This is a classic post, from Msgr. Charles Pope on “Bioethics and the Birth of Christ”: As we approach Christmas we ought to ponder the magnificence of human conception, gestation, birth and life. Even as we extoll the birth of Jesus, we also do well to acknowledge the awesome and mysterious truth that every human person emerges not merely from … Read More
TOB Tues: The Sisterhood and the “Crying Need” for the TOB
Everyone’s favorite “media nun”, Sr. Helena Burns, recently reviewed the six-part Lifetime reality TV series The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns. According to the good sister it is a “wonderful” show and well worth watching, though not without its drawbacks. One of those drawbacks is the attitude that some of the discerning women seem to have toward sex: Theology of the Body … Read More
Theology of the Body: Extended Now Available!
A few years ago, Susan Windley-Daoust reached out to me about reviewing a chapter in her forth coming book Theology of the Body, Extended: The Spiritual Signs of Birth, Impairment and Dying. For obvious reasons, she was interested in my thoughts on the chapter on “The Theology of the Impaired Body”. You can read a few excerpts and some of … Read More
TOB Tues: The Annunciation and the Theology of the Body
This is certainly not the first thing that comes to our mind when we think of the annunciation, but when Mary accepts the message of Gabriel, her fiat is a yes to God’s plan for her sexuality: “Mary shows us how to accept the gift of our embodiedness, and this includes the God-given sex of the body. In this it … Read More
The Catholic Church Cannot Get You Pregnant
A few weeks ago we ran an article at Catholic Lane about new data on why women have abortions. Someone choosing to go by the name “choiceone” left the following brilliant comment (click both images to enlarge): Poor dear. She(?) thought she was so clever. I love the response from my EIC predecessor at Catholic Lane: As hard as it … Read More
DOMA ≠ Anti-Miscegenation Laws
I don’t know about you, but one of my biggest pet-peeves in the debate over same-sex marriage is the comparison of SSM to interracial marriages. Recently a good friend of mine received an email bringing up that very argument in response to an article he wrote about last month’s DOMA ruling. I really liked his response to this woman which … Read More
U.S. v. Windsor: Following the Griswold Playbook
This week, two of my favorite lawyers wrote their analysis of last week’s Supreme Court marriage decisions — specifically the ruling on DOMA. First, my friend Jim Cole, legal counsel for Missouri Right to Life, writes at Mercator Net: As the dissents of Justice Scalia and Justice Alito make clear, the reasoning and legal principles on which the ultimate result … Read More
TOB Tues: TOB for Kids?
Amid the ongoing debate in the Catholic blogosphere about proper and effective sex education, I came across this post from Dr. Gregory Popcak on whether it’s appropriate to teach the Theology of the Body to children 10 years old or younger. He’s responding to Elizabeth Duffy who thinks that TOB is too complex for young kids. Popcak disagrees saying, “Teaching … Read More
TOB Tuesday: Fill These Hearts Now Available!
Good news! Christopher West’s new book, Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing, is now available. Even better news! Brandon Vogt is giving away three copies of the book on his website. Click here to enter. Winners will be selected on Friday. Here is the publisher’s description of FTH: Fill These Hearts is a book about desire. Not … Read More
TOB Tues. Bonus: Interview With Chris West!
To say that Christopher West is busy spreading the Gospel of the Theology of the Body would be an understatement. On top of teaching several week-long TOB immersion courses at the TOB institute, he’s got a seventh book coming out next January, he’s about to embark on a second national tour with the folk-rock group Mike Mangione & The Union … Read More