Hugh Macken, Jr.

Family man, catholic media man & tech advisor. Will travel long distances for a slice of NY pizza. I admire great listeners and aspire to be one!

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@walkenstein 🙏

[Front Office Sports @FOS]

In July 2024, Jalen Brunson signed a four-year extension, intentionally leaving $113 million on the table to provide the Knicks salary cap flexibility.

Now in June 2026, the New York Knicks are NBA champions and Brunson is NBA Finals MVP.

[Lila Rose @LilaGraceRose]

In a world that destroys children with Down syndrome, listen to this brave girl:

“You can try to kill off everyone with Down syndrome by using abortion, but you won’t be any closer to a perfect society. You will just be closer to a cruel, heartless one."  

Charlotte Helene Fien speaks before the United Nations

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

Invest in education... That is a prominent theme of Pope Leo's first encyclical, as highlighted in the @AscensionPress app here...

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

Complicate the narrative.🙏 for dialogue between @realDonaldTrump & @Pontifex. #donotbeafraid

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

From Magnifica Humanitas (Paragraph #126):
Q: "If an authentic 'more than human' exists, where is it to be found?"
A: "The Christian faith answers that question by pointing to a fulfilment that does not arise from a technological divinization, but through God’s grace received in Christ."

[Ascension @AscensionPress]

🎉 The Bible in a Year has officially hit 1 BILLION downloads!

Praise God! 🙌

To everyone who has listened, shared, prayed, or invited someone in—thank you. You’ve helped God’s Word reach hearts around the world & transform lives every single day.

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

I find this to be a helpful summary of Magnifica Humanitas and a good starting point for answering the question: Why is the Pope commenting on AI? It's from the @AscensionPress app. https://t.co/ldQmSsTFFg

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@WhiteHouse @grok replacement migration summarized

[Alexis Walkenstein @walkenstein]

Dropping today 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

The official film trailer for the European smash hit SACRED HEART - the movie arrives to U.S. theaters this June as America’s Bishops are set to consecrate our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus! ❤️🇺🇸🎥

@FathomEnt
@SHFilmUSA

#SacredHeartOfJesus
#SacredHeartFilm
#SaintMargaretMary
#MovieTrailer

Tix on sale now https://t.co/QELHZEqmFg

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

St Pius V, pray for us! 🙏

[Dr. Calum Miller @DrCalumMiller]

BREAKING: Kenya's Court of Appeal rules that abortion violates the child's right to life and overturns the decision of a rogue judge who had tried to legalise abortion!

This is a HUGE win in one of Africa's biggest legal cases ever.

Congratulations Kenya!

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

1. Being an advocate for a just peace is not a position of neutrality in relation to injustice of any kind.
2. The pope is not suggesting this. Nor is Bishop Barron. Nor am I.
3. I respectfully disagree with your assessment of what I grasp but I do sincerely appreciate your candor & thoughtfulness in engaging in this discussion.

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@AlanFJr @JPLindsley Can you clarify specifically what you find to be crazy talk? As mentioned, I think this sums up my own thoughts fairly well: https://t.co/n76n1ThUz7
I'd be curious to know what specific aspect of this thinking you find to be crazy or at odds with the US Constitution

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

There is a way past the absurd and deeply divisive “war” between the President and the Pope, which has been enthusiastically ginned up by the press. And it is indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2309 to be precise. After laying out the various criteria for determining a just war—proportionality, last resort, declaration by a competent authority, reasonable hope of success, etc.—the Catechism points out that “the evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.” The assumption is that the just war principles function, to use the technical term, as heuristic devices, designed to guide the practical decision-making of those civil authorities who have to adjudicate matters of war and peace.

The role of the Church, therefore, is to call for peace and to urge that any conflict be strictly circumscribed by the moral constraints of the just war criteria. But it is not the role of the Church to evaluate whether a particular war is just or unjust. That appraisal belongs to the civil authorities, who, one presumes, have requisite knowledge of conditions on the ground. So, is the war in question truly the last resort? Is there really a balance between the good to be attained and the destruction caused by the war? Are combatants and non-combatants being properly distinguished in the waging of the conflict? Do the belligerents have right intention? Is there a reasonable hope of success? The posing of those questions—indeed the insistence upon their moral relevance—belongs rightly to the Church, but the answering of them belongs to the civil authorities.

The Pope has said, on numerous occasions, that he is not a politician and that his role is not the determination of any nation's foreign policy. But he has just as clearly said that he will continue to speak for peace and for moral constraint. In making both of these claims, he is operating perfectly within the framework of paragraph 2309 of the Catechism. If we understand that the Pope and the President have qualitatively different roles to play in the determination of moral action in regard to war, we can, I hope, extricate ourselves from the completely unhelpful narrative of “Pope vs. President.”

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

The only thing I would add is...for the love of God and our world and all that is good, the civic leaders should allow Pope Leo to be present for the negotiations, not as God, not as a mediator but as a vicar for Christ and an impartial advocate for an authentic peace that can only come by the grace of Almighty God.

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@AlanFJr @JPLindsley @BishopBarron makes this point far more cogently than I have above https://t.co/z9BxU0kOxQ

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

There is a way past the absurd and deeply divisive “war” between the President and the Pope, which has been enthusiastically ginned up by the press. And it is indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2309 to be precise. After laying out the various criteria for determining a just war—proportionality, last resort, declaration by a competent authority, reasonable hope of success, etc.—the Catechism points out that “the evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.” The assumption is that the just war principles function, to use the technical term, as heuristic devices, designed to guide the practical decision-making of those civil authorities who have to adjudicate matters of war and peace.

The role of the Church, therefore, is to call for peace and to urge that any conflict be strictly circumscribed by the moral constraints of the just war criteria. But it is not the role of the Church to evaluate whether a particular war is just or unjust. That appraisal belongs to the civil authorities, who, one presumes, have requisite knowledge of conditions on the ground. So, is the war in question truly the last resort? Is there really a balance between the good to be attained and the destruction caused by the war? Are combatants and non-combatants being properly distinguished in the waging of the conflict? Do the belligerents have right intention? Is there a reasonable hope of success? The posing of those questions—indeed the insistence upon their moral relevance—belongs rightly to the Church, but the answering of them belongs to the civil authorities.

The Pope has said, on numerous occasions, that he is not a politician and that his role is not the determination of any nation's foreign policy. But he has just as clearly said that he will continue to speak for peace and for moral constraint. In making both of these claims, he is operating perfectly within the framework of paragraph 2309 of the Catechism. If we understand that the Pope and the President have qualitatively different roles to play in the determination of moral action in regard to war, we can, I hope, extricate ourselves from the completely unhelpful narrative of “Pope vs. President.”

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

Again, I agree with and the Pope would agree with you regarding clerical leaders like the Pope or priests, as a general rule, not being in government. It is not the role of the Church or the Pope to play the role of Caesar. But there can be a dialogue of mutual respect. In fact, the Church can and should uphold the rightful authority and responsibility of civic leaders. She can encourage faithful citizenship, the obligation to pay taxes (render until Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is God's), etc...

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

The catechism also states "The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties." The Church can speak to the tenets of the moral law, to the economy of salvation when men (yes, including men within the Church, not excluding the pope himself) fail to respect those laws and how such moral laws apply to military conflicts.

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@AlanFJr @JPLindsley I actually agree with that. So does the Church. So does the Pope. I am advocating for dialogue between the Trump admin and the vatican, not policy guidance from the Vatican.

[Hugh Macken, Jr. @alisteninghead]

@AlanFJr @JPLindsley So for example, regarding just war, according to the Catholic Church's official teaching in the Catechism, the "evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy [of a just war] belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good."