Women in the Catholic Church have enjoyed a more equal position with men than in other religions. Hysterical bigots, however, like to post on social media that the Catholic Church has “enslaved” women for 2,000 years. Time for a history lesson! Jesus Elevated Women Jesus was the closest thing to an equal opportunity employer one could find in His culture. Scholars agree that there are more references to women in Gospel stories than in other literature of the time It... Read more
Our Lady of Fatima predicted that, unless her requests were heeded, Russia would cause wars and persecutions of the Church. Similarly, Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda made requests and predictions. Yet how well have we fulfilled these requests? Insufficient participation in the Five First Saturdays Devotion resulted in the Soviet Union. Although it finally dissolved, Russia is once again invading another country. This crisis moved Pope Francis to reconsecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Over the centuries,... Read more
Among the multitude of blogs, articles, and commentaries around the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, many have discussed the need to step up aid to women with unplanned pregnancies. For example, the New York bishops have pledged: “Any woman — regardless of age, religious belief or affiliation, marital status or immigration status — who is pregnant and in need, can come to the Catholic Church and we will give you the services and supports you need to carry your... Read more
There is a post being proliferated on Facebook that lists different scenarios of women who “need” an abortion. It is a commonly used tactic to elicit an emotional response that makes sympathetic readers feel that women are helped by abortion. The post starts out “I’m not pro-murdering babies.” (Dramatic pause until) next line: “I’m pro-Becky (whose unborn child has an “incompatible with life” diagnosis); I’m pro-Susan (who became pregnant from rape) and several other cases. Abortion is made to appear... Read more
The news is abuzz about the leaked Supreme Court draft of a ruling that would reverse Roe v. Wade. While the repercussions from the leak may affect the ruling, if it holds, the pro-life movement will enter a new phase. Pro-life activists have all been planning for this development for a long time. Pregnancy Resource Centers are gearing up to help more women. Organizations are shifting their focus to state legislatures, although many states have prepared for the overturn of... Read more
Catholicism values silence. While we have magnificent music for our liturgies, awesome homilies, prayers we say out loud at Mass or together in the recitation of the rosary and so on, we also place importance on a tradition of silence. There is a hauntingly beautiful and ancient hymn called “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” It is derived from the “Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn” from the Litany of St. James, written in the 4th Century. It’s first verse says:... Read more
What are our children to us? Are they precious gifts from God or commodities? Do we “have” children or do we “make” them? The practice of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) says that we “make” children and contributes to the attitude that children are property. IVF is commonly accepted these days. Insurance companies long ago stopped refusing to pay for this “experimental” practice and now readily pay for IVF as just another (albeit expensive) procedure. We’ve even had IVF children as... Read more
We need a Catholic billionaire today who follows the example set by St. Katherine Drexel. She used her personal fortune to promote Catholic social justice and education instead of living the life of a socialite. Drexel (1858-1955) was the second of three daughters of a wealthy investment banker. When he died, the sisters shared the income produced by $14 million (about $400 million in today’s market) and pursued philanthropic efforts. With her share, Drexel established 145 missions, 12 schools for... Read more
The Easter weekend provides an opportunity for some people to travel since they have an extra day or two off work. The “Wandering Pew,” consisting of my husband and myself, usually hits the road at Easter. Of course, that means finding Holy Week services wherever we are. Years ago, we attended Good Friday services at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fayetteville, Texas—a small, historically Czech community between Austin and Houston. The pastor gave a homily that day about... Read more
Abortion is the Devil’s gift to men. It allows them to be promiscuous without penalty; to exploit women while claiming they are empowering them. In a previous blog, I mentioned that NARAL was founded by two men. They wanted all men to be able to take advantage of the sexual revolution with the assurance of abortion as a backup to contraception. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/10/catholic-connections-to-abortion-history/ The goal was to change the culture from shotgun weddings to the attitude of the character in the... Read more
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