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The Mandate Controversy and the Bishops’ Response

In determining to fight President Obama’s famous—or should I say infamous?—contraception mandate, the American bishops, I suspect, were devoutly hoping two things would not happen. The first undesired outcome was that the issue would become politicized. The second was that it would be seen as an argument over contraception itself. Predictably perhaps, both have occurred, […]

I Teach to Save Souls

Mar 8 12 • Marlon De La Torre • 0 comments

Imagine someone coming up to you and without hesitation telling you: “I desire to save your soul.” This is exactly what St. John Bosco would do in his attempt to rescue the kids of Turin, Italy from the depths of despair. He would make his point very clear to the youths he would encounter in the […]

Pray for the Conversion of Abortion Facility Workers

Mar 8 12 • 40 Days for Life • 0 comments

There are 61 employees who have had conversions and left their jobs in the abortion industry during 40 Days for Life campaigns. These journeys are never smooth. Many of these workers are uncomfortable about the peaceful prayer vigils outside their doors. They voice that discomfort regularly. In fact, staff members threaten to call the police […]

Living Together . . . Why It is Not a Good Thing

Mar 8 12 • Ebeth Weidner • 0 comments

Even if you aren’t a Christian, even if you are an atheist, living together is NOT a good idea. Yeah, everybody is doing it now. It’s the norm. Who needs to get married when you have people ready and willing to move in with you? But, here’s why it’s not a good situation. First of […]

Poem: “Full Circle”

Mar 8 12 • María Morera Johnson • 0 comments

Full Circle The waves seem to beckon to me as I lie in the glistening sand and ponder the Immortal Hand that created all I see. I am drawn, deeply, to the easy rhythm of the waves striking land and pulling back from where I stand looking longingly out […]

Ethics of Genetic Testing, Part II

Mar 7 12 • Rebecca Taylor • 0 comments

Previously, I wrote about the morally acceptable aspects of genetic testing. There are many. Now I want to talk about the unethical uses of genetic testing. Most of genetic testing is like money. That is, it is neither moral nor immoral. Money can be used for good or evil, but it in and of itself it […]

George Weigel’s Mission Impossible

Mar 7 12 • Louie Verrecchio • 7 comments

Even if you don’t agree with him, you have to admire George Weigel’s moxie. It can’t be easy serving as the spokesperson for a “conservative” Catholic movement that labors so mightily against the preponderance of evidence to reconcile every last scintilla of conciliar innovation with the Faith handed down from the Apostles. Yet, he does […]

Corn Subsidies at Root of U.S.-Mexico Immigration Problems

Mar 7 12 • Anthony B. Bradley • 0 comments

America’s immigration debate will never be adequately addressed until we think clearly about the economic incentives that encourage Mexican citizens to risk their lives to cross the border. In fact, if we care about human dignity we must think comprehensively about the conditions for human flourishing so that the effective policies promote the common good. […]

Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Response to Andrea Tornielli on Medjugorje

Mar 7 12 • Kevin Symonds • 23 comments

I read with interest Andrea Tornielli’s article on Medjugorje dated February 28, 2012.[i] At the end, I was shocked to find that Tornielli provided a Latin-Italian translation of the Vatican document “Normae S. Congregationis.” My shock was rooted in the fact that the Latin text of this document has escaped the public eye for 34 […]

Mamma Theologica

Mar 7 12 • Stacy Trasancos • 0 comments

I’ve been reading the Summa Theologica so much I’ve started arguing with myself in the way of St. Thomas Aquinas, a rough and desperate version running through my head amidst the daily quagmire. For instance the other day, in the Third Part of the day, I asked myself a Question. “Whether it is fitting that […]

Marketing Infanticide

Mar 6 12 • Mark Davis Pickup • 4 comments

Recently, I addressed the idea of Christian perinatal hospice, a concept whereby parents facing a pregnancy involving a terminally ill unborn child are supported to carry their baby to term and prepare for their child’s death. It is a ministry of loving care for the entire family while honoring the humanity of their baby. No […]

As an Athlete Running the Race

Mar 6 12 • Msgr. Richard Soseman • 1 comment

Jesse Owens was one of the fastest human beings who ever lived. Known as the Buckeye Bullet, he became famous at Ohio State in 1935 when, in the span of just 45 minutes at a Big 10 track meet, he broke three world records and tied a fourth. As a member of the U.S. Olympics […]

Attachment in Human Love

Mar 6 12 • Anthony Buono • 0 comments

Love between a man and a woman is one of the most beautiful things in the world. But what happens when the love you share with that person becomes the most important thing in your life? There is nothing more natural than wanting to be loved. We need it. We need it from our parents […]

Super Tuesday and Being Human

Mar 6 12 • Fr. Frank Pavone • 0 comments

I write on Super Tuesday, but my reflections here pertain to the entire election season of 2012, and in fact, of every election cycle. If you look at the writings of the Catholic Church regarding political responsibility, you often see reference to what is important to “Catholic social teaching” and a “Catholic conscience.” And, of […]

Poem: “Agony”

Mar 6 12 • Marcelo Ortiz • 0 comments

Agony Praying in a garden, Leaning on a rock I know that Pilate’s soldiers Are going to torture and mock. I’m sweating and I’m weeping I’m losing blood and tears My people shall shout “Crucify!” It’s almost too much too hear. Yet My Father up in Heaven This is His will for Me So I […]

19-Year-Old’s Dream Continued by Dominican Sisters

Mar 5 12 • Kevin Banet • 0 comments

As the sun sends red and blue hues through the stained-glass windows into a convent chapel in the Chicago area, a dozen Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception enter the rooom for their morning prayers. Their voices blend into invocations of praise as they chant the Liturgy of the Hours. Their white habits with black […]

The Meaning of Mercy (Part I)

Mar 5 12 • Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. • 0 comments

The Second Vatican Council taught us that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Christian life. Yet we must keep in mind that the same council makes clear that the Eucharist is not the sum total of the Christian life. Indeed the Eucharist, and all the sacraments, are memorials of a dramatic act […]

The Nature Of Marriage Is Not Defined By Popular Whim

Mar 5 12 • Fr. Shenan J. Boquet • 2 comments

The debate over “social issues” in the United States recently brought many important topics, those typically reserved for the backburner in American politics, to the national stage for the first time in a long time. With the focus of the media shifting towards these issues, however, we have seen vicious attacks from political pundits, and […]

Overcoming the Merely Therapeutic: Human Excellence and the Moral Life

Mar 5 12 • Rev. Gregory Jensen • 0 comments

In Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005), researchers Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton argue that for many young adults in America, the spiritual life is understood in moralistic terms. But where orthodox (and Orthodox) Christianity focus on the necessity of “repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of a sovereign divine, […]

How She Does It

Mar 5 12 • Theresa A. Thomas • 0 comments

“How do you do it?” Busy mothers hear this all the time. Time management is an important yet elusive goal. Everyone wants to know “the secret.” I’ve been blessed to know some very holy and efficient mothers. Let me introduce a couple to you and then we’ll talk strategy. My mother had 13 children, yet always […]

The Catholic Church is No Enemy of Science or the Infertile

Mar 5 12 • Chelsea Zimmerman • 2 comments

Because of her opposition to third party reproduction, the Catholic Church is often accused of being anti-science and insensitive to those who suffer the pain of infertility. Last year’s CNN Belief Blog op-ed from Sean Savage calling on the Catholic Church to reverse her opposition to IVF is a good example of the anger that […]

Contraception and Contradiction

Mar 5 12 • Michael Baruzzini • 0 comments

The Church is a sign of contradiction. On the issue of contraception, in which the Catholic Church is seen as the most inveterate of socially conservative reactionaries, the Church loses not only libertine opponents, but also many conservative friends. In the present debate about the government’s attempt to compel religious institutions to fund the use […]

Getting Senator Rick Santorum into the White House

Mar 4 12 • Amanda Magdalene Evinger • 2 comments

If we want a new president, it isn’t going to happen without some blood, sweat and tears. And divine grace—plenty of divine grace. So, this being said, just where do you and I come in? It’s going to have to be our blood, sweat and tears. We can’t lay this one on somebody else. Not […]

3-Minute Retreat: Called to Greater Freedom

Mar 4 12 • Nancy Jo Sullivan • 0 comments

The brief reflection below is based on a 3-Minute Lenten retreat brought to you by Loyola Press. At the bottom of this reflection is a link for you to access the retreat. In today’s reflection, Jesus invites a rich man to invest in eternity. Give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven… […]

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