My series on NFP(cross posted on RCM)Part 1Part 2have got me thinking about women and our role and the Church. I understand that when we marry we are open to creating life. I understand that we are supposed to have babies and nurse them and the whole nine yards. It seems, though, that if women were to do exactly as the Church says, we would never work outside of our homes since getting pregnant every few years then having to... Read more
(I have a poll in our blog if you would like to vote, but please leave a comment here and let me know what you think.) I am asking this question, because one of the Catholic bookstores here in Houston, Veritas, has a very politically charged book collection on their Social/Political section and they all happen to be Republican-party-oriented. They have Ann Coulter’s books front and center and I was, of course, concerned. I know many Catholics, including our friends,... Read more
“You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” — Caiaphas (John 11:49-50). “Having found the bomb we have used it….We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.” — Harry S. Truman, 1945. Read more
In a brilliant essay “Heroism and Asceticism,” written about the Russian Revolution of 1905, Sergius Bulgakov analyzed, to their ire, the religiosity of the so-called Russian atheistic intelligentsia. First and foremost, he believed that they took many spiritual principles from their Orthodox heritage; when taken out of their proper context, however, these principles, holistic in the Orthodox faith, are out of balance, easily abused, and end up turning what was once good into an evil. More importantly, to oppose the... Read more
“The natural law itself, no less than devotion to humanity, urges that ways of migration be opened to these people. For the Creator of the universe made all good things primarily for the good of all. Since land everywhere offers the possibility of supporting a large number of people, the sovereignty of the State, although it must be respected, cannot be exaggerated to the point that access to this land is, for inadequate or unjustified reasons, denied to needy and... Read more
In writing a three part defense of Catholic nonviolence and pacifism, I’ve been reading and reflecting heavily upon the Church’s teachings, especially papal encyclicals and messages. And within this process, I have found my heart moved. The wisdom and love of Christ has unearthed deep questions, and within those questions, I find an opportunity of conversion. Am I no longer an absolute pacifist, no longer an anarchist? Something different? Something deeper? At this point, all I know is that I... Read more
Michael Perry over at Mirror of Justice notes that a recent Supreme Court decision made it easier for prosecutors to exclude people who express reservations about the death penalty from capital juries. The appeals court judge (whose decision was overthrown) granted a new trial on the grounds that a certain juror was excluded simply because “he did not perhaps show the kind of bloodthirsty eagerness” to impose the death penalty. The five Catholic justices had no problem with this. The... Read more
This blog has been consistently accused of and attacked for being “liberal.” Frankly, I have little uses for such labels because I am not sure exactly what they mean. I assure you that I am more liberal than the liberals, and more conservative than the conservatives depending on what the issues are. I can only speak for myself. I cannot speak for my fellow Vox-Novan contributors, but I DO know that all of us here are trying to live our... Read more
In this section I will address the questions, concerns that I hear most frequently about NFP. *Parts of my answers are taken from my blog and my response on Catholic-Converts. 1. NFP is just Catholic birth control. Call it whatever you want, but the results are still the same: no kids.I hear this from atheistic feminists (at feministing.com) and from devout Catholics alike so I thought I would address this first. I find this analogy a little confused and here... Read more
In this section I will address the questions, concerns that I hear most frequently about NFP. *Parts of my answers are taken from my blog and my response on Catholic-Converts. 1. NFP is just Catholic birth control. Call it whatever you want, but the results are still the same: no kids.I hear this from atheistic feminists (at feministing.com) and from devout Catholics alike so I thought I would address this first. I find this analogy a little confused and here... Read more
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