The Bishops’ New Statement & Some Next Steps

Last updated on: March 15, 2012 at 8:20 am By Pia de Solenni

Yesterday, the US Catholic Bishops issued another statement on the HHS mandate, clarifying that the Catholic Church is not backing down: We will continue our vigorous efforts at education and public advocacy on the principles of religious liberty and their application in this case (and others). We will continue to accept any invitation to dialogue with the Executive Branch to protect the religious freedom that is rightly ours. We will continue to pursue legislation to restore the same level of... Read more

Today, the Senate Voted ‘No’ on Choice.

Last updated on: March 1, 2012 at 12:41 pm By Pia de Solenni

The Senate today trampled individual freedom and rights of conscience in a 51-48 vote defeating the “Respect for Rights of Conscience Act” which would protect the religious and conscience rights of individuals and organizations opposed to the HHS mandate on contraception (which has little to do with contraception). It also trivialized women’s health and the opinions of women. Many women, either as individuals or business owners, do not want to subsidize the cost of contraception. Even more would argue that... Read more

Catholic Charities Clarifies Its Position On The Compromise

Last updated on: February 17, 2012 at 4:18 pm By Pia de Solenni

There’s been a bit of concern regarding statements or quotes from Catholic Charities that made it sound as if the organization was distancing itself from the USCCB and accepting the compromise on the HHS contraception mandate. Catholic Charities has a statement posted on its website to clarify the matter: In response to a great number of mischaracterizations in the media, Catholic Charities USA wants to make two things very clear: 1. We have not endorsed the accommodation to the HHS... Read more

Women’s Health=Pelvic Politics

Last updated on: February 12, 2012 at 12:42 pm By Pia de Solenni

Over at CatholicVote.org, Patrick Thornton has a great post on how “women’s health” has very little to do with anything but efforts to make sure that women don’t have babies. I couldn’t agree more. During the Beijing Women’s Conference in 1995 (UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women), Pope John Paul II sent a delegation representing the Holy See that was headed by Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon. The UN, with the help of the US, pushed an agenda that... Read more

Funny Math + Bad Bookkeeping = Bad Business

Last updated on: February 10, 2012 at 3:20 pm By Pia de Solenni

President Obama has offered a so-called compromise on the HHS Mandate. Instead of forcing Catholic institutions to pay for insurance that covers contraceptives, insurance providers will be forced to cover contraception. Yep, same situation, just a different way of keeping books on it. Hmmm, when Enron was exposed, we called it accounting fraud, among other things. Bernie Madoff’s investment practices were denounced as a Ponzi scheme. But when the funny math is proposed by the White House, we call it... Read more

Now What?

Last updated on: February 9, 2012 at 7:32 am By Pia de Solenni

So the Washington State Legislature yesterday approved a bill to redefine marriage to allow same-sex couples to marry. Now what? As I predicted, the bill passed in time for supporters to make the most of Valentine’s Day. Sure, same-sex marriages can’t actually happen yet. But you can be sure that Valentine’s Day will take on a special significance for supporters of the bill next week. It’ll be a great publicity opportunity for them. But Valentine’s Day is the least of... Read more

Emily’s Right.

Last updated on: January 27, 2012 at 3:12 pm By Pia de Solenni

Emily Stimpson (whom I don’t think I know except through her writing) has an excellent post from earlier today. Basically, part of the problem we’re faced with in crises like the HHS mandate on contraception and attempts to redefine marriage is that the Catholic faithful hardly know the Church’s teachings and many of us have not been living them. Even those of us who are regular church-goers may be shaky on the issues because we rarely hear about them. For... Read more

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Last updated on: January 25, 2012 at 1:42 pm By Pia de Solenni

Justina McCaffrey has another thoughtful piece up at Huffington Post. This time, she’s talking about what’s missing from some weddings: the raw passion that makes two people commit to give themselves to each other completely. Weddings become productions that are based on entertainment, not centered on witnessing an incredible commitment – one that will probably be difficult to maintain at time – between two people who are also saying that they’re willing to die to themselves in order to create... Read more

39 Years of “Roe v. Wade”

Last updated on: January 23, 2012 at 10:21 am By Pia de Solenni

Yesterday marked 39 years of court mandated abortion rights in every state in the U.S. People all over the country have been commemorating the decision with the biggest event happening today in Washington, DC, the March For Life. There are so many things that could be said, but I think I’ll just let this essay by Paul Vitz and Evelyn Vitz address one key concern, namely that a movement that claims to be about choice should at the very least... Read more