California Catholic Daily reporter, Mary Rose, visits a California college each week and asks students about God, good, and evil. Interview with Isis, who is studying biology, by Olmsted Hall at UC Riverside on January 15, 2020.
Do you consider yourself religious?
Isis: Yes. I don’t practice it that often, but I still believe in something. It’s like I can refer to something when I’m in a difficult situation. It’s like a support, not physically there to tell me what to do, but it’s just like a thought. I do go to church. Not often, but I do go. My family is Catholic.
What do you think about the Catholic Church’s teaching that abortion is always wrong?
Isis: I don’t agree with everything that the Church has to say because of society, I guess, how it influences us to think out of the box, not just thinking that is set. So I don’t completely agree with them deciding some things over our life. But I still try to follow their path.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
Isis: I believe in an afterlife and it’s basically you don’t actually die. Your body dies, but your soul is still alive. To get there, not causing any harm to anyone is kind of the basic of going that path.
What if somebody said abortion causes harm to someone because someone has to die in every abortion?
Isis: I don’t think that’s right because everyone deserves to live even if it’s the smallest thing. I disagree with abortion.
What if someone said a woman has a right to do whatever she wants with her body?
Isis: I would agree with that because other people don’t know what that person is going through, so only she gets to decide what is beneficial for her.
What if someone said that the baby should get a choice?
Isis: The baby is part of her, so I guess it’s right for her to make the choice for the baby.
How would you describe Jesus?
Isis: It’s not a fictional character, but it’s like that aspect of it. Like you’ve never seen Him, but still know of Him and believe in Him. that’s how I would describe Him.
How do you decide what’s right and what’s wrong?
Isis: Something is bad if it has bad consequences and something is good if it brings you positive outcomes.
What if a young mother drowns her two-year-old and then has positive consequences like more time to work and go to school?
Isis: That’s a tricky question. I don’t know, it depends on the situation. It is bad to kill someone but I don’t know. I’m kind of confused on what I would respond to that.
If an atheist asked you why you believe in god, what would you say?
Isis: To give people hope, because in the world today it’s not that positive and there’s a lot of bad things happening. I guess just believing in something gives people hope that not everything will be good but at least the majority of things will be good.
Do you know anything about Pope Francis?
Isis: No. No I don’t.
If someone brought up the priest sex abuse scandals and asked you how you could go to a church where something like that had happened, what would you say?
Isis: I’m not related to them. They made their own decisions to do that. Even though they are part of my religion, I don’t feel like I’m connected to them in a way that what they do affects me personally and what I believe.
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“I don’t agree with everything that the Church has to say because of society, I guess, how it influences us to think out of the box,..” Is that really true? Or does society have its own box that it is trying to fit students into? Some of my friends who teach in the liberal arts at the city college where I teach would reply in the affirmative, and emphatically so.
This and all these articles by Mary Rose are inappropriate
to use these young people as a prop for her writing career.
She even asks for donations.
The presentation of name, picture, study major, and school is invasive
Its unethical that these people can be so easily identified.
They are being presented as the perspective of today’s youth.
The interviews displays their proficiency in Catholic teaching or lack thereof.
These are young people who are questioning everything – which is the task of their development age.
and most likely say whatever crosses their mind at the time.
Yes, its regrettable that a Catholic student doesn’t exhibit Catholic training,
but is there any teaching taking place here?
Are we supposed to be shocked ? or feel superior?
These articles seems to condescending and dismissive
I would hate to think that any of these teens are judged or miss out on opportunities
for friendships, Church, jobs, or schooling because of these invasive interviews.
I’m sorry to differ with you, anonymous10, but on several grounds you at least appear to be guilty of rash judgment. First, I think it can be assumed that Mary asks permission from these students to give their name etc. So why is this invasive? Second, did Mary specifically reveal to you she is using these students to prop up her writing career? If not you owe her an apology. Third, you assert there is no teaching going on in these interviews. How do you know that? Have you a window into these students’ souls? Fourth you express alarm that any admissions these students make could jeopardize future success in various areas. Well, if a religious vocation were contemplated and the student disavowed religion, yes, I agree, this would not be helpful to the student’s prospects.Beyond that, you would be hard-pressed to demonstrate how views expressed in these interviews would have any bearing at all on their futures, and that is why the students feel free to provide their viewpoints. As a community college instructor for 30 years, I am gratified Mary is engaging students with tough questions.
Redundant message – lack of catholic training in the young
No need to pinpoint the identity, a first initial without photo, etc would suffice.
……………….
Dan has been a “community college instructor for 30 years”,
BUT with a lack of insight both into the concept of Consent/”permission” in relation to teenagers/young students
and the nature of their immature judgment, impulsivity,
need to be noticed, liked, esteemed, pursuit of short-term rewards without recognizing long-term consequences,etc.
You have only to see facebook to see attention-seeking behavior which is often later regretted.
Any parent would neither like to see their child receive this patronizing attention
nor see them identified by name, photo, location, and field of study.
Sounds like you owe an apology to your community college student (and their parents) who deserve respect and safe-keeping by those in authority.
The problem of a lack of Catholic training in today’s youth.
was the take home message of the 1st of these articles and every successive redundant article.
Regarding “engaging students with tough questions” – Do we need to have several teenager/young 20’s manipulated each week before we “get it”
Wouldn’t the 1st article suffice?
What is the ongoing value of these redundant Articles (no teaching -no follow-up, no resolution)
except to keep the author “relevant” and in the news.
If CCD must present these articles, wouldn’t the student’s first initial be sufficient to get the (belabored) idea across
without unnecessarily pinpointing the identity of another student.