The Jesuit CEO of UCA News says that the Catholic understanding of transbustantiation is no longer tenable in our “post-Newtonian world of quantum physics.” Physicist Stephen Barr begs to differ:
[O]ne can explain the doctrine of transubstantiation and distinguish it from other beliefs about the Eucharist without any use of the Aristotelian apparatus. I don’t know what quantum mechanics has to do with any of this. If anything, quantum mechanics makes a straightforward connection between what appears empirically and what is “really there” more obscure than it was in Newtonian physics, and to that extent would make it easier rather than harder to affirm the doctrine.
Always make sure there are no quantum physicists in the room before you start spouting off about quantum physics.
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For the first time in its polling, Gallup shows that a majority of Americans find homosexual relationships morally acceptable. The trend has been on the rise over the past decade; since 2006 alone, support among self-described Catholics has jumped 16 points.
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Tired of our government’s inability to balance the budget? Think you could do a better job? Prove it: Try your hand at the “Budget Simulator,” put together by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Cut defense spending, slash entitlements, roll back tax credits…whatever it takes to get the national debt down to 60% of GDP by 2018. Share your plan in the comments (and maybe with your local representative).
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