The Scripture readings for this week remind us of the value of life. Psalm 54 emphasizes “The Lord upholds my life.” God is the author and provider of life. Without God, our heart would never pulse a single beat nor would we ever take a single breath. He alone has the right to choose when […]
In 2001, I wrote the following first paragraph:”On January 22–on the 28th anniversary of Roe v. Wade–North Carolina Superior Court Judge Charles Lamm sentenced 27-year-old Rae Carruth to a minimum of 18 years and 11 months in prison for his role in the execution-style murder of his pregnant girlfriend. Miraculously, doctors were able to save […]
The minute a child is born, his identity begins to form. As he is exposed to different things, he learns how to perceive the world. He learns what is right, what he should not do, what happiness is, and what sorrow means. He observes and then reacts. Most of all, his virgin mind absorbs the […]
My Dad, bless his heart (which nearly killed him more than once), has been dying since 1980. Thirty-two years ago, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Marshall Islands when a telegram arrived for me in Majuro, and informed me to fly to Eugene, Oregon on the next available flight. My father had a […]
Please read Part One of this article here: Spiritual Growth Within the Catholic Family, Part One If you’re a Catholic Mom or Dad, chances are good that you might be striving to make your faith a hallmark in your family. That’s a great goal. But what that looks like day-to-day and year-to-year may shift and […]
The only doubt about the Federal Reserve’s decision to embark on a third round of quantitative easing was about when it would begin. It was a foregone conclusion that Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Fed would resort to more quantitative easing. Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve has become a one-trick pony. Their solution for every economic […]
For half the 20th Century, Saint Padre Pio suffered the wounds of Christ. All of them, including the cynicism of doubt and the tyranny of false witness. In the August-September issue of Inside the Vatican magazine, Australian journalist Paul MacLeod has a fascinating article reviewing two books by Paul Badde, The Face of God (Ignatius Press 2010) […]
In recent weeks, as we’ve celebrated her feast day and the 101st celebration of her birth, we’ve been pondering the life and amazing contributions of a tiny woman who made a huge impact on our world. While the Church refers to her as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, many of us already believe her to […]
“Reports that the Chinese Party-State has ended its practice of forcibly aborting women pregnant in violation of the one-child policy are premature,” says Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute. Mosher, who blew the whistle on forced abortions in China back in 1980, points out that “The Chinese Party-State has asserted for over three […]
In an attempt to stay plugged in to American culture while I live overseas for 16 months, I have regularly acquainted myself with the Billboard Top 40. Not surprisingly, in reflecting on the love proposed by Humanae Vitae, the concept of faithfulness is glaringly absent from mainstream media and culture. Not that freedom, totality, and […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Pub.L. 111-148, enacted on March 23, 2010, substantially expands funding of abortions by federal tax dollars. Federal tax dollars, of course, are your dollars, conscripted to serve the federal government’s purposes. This article provides the nuts and bolts of one of the several ways this will happen […]
Listen to Archbishop Rino Fisichella and at first you might suppose that the new evangelization was a pretty simple affair. Declaring the “path” of evangelization to be clear in Scripture and tradition, he puts it like this: “We are called to renew the proclamation of Jesus Christ, of the mystery of his death and resurrection, […]
If we look at the four components of God’s love for us (free, total, faithful, fruitful) and compare God’s love to marital love, we can discover how to live the Sacrament of marriage as the ultimate expression of spousal love. Free: We need to be able love our spouse freely. If we ask for conditions, […]
It is said that Planned Parenthood usually wins in court. But not always. Last month, thanks to a display of courage by Michael Ferman, abortion “rights” did not, for once, trump all other considerations. Ferman, age 34, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and a former student of mine. I have known him […]
Good news came from UNICEF today. The number of children under age 5 dying globally has dropped nearly in half since 1990. (This, of course, would not include the number of babies who die before they are born.) In 1990, nearly 12 million children died. That dropped to 6.9 million in 2011. UNICEF and the […]
The Twitter exchange between my son and me captures the frustration of college students (and parents) all across America: Jimmy: “Teacher just suggested that we read The People’s History of America. Who doesn’t love biased liberal opinions to start the mornin #shootme” Me: “Howard Zinn!? Awesome! Your indoctrination has begun. #soproud #occupyyourliberalcollegeeducation” From the elite, […]
Joel Osteen’s Sunday message this week, “It’s Only a Test”, was about how facing up to trials or “tests” can improve one’s character. He led off by quoting the first half of I Peter 4:12 : “Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered by the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality…” (Amplified Bible). The historical context of this exhortation by our first Pope was the […]
This past summer, I spent eight weeks in Guatemala as part of a Spanish language immersion program where I joined twelve other seminarians for this summer adventure. Not surprisingly, one of the religious devotional sights we saw during our stay in Guatemala was the rosary being worn around the neck. Several individuals questioned me regarding […]
New studies show that those who argue that abortion is sometimes necessary to “save the life of the mother,” and that it lowers maternal mortality are flat out wrong. Abortion does not improve maternal health. Let’s start with a brilliant recent study carried out by Elard Koch of Chile. Prof. Koch looked at maternal mortality rates in Chile before […]
Few politicians are interested in making obscure UN treaties a political talking point. Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic parties stand at polar opposites on the question of whether or not the United States should ratify new UN treaties, particularly human rights treaties. The platform adopted at the Republican National Convention last month specifically names four […]
Recently, I noticed that our editor had put out a call to some of our female columnists to address a newly released study by the Archdiocese of Baltimore about Catholic women and contraception. Suffice it to say that the survey of Church-going Catholic women found that a substantial minority were in agreement with the Church’s […]
Few expressions are better guaranteed to spark passionate debates among Catholics today than two words: “Vatican II.” Though most Catholics today were born after the Council closed in 1965, the fiftieth anniversary of the Council’s 1962 opening on 11 October this year will surely reignite the usual controversies about its significance. Much discussion will undoubtedly […]
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 […]
