's life. I was just a little kid at the time.' The recently re-elected prime minister will also advance Australia's domestic and foreign policy agenda as part of his whirlwind two-and-a-half-day visit to Rome. Mr Albanese will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, with the war in Ukraine and trade expected to top the agenda. The prime minister said he supported a trade deal with the Europeans if it was in Australia's interests. Canada and the EU have felt the brunt of US President Donald Trump's so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs, and Mr Albanese will attempt to revive free trade negotiations with the EU, which broke down in 2023. Other notable attendees include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain's Prince William and US Vice President JD Vance, who will represent the US on behalf of Mr Trump. Mr Albanese said he also hoped to schedule meetings with Vice President Vance and President Zelenskiy.
Globe and Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
How much will Mark Carney's Catholic faith inform the way he governs Canada?
Prime Minister Mark Carney's trip to the Vatican Sunday for the mass marking the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV is both a diplomatic overture and an event of personal significance. Mr. Carney is Roman Catholic, and as he noted in a statement upon the election of Pope Leo, a new papacy is a major milestone for the faithful. 'This is a historic moment for the Catholic community and for all those who look to the Vatican for guidance,' he said. His trip in turn raises questions about whether or how, as he governs Canada, he may seek that guidance. At the start of the recent election campaign, he told reporters that he doesn't talk publicly about his faith or spirituality. 'What's relevant is that it informs my sense of responsibility and service,' he said. 'I feel that I should serve our country the best I can.' But there are numerous signs of how faith plays a role in his life. On the morning of his first foreign trip as Prime Minister, before he met with any diplomats or dignitaries in Paris, Mr. Carney visited Notre-Dame cathedral, which had been severely damaged by fire in 2019 and recently reopened. He and his wife, Diana, paused in front of small bins of white votive candles. Catholics light candles as a visible sign of prayer, and Mr. Carney bought one for himself and one for his wife. As he touched a match to the wick, he told a passerby – in French – that he was saying a little prayer for Quebec and for Canada. Mr. Carney is a regular churchgoer. He went to mass the morning the election campaign began and twice on Easter Weekend, in the final days of the campaign. While Governor of the Bank of England, he was a parishioner of St. Mary's Church in Hampstead and was the guest of honour for its 200th anniversary celebrations. He is also a self-professed admirer of Benedictine monk Laurence Freeman, the head of the World Community for Christian Meditation, whose seminars he has addressed. The influence of the church on Mr. Carney goes beyond the pew. In a statement marking the death of Pope Francis, he relayed a story about when the two met in 2014. 'Pope Francis issued a challenge that has guided me ever since. He likened humanity to wine – rich, diverse, full of spirit – and the market to grappa – distilled, intense, and at times disconnected,' Mr. Carney said. 'He called on us to 'turn grappa back into wine,' to reintegrate human values into our economic lives.' Well after that encounter, Mr. Carney published his book Value(s): Building a Better World for All and included the anecdote in its opening pages. To observers, the tome is a clear riff on Christian teachings that the economy exists not to be a self-serving beast but to uplift. 'Mark Carney maintains that the values of economic dynamism and efficiency should be joined with those of solidarity, fairness, responsibility and compassion,' wrote Catholic Register columnist Glen Argan earlier this year. 'All popes since the First World War (and perhaps some before that) have said much the same.' In fact, Pope Leo XIV's namesake, Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), laid some of the foundations of modern Catholic thought on the economy, as the Second Industrial Revolution gave rise to concerns that workers' rights and dignity were being destroyed. In choosing the name Leo, Cardinal Robert Prevost tied back to that work. But he also cast forward to concerns that artificial intelligence creates new challenges for human dignity and labour, which he intends to address with his papacy. Mr. Carney is bullish on AI but has also reflected on its risks. His party's platform promised more investment in the technology – but also a close eye on its impacts to 'ensure no one is left behind.' In the cabinet he announced this past week, he named a first-ever Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, though the portfolio's mandate is currently undefined. Unlike politicians in the United States, where having no religious affiliation can render a political career a non-starter, Canadian politicians who are practising Catholics have long faced scrutiny over the balance between their faith and their work. It is a particular sore spot in Quebec, where politicians have come under criticism for publicly endorsing their own Catholic faith, while mandating secularism for the government itself. Before Justin Trudeau even became Liberal leader, his Catholic faith was questioned by rival politicians, who said he wasn't Catholic enough to be an appropriate guest speaker at a Catholic school. Mr. Trudeau, at the time, cited his faith in his personal opposition to abortion, though he supported a woman's right to access one. Several years later, he would say that his position had 'evolved' and that he no longer personally opposed abortions. Mr. Carney has said that he 'absolutely' supports a right to choose. When William McGrattan, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, was asked by a Catholic news outlet to respond to Mr. Carney's position, he replied: 'I would say that someone who is in politics and claims to be living according to their faith and making such statements, we see the disconnect, and this is unfortunate with many of our politicians.' Brian Dijkema, the president, Canada at Cardus, has many questions about how Mr. Carney's faith will make itself manifest in government. The non-partisan think tank, whose work is informed by Christian theology, has played host to Mr. Carney numerous times. As an example, Mr. Dijkema pointed to the expansion of Canada's medical assistance in dying regime. Allowing broad access to MAID conflicts with Mr. Carney's focus on ensuring that the economy supports the most vulnerable, he said. 'If we're not taking care of those people, you know, I think there are legitimate questions to be asked about how Christian that view of economics is.' Showcasing a Christian view of economics while running central banks is not the same as having the power that comes from running a government, Mr. Dijkema said. 'Power is intended to execute justice, and justice biblically, and through our tradition is often the question of justice for those who can't speak for themselves or who are too weak to do so,' he said. 'We'll have to see what this government will actually do.'
