I started this week with a trip to Orlando that I tried to cancel. I’m on the board of Heartbeat International, a phenomenal group that supports a network of pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in the United States and around the world. Every year Heartbeat hosts a conference for the directors and staff of its affiliate centers. The board takes this opportunity to have one of its regular meetings. Busy with work, weighed down by my study of the sex abuse... Read more
I spent last week in Rome for a bi-annual conference on social communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where I was asked to give a presentation on the sex abuse scandals and the communications offices of the Catholic Church. Since I don’t work officially for any communications office in the Church, my role was akin to that of an outside consultant who’s asked to study a specific problem and come up with a solution. In the weeks leading... Read more
It’s difficult to do communications for someone I don’t advise or even know. But over the past few weeks, I have been asked a lot of questions, on air and off, about the statements and actions made by some leaders in the Catholic Church regarding the sex abuse scandals. Yet amid the confusion, it seems apparent to me that Pope Benedict has taken an unprecedented lead in handling the issue. He started in 2001 even before he was pope when... Read more
In the past few years, I’ve heard some ideas about the sacrament of penance that continue to bother me. The latest resurfacing of the sex abuse scandals within the Church brings to mind these concerns. When it comes to marital infidelities, many confessors recommend not telling the betrayed spouse. There might be some room for this advice if the spouse is somehow unwell or if the offense is a one-time lapse. But it begs the question of forgiveness and, perhaps... Read more
Why faithful Catholics might be opposed to the proposed legislation A recent Politico interview positioned a quote from Richard Doerflinger, an associate director at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a way that suggested that the USCCB would push for the proposed health care legislation were the abortion provisions to be dropped. Doerflinger’s statement was later clarified. But no wonder the confusion. To hear the chattering classes, one would think that all Catholics have a moral obligation to... Read more
Just a little makeover. See you soon! Read more
The marriage debate continues…it’s not just about same-sex couples. It’s about whether people, especially women, should even be married in the first place. Banish the image of the tired, stressed, single mom who’s trying to make ends meet. Now, some are suggesting that they prefer their status as single moms and some married women are saying that it would be easier to be on their own. You can read about it here. Some of the findings of a recent study:... Read more
While I am at odds with certain policy positions of the President, especially those relating to the life issues, I was really pleased to see the talk that he gave on fatherhood last weekend. We need more of this type of discourse. For a long time, women, e.g. various strands of feminism, claimed that they got no recognition for their work in the home/family. As a result, many women entered the workplace to gain the recognition they desired. But it’s... Read more
‘The NYT recently ran a piece about a grad student’s decision to have an abortion. I was so stunned by the article that I’m only now able to articulate some semblance of a response. This section of my website is called “Thinking Out Loud…” because I don’t make any pretenses that the thoughts are polished and perfect. I treat this as a type of blog, getting some ideas out there. Although I don’t have this set up for responses to... Read more
Professor Janet Smith has a new piece in Our Sunday Visitor discussing the always sensitive topic of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. There appears to be growing acceptance of homosexual behaviors, to the point that they are becoming normative. I recall a conversation about one of the California initiatives on same-sex marriage. A friend was leading a petition drive to collect signatures. Her daughter, about 16-years-old, told us that the petition was a sign of homophobia. In fact, it’s one thing... Read more
Pia de Solenni
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