I Thought You'd Like To Know This, Too

The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) presents a webinar entitled Revisiting “Computers, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality” in Light of Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas. Four of the presenters at the 2005 conference return to talk about AI and Virtual Reality 21 years later.

Ronald P. Loui, Ph.D. - Adjunct Full Professor of Computer and Data Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Professor Loui has worked on AI (including philosophical and legal aspects) for four decades and has contributed practical programming and design to innovative systems. His degrees are from Harvard and Rochester, with a postdoc at Stanford Cognitive Science. Using biostatistics and medical records interpretations he has recently produced a new timeline for Genesis patriarchs as Balikh-Khabur West Semites (MarTu/Amorites from Gudea to Ur-III, later an immigrant minority under Hyksos Avaris) that is consistent with archaeological data, linguistics, onomastics and theophorics, theological and geopolitical history, climatology, geology, anthropology, biology, and multiple textual sources. This academic work achieves historicity in exchange for mathematical normalization and correlation. He has done consulting work for intelligence agencies, the US Defense Department advanced labs, Cycorp, and the Cleveland Clinic, co-authoring with NSA, State Department, and DARPA researchers. His most recent invention is the Colvin Diagram that audits AI predictions for trustworthiness and illuminates causality issues.

Kevin Vallier, Ph.D. - Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership at the University of Toledo Dr. Kevin Vallier is a political philosopher specializing in trust, polarization, and the foundations of liberal democracy in deeply diverse societies. His research integrates normative political philosophy with empirical social science to understand how open societies sustain cooperation across moral and religious differences. He is a Professor of Philosophy and Director of Research at the Institute for American Constitutional Thought and Leadership (University of Toledo). He completed his PhD at the University of Arizona in 2011 under Gerald Gaus.

Gregory Beabout, Ph.D. - Romano Guardini Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture, Professor, Department of Philosophy Greg Beabout is Romano Guardini Chair in Catholic Thought and Culture and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at St. Louis University. He teaches and does research in ethics and social philosophy, the history of philosophy, personalism, Kierkegaard, and Catholic social thought. His work applies personalism and virtue ethics to business and the professions. In 2025–26, he organized SLU’s Pope Leo Series on AI and the Social Teaching of the Church. His books include Virtue Ethics in Business and Management, Ethics: The Art of Character, Freedom and Its Misuses, and The Character of the Manager. His current book project and accompanying documentary film are titled Sacred Signs: The Whooping Cranes of Kaskaskia.

Sr. Carla Mae Streeter, OP, Th.D., Professor Emerita of Systematic Theology and Spirituality at Aquinas Institute of Theology Sister Carla Mae Streeter, O.P., Th.D. completed doctoral studies with the Canadian Jesuits at Regis College at the University of Toronto School of Theology in 1986. She was co-recipient of the first Jean-Marc Laporte Scholarship Award for academic excellence, and the first woman to complete a theological doctorate at Regis College. She is the author of Foundations of Spirituality: The Human and the Holy, Seasons of the Soul: An Intimate God in Liturgical Time, and co-author of Avoiding the Sin of Certitude. She has served on the Board of Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis and on the Board of ITEST, the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology. Carla Mae is also the former Convener and Executive Director of Compassionate Saint Louis, a global movement that is active in several United States cities, and about 500 cities globally.

Webinar abstract


Dr. Rouhana will present on eight arguments for “Gender Dysphoria” as a mental disorder along with some aspects of the theological problems.Dr. Hruz will present on clinical aspects, “treatment” fallacies, and dangers, with reference to the complementarity of faith and science in addressing “gender dysphoria.”




Our presenters




Stephen Rouhana, Ph.D.

Gender Dysphoria – Lessons from Science and Faith


Dr. Stephen Rouhana is a husband, father, and grandfather with a Ph.D. in physics. He worked for 17 years at General Motors Research Labs and 15 years at Ford’s Scientific Research Labs, trying to save lives in automotive crashes. He authored or co-authored 82 technical publications, 3 book chapters, and 18 U.S. patents, and 7 international patents. Among other awards, he’s received the U.S. Government Award for Safety Engineering Excellence, the Award of Merit from the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, and is a Fellow of Society of Automotive Engineers and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.As a young Catholic, he felt called to serve God. Near the end of his career in research, that calling led him to Sacred Heart Major Seminary for a master’s degree in Pastoral Studies. In December 2014, he retired to concentrate on serving in ministries within the Catholic Church. He has authored two books: “A Rosary for Religious and Restless Minds – The Structured Contemplative Rosary,” and “The King and Queen are Naked: Establishment Failures based on Scientific, Medical, and Psychiatric Research on ‘Gender Dysphoria,’” both published by En Route Books and Media. He currently serves in many ministries and is a faculty member of the Catholic Biblical School Ministry.


Abstract


This presentation is derived from my book titled, “The King and Queen are Naked – Establishment Failures based on Scientific, Medical, and Psychiatric Research on ‘Gender Dysphoria’.” The term “Gender Dysphoria” was created by a small group of psychiatrists in the American Psychiatric Association (APA). It is currently used in reference to people who experience confusion about their own gender and is part of the APA’s clinical reference guide known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders (aka the ‘DSM’). The APA asserts that experiencing feelings of living in a body of the wrong gender is not a mental disorder. Instead, they claim that distress caused by those feelings is what is disordered.In the presentation, I share the results of a scientific analysis of over 275 journal articles on “Gender Dysphoria.” The analysis leads to the conclusion that the feeling that one is living in a body of the wrong gender is a mental disorder. The presentation will go through the eight arguments for that conclusion and will show how the APA has ignored their own definition of a mental disorder in an effort to mislead the public and to ensure continued funding for gender-affirming care by insurance companies.The presentation also addresses how faith enters into the equation of “Gender Dysphoria.” An analysis of Church teaching from sacred scripture, magisterial documents, and understanding of moral theology are all brough to bear on the topic. A response for Catholics, individually and corporately, is proposed.



Paul Hruz, M.D., Ph.D.

Scientific Fact and Fallacy in the Evidence Base for Medical Management of Sex Discordant Gender Identification


Paul Hruz is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and Physician-Scientist. He currently holds academic appointments as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and Physiology. Dr. Hruz received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Marquette University. He received his M.D. Degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed Residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at Washington University. Hruz served at the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Washington University from 2012-2017. In his laboratory-based research career, he has contributed to improvements in the treatment of people with HIV infection. For the past decade, he has presented scientific evidence related to the medical care of children with gender dysphoria to a variety of audiences both nationally and internationally. Dr. Hruz is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology. He has also received certification in Healthcare Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Dr. Hruz. has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters. Most importantly, together with his wife Anne, he has raised five children in St. Louis.


Abstract


In this presentation, Dr. Hruz will discuss ongoing scientific controversy in the rapidly expanding field of “gender medicine” with specific attention to serious deficiencies in the evidence base for the gender affirmation model. Individuals who experience sex-discordant gender identification frequently seek medical care to address significant psychosocial morbidities. As in all areas of medicine, healthcare professionals have a moral duty to utilize the foundational ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence with the goals of alleviating suffering and restoring health. Achievement of these aims is facilitated by a firm understanding of the meaning of health, discovery and application of scientific evidence regarding disease pathogenesis, and objective assessment of the relative risks versus benefit of any proposed intervention. Well-established understanding of the role of sex-steroid hormones on growth, metabolism, bone health, and neuro-cognitive development together with emerging data on adverse effects of intentionally inducing the pathologic state of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism will be exposed. Known and unknown effects on psychological health will also be considered. Finally, a framework for conducting ethical controlled clinical studies on psychological intervention based upon anthropologically sound scientific premises will be proposed.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know This, Too, Michael Brennan speaks with Fr. Ray Introvigne about his book, co-authored with William Ayles, The Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Revisited (July 7, 2026)

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a “Head to Heart Experience”—and is fully backed by our modern-day Holy Fathers. This book is dedicated to all our fellow Catholic brothers and sisters, as well as all Christians who desire a transforming Holy Spirit Renewal Experience. This Experience will usher in life-changing, divine benefits: 

• Strengthening Your Faith
• Scripture Coming Alive for You
• A Deeper Dimension of Peace and Joy
• A Falling in Love with Your Lord Jesus Christ
• A Greater “Intimacy with Our Precious Jesus” at Mass
• An Elevated Awareness of Your Divine Purpose in this Life
• Christ Granting to You (if desired) the same Charismatic Gift given to His Apostles

Our Lord is knocking on the door of your heart…

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Revisited by Fr. Ray Introvigne and William Ayles, D.D. | En Route Books and Media

In this episode of WCAT TV's discussion of Mount Doom, author Paul List and Tolkien scholar Joseph Pierce discuss their interpretations of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" through a Thomistic lens.

Paul emphasizes the book's themes of original sin, mortal sin, and the fear of death, linking characters like Tom Bombadil and Goldberry to the rational will and intellect. Joseph praises the book's comprehensive analysis but cautions against reductionism, suggesting that Tolkien's work is broader and more nuanced. They also discuss the potential impact of artificial intelligence and the importance of preserving Catholic tradition. Both agree on the significance of Tolkien's work in addressing contemporary spiritual and technological challenges. The discussion explores the connections between J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and the themes of technology, artificial intelligence, and Christian faith.

Paul highlights Tolkien's prescience, particularly his understanding of Alan Turing's concepts, which influences the portrayal of Sauron and the Eye of Sauron. Joseph emphasizes the importance of reading Tolkien's work as a story and of recognizing its deeper Christian themes, such as the long defeat and the ultimate victory of good over evil. Both agree on the need to return to faith and the dangers of worshiping technology.

Concerning the book under discussion:

In Mount Doom: The Prophecy of Tolkien Revealed, Paul List and Ali Ghaffari present a bold reinterpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology, arguing that a hidden philosophical and spiritual framework underlies The Lord of the Rings. Drawing from Catholic theology, Thomistic philosophy, psychology, and cultural criticism, the authors explore Tolkien’s legendarium as a prophetic warning about technology, artificial intelligence, idolatry, and the crisis of the modern soul. This provocative study challenges readers to see Middle-earth—and themselves—in an entirely new way. 

Concerning the speakers:

Paul List is co-author with Ali Ghaffari of Mount Doom: The Prophecy of Tolkien Revealed. Drawing on years of study in philosophy, theology, mythology, and Tolkien’s legendarium, Paul has developed a bold and deeply original interpretation of Tolkien’s work—one that connects The Lord of the Rings to questions of metaphysics, technology, artificial intelligence, and the spiritual crisis of modern civilization. His work challenges readers to reconsider Tolkien not only as a master storyteller, but also as a prophetic thinker speaking directly to our own age.

Joseph Pearce, one of the world’s leading Catholic literary scholars and biographers. A prolific author, editor, and speaker, Joseph has written extensively on J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and many of the great literary voices of the Christian tradition. His work has helped countless readers rediscover the spiritual, philosophical, and theological depth embedded within great literature.

In this episode of I Thought You'd Like to Know, Marcus Peter of Ave Maria Radio Interviews Stephen Rouhana on his book The King and Queen are Naked: Establishment Failures based on Scientific, Medical, and Psychiatric Research on “Gender Dysphoria” (February 9, 2026)

This book is the result of analysis of the literature on Gender Dysphoria published in journals of psychology, psychiatry, and medicine, and in other relevant publications.In part one, Dr. Rouhana starts from basic definitions and leads the reader through the maze of articles and opinions on the subject to the unavoidable conclusion that the gender identity issues underlying Gender Dysphoria do constitute a mental disorder. He examines how the current recommendations in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association have been intentionally written to mislead the general public and medical insurance companies.In part two, Dr. Rouhana explores what ethical treatments are, and are not, for Gender Dysphoria given the conclusions from part one.In part three, he explores what the Catholic Church has taught on this topic, from the perspective of faith and philosophy. Each part ends with proposed actions to truly help those suffering with this issue.

The King and Queen are Naked: Establishment Failures based on Scientific, Medical, and Psychiatric Research on “Gender Dysphoria” by Stephen W. Rouhana, Ph.D. | En Route Books and Media

Robert Kurland, Ph.D.
Can AI Have a Soul? What Science Fiction Says

Dr. Robert Kurland, a convert to Catholicism in 1995, is a retired physicist who has applied magnetic resonance to problems of biological interest in his research (web search: “Kurland-McGarvey Equation”). Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center, has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism, he has tried to spread the message that there’s no war between Catholic teaching and science.

Abstract

Much before AI tools became available, science fiction stories had shown how it might be manifested in computers, robots, and humanoid androids. As with other Speculative Fiction (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis) one takes the contrapositive beings and situations in such tales not as possible reality, but as parables illustrating the human condition. Three stories will be discussed: 

1. “Deus X” in which human consciousness can be transplanted to computers as life after death
2. “The Measure of a Man—Star Trek, Next Generation,” a trial to determine whether the android Data is more than a machine 
3. “Our Lady of the Artifacts,” a novel in which an android with superhuman capabilities is possessed by a devil

Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D.
Why AI Can’t Have a Soul: The Transphysical Paradox

For more on Magis AI, see https://wcatradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MagisAI.pdf

Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. is President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith (magiscenter.com), one of the largest science, faith, and reason apologetics institutes in the world. He was President of Gonzaga University from 1998 to 2009, where he increased the student body by 75%, oversaw the construction of 20 new facilities, and raised $200+ million for scholarships and buildings. He is the author of nineteen books, including the award-winning books New Proofs for the Existence of God and Science, Reason, and Faith: Discovering the Bible. He has also authored many scholarly articles on faith and science, metaphysics, and happiness and ethics. Father Spitzer has his own weekly EWTN television show called Fr. Spitzer’s Universe. He has appeared on the Larry King Show (in discussion with Stephen Hawking and Deepak Chopra), the History Channel, the Today Show, and a PBS series. He started seven institutes dedicated to faith and reason and happiness/purpose in life. He was a professor at Georgetown University, Seattle University, and Gonzaga University and was awarded the teaching medal at both Georgetown University and Seattle University. He has held two major academic chairs—the Frank Shrontz Endowed Chair in Professional Ethics (Seattle University) and the John L. Aram Chair of Business Ethics (Gonzaga University), and has won multiple academic and professional awards including the DeSmet Medal (Gonzaga University’s highest award), the Aquinas Medal (for Catholic philosophical scholarship), honorary doctorates, Phi Beta Kappa (honorary), and professional society awards.

Abstract

The human soul performs five functions that cannot be reduced to physical processes and structures: (1) Self-consciousness, (2) Abstract intellection through conceptual ideas, (3) Conscience and moral awareness, (4) Transcendental awareness, and (5) Spiritual-numinous awareness. Since AI is reducible, and will always be reducible to physical processes and structures, AI will not replace a human soul – or be like a human soul.

Roxane Salonen talks with The Catholic Connection about Finding Flannery: A Travel Memoir Exploring the Mystique of Flannery O’Connor and the Legacy She Has Left Us All authored by Christina Brajkovich, Karen Anne Mahoney, and Roxane B. Salonen

Follow the journey… During the fiftieth anniversary year of the death of Flannery O’Connor, three writers from the North embarked on a pilgrimage to Milledgeville, Georgia, to uncover the mystique of their heroine, whose stories have left as many shocked as in stitches.
 
What formed this famed literary artist, who, though her life was cut short by lupus, became one of America’s most celebrated fiction writers, and whose stories of grace, sin, and redemption–with their misfit characters and grotesque violence–still point us to the light of truth?
 
Get ready to be transported into the Deep South, where the world is best taken in from a front-porch rocking chair amid peaches and magnolias, and where Flannery penned her best works in the shadow of a dairy farm. Along the way of this vivid travelogue, you’ll peer into the places that educated and shaped Flannery’s imagination and fed her devout Catholic soul.




Finding Flannery: A Travel Memoir Exploring the Mystique of Flannery O’Connor and the Legacy She Has Left Us All, authored by Christina Brajkovich, Karen Anne Mahoney, and Roxane B. Salonen | En Route Books and Media

In this webinar sponsored by the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology, Randal Mandock and Francis Etheredge present on Why the Unborn Matter. 

Our presenters

Randal Mandock, PhD
A Rational Case for Life 

Dr. Randal Mandock balanced careers in science and religious education. With a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, he worked as a geophysicist, professor, and researcher. Simultaneously, he served over 40 years as a Catholic catechist and apologist. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he remains active in parish ministry and faith formation. Abstract As a free agent (i.e., not officially representing any Church, ecclesial body, or religion), I choose to propose a method of revising definitions and terminology in the area of human pregnancy. I believe the changes inspired by this method will better serve the pro-life cause than the continued adoption of and acquiescence to popular notions about certain definitions and terminology used in popular accounts. My only authority in proposing these changes rests on reason and a desire to assist medical personnel, lawyers, judges, legislators, and the devoutly religious to better position themselves to defend mothers and their unborn children. It is evident that the Magisterium of the Catholic Church has charted for two millennia a masterful path between authority and reason in pursuit of expanding the Kingdom of God on earth. This is evident very recently in its recognition, once again, of the virtue of prudence in assessment of the start of an individual person’s life.

Francis Etheredge
The Catholic Faith’s Contribution to Understanding the Moment of Human Conception

Francis Etheredge is a Catholic married layman, with eleven children, three of whom he hopes are in heaven and the rest of whom are alive and well and stepping through life’s stages of school, university, and career. In the last ten years, he has returned to being a self-employed writer. Find some of his books listed in the resources section below. Abstract On the one hand it would seem that Faith has no contribution to make to an investigation of the beginning of human personhood in that it is a matter of what embryologists can discover, although embryologists do not necessarily recognize that the beginning of the human person transcends the biological action of sperm and egg-cell. On the other hand, then, while Scripture is ordered to our salvation in Christ, we cannot overlook that the question of conception is not without salvific significance. Thus the Scripture speaks of conception, while the dogma of the Immaculate Conception speaks of both the conception of Mary and implicates us. At the same time, the Second Vatican Council, in Gaudium et spes, speaks of both the unity of the human person (14) and the mystery that “For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man” (22). What, then, are we to make of these contributions to understanding the beginning of human life? https://faithscience.org/why-unborn-matter/

Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell interview Roxane Salonen on her book, co-authored with Christina Brajkovich and Karen Anne Mahoney, entitled Finding Flannery: A Travel Memoir Exploring the Mystique of Flannery O’Connor and the Legacy She Has Left Us All. (November 18, 2025)

Follow the journey… During the fiftieth anniversary year of the death of Flannery O’Connor, three writers from the North embarked on a pilgrimage to Milledgeville, Georgia, to uncover the mystique of their heroine, whose stories have left as many shocked as in stitches.
 
What formed this famed literary artist, who, though her life was cut short by lupus, became one of America’s most celebrated fiction writers, and whose stories of grace, sin, and redemption–with their misfit characters and grotesque violence–still point us to the light of truth?
 
Get ready to be transported into the Deep South, where the world is best taken in from a front-porch rocking chair amid peaches and magnolias, and where Flannery penned her best works in the shadow of a dairy farm. Along the way of this vivid travelogue, you’ll peer into the places that educated and shaped Flannery’s imagination and fed her devout Catholic soul.

Finding Flannery: A Travel Memoir Exploring the Mystique of Flannery O’Connor and the Legacy She Has Left Us All, authored by Christina Brajkovich, Karen Anne Mahoney, and Roxane B. Salonen | En Route Books and Media

In this episode of Catholic Connection, Teresa Tomeo shares some of her own experience during a conversation with Lisa Livezey concerning Lisa's book Minding Mom surrounding a topic she calls, "near and dear to her heart."

Devotional writer Lisa Livezey understands the challenges of full-time caregiving atop an already-full life. Following her father’s sudden death, Lisa was plunged headlong into caring for her mother who was battling Alzheimer’s. With wisdom and candor, Lisa pairs every-day and extraordinary caregiving moments with scriptures, prayers, and reflections. Caregivers will: 

• Feel recognized and valued
• Laugh amidst the craziness
• Experience God in the day-to-day

Minding Mom: A Caregiver’s Devotional Story by Lisa Livezey | En Route Books and Media