Something that was left out in Kyle Cupp’s recent post on a proposal to limit abortion funding to certain instances of rape was the relative novelty of having medical professionals act in a law enforcement capacity. I’m feeling a little lazy at the moment, but I seem to recall mandatory reporter laws going into effect only within the last couple decades. Mandatory reporter laws compel some professionals to report crimes to the police. Nurses, doctors, and teachers are often the... Read more
This from the man who used to belong to the relatively sane wing of the Republican party: “there is no doubt but that many forces acted against the Jewish people in returning to their homeland, being able to live in the place that God gave them. It is inconceivable in many ways that we would have to even argue and debate whether or not Israelis could live in Israel, not just in parts of Israel but anywhere in Israel they wished... Read more
I often read that “if you were the only person on earth, Christ would have suffered and died to save you.” This is a consoling thought – that Christ’s sacrifice was not only on behalf of “all” but also for each of us. The other side of that, though, is to consider who it is that would therefore be inflicting suffering and death on Our Lord, if it were only Him and me on Earth. Read more
One of the great Republican complaints about Obama is that he does not believe in American exceptionalism. John Boehner most recently made this criticism. Actually, Obama has bought into the doctrine of American exceptionalism. This is unfortunate. For America is not exceptional. And indeed, the belief in such exceptionalism is extremely dangerous. (more…) Read more
If one does a circuit around the blogosphere, you’ll see a number of posts speaking of the demographic bomb coming to the church. Although the answers vary a little bit, the answers are essentially fundamentalist. In one version, Catholics need to all be evangelists under the guise of discipleship. In another version, we have the bemoaning of not enough catechesis or not enough “good” catechesis. (more…) Read more
While the discussion of this has died down here at Vox Nova, it continues elsewhere on the web. Here is an interesting take by Ronald Conte, pointing out that Pope JP II interprets one key passage of canon law differently than Dr. Peters. Here is the money quote: Dr. Peters’ interpretation of Canon 1031 §2 is that the consent of the wife required therein is a consent to permanent and perpetual continence (i.e. to abstain from marital relations). Pope John... Read more
As you may be aware, Eygpt is in the throes of civil unrest. The protesters are (mostly) non-violent, though there has been some destruction of property. Violence against persons is almost all directed at the protesters by the police. The situation is evolving rapidly, but I found the following picture taken today in Cairo (found on the Guardian website) very moving: Here we see the power of (shared) faith to quell violence. According to reports this scene was repeated in... Read more
Jonathan Schell at The Nation gets at something essential, something glaringly missing, from Obama’s State of the Union Speech on Tuesday: It’s true that the United States educational system is measurably slipping. It’s also true that the country’s infrastructure has decayed badly. And yes, the United States would benefit from whatever technical innovation it can bring off, just as any country would. But none of those problems, needful of attention as they are in their own right, is the chief... Read more
Of the many spiritual and theological lessons that we find in the writings of St Isaac the Syrian, perhaps one of the most important for us to keep before us is the way he expresses our relationship with God. We begin with fear of God, for God is holy and good, but because of that holiness and goodness we find in God, we become attracted to him – for God becomes not just someone whom we fear, but someone whom... Read more
I came across an excellent essay on Busted Halo, written by a young mother dealing with the healthcare system in Texas during her pregnancy. I’m more accustomed to arguing from principles and statistics, but the human story really is more powerful. This is a young woman who wanted to be a stay-and-home mother, and so relied on her husband’s single income. His employer-based health insurance turned out to be extremely expensive, and would have eaten a third of their income. So... Read more
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