Irony. Sheer unadulterated tragic hilarious i.r.o.n.y. The first time I saw the video, I couldn’t stop laughing. My reaction had little to do with ISIS or terrorism. No, it was Dakota Johnson. For weeks I’ve been musing over the fact that there has to be something really wrong with women/men/sex/relationships/marriage/the world. On the one hand, we’ve got millions of women reading 5o Shades of Grey and on the other we have women and young girls running off to become ISIS... Read more
So, I’ve been meaning to share the news of my new job; but things have been so busy that I never seem to get around to it. However, to situate this post, the background would help. On December 1, I started as the Associate Dean of the Augustine Institute’s new Orange County campus at Christ Cathedral. It’s been a great experience and I’ll be sharing more about the role in future posts. Monday night, we joined the Orange Catholic Foundation and... Read more
It was just a few weeks ago, days really, that most people in France and many around the world were saying, even at the Golden Globes (right?), “Je suis Charlie,” [“I am Charlie.”] identifying with the staff at the French publication Charlie Hebdo who were brutally murdered by Islamic extremists. While I am not a supporter of the content that Charlie Hebdo generated, I will defend their right to say what they said. Interestingly, last week, a French court convicted... Read more
The inexcusable and inhuman attacks on the staff of the French publication Charlie Hebdo have prompted some good discussion about free speech. But is free speech really the issue? George Weigel writes what may be the most interesting article on this topic and maintains that the Charlie doesn’t actually fall under the category of satire. Rather its tone is closer to nihilism. The issue is not about rights, but about deeper philosophical considerations that shape our very understanding of the... Read more
Los Angeles knows how to do a pro-life walk/rally. After oh-so-many freezing (but, of course worth it!) Marches for Life in DC and Olympia, WA, it was almost surreal to be at a pro-life gathering with warm sunshine instead of snow, rain, and whatever other chilling effects of weather that exist. 70 degrees. Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Sitting on the grass. In the sunshine. Saturday, January 17. Aside from the spectacular weather, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, in its first ever pro-life... Read more
Look, I get anger. I get injustice. I get the sense that people need to do something about it. But I don’t get senseless violence and destruction, which is why I’ve stayed quiet about Ferguson. Many others have done a fine job commenting on it. However, I just came across a great video of a St. Louis native, Terrence Williams, whose photo went viral when it was recently published by the Huffington Post. Honestly, I’m conflicted. I don’t think a... Read more
On Saturday, Pope Francis gave an address to the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors on the occasion of the organization’s 70th anniversary. For those who have been pondering whether the Pope is still Catholic, still pro-life, etc., I recommend it. And it’s a good read regardless. In particular, his emphasis that medical ethics is not about religion or philosophy. It’s about science: The dominant thinking sometimes suggests a “false compassion”, that which believes that it is: helpful to women... Read more
For those who suggested that my post last week, the one with the statement from the Kenyan Bishops on the tetanus vaccines, was feeding into conspiracies about sterilization, CNN has a report today on the deaths of eight eleven women who have died after being paid to undergo sterilization in India. Watch the piece above or read the CNN article. Some interesting things to note from the CNN information – [Paid] sterilization campaigns are common in India. Presumably poor women... Read more
Yesterday, the Bishops of Kenya issued what appeared to be a courageous statement exposing a clandestine population control program disguised as a tetanus vaccine program. From their findings – 2. The Tetanus Vaccine Dear Kenyans, due to the direction the debate on the ongoing Tetanus Vaccine campaign in Kenya is taking, We, the Catholic Bishops, in fulfilling our prophetic role, wish to restate our position as follows: The Catholic Church is NOT opposed to regular vaccines administered in Kenya, both... Read more
Let me share with you two articles that I never would have put together except for the very, very different ways in which they approach human procreation. The New York Times had one of those #FirstWorld, first person narratives by the spouse of a lesbian couple desperate to get pregnant. As it turns out, a friend and her husband decide that they will donate his sperm to this woman and her spouse. The author flies out to collect the sperm... Read more
Pia de Solenni
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