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Anti-Life Provisions of the 2010 Health Care Reform Law

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 […]

Synod of Bishops and the Year of Faith

Sep 20 12 • Russell Shaw • 0 comments

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, […]

The Theology of the Body in a Nutshell

Sep 20 12 • Ellen Gable Hrkach • 2 comments

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, […]

Poem: “Will the Guest Show?”

Sep 20 12 • Michele Marie • 0 comments

Will the Guest Show? Like a dove on a church spire Cooing a winsome song Like the falcon on a cliff Scanning for prey Like the soldier pacing Through the watches of the night Like a mother waiting For her son to come from war There is One who waits and watches Will the guest […]

Trespassing Trial Humbles Abortion Mill

Sep 20 12 • Robert Struble, Jr. • 2 comments

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 […]

Child Survival Improves, While Maternal Deaths are Politicized

Sep 19 12 • Wendy Wright • 0 comments

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 […]

Academic Liberalism Replaced with Leftism

Sep 19 12 • Marybeth Hicks • 0 comments

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, […]

A Catholic Response to Joel Osteen Broadcast 9/16/12: Tests

Sep 18 12 • Mary Kochan • 2 comments

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 […]

Wearing the Rosary: Fashion Accessory or Religious Weapon?

Sep 18 12 • Fr. Edward Looney • 1 comment

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 […]

Is Abortion Ever “Necessary?” The Evidence Says “No!”

Sep 18 12 • Elizabeth Charnowski • 2 comments

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 […]

Will UN Treaties Become a Hot Topic in the Presidential Race?

Sep 18 12 • Stefano Gennarini, J.D. • 0 comments

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 […]

Men and Contraception: Loving Our Wives & Laying Down Our Lives

Sep 18 12 • JC Sanders • 0 comments

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 […]

Poem: “When My Ship Crashed”

Sep 18 12 • Michele Marie • 0 comments

When My Ship Crashed Not so long ago, When my ship crashed On the night side of that far planet Held down by injuries and wreckage In the darkness you came with your light Smiling, You stayed Though no human life was near I was tended to. They came for me Finding one they thought […]

Irony of Ironies: Vatican II Triumphs Over Moribund Modernity

Sep 17 12 • Samuel Gregg • 0 comments

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 […]

The ‘ART’ Baby and God: Why IVF is Wrong

Sep 17 12 • Judie Brown • 0 comments

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 […]

Subsidiarity Contrasted with Libertarian “Small Government”

Sep 17 12 • James Baresel • 7 comments

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 […]

The Prickly Catholic Vote

Sep 17 12 • Louie Verrecchio • 2 comments

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 […]

Five Friends a Woman Needs

Sep 17 12 • Cheryl Dickow • 12 comments

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” […]

What Every Catholic Should Know About the Magisterium

Sep 17 12 • Cynthia Trainque • 1 comment

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 […]

It’s the Devil, Stupid

Sep 17 12 • Val Bianco • 11 comments

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 […]

The Never-Ending Battle with Housework

Sep 15 12 • Dorothy Pilarski • 5 comments

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 — […]

The Story of Bill and Jill Green

Sep 14 12 • Rebecca Taylor • 6 comments

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 […]

Msgr. Luigi Ligutti and Distributism

Sep 14 12 • Richard Aleman • 2 comments

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 […]

US Experts Testify on Dangers of Disabilities Treaty

Sep 14 12 • Lisa Correnti • 0 comments

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 […]