What Does a “True” Sex Education Look Like?

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
bird bee

Last week, while I was on vacation, several of my Catholic Patheosi colleagues were engaged in vigorous discussions on abstinence education that were precipitated by Elizabeth Smart's negative comments on the, frankly, unhealthy approaches some abstinence programs take to promote their message. The conversation is continuing among Catholic Patheos bloggers, and earlier today, it was proposed that we all reflect a bit on what a "true" sex education would entail giving lists on what we think … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marriage, morality, Sexuality Tagged With: Leave a Comment

Shame on You

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I'm So Ashamed.

Shame, guilt, embarrasment.  Emotions that are as universally experienced as they are universally unwelcome. Elizabeth Duffy has a great post on shame on her blog.  Personal, poignant, and thought-provoking.   But I thought I would chime in to offer some additional insights from Pope John Paul II. In Love and Responsibility, then Karol Woytyla, wrote a great deal about shame.  He argued that shame is a protective emotion that warns us that we are being treated as an object, not a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Counseling, morality Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment

How to Put this Charitably? “Conrad Black, YOU are the Dumbass of the Day.” (Or, Why The Church Need not Get Jiggy with the Pill)

March 21, 2013 By 10 Comments
Conrad Black, for failing--despite your obvious intellect--to bestir yourself to read a single book on Catholic sexual ethics, YOU are the Dumbass of the Day.

  Sadly, the National Review has taken leave of the remains its senses and published a rambling essay on the need to overturn Humanae Vitae by Conrad Black, who, besides being Sirius' older, less Catholic, and more sesquipedalian brother, would appear to be leaning on his extensive experience as a biographer of dead presidents (FDR, and Tricky Dick) as evidence of his authority  to lecture the Church on contraception.  Well, why the hell not?  Everybody else is doing it. Why … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Marriage, morality, Popcak, Sexuality 10 Comments

Manning Up Through NFP

March 14, 2013 By 1 Comment
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Here's a sneak peak at an article I have in the upcoming edition of Family Foundations magazine.  What?  You don't subscribe?  Well, there's a simple fix to that problem! Regardless,  check it out. Manning Up Through NFP.  Dr. Greg Popcak   We hear a lot about the benefits of NFP and there are many.  But it's also true that NFP requires a great deal of sacrifice and struggle that is neither fun nor easy.  Worth it? Sure.  Fun?  Not really. That said, I think that NFP … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gender, Marriage, morality, Popcak, Relationship, Sexuality Tagged With: , , 1 Comment

What’s Your Moral Mindset?

March 8, 2013 By 1 Comment
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New research suggests there are two basic moral mindsets.  I'll call them "Balancers" and "Principled Deciders" "Balancers" are the folks who are nervous about being "too good" or "too bad."  Moral Balancers tend to make their next moral decision based on the last moral choice they made.  If they were generous last time, they might be more likely to give you the short end of the stick this time.  By contrast, if they feel that maybe they were a little selfish last time, they might be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Church, Mindfulness, morality, Popcak 1 Comment

Coming Monday on More2Life Radio: Faith Complications

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Coming Monday: Faith Complications--In this Year of Faith, we celebrate the great gift our Lord has given us. But there are times when our faith can make relationships more complicated.  Today on M2L we look at those times when faith and relationships with a spouse, friends, family, and co-workers collide.  Call in with your questions about the times faith has made your relationships more complicated or uncomfortable from Noon-1pm Eastern (11am-Noon C) at 877-573-7825. MON Q of the D:  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Conflict Resolution, morality, More2Life Radio, Popcak, Relationship Leave a Comment

Kids W/out A Conscience–Where Do They Come From? Next Door.

February 26, 2013 By 4 Comments
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As Catholic parents, we are eager to raise truly moral kids; that is, children who can do the right thing, not because we are breathing down their necks, but out of a genuine sense of love and responsibility.  When we read news stories of kids doing horrible things like the recent shootings in Connecticut, we wonder "what happened?" and struggle to understand how some kids can grow up without a conscience. The technical name for "kids without a conscious syndrome" is Radical Attachment … [Read more...]

Filed Under: morality, Parenting, Popcak, Sexuality Tagged With: , , 4 Comments