Celebrity therapist and “life coach” Dr. Keith Ablow just jumped on the “let’s get the government out of the marriage business” bandwagon. I have been writing against the “privatizing marriage” mantra, going all the way back to 2005. (See also here and here.) I do not wish to rehearse those arguments here. But Dr. Ablow’s […]
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has been a highly volatile, highly unpredictable roller coaster ride. With a different candidate emerging at the top of the polls week after week, it would be folly for any of them to take their chances for granted. It is no […]
Reflecting on 2011, I began thinking of the 5 events in biotechnology that were the greatest threats to the sanctity of human life. True to my mission though, I couldn’t just talk about what is bad in the biotech arena. I also have to celebrate the 5 ways biotechnology has improved or preserved human life. […]
An address by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on gay rights as a priority of U.S. policy deserves far more attention than it’s gotten up to now. As a statement of the views of the Obama administration, Clinton’s remarks were a remarkably candid—and remarkably chilling—exposition of official determination to make the world safe for LGBT […]
Like a log rolling down an easy hill, I drifted out of bed late one morning in a tired funk. Dragging along at a snail’s pace, my mental fog would sharply clear up when I opened my refrigerator door. Resembling a hungry beast with a wide open mouth, the deep expanse of whiteness and sparsely […]
It’s that time of year. Billboard selects the Best of the Year in Music (I like Adele too). Newsweek determines Epic Wins (Tebow) and Fails (Tiger). And the Most Fascinating People of the year are named by ABC News (Steve Jobs, OK; but I’m afraid Barbara missed the mark with the Kardashians). Here’s my contribution […]
A recent Fox News report tells of how “a rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they’ve refereed since 2003.” In fact, “questions about the future safety of the country’s […]
When you stop to count your blessings, do not forget to give God a big thank you to for all the difficult people in your life. Those cranks that cross your path and darken your doorway are just bursting with the potential to bless you. Every person who provokes you is an opportunity, but it […]
Recently, at the invitation of Vatican officials, our Priests for Life team prepared some input for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the topic of the New Evangelization. Every few years, representatives of bishops’ conferences from around the world gather for several weeks of deliberations in Rome concerning one or another aspect of the Church’s […]
Have you heard any good news lately? Bad news abounds. It’s been another tough year. Economic woes continue. Greece and Italy are on the verge of bankruptcy. Unemployment is still high in the United States (around 8.6 percent), and the stock market has taken a beating. With approximately $108 billion in insured catastrophic losses, 2011 […]
The 252 page systematic review “Induced Abortion and Mental Health” published in December 2011 by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is easily dismantled by appealing to its fundamental premise. You don’t have to be a medical doctor to know that if you ask the wrong question, your entire premise is flawed and time spent […]
Once I ran for public office. Actually, it was more like a popularity contest. I was elected the most pessimistic member of the Torrington High School Class of 1989. I won by a large margin. My lone opponent, J.W., was confident he could win, and he campaigned aggressively throughout the halls of THS on a […]
My grandfather was a hardworking man. Growing up in frontier country, he started his career as a carpenter building barns; then travelled the West as an itinerant farm laborer. In World War I, he enlisted in the Marines and fought in Europe, including the Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Chateau Thierry. He […]
The Roman god Janus had two faces, facing in different directions, so he could see what was coming and what was going. The Romans named the first month of the year, January, in his honor. Perhaps it might have been more appropriate to have named just this week January, for the end of the year, […]
It’s that time again — time to predict trends for the new year. Prognosticators from every sector are saturating cyberspace with predictions in virtually every arena, including politics and economics, climate, technology, education, recreation and fashion. But my favorite trends to watch are in an arena that probably shouldn’t be trendy at all: parenting. For […]
The mother of the messiah has been called many things in the last 2000 years –the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. But call her “the Mother of God,” and you’ll see some Christians squirm. This is nothing new. One day in the early fifth century, a priest preached a stirring sermon in the […]
Several churches in northern Nigeria were bombed December 25, in what has been described as “Nigeria’s blackest Christmas ever.” The attacks, perpetrated by the Muslim militant group Boko Haram, killed at least 39 people, “the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church [in Madalla near the capital of Abuja] after celebrating Christmas Mass […]
A few years ago I went to the Christmas Eve Mass and the priest was an old retired priest who seemed to ramble or maybe I was too tired to follow him. Nevertheless, one word struck me and has stuck with me: the word was awe. Can you imagine the awe the shepherds felt? An […]
I have heard countless times that parents that undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) must love their children so very much to go through such an expensive and invasive process to have children. I have no doubt that parents undergoing IVF believe they are doing what is best, but looking at the realities of IVF that […]
After being married for almost two and a half years, I’m not sure men really “get” the power of stories. Perhaps it’s that difference in our brains — you know, the women’s-brains-are-like-spaghetti, men’s-brains-are-like-waffles theory. Whatever the cause, all I know is that when my husband has something to report to me, he generally does so […]
“Joy to the World…” You have and will hear this phrase many times during the Christmas season. Often, people translate that into what God has done for the world. That is true. But, what about you? When the Angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce that Mary had been chosen by God to be the […]
When I heard that Meryl Streep would portray Margaret Thatcher in an upcoming film, I was immediately interested, assuming that The Iron Lady would examine the legacy of the Conservative heroine. I was wrong. In 1976, Margaret Thatcher, then the leader of the British Conservative Party, was dubbed by the Soviets “The Iron Lady” for […]
What’s worse than being a statistic? Not even being counted. That’s what is likely to happen to a 42-year old woman who, The Age reports, died last week after a legal abortion at a Marie Stopes International clinic in Australia. Since Australia allows abortion, this will fall into the “safe abortion” category by some researchers […]
Do you ever feel like going out on the front porch and yelling, “Christmas didn’t end on December 26!” While the focus turns to New Year’s Eve, festivities continue for a few more days. In the meantime, the discount bins start filling with Christmas leftovers and the radio stations go back to their typical fare. […]
