Despite boasting one-fifth of the world’s population, the Catholic Church is by no means a “popular” institution. Classical teachings on abortion, premarital sex, divorce, and especially contraception are thought by many — both outside the Church and within — to reek of old-fashioned ideas of sex at best and, at worst, patriarchal views of women. … Read more
In the comment boxes under Joe Hargrave’s “Man vs. Nature,” I noted the following exchange. First, Deacon Ed made the following suggestion: If the Chinese mandate only 1 child families, would it be too much of a stretch for Catholics, who purport to understand God’s design for creation, to be encouraged to have 5 children … Read more
Two men wearing tennis whites walk out on the court. Opening a folding table and chairs, they sit down and start to play chess. An attendant rushes up and says, “Sorry, gentlemen, this place is for tennis. You can’t do that here.” Looking up with a scowl, one of the men snaps, “This is how … Read more
As summer lurches to an end, the hallucinatory carnival that is America continues to spin like a carousel set to “liquefy”: Pro-terrorist Muslims plan an end-zone dance at NYC’s Ground Zero in the form of a towering victory mosque — while the city blocks rebuilding of a Greek Orthodox church crushed by the falling Towers … Read more
A lot of people seem to think that the Church functions according to the principle, “That which is not forbidden is compulsory.” So many folk seem to be under the impression that there is a black and white magisterial answer to everything, and that “You’re with us or agin’ us” is the watchword for all … Read more
When do you know it’s over? When do you know that civilization has collapsed inwardly to such an irreparable extent that the next stop is barbarism? When is that Weimar moment? Certainly, the legalization of abortion was one such moment, as barbarism is defined as the inability or unwillingness to recognize another person as a … Read more
I found a fascinating piece by a protestant minister’s wife at Musings of a Young Mom (via Danielle Bean’s shared items). She describes what happened when she and her young kids went to a playground and found an ultra-modestly-dressed Mennonite family there: A teenage girl followed a toddler around the park, both of them wearing … Read more
Why do so many celebrities make sex tapes? It’s weird. It seems a clear sign that porn has infiltrated so many lives, and technology has made it easy. The “embarrassing” sex tapes may not be so accidental, according to Mary Elizabeth Williams of Slate who says these tapes are often publicity stunts to pave … Read more
Just as Catholic parishes and schools sigh with relief that the sex-abuse crisis appears to be under control, a new sexual predator is emerging, preying on Catholic teenage boys in schools across the country. This new predator is younger, gentler in appearance, nearer in size and age to the young male victims, and enjoys an … Read more
I just got back from a week-long family vacation with limited internet access, so I’ve spent the morning trying to get caught up on current events (wait, we seriously had an earthquake here?). Wading through my feedreader, an article by Kathleen Gilbert over at LifeSiteNews caught my eye (via David Goldman at First Thoughts) — … Read more
Writing at Catholic Advocate, Matt Smith comments on the decision by Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro that the Defense of Marriage Act violates the Constitutional Right of married, same-sex couples to equal protection before the law. The decision was a classic case of a judge legislating from the bench: This court has determined that … Read more
John Allen reports that the Vatican will be streamlining the process by which sex-abuse cases are handled: The church’s current law in sex abuse cases was laid out in a 2001 document, known as a motu proprio, meaning under the pope’s personal authority, from Pope John Paul II, titled Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela. Sources say the new revisions … Read more
Sociologist Gail Dines was recently interviewed by PULSE about her new book, Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality. The thesis of her book — that porn destroys sexuality by accustoming our culture to ideas of sex that are unrealistic and completely severed from intimacy and love — won’t be new to most InsideCatholic readers. … Read more
Do we need a book telling us that monogamy isn’t natural, because our ancestors 8,000 years ago didn’t mate for life? Apparently so. A new book called Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha has just been released in the U.S., and while I haven’t read it, … Read more
It’s not every day that the Supreme Court makes headlines because of the cases it chooses not to hear: The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the Vatican’s appeal of an Oregon judge’s decision allowing a sex-abuse victim to proceed with a lawsuit against the Vatican. The Supreme Court made no decision on the … Read more
It sounds like something that would at one time have been every British Catholic’s dream: The pope comes to England for a state visit; he is received by Her Majesty the Queen; he addresses members of Parliament in Westminster’s Great Hall, where St. Thomas More was tried four centuries earlier; and he celebrates a great … Read more
Well, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance certainly thinks so, having recently released their Agenda for 2010. Among their priorities for the city of Washington, D.C., are maintaining gay marriage, increasing rights for the transgendered, decreasing bullying (finally, one I agree with!), protecting “red light” (strip club) districts, and legalizing prostitution. …other people’s personal choices … Read more
The “Year of the Priest” has come to an end, and in his homily in St. Peter’s to mark the occassion, Pope Benedict had some strong and clear comments about the sex abuse scandal, reported by Reuters: Wearing white and gold vestments as he spoke to some 15,000 priests, Benedict said the year that was … Read more
Regular readers of InsideCatholic will know Eve Tushnet for her many excellent articles that we run here regularly. Over the weekend, though, she was introduced to a larger audience via a profile in the New York Times as “a gay Catholic voice against same-sex marriage”: “The sacrifices you want to make aren’t always the only … Read more
Some will say it’s already here, and I wouldn’t argue with them. The first gusts of the anti-Catholic storm have already been resisted, thanks to the courageous vigilance of Bill Donohue at the Catholic League. Now we have The New York Times‘ relentless barrage of reporting and opinion designed to force the type of “reform” … Read more
