Social Scientists Unclear on How Wage-Earning Works

Last updated on: August 26, 2020 at 7:16 pm By Jennifer Fitz

The Institute for Family Studies is reporting that, after controlling for demographic variables, children from two-parent families where the mother works only part-time outside the home or not at all are most likely to attend a selective college. You can read the summary of the study here. Small hitch, unless the author of the study, Nicholas Zill, is being coy about his methodology: He controlled for family income, not per-parent income. The median family income among those families where both parents work full... Read more

IVG and Poly-Parenting vs. Adoption and Step-Parenting

Last updated on: August 22, 2020 at 11:50 am By Jennifer Fitz

“IVG” is in vitro gametogenesis, an emerging technology that allows the creation of babies (baby mice, at the moment) from the genetic material of one, two, three, or more parents. You can have a baby genetically descended from a lone parent, a baby genetically descended from a half-dozen gene-donors . . . whatever suits. It is the next-level in designer baby-making. [False cognate alert: “IVG” in French means interruption voluntaire de grossesse, aka avortement — abortion. So take note in translating back and forth... Read more

Cultivating the Virtue of Perseverance in Prayer

Last updated on: August 13, 2020 at 1:56 pm By Jennifer Fitz

Fr. Matthew Schneider did a great job covering the recent case of a priest who reacted poorly to a disruptive child during a private baptism. Please read: “Video Shows the Need to Train Priests on Disability.” No, seriously. You need to go read it. Thank you. If you obeyed, then for a treat, here’s my small side comment to add to Fr. Matthew’s excellent post (which you read, right?): Quit using other people as your excuse for poor spiritual training.... Read more

How to Treat Gentiles and Tax Collectors

Last updated on: August 12, 2020 at 8:40 am By Jennifer Fitz

Today’s Gospel is the instruction on what to do with erring members of the Church: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the... Read more

Breathtaking Beauty in Church Controversies over Kinda-Boring Stuff

Last updated on: August 8, 2020 at 3:50 pm By Jennifer Fitz

This article over at Crux, “Vatican says baptisms done with plural pronouns are invalid” has all the makings of a depressing internet debate: We have an ancient practice handed down directly from the Lord, a group of people with presumably good motivations for proposing a slight variation from the prescribed words, and the Vatican giving that variation a big fat no-way-no-how. Boring direction #1: The Vatican is full of horrible old meanies, because what difference does it make if someone... Read more

Education vs. Childcare vs. Public Goods

Last updated on: July 10, 2020 at 4:12 pm By Jennifer Fitz

One of the early outcries as COVID-19 raged through nursing homes was, “The way we care for our elderly is deplorable!” Well let me tell you, I am sold on the value of professional nursing care. I’ve recently been on the front row as a beloved family member has struggled with health problems that we, her extended family, simply are not equipped to adequately treat in the home. Since she began receiving around-the-clock professional care from a team of competent nursing... Read more

Speaking of Clerical Corruption . . .

Last updated on: July 1, 2020 at 3:38 pm By Jennifer Fitz

Church Militant is not my usual haunt, but they deserve credit for publicizing the case reported at Save Our Seminarians. I am well aware that false allegations happen and therefore jumping on a bandwagon is not wise. However, this case caught my attention because of the large number of people allegedly involved, on all sides of the case: Just before my departure for surgery, I witnessed inappropriate physical behavior committed by vice-rector Father Adam Park, a priest of the Archdiocese... Read more

My New Book has Launched! Woohoo! (+Free intro course, tell your friends!)

Last updated on: June 29, 2020 at 8:33 am By Jennifer Fitz

The kindle edition was available ahead of the official launch date, but I’m pleased to announce that The How-To Book of Evangelization: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You is now showing up “in-stock” at Our Sunday Visitor. Tomorrow (Tues. 6/30) at 1pm Eastern I’ll be doing a free webcast introducing the book. Topics I’ll be covering: Why I Wrote this Book Top Four Most Important Topics in this Book My First Attempts at Evangelizing (Yikes!) When to... Read more

Spark Truth: The Life-Changing Magic of Reasoning Up

Last updated on: June 28, 2020 at 9:30 am By Jennifer Fitz

In prepping my first debate class for teenagers, I instituted a revolutionary rule: No participant would ever be permitted to argue a position he or she believed was false. I can’t be the only instructor who’s ever done such a thing. Still, the pushback is proof of how strong our cultural prisons can be. The most common objection is: “How will students learn to see the other side of an issue?” Well, that is where reasoning and research and good... Read more

The Innocence of St. Junípero Serra

Last updated on: June 23, 2020 at 3:32 pm By Jennifer Fitz

As statues are being torn down or vandalized around the country, the Catholic Church is being asked to reckon with the legacy of St. Junipero Serra. So be it. The saint’s life is worth grappling with, and there’s plenty of room in his biography to make everyone squirm. Some of the charges against the saint have to do with his own actions — which even a cursory look at his life would assure the reader that, for good or for ill,... Read more