Several times over the last few weeks, I have been desirous of posting a more complete balanced statement on what I see as being pro-life and its relation to the healthcare debate. But, I never did. The reason was that I could not find the words to say something succinctly without sounding tendentious. Being pro-life […]
Paedophilia, the Roman Catholic Church, and justice
I sympathize a lot with victim’s groups. Each and every one of us has someone that has hurt us badly sometime in our life. That is, sadly, part of the human condition since the Fall. And, when we are hurt, we want the other person to hurt every bit as badly as we do. Actually, […]
Paedophilia, the Roman Catholic Church, and forgiveness
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI issued the latest apology from the Roman Catholic Church for multiple cases of pædophilia (yes, I prefer the British spelling) in yet another country. This time it was Ireland. So far, the Roman Church has had to apologize for major scandals in the USA, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, the Netherlands, and […]
Down’s syndrome and the Virgin Mary
From Beliefnet: A Philadelphia reader passes along this deeply moving essay by a Catholic mother of a Down syndrome child, responding to some vandals who stole photos of Down children from a website, and reposted them making fun of the kids and their condition. Excerpt: This attack was also painful because of the callous lack […]
Abstinence-only education among high risk youth
Efficacy of a Theory-Based Abstinence-Only Intervention Over 24 Months A Randomized Controlled Trial With Young Adolescents John B. Jemmott III, PhD; Loretta S. Jemmott, PhD, RN; Geoffrey T. Fong, PhD Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(2):152-159. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of an abstinence-only intervention in preventing sexual involvement in young adolescents. Design: Randomized controlled trial. […]
Marriage and permanency
When I first saw this comic today, I read it quickly and was mildly offended at the mother’s comment in the second panel. Then I reread it and realized that I did agree with it. You see, at first I had read the second panel from the sacramental viewpoint. From the view of God’s desire […]
A coming of age story from a Christian professor
It seems as though I have unwittingly uncovered a subject too long left not discussed, that of Christian authors who do not fit into the mold of the CBA or the ECPA. Lately the blog has ranged from vampire chick-lit for teenagers to furry tales to, now, a coming-of-age story written by a Christian professor […]
Why do you make it so hard to become Orthodox? – part 03
OK, I understand much of what you have been saying, but why must I have a sponsor, or why is a baby expected to have godparents? Well, in the book of Hebrews, it says: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of […]
Why do you make it so hard to become Orthodox? – part 02
So, why is a catechumen encouraged to take on a “new” name when they are chrismated? What’s in a name? Taking on a new name is not necessary, but it is highly encouraged. The background to a name change goes all the way back to the beginnings of God’s special interactions with Abraham and continued […]
Why do you make it so hard to become Orthodox? – part 01
Last week one of my readers asked me to comment on the year-long process to become Orthodox and be allowed to participate in the sacraments. Let me begin with a bit of contrast. Recently, an evangelical who worked on the Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, and is a blogger, wrote a posting listing ten problems with […]
