John R Berkman | University of Toronto (original) (raw)

Videos by John R Berkman

In his keynote address at the Creature Conference John Berkman, Professor of Moral Theology at Re... more In his keynote address at the Creature Conference John Berkman, Professor of Moral Theology at Regis College, University of Toronto, brings together ethology and theology in considering what is means for animals flourish and why this matters to God.

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Professor John Berkman warns against the evils of factory farming and reveals how Pope Francis’s ... more Professor John Berkman warns against the evils of factory farming and reveals how Pope Francis’s Laudato Si has encouraged new, positive thinking in regards to environmental and animal issues.

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Moral Philosophy and Theology Papers by John R Berkman

Studies in Christian Ethics, 2024

It has been argued that Elizabeth Anscombe's writing on killing and just war in the 1950s and ear... more It has been argued that Elizabeth Anscombe's writing on killing and just war in the 1950s and early 1960s were highly influential, not only on just war theorists (such as Michael Walzer and Thomas Nagel), but also on the recovery of just war thinking among the US and British military. In researching the sources for Anscombe's thought, it became clear that Donald MacKinnon's unknown early writings on social ethics and war inspired and influenced Anscombe's earliest thought on justice in war. In this paper, I focus on MacKinnon's and Anscombe's prophetic analysis of the function of the Church and the lay faithful in a time of war. This paper argues that among other things, MacKinnon and Anscombe anticipate much of the contemporary concerns of the advocates of the 'just peace' approach to thinking about war and other violent conflicts.

Kingdom Come, 2022

Elizabeth Anscombe's book Intention and her famous essay “Modern Moral Philosophy” were contingen... more Elizabeth Anscombe's book Intention and her famous essay “Modern Moral Philosophy” were contingent intellectual byproducts of a public witness against mass murder. If she had not made her solitary public witness to a fundamental moral principle, Anscombe would not likely have written either Intention or “Modern Moral Philosophy.” This essay in honour of Jonathan Wilson tells the heretofore unknown story of Elizabeth Anscombe’s witness, and how it transformed the future of moral philosophy and Christian ethics.

New Blackfriars, 2021

This short autobiographical piece by G. E. M. Anscombe, published in 1938, is the earliest known ... more This short autobiographical piece by G. E. M. Anscombe, published in 1938, is the earliest known publication by Anscombe. It is edited by John Berkman.

Studies in Christian Ethics, 2022

In this brief response, I address what I take to be a key problematic that arises from reflection... more In this brief response, I address what I take to be a key problematic that arises from reflection on Jayme Reaves's article. My response is not so much to any concerns with Reaves's article, but with the scriptural exegesis and resulting claims of some of her interlocutors. The problematic is as follows: Scriptural texts discussing the cities of refuge are almost universally appropriated as inspiration for naming contemporary locales, whether churches, synagogues, towns or cities as 'sanctuaries'. The problem is that the scriptural texts on the cities of refuge proclaim refuge for killers, murderers and/or manslayers, that these cities of refuge seem to offer refuge to the persecutors.

Oxford Handbook for Elizabeth Anscombe, 2022

Drawing on my archival and biographical research on Anscombe, I argue that Anscombe’s work in mor... more Drawing on my archival and biographical research on Anscombe, I argue that Anscombe’s work in moral philosophy was driven by her concern to recover the absolute moral prohibition on murder, and the virtue of justice as the appropriate basis for it. Oxford moral philosophy made the mistake of giving priority to abstract moral theorizing over the most fundamental moral convictions. Anscombe, following the wisdom of great philosophical and religious traditions, recognized that the prohibition of killing innocent people as a requirement of natural justice as a prerequisite for legitimate theorizing about morality. She thus attacked what she took to be the naïve, frivolous and/or degenerate moral theorizing of the ‘Oxford moral philosophers.’

New Blackfriars, 2021

This essay examines the Dominican influences on the Catholic philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe while an... more This essay examines the Dominican influences on the Catholic philosopher G.E.M. Anscombe while an undergraduate at Oxford University between 1937-1941. It focuses on three Thomists who formally instructed Anscombe and how one Dominican, Victor White, likely instructed her on a radically Catholic perspective regarding the morality of warfare, which would not only influence her 1940 co-authored pamphlet, 'The Justice of the Present War Examined', but would shape her writings on war and murder for her entire academic career. This essay accompanies the republication of Anscombe's 'I am Sadly Theoretical: It is the Effect of Being at Oxford,' her earliest known published essay. She wrote this article in response to a public invitation from the Catholic Herald for Catholics between the ages of 18 and 25 to make their voices heard by their fellow Catholics. In this teenage apologia, Anscombe outlines the goals for her life, and what it means for her as a Catholic to be a witness.

“Are there objective moral values which can unite human beings and bring them peace and happiness... more “Are there objective moral values which can unite human beings and bring them peace and happiness?” People seem to assume there are indeed such values when they recoil against genocide, rape, child abuse, slavery and human trafficking, senseless destruction of the environment, involuntary “medical” testing, corruption, and terrorism. This recoil is generally perceived to be not merely some learned or innate moral sentiment, but an indicator that some actions are truly wrong — wrong not merely because of the emotional responses they arouse; wrong not merely on the basis of a consensual agreement between people or societies; but truly wrong, meaning in violation of some standard for human action that is applicable to and (at least in principle) accessible to all human persons. Even if there is great difficulty specifying norms about wrong human actions, and even if the norms have needed revision, there is a common conviction that certain moral norms exist. This fundamental conviction that there is some sort of standard against which human actions can be evaluated, and that it is accessible and applicable to all, is the essence of the view that there is a universal ethic.

Christian Bioethics , 1997

One's conception of the conditions and applicability of the principle of double effect derive fro... more One's conception of the conditions and applicability of the principle of double effect derive from one's broader convictions about moral methodology. Developed in a Catholic context which presumed the existence of moral absolutes, the principle of double effect was originally a conceptual tool to aid priests in being skilled confessors. In recent decades, as the practice of moral theology has become less connected with its earlier ecclesial and sacramental context, the principle of double effect has fallen into an epistemological crisis. Contemporary moral theological discussion of the principle of double effect usually operates in one of the following four contexts: interpretation of Aquinas; in defended within the new natural law methodology. The essay argues that juridically oriented methodologies do not adequately sustain the principle of double effect. To be sustained, it must be viewed as a theological achievement based upon the meaning of our redemption in Christ and the concomitant possibilities regarding our actions in pursuit of our true good and true end.

Eucharistic Reconciliation: Penitence, Punishment, and Worship, Jan 2004

This essay focuses on the reconciliatory facet of the Eucharist, highlighting its transformative ... more This essay focuses on the reconciliatory facet of the Eucharist, highlighting its transformative and restorative character. In so doing, it seeks to show how the Eucharist can shape our perception and practices with regard to penitence and retributive justice, two controversial aspects of reconciliation. The essay proceeds in three sections. The first section focuses on how acknowledgment of our need for reconciliation shapes our identity, showing us not only who we are as sinners, but also who we are called to be as a reconciled people. The second section examines practices of penitence in the Church’s history to show how these practices of penitence contribute to the practice of what I shall call Eucharistic reconciliation. The third and final section will examine both ecclesial and secular practices of punishment in the light of the practice of Eucharistic reconciliation, and in doing so seek to show how punishment—properly understood and applied—can be understood to be a part of the practice of Eucharistic reconciliation.

New Blackfriars, Nov 1994

Philosophy & Theology, Jan 1996

After responding to several misreadings of Milbank's project in Theology and Social Theory - e.g.... more After responding to several misreadings of Milbank's project in Theology and Social Theory - e.g., that it dispenses with "truth" or "reality", is sectarian, reads a social theory off the bible, is ecclesially absolutist - the authors highlight several strands of Milbank's argument to stress the resolutely theological character of this work. In Milbank's narrative, modernity is defined as a theological problem in which forms of modern secular thought have usurped theology as the "ultimate organizing logic"; his theological response to this involves a broadly Augustinian account of the relationship between nature and grace which requires a theology which can only be true if it is enacted: it is necessary for the Church to make an actual historical difference in the world.

Tradition and Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, Jan 2010

These short remarks are a belated expression of thanks for the gift in my life that was Poteat. W... more These short remarks are a belated expression of thanks for the gift in my life that was Poteat. When Poteat died, I was spending time at a Trappist monastery, and never got word until after the funeral. I greatly regretted not being there. While I had the opportunity to tell Poteat during his lifetime how much he meant to me and the wonderful gift he gave to me, after his death, I never got or took the opportunity to tell that to others. This is my very belated attempt so to do.

The Pinckaers Reader, Jul 2005

Religion and Public Life: The Legacy of Monsignor John A. Ryan, 2001

In this paper, I wish to look at John Ryan's considerable interest in questions of birth regulati... more In this paper, I wish to look at John Ryan's considerable interest in questions of birth regulation. My thesis is twofold: first, that Ryan's views on the regulation of family size were integrally connected with his economic and political thought. Second, the right to enter the married state and the number of children one has is a not merely an issue of personal satisfaction and happiness, but also a question of the common good of society.

On the 25rh Anniversary of Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America, theologians Lorenzo Albacet... more On the 25rh Anniversary of Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America, theologians Lorenzo Albacete and John Berkman, and philosophers Bradley Lewis and Eric Perl individually engage in a dialogue with Berry on a wide-ranging set of topics.

This short paper is a response to Fr. John Pawlikowski’s presentation entitled “Holocaust: Its Co... more This short paper is a response to Fr. John Pawlikowski’s presentation entitled “Holocaust: Its Contemporary Ethical Challenges,” presented at Regis College in the University of Toronto on November 5th, 2013. Prof. Pawlikowski was presenting at a session entitled “What Influence has the Holocaust had on Christian Social Ethics?”, which was part of the 2013 Holocaust Education Week in the City of Toronto. Prof. Pawlikowski has been an outstanding figure in Catholic Social Ethics over the last 40 years in terms of teaching the field about the significance of the Holocaust for Catholic Social Ethics. Unfortunately, as this brief response argues, it has seemingly had little influence on the discipline of Catholic Social Ethics.

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Studies in Christian Ethics, 2024

Kingdom Come, 2022

New Blackfriars, 2021

Studies in Christian Ethics, 2022

Oxford Handbook for Elizabeth Anscombe, 2022

New Blackfriars, 2021

Christian Bioethics , 1997

Eucharistic Reconciliation: Penitence, Punishment, and Worship, Jan 2004

New Blackfriars, Nov 1994

Philosophy & Theology, Jan 1996

Tradition and Discovery: The Polanyi Society Periodical, Jan 2010

The Pinckaers Reader, Jul 2005

Religion and Public Life: The Legacy of Monsignor John A. Ryan, 2001

Dictionary of Ethics, Theology, and Society, 1996

A reflection on what it means to be the 'image of God' and what it means to be the Church in rela... more A reflection on what it means to be the 'image of God' and what it means to be the Church in relation to all animal creation.

The Ark, 2022

In the Catholic Moral Tradition, there are a number of ways in which one can criticize the practi... more In the Catholic Moral Tradition, there are a number of ways in which one can criticize the practice of factory farming. In the last fifty years the Catholic tradition has begun to develop the notion of “social sin,” and factory farming fits this notion. However, this piece focuses not on the wrong done by those who engage in factory farming, but on the wrongfulness of one’s buying and/or eating factory-farmed meat.
I will draw on what the Catholic moral tradition refers to as cooperation with wrongdoing, and argue that buying factory-farmed meat constitutes formal cooperation with wrongdoing.

The Ark, 2022

If you treat a few animals callously, say torturing a few cats, you can be cited for animal cruel... more If you treat a few animals callously, say torturing a few cats, you can be cited for animal cruelty. However, if you cage millions of animals in small spaces where they can hardly move; mutilate them by cutting off their beaks, tails, and/or horns; brand them with hot irons; castrate them; genetically engineer their bodies; and breed them with techniques that result in a lifetime of severe pain, you are unlikely to ever get penalized.

Presentation at Sarx Conference on March 18, 2017

There has been an almost complete marginalizaton of consideration of non-animals animals in Catho... more There has been an almost complete marginalizaton of consideration of non-animals animals in Catholic theology generally and Catholic moral theology more specifically up until very recently. But something remarkable has happened in just the past few years. No longer excluding animals from view, there is a veritable flowering of interest in non-human animals among Catholic moral theologians. Instead of accepting and reinforcing the binary between humans and animals, Catholic moral theologians now acknowledge they are ‘other animals’ with which we share animality as common creaturely kinds, even if we note that humans are specific kinds of animals. Perhaps it is as in other topics, moral theologians are slowly following the lead of moral philosophers, who have been writing extensively on this topic for the last 40 years. But on the other hand, on related topics such as environmental ethics Roman Catholic discussion proved to be far more open, so that elements of environmental concern started to show up even in official Catholic social teaching at more or less the same time as environmental ethics was established as a field of study in the late 1960s and 1970s. There was something, then, about the specific concern for non-human animals that seems to have been resisted among Catholic moral theologians in a way that seemed to pose questions about the animal as even more threatening compared with environmental concern. One possible suggestion as to why this might be the case is that on the one hand, environmental concern, when viewed in a global context, showed up the necessary relation between the flourishing of human beings and that of ecological contexts. Other animal concern, on the other hand, seemed to take away from concern for humans as it focused on the individual lives of animals, rather than much more generalized ecological contexts for human flourishing. Both ecological ethics and animal ethics challenged lifestyles in particular ways, but animal ethics arguably presses for more immediate and radical change, even among city dwellers.

We are all opposed—at least ostensibly—to mindless animal cruelty. Almost no one defended Michael... more We are all opposed—at least ostensibly—to mindless animal cruelty. Almost no one defended Michael Vick and his cohorts when they tortured and killed dogs for their dog fighting ring. Imagine Michael Vick had been selling a product—say dog-skin handbags from the “losing” dogs—that financially supported and enabled the continued torture of more dogs. We would not only not buy these dog-skin handbags, we would boycott the handbags and urge others not to buy them as well. This essay argues that we are a lot more like Michael Vick than we care to imagine. No, we’re not highly paid football players and we won’t go to jail or go bankrupt for our participation in animal cruelty. But like Michael Vick, we participate in animal cruelty, and we are similarly raised in a way that we do not see its wrongfulness. How do we participate in animal cruelty? By spending billions of dollars each year financially supporting an incredibly common and pervasive form of animal cruelty: factory farming, which involves raising pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys, and other animals in deplorable conditions. And, like Michael Vick, we financially support it in part because we have an addiction. More specifically, we are addicted to the taste of low-cost industrial meat. As a result, we refuse to see our financial support of large scale cruelty to animals.

Logos - Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Jan 2004

Historically, most if not all Catholics have abstained from eating animal flesh as an expression... more Historically, most if not all Catholics have abstained from eating animal flesh as an expression of their faith. Although most have abstained only for certain periods of time, others have abstained permanently. While Catholics have abstained for a variety of reasons,
this essay focuses on distinctively theological reasons Catholics, especially in the early centuries of Catholicism, have chosen to abstain from consuming animal flesh. On the one hand, this essay will show how such abstinence has been an aspect of the spiritual practice of fasting and a response to the capital vice of gluttony. On the other hand, it will show how such abstinence has been predicated on Catholic doctrines concerning creation and nature, the Fall, and eschatology.

Creaturely Theology, 2009

Theology Today, Jan 1992

In light of the scriptural witness that humans and other animals share in the ultimate end, which... more In light of the scriptural witness that humans and other animals share in the ultimate end, which God's peaceable kingdom, we thus believe that each and every creature is created to manifest God's glory. We argue that animals will not manifest God's glory insofar as their lives are measured in terms of human interests, but only insofar as their lives serve God's good pleasure. Similarly, humans manifest God's glory when we learn to see animals as God sees animals, recognizing that animals exist not to serve us, but rather for God's good pleasure. Our task is to try to show what difference it makes when one strives to discuss the relation between humans and other animals in a way that seeks to do justice to the integrity of theological discourse.

Josephinum Journal of Theology , 1999

If it is part of the tragedy of the fall that we do violence to other creatures, that we kill oth... more If it is part of the tragedy of the fall that we do violence to other creatures, that we kill other animals for food, clothing, sport, for testing medicines, shave creams and eye shadows, then our killing of other animals, must, in some way, be seen as a part of a “culture of death.” Why should we hesitate to kill other animals? First and foremost, we should hesitate because of respect for the intrinsic goodness of their lives. That non-human creatures have intrinsic value -- i.e. are not to be seen merely as matter to be manipulated -- is a fact which John Paul II calls a “truth of creation.” Secondly, our doing or aiding and abetting any unnecessary violence against other animals initiates us into the culture of death, and as such wounds our characters. But is the killing of other animals unnecessary? In many parts of the world, including our own, it is clear that almost all of us can lead flourishing lives without the killing of other animals. Thus, if we as Christians are to be faithful to the call to be witnesses to a consistent gospel of life, if we are to speak as Christians with an evangelical voice to our culture, then we will seek to avoid needless suffering and death to other animals, at least those which will in no way produce fruit for the kingdom of God.

Beastly Morality, Nov 1, 2015

Encountering Earth Thinking Theologically With A More-Than-Human World, 2018

In telling the story of a a dog I have known, one taking place in the context of my family’s life... more In telling the story of a a dog I have known, one taking place in the context of my family’s life, I hope to display ethical truths about dog ownership that I could not adequately convey in any other way.

Evolution of Wisdom: Major and Minor Keys, 2018

Can ethicists learn from evolutionary anthropologists? Yes, but unfortunately we should not expec... more Can ethicists learn from evolutionary anthropologists? Yes, but unfortunately we should not expect it to happen frequently. Why? First, because it appears that many ethicists are temperamentally unwilling to look to evolutionary theorists for insight. Second, and more significant for my argument, only some ethicists can learn from evolutionary anthropologists because only some ethicists hold views about their own discipline that allow them to learn from evolutionary anthropologists. This paper will lay out this thesis. It will first discuss which approaches to ethics will not be open to evolutionary anthropology. Then, it will discuss approaches to ethics that can and should be open to learning from evolutionary anthropology. And finally, it will provide examples of what might be learned.

St. Mark's Review, Dec 1992

Those of us who object to animal experimentation must never argue against vivisection simply on t... more Those of us who object to animal experimentation must never argue against vivisection simply on the grounds that it has not been shown that there are sufficiently useful benefits. For once those who are concerned for animals argue in this way, they concede that vivisection is automatically acceptable if the benefits are show to be great enough.

In light of the scriptural witness that humans and other animals share in the ultimate end, which... more In light of the scriptural witness that humans and other animals share in the ultimate end, which God's peaceable kingdom, we thus believe that each and every creature is created to manifest God's glory. We argue that animals will not manifest God's glory insofar as their lives are measured in terms of human interests, but only insofar as their lives serve God's good pleasure. Similary, humans manifest God's glory when we learn to see animals as God sees animals, recognizing that animals exist not to serve us, but rather for God's good pleasure. Our task is to try to show what difference it makes when one strives to discuss the relation between humans and other animals in a way that seeks to do justice to the integrity of theological discourse.

Animals on the Agenda, 1998

Bulletin de Litterature Ecclesiastique, 2019

Mon point de départ dans cdet article est constituépar les quatre affirmations-clefs de Laudato S... more Mon point de départ dans cdet article est constituépar les quatre affirmations-clefs de Laudato Si: l'amour créateur et san défaut de Dieu est un don de celui-ci à toutes les créatures ; tous les animaux non-humains ont une bonté intrinsèque en tant que créatures de Dieu ; toute espèce animale est digne de considération pour elle-même ; et cet amour humain pour les animaux qui ne le sont pas, doit refléter l'amour divin. A la lumière de ces principes, cet article met l'accent sur la signification de l'amour humain pour des animaux non-humains.

New Blackfriars, 2020

Drawing especially on Aquinas and Pope Francis, the paper argues that Christians are indeed calle... more Drawing especially on Aquinas and Pope Francis, the paper argues that Christians are indeed called to love non-human animals. Human love (amor) for non-human animals follows from the Trinitarian example of divine love (amor), and includes affection, dilection, benevolence, and thus charity as friendship. Love for and fraternity with non-human animals constitutes a necessary dimension of Christian conversion. The specific form this love takes depends on the particular natures inherent in different species. So to show love to a dog will be very different from showing love to a wolf, which is in turn very different from how one shows love to a chicken, or to a frog, and so on.

National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 2020

This essay examines St. Thomas Aquinas's views on different types of impairment. Aquinas situates... more This essay examines St. Thomas Aquinas's views on different types of impairment. Aquinas situates physical and moral impairments in a teleological account of the human species, and these impairments are made relative in light of our ultimate flourishing in God. For Aquinas, moral and spiritual impairments are of primary significance. Drawing on Philippa Foot's account of natural goods, we describe what constitutes an impairment for Aquinas. In the Thomistic sense, an impairment is a lack or privation in relation to that which is appropriate to the human being, known by our nature and ultimate perfection. For Aquinas, perfection lies in the transformation necessary for union with God.

Faith Seeking Understanding: Medical Assistance in Dying , 2023

This paper proceeds in four parts. First, I discuss how morality is understood in the Western tra... more This paper proceeds in four parts. First, I discuss how morality is understood in the Western tradition and the radical challenge that arose to it in the 20th Century. Second, I examine various ways of understanding the relationship between law and morality, especially as it applies to the Canadian law legalizing euthanasia. Third, I examine how suicide and euthanasia have been understood in the Christian tradition, and the continuing relevance of that history. Fourth, I develop an alternative narrative about euthanasia to the currently dominant narrative about euthanasia that has been proffered by the Canadian Supreme Court, the Canadian Government, and most of the Canadian media.

In January 2003 at The Society of Christian Ethics meeting, a panel reviewed the sociologist John... more In January 2003 at The Society of Christian Ethics meeting, a panel reviewed the sociologist John H. Evans recent book, based on his doctoral dissertation. While the focus of Evans' book is the debate over genetic engineering, the book is also a commentary on the evolution of different conceptions of moral discourse in the public realm in the latter part of the 20th century. Since Evans discusses the possibility of theological voices participating in public debates, and specifically looks at this possibility in the context o American bioethical commissions, the four panelists were chosen because of their prominence on these debates - Hauerwas and Stout in terms of the place of theology in public discourse; Meilaender and Childress since both have been members of US Presidential bioethics commissions.

Studies in Christian Ethics, Feb 2013

Although almost completely ignored, Aquinas’s account of persons with severe intellectual disabil... more Although almost completely ignored, Aquinas’s account of persons with severe intellectual disabilities is key to his understanding of human persons and their salvation. Aquinas extensively addresses questions of human impairment, and for Aquinas physical and mental impairment are not nearly as important as moral or spiritual impairment. Contrary to those who focus on Aquinas’s account of rationality and suppose he thinks that a person must exercise rationality in order to be moral and in the image of God, Aquinas’s view is that persons with severe mental impairments have a distinct spiritual advantage, due to the impeccability of the gift of wisdom given them in their baptism.

National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly , Feb 1, 2003

" One reason why the question of gestating abandoned embryos has produced such debate is that mor... more " One reason why the question of gestating abandoned embryos has produced such debate is that moral theologians do not agree as to how the choice of a woman to gestate an abandoned cryopreserved embryo is most adequately described. Moralists have been divided, alternatively using descriptions such as “surrogacy,” “adoption,” and “rescue.” What makes these alternative descriptions particularly significant is that depending on one’s description, the act to be done can be evaluated as either inherently wrong (i.e., some forms of surrogacy), morally optional (e.g., most cases of adoption), or verging on the morally obligatory (e.g., some forms of rescue).
In this paper I evaluate the adequacy of each of these categorizations, proceeding as follows: first, I present a well-known case of a particular woman’s choice to gestate an abandoned embryo. I then examine the appropriateness of the categories of surrogacy, adoption, and rescue for morally evaluating this case and other analogous cases. I argue that, at least in the type of case I present, if in choosing to gestate an abandoned embryo one is also choosing to adopt the child, then it can be morally appropriate to gestate an abandoned embryo."

Scottish Journal of Theology, Oct 2002

In 2001, on behalf of two Christian couples, a Christian adoption agency in the United States arr... more In 2001, on behalf of two Christian couples, a Christian adoption agency in the United States arranged an open embryo adoption. In addition to ethically analyzing this specific case, this paper situates the case politically and medically and distinguishes a number of general moral considerations relevant for reflection on this case. The paper concludes that while the choice to adopt embryos is morally appropriate and even praiseworthy in some circumstances, troubling features in this specific case rendered this particular adoption morally problematic.

Studia Moralia, Jan 2002

In the light of the moral principles and fundamental goods articulated by Donum vitae, one may co... more In the light of the moral principles and fundamental goods articulated by Donum vitae, one may conclude that under some circumstances it is appropriate and even morally praiseworthy for women to allow themselves to be impregnated with abandoned frozen embryos, gestating and raising them as their children. Under appropriate circumstances, such a decision is legitimately seen, not as surrogacy, but as a form of “adoption,” and as such can witness a profound form of Christian hospitality.

Toronto Journal of Theology, 2015

In this response to Gerald McKenny’s “Evolution, Biotechnology, and the Normative Significance of... more In this response to Gerald McKenny’s “Evolution, Biotechnology, and the Normative Significance of Created Order,” John Berkman and Michael Buttrey suggest that McKenny has not adequately substantiated his claim that O’Donovan’s account of “created order” raises no in-principle objection to genetically “enhancing” children. Berkman and Buttrey frame an alternative reading of O’Donovan in light of O’Donovan’s emphasis on “ordered love” as the task of Christian ethics, and his resolutely Trinitarian theology of created order. Contending contra McKenny that created order inheres in human persons and not only human nature abstractly understood, Berkman and Buttrey argue that for O’Donovan an ineliminable aspect of ordered love of God and neighbour is respecting the primordial teleological order of human persons, especially parents’ rightly ordered love of the children entrusted to their care. In summary, Berkman and Buttrey conclude that unless McKenny puts O’Donovan’s account of created order in its Trinitarian context and connects it with O’Donovan’s rich account of ordered love, McKenny cannot make his case that O’Donovan’s account of created order raises no inherent moral objections to genetically enhancing our children.

Human Embryo Adoption: Biotechnology, Marriage, and the Right to Life, Jan 2006

In recent debates among moral theologians over the practice of adopting embryos, a largely overlo... more In recent debates among moral theologians over the practice of adopting embryos, a largely overlooked category for analyzing this practice is the larger practice of parenthood. In approaching the issue of embryo adoption, the majority of moralists have tended to focus either on the marital relationship or the embryo as a human individual in dire need of aid. In general, these are legitimate and relevant concerns. However, I shall argue that the most adequate description of the moral issue is that of the proper response to an orphan. If that is correct, then a central focus must be an analysis of parenthood. How do Christians understand the nature and practice of parenthood? What does it mean to be a virtuous parent?

The Thomist, Jan 2004

Despite the expansive literature detailing various arguments for or against the use of MANH in ca... more Despite the expansive literature detailing various arguments for or against the use of MANH in caring for the dying and debilitated, the thesis of this paper is that a large part, if not the main thrust, of the debates over MANH have been inadequate and misguided on a number of different levels. The paper hopes to reorient and redirect the debate by attending to the medical history of MANH (part one) and recent medical developments with regard to MANH (part five), examining and contextualizing the earliest debate (i.e. in the 1950s) over MANH among moral theologians (part two), a more recent debate over MANH involving numerous American Catholic bishops (part three), and critically evaluating the types of moral arguments that preoccupy many of those who currently write on the ethics of MANH (part four).

The Achievement of David Novak: A Catholic-Jewish Dialogue, 2021

National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Aug 2004

The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Feb 1, 2004

At present, there is to our knowledge no Catholic institution engaged in overseeing the practice ... more At present, there is to our knowledge no Catholic institution engaged in overseeing the practice of embryo adoption (EA), nor any institution that currently oversees the practice explicitly claiming to do so in accord with Catholic ethical and religious principles. On the one hand, this is understandable, since the Catholic Church has yet to rule on the moral permissibility of the practice. On the other hand, this is somewhat surprising, since the Catholic tradition is arguably the most vociferous advocate of the dignity and rights of cryopreserved embryos. For many cryopreserved embryos, adoption represents their sole opportunity for continuing the human life cycle to which they are by nature ordered. Thus, one might expect some Catholic institution to inaugurate a program to aid such embryos, assuming EA does not come to be seen as incompatible with Catholic morality. In this essay, our goal is to provide a vision and a framework for the institutional oversight of the practice of EA done in accord with Catholic teaching.

National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Feb 2003

William E. May criticizes articles published by Nicholas Tonti-Filippini and John Berkman in the... more William E. May criticizes articles published by Nicholas Tonti-Filippini and John Berkman in the NCBQ in 2003. Tonti-Filippini and then Berkman respond.

The Thomist, Jul 1999

This essay argues that the early responses to Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) failed to att... more This essay argues that the early responses to Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) failed to attend to two central themes at the heart of the encyclical. First, Evangelium vitae (EV) has a distinctive methodological approach to moral theology (like its predecessor Veritatis splendor); that is, the very form and structure of the encyclical constitutes a recommendation of an approach to moral matters from a Catholic theological perspective. This methodological approach, which a number of the essays touch on briefly, is thoroughly Christological. An adequate response to EV must address this theological vision that drives EV. Second, EV offers a critique of particular practices of medicine, particularly abortion and euthanasia, situating these objections in the context of its theological vision of the goodness and inviolability of human life. In the end, EV calls believers to be fully human, a recognition of which rests in a timeful narrative of our encounter with Christ. This encounter "in no way lessens the value of our existence in time; it takes it and directs it to its final destiny." According to EV, by embracing the irreducibly theological drama of fulfillment Christ offers to us, we find it possible to live in harmony with the demands of our reason and the deepest longings of our hearts.

Transgenic Research

Efforts to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases involve the creation chi- meri... more Efforts to advance our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases involve the creation chi- meric organisms from human neural stem cells and primate embryos—known as prenatal chimeras. The existence of potential mentally complex beings with human and non-human neural apparatus raises fun- damental questions as to the ethical permissibility of chimeric research and the moral status of the creatures it creates. Even as bioethicists find fewer reasons to be troubled by most types of chimeric organisms, social attitudes towards the non-human world are often influenced by religious beliefs. In this paper scholars representing eight major religious traditions provide a brief commentary on a hypothet- ical case concerning the development and use of prenatal human–animal chimeric primates in medical research. These commentaries reflect the plurality and complexity within and between religious dis- courses of our relationships with other species. Views on the moral status and permissibility of research on neural human animal chimeras vary. The authors provide an introduction to those who seek a better understanding of how faith-based perspectives might enter into biomedical ethics and public discourse towards forms of biomedical research that involves chimeric organisms.

Servais Pinckaers, O.P., is one of the preeminent Catholic moral theologians of his generation. H... more Servais Pinckaers, O.P., is one of the preeminent Catholic moral theologians of his generation. His highly acclaimed works, among them The Sources of Christian Ethics, offer a thoroughly Thomistic and contemporary vision of the Christian moral life. They reflect the philosophical and spiritual prowess of a moral theologian who is estranged neither from philosophical ethics nor from dogmatic theology, neither from Scripture nor from spirituality. The first collection of its kind available in any language, this volume features the twenty most significant essays written by Pinckaers since his highly praised Sources. The essays offer profound reflections that are only possible by a contemporary moral theologian who knows the thought of Aquinas from lifelong study. Rather than taking a simply historical approach to Aquinas, Pinckaers seeks the basis of the intelligibility of the moral life, providing rich spiritual and theological insights along the way.

The best contemporary English-language resource on pursuing a universal ethics. In this volume... more The best contemporary English-language resource on pursuing a universal ethics.

In this volume twenty-three major scholars comment on and critically evaluate In Search of a Universal Ethic, the 2009 document written by the International Theological Commission (ITC) of the Catholic Church. That historic document represents an official Church contribution both to a more adequate understanding of a universal ethic and to Catholicism's own tradition of reflection on natural law.

The essays in this book reflect the ITC document's complementary emphases of dialogue across traditions (universal ethic) and reflection on broadly applicable ethical guidance within the Christian tradition (natural law). Among other things, the document situates the natural law ethical tradition within the larger search for a universal ethic. Along with its insightful essays, Searching for a Universal Ethic offers — for the first time in published form — the Vatican's official English translation of In Search of a Universal Ethic.

Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most widely read and oft-cited theologians writing today. A prolif... more Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most widely read and oft-cited theologians writing today. A prolific lecturer and author, he has been at the forefront of key developments in contemporary theology, ranging from narrative theology to the “recovery of virtue.” Yet despite his prominence and the esteem reserved for his thought, his work has never before been collected in a single volume that provides a sense of the totality of his vision.
The editors of The Hauerwas Reader, therefore, have compiled and edited a volume that represents all the different periods and phases of Hauerwas’s work. Highlighting both his constructive goals and penchant for polemic, the collection reflects the enormous variety of subjects he has engaged, the different genres in which he has written, and the diverse audiences he has addressed. It offers Hauerwas on ethics, virtue, medicine, and suffering; on euthanasia, abortion, and sexuality; and on war in relation to Catholic and Protestant thought. His essays on the role of religion in liberal democracies, the place of the family in capitalist societies, the inseparability of Christianity and Judaism, and on many other topics are included as well.
Perhaps more than any other author writing on religious topics today, Hauerwas speaks across lines of religious traditions, appealing to Methodists, Jews, Anabaptists or Mennonites, Catholics, Episcopalians, and others.

John Berkman, professor at Regis College, University of Toronto, is interviewed by National Post ... more John Berkman, professor at Regis College, University of Toronto, is interviewed by National Post Radio's Matt Gurney on Canada's incoming law on euthanasia (or physician aid in dying), and why this is so problematic for the Catholic Christian moral tradition.

In this radio interview, Danielle Smith of Calgary's Newstalk 770 asks John Berkman, professor of... more In this radio interview, Danielle Smith of Calgary's Newstalk 770 asks John Berkman, professor of ethics and theology at Regis College, University of Toronto, how Canadian Catholics (and other Canadians) should think about the proposed Canadian law on euthanasia and the Canadian Catholic Bishops' response to it.

Michael Enright interviews John Berkman regarding the role of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas in... more Michael Enright interviews John Berkman regarding the role of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas in developing the classic Christian understanding of just war. Issues discussed include how Augustine reconciles his views on war with "Thou Shalt not Kill," whether the "wars of religion" are in fact political, whether invocations to "just war" by politicians have any connection to the classic Christian account, and whether a modern nation-state or military are ever capable of fighting the classic Christian account considers a "just war." The interview is 18 minutes. The file is an mp3.

Holocaust Education Week in the City of Toronto. Prof. Pawlikowski has been an outstanding figure... more Holocaust Education Week in the City of Toronto. Prof. Pawlikowski has been an outstanding figure in Catholic Social Ethics over the last 40 years in terms of teaching the field about the significance of the Holocaust for Catholic Social Ethics. Unfortunately, as this brief response argues, it has seemingly had little influence on the discipline of Catholic Social Ethics. I am honoured to be part of this event for a number of reasons. I am honoured to have an opportunity to respond to John Pawlikowski, a man who has spent much of his academic life on keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive in the Christian and specifically Catholic community, and that has been a great gift to the guild of Catholic social ethics and to the wider Catholic Church. I am also honoured because I believe this is my first invitation to address the holocaust in public as a scholar. While over my teaching career I have taught about the Holocaust -‐ and had the privilege to have a Holocaust survivor address...

This is a talk given on how Christians might think about and respond to the coming laws in Canada... more This is a talk given on how Christians might think about and respond to the coming laws in Canada permitting euthanasia.

The parents and husband of Terri Schiavo said they were trying to do the most compassionate thing... more The parents and husband of Terri Schiavo said they were trying to do the most compassionate thing for the brain-damaged woman, but both sides were operating under misguided concepts of mercy, said a theologian who specializes in applying Christian ethics to medical and health practice. It is natural to want to respond to another person's suffering and it is normal to want to do something to alleviate suffering, said Allen Verhey, professor of Christian ethics at Duke University Divinity School . That is the definition of compassion. But the compassion shown by Terri Schiavo's parents and their supporters was "ill-formed" because of the confidence it placed in the hope that new medical tools might some day allow Terri to escape the persistent vegetative state (PVS) in which she existed for 15 years. By contrast, "a compassion that is formed by the story of the cross" would focus on being present to the suffering person and "would not try to eliminate ...

What -- if anything -- qualifies as a "just war"? Hear Michael Enright's "Sund... more What -- if anything -- qualifies as a "just war"? Hear Michael Enright's "Sunday School" Class on his Sunday Edition Radio Show on CBC Radio. Michael's teacher is John Berkman, a professor of moral theology at Regis College at the University of Toronto.

This Washington Post article examines whether it is appropriate or even good for Catholic priests... more This Washington Post article examines whether it is appropriate or even good for Catholic priests to carry guns for protection. John Berkman is one of those interviewed in this article.

Michael Swan interviews commentators on whether the Canadian Government should be involved in a b... more Michael Swan interviews commentators on whether the Canadian Government should be involved in a bombing campaign against ISIS. Commentators include Michael Coren, John Berkman, Marie Dennis, Bishop Kevin Dowling, Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby, John Siebert, CCCB, and Canadian Council of Churches.

John Berkman and Allen Verhey are interviewed regarding the moral and theological issues central ... more John Berkman and Allen Verhey are interviewed regarding the moral and theological issues central to the tragic case of Terri Shiavo.

More than 700 bodies have been recovered from the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has ... more More than 700 bodies have been recovered from the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. Loblaw Cos. Ltd. has stepped forward to offer compensation to families of dead workers at one of the factories that operated inside Rana Plaza where Loblaw’s Joe Fresh clothing line sourced its products.
But consumers whose closets are full of cheap clothes from Bangladesh are also morally responsible, theologians told The Catholic Register.
“What’s at stake here is to what extent you are co-operating with certain kinds of evils,” said Regis College moral theology professor John Berkman.
If we know or can make a reasonable guess that working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories are unjust and even dangerous, then the purchase “would be a kind of formal co-operation with wrongdoing and that would be wrong,” Berkman said.

Studies in Christian Ethics, 1997

Journal of Religion, 1997