ART: Assisted Reproductive Technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) A friend recently sent an article my way with this interesting headline: “Number of ‘ART’ Babies Reaches 5 Million.” The article explained that, according to statistics, there are around 1.5 million ART cycles every year with a resulting 350,000 babies. This means that the success rate […]
Not long ago I encountered two people who were arguing in favor of a libertarian presidential candidate and making the argument that his election would lead to greater subsidiarity in the United States. Neither of these individuals agreed with this candidate’s libertarian philosophy. Both, in fact, saw his philosophy as significantly flawed. Their only argument […]
In the days immediately following Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, the Catholic blogosphere was all abuzz with excitement, but it was also filled with much hand-wringing over the Wisconsin congressman’s alleged attachment to the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Now, I’m not talking about liberals in Catholic clothing like James Salt […]
Recently God brought into my life a woman who I now call “friend.” I spent some time with her recently and as I left I was buoyed by our visit. It got me to thinking how perfectly she fit into my life and reflecting on the question: What sort of friends does a woman “need” […]
Just what is Magisterial teaching? It is teaching that comes from the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Magisterium is a Latin term meaning “teaching”. The Magisterium has three levels: 1) papal, 2) ecumenical councils, and 3) various synods of bishops. These three are the official interpreters of Sacred Scripture (writings) and of Apostolic Tradition […]
Like it or not, our country was founded on and sustained by the notion of a Creator. Furthermore our founding documents affirm that this Creator endowed us with certain inalienable rights. Our system of jurisprudence was rooted in English common law, which itself was dependent upon the informed discretion of individual judges to establish legal […]
I do not belong to that subgroup of women who have immaculate houses. In fact, those types of houses (and women) scare me. If I walk into a house and it feels like a storefront window, or a hotel suite at the Sheraton, I begin to feel a little bit uneasy. Not only that — […]
Since the Obama administration is so fond of fictional narratives, I thought I would write one too about Bill and Jill. Bill and Jill Green are entrepreneurs. The Greens met in college studying environmental engineering. Bill and Jill immediately knew they were destined to not only marry, but change the world together. After graduating, the […]
Thanks to David Bovee’s new book about the illustrious history of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, The Church & the Land, one of the luminaries who helped shape the rural church in America once again resurfaces: Msgr. Luigi Ligutti. His classic book Rural Roads to Security, published in 1940 [and reissued this year] , thoroughly […]
A panel of experts warned U.S. lawmakers this week that the UN Disabilities treaty could threaten the rights of parents and advance abortion rights. “This treaty… would allow unelected bureaucrats in Switzerland to determine the meaning of the words ‘disability’ and ‘sexual reproductive health,’ said Congressman Jeff Duncan following a briefing to the House Sovereignty […]
Thanks to President Barack Obama’s contraceptive mandate and Catholic concerns about its impact on religious liberty, Catholic women have emerged as this year’s most coveted and scrutinized swing voters. At last week’s Democratic National Convention, they heard copious testimonials about Obama’s pro-woman credentials. Particularly pointed were the appeals from Caroline Kennedy, who invoked her Catholic […]
The Gatekeeper Awaits! Open the door of Faith Plunge your praying hands through his wounded chest! O Centurion’s sword! Thank you for a straightened path into his Sacred Heart! Now, pierce his heart with your laser Faith! Beloved One, penetrate his chambers. His heartbeat drowns reason’s fears, transfusing your mind with Truth. Faith illuminates the […]
“What’s going on?” asked the therapist. “I told my doctor that I am having issues with anxiety. I’ve had three babies in the last four years and just found I’m pregnant again, and no matter how hard I try, I keep having panic attacks. I feel out of control. I’m ready to admit I need […]
In 2002, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a 1.8 million dollar study, popularly known as the “John Jay study,” to uncover the patterns and causes of the sex abuse crisis since 1950. The National Review Board—the entity designated to implement the study—gave the first John Jay report in 2004. In this report, […]
Elizabeth Crnkovich also contributed to this article. Radical feminists have long dreamed of “fixing” men, so that women could be relieved of the burden of birth control. Now comes a new study on mice purporting to show that men can be chemically neutered, supposedly without side effects. Male birth control has been the object of much research […]
I have a very dear friend I have known since high school. We were both baptized Catholic as babies, raised in Catholic homes, and received all of our sacraments. I was in her Catholic wedding and she was in mine. We are Godparents of each other’s children. Where we stray is in our political convictions. […]
The United States embassy of Egypt is under siege. According to Fox News, “Mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt’s capital Tuesday and brought down the flag, replacing it with a black flag with an Islamic inscription to protest a video attacking Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. Hundreds of protesters marched to […]
My husband and I had hit rock bottom. Our marriage was strained to the breaking point. We were expecting our seventh child, conceived unexpectedly while I was working to finish my bachelor’s degree after a fourteen-year hiatus from college. We had been too busy, we thought, to work through difficult communication problems. For several years […]
In Must Not See TV news, last night NBC debuted its latest attempt at humor: The New Normal, a 30 minute sitcom about a young, single mother who agrees to become a gay couple’s surrogate mother. In the trailer for The New Normal, there is a scene in which the gay couple is speaking to someone […]
Nineteen eighty-two was not a happy year for freedom. A severe and protracted recession gripped America. Many were beginning to wonder if Ronald Reagan was going to be a one-termer. Unemployment in Britain hit a postwar high. Across the Channel, François Mitterrand was busy nationalizing banks and raising taxes. Daniel Ortega’s Sandinistas were firmly in control in […]
Kellen Clemens has been playing football as far back as he can remember. After learning the game from his father on their cattle ranch, he went on to set high-school records for the state of Oregon in passing yards and touchdowns. At the University of Oregon, he set single-season passing records and ended his collegiate […]
John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign speech about his Catholicism made news again this year when former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said reading the speech made him want to “throw up.” Santorum took umbrage with Kennedy’s remarks because they, in his estimation, claimed a complete separation of personal faith from governance. While the “throw up” […]
Elizabeth Ficocelli, an adult convert to the Catholic faith, is a woman in love with the sacraments. That love shines forth in her latest book, Seven from Heaven: How the Sacraments Can Heal, Nurture, and Protect Your Family Today. She believes that teaching about the sacraments is “the perfect catechetical tool . . . to […]
Several new studies have found abortion drugs – touted as a solution to illegal, unsafe abortions – are linked to increased maternal deaths and suffering. One study from Sri Lanka found “in developing countries, [medical abortions] widespread misuse has led to partial or septic abortion thereby increasing maternal mortality and morbidity.” A large study from […]
