Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Catholic News - Sunday, June 7, 2009 A.D.
CVSTOS FIDEI SUNDAY EDITION
Early Morning Update
A New Exodus Of Protestants Streams To Rome - Brad Wilcox, CERC
What Was Sacred Then Is Sacred Now - Bonetus, Rorate Cæli
Why Young Children Belong At Mass - Kate Wicker, InsideCatholic
The Rock Churches Of Lalibela - Ian Brown, GoogleSightSeeing
Words Do Matter - Joe Hargrave, American Catholic
The 'Rhetoric Of Rant' And Religious Controversy - Russell Shaw, InsideCatholic
Megalomania, Paranoia And Obama - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Media Slowly Noticing Sotomayor's Racist Comments - Noel Sheppard, NewsBusters
Banning Race And Sex Selective Abortions - Black Adder, American Catholic
Homosexual In Charge Of School 'Safety' Draws Opposition - WorldNetDaily
Exclusive Father Zakaria Botros Interview - Raymond Ibrahim, Jihad Watch
State-Sanctioned Suicide And Ecclesiastical Funerals - Dr. Ed Peters, ITLOTL
Extra: Age Of Martyrs - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
George Tiller "The Killer" Killed Updates
Abortion Issue As Pressure Without An Outlet - DarwinCatholic, American Cthlc
Death's Hand On The Tiller - John Zmirak, InsideCatholic
Rhetoric And Violence - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
CNN Predicts 'Huge Backlash' Against Pro-Lifers - Matthew Balan, NewsBusters
The Blood Libel Of The New York Times - Ken Blackwell, The American Spectator
The Religious Right Didn't Kill George Tiller - James Kirchick, Wall Street Journal
Is Obama More Concerned About Pro-Lifers Than Islamists? - Fr. Morris, TFF
CNN Lets Abortionist Smear Pro-Life Demonstrators - Matthew Balan, NewsBusters
Climate Of Hate, World Of Double Standards - Michelle Malkin, Townhall
AP Lies About The Pro-Life Movement - Tom Blumer, NewsBusters
Two Monsters - Edward Feser, What's Wrong With The World
Bonnie Erbe Smears Pro-Lifers - Ken Shepherd, NewsBusters
Sonia Sotomayor Updates
Sonia Sotomayor: "Out of Context" - Thomas Sowell, Townhall
The Problem With Judicial Empathy - Terry Eastland, The Weekly Standard
Sotomayor, No Content Of Character Here - Tito Edwards, American Catholic
Midweek Update:
Eve Of Encyclical & From Germany, Marx Reappears - Sandro Magister, Chiesa
Will France Really Be A Muslim Country? - Tiberge, The Brussels Journal
Sarkozy: "The Islamization Of Europe Is Inevitable" - Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch
Europe Is Anti-Catholic - Jakub Medek, Gazeta
Russian Orthodox Church In Rome - Carlos Antonio Palad, Rorate Cæli
The War On Christianity In The Middle East - Barbara Kay, Holy Post
Catholic Answers Sues IRS, Alleging ‘Intimidation’ On Political Issues - CNA
Did Francis Schaeffer Push "Violent Overthrow" Of US - Christopher Blosser, AC
ABC, CBS Spike Muslim Convert's US Soldier Murder - Brent Baker, NewsBusters
UCLA Student Told She Can't Say 'Jesus' - Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily
NBC Skips Islamic Conversion Of Shooter - Scott Whitlock, NewsBusters
A Matter of Choice - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
More George Tiller "The Killer" Killed Updates:
Bozell Column: A Pro-Life 'Jihad'? - Brent Bozell, NewsBusters
Uncomfortable Truths - Joe Hargrave, American Catholic
Media Decried Violence Outside Clinics, But Not Inside - Tim Graham, NwsBstrs
CBS: No Problem In Tiller’s Work As 'Abortion Provider' - Kyle Drennen, NwsBstrs
ABC: Tiller Murder, 'The Abortion Debate Turns Deadly' - Scott Whitlock, NwsBstrs
NPR Reports On Tiller Murder Shut Out Pro-Lifers - Tim Graham, NewsBusters
Bonus Commentary & Analysis:
Watch Out For Christian Terrorists! - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Benedict At Evening Prayer In A Melkite Cathedral - Carlos A. Palad, Rorate Cæli
Benedict On The Liturgy: "The Faith Is Not Only Thought" - Shawn Tribe, NLM
"Only In This Way Is Our Life Made Great" - Carlos Antonia Palad, Rorate Cæli
DiNoia To Succeed Ranjith As CDW Secretary? - Gregor Kollmorgan, NLM
Margaret Sanger: Hillary’s Hero - George Marlin, The Catholic Thing
The Tragedy Of Mr. Alberto Cutie - Father Miguel Grave De Peralta, Virtue Online
Book Review: Empires Of Trust (Part I) - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Women Less Happy After 40 Years Of Feminism - Richard Woods, The Times
Obama As "The Spirit Of Vatican II" President - Donald R. McClarey, American Cthlc
Pentecost On Mount Athos - Sandro Magister, Chiesa
If Only He Were On Our Side Today! - Joe Hargrave, American Catholic
Notable Commentary & Analysis:
Pro-life Ending For Jay Leno’s Tonight Show - Tim Shipe, American Catholic
Hitler's Mufti: Dark Legacy Of Haj Amin al-Husseini - Ronald J. Rychlak, InsdCth
Tiller The Killer Killed - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Obama's Reckless Rhetoric Demonizes Pro-Lifers - Tito Edwards, American Cthlc
Scott Roeder, No Connection With Pro-Life Groups - Tito Edwards, American Cthlc
For Fun:
DC Metal - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
There Are No Limits To What People Will Tolerate On Pizza - D.R. McClarey, AC
There’s A Place For Us - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Remembering D-Day:
Father Ranger - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Memories Of Those Who Fought, & To Whom We Give Thanks - C. Blosser, AC
65 Years Ago - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
We Few, We Happy Few, We Band Of Brothers - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Secular Commentary & Analysis:
5th June, 1989 A.D. - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Why Couldn’t Obama Find "Peace" Quote From Koran - David P. Goldman, Spnglr
$668,621 - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Detroit, Skopje And Belgrade - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Overwork In The Age Of Multi-Tasking - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Firefox Users Flip Out Over Sneak MS Add-On - John Leyden, The Register
The Future Of American Elections: Online Voting? - Eric Brown, American Catholic
Obama Should Address The Muslim World From New Delhi - D.P. Goldman, Spnglr
(Biretta Tips: New Advent & PewSitter.com)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Catholic News-Thursday, April 30, 2009 A.D.
CVSTOS FIDEI THURSDAY EDITION
Afternoon Update
Bishop Tobin Speaks Powerfully About Unnatural Marriage - Fr. Z, WDTPRS
Colleges For Catholics (And Catholic Colleges) - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Study: Children That Go to Mass, Continue Going - Zenit News Agency
Adoration, Silence And The Lamp Of Fire - Dr. Lilles, Beginning To Pray
The Little Flower - R.R. Reno, First Things
Cistercians Found Monastery Near Medieval Cistercian Ruins - Shawn Tribe, NLM
General Sherman's Jesuit Son - Pat McNamara, McNamara's Blog
Obama On Abortion, Notre Dame & FOCA - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Bp. Martino Threatens To Deny Communion To Sen. Casey - Borys Krawczeniuk, RH
19 Catholic Senators Voted Pro-Abort Sebelius For HHS - Lisa Correnti, ONUG
Cardinal Rigali Slams Kmiec's CNS Column - Jack Smith, The Catholic Key Blog
Capitalism, A Beneficial Exchange - DarwinCatholic, American Catholic
Mary Ann Glendon Declines Notre Dame Due To Obama Invite:
Catholic Democrats Attack Glendon, Run Into Fr. Z - Donald R. McClarey, Am Cath
...Father Z's Buzzsaw...
Mary Ann Glendon Declines Notre Dame’s Invitation - John Henry, Amrcn Cthlc
Jenkins to Glendon: “OK, We’ll Find Someone Else.” - D. R. McClarey, Am Cath
Mary Ann Glendon - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Bonus Commentary and Analysis:
Canada: Adult Stem Cells Cure M.S. Patient - Don Margolis, Adult Stem Cells Pundit
Ah, The Devious Vatican! - Carl Olson, Ignatius Insight Scoop
Fr. Samir’s 111 Questions On Islam - David P. Goldman, Spengler
We Are At WAR - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Mass Trend: Latin Making A Comeback - Steven Spearie, The State Journal-Register
Moral Simpletons Redux - Joe Hargrave, American Catholic
Hindus Join Marian Feast In Western India - UCAN
“—A Moral Issue On Which There Can Be No Compromise.” - D. R. McClarey, AC
Jewish-Christian Dialogue: Confession Of Christ - Bp. Dr. Gerhard Müller, NLM
...Part II...
Impassioned Dialogue - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Becoming a Father: A Political Manifesto - Tim Shipe, American Catholic
Bonus Video:
George Weigel Steps Into "The Arena" - Deacon Greg Kandra, The Deacon's Bench
More Proof: Contraception & Abortion Are Killing Our Culture - Patrick Madrid
Bonus News:
U.S. House Creates Special Legal Status for Gay People - Jennifer Mesko, CtznLnk
Man Believed Oldest Benedictine Monk Dies At 108 - Associated Press
Priest Forgives Suspect In Confessional Stabbing - Fr. John Zuhsldorf, WDTPRS
Dunningham Is Worth Reading On Legion Debacle - Dr. Ed Peters, ITLOTL
Spain: Pro-lifers Mobbed, Collecting Signatures Against Abortion - Fr. Z, WDTPRS
Res & Explicatio For A.D. 4-29-2009 - Tito Edwards, American Catholic
Ali Agca Converts To Catholicism? - Father John Zuhlsdorf, WDTPRS
Notable Commentary and Analysis:
Torture, Effectiveness, & Consequentialism - John Henry, American Catholic
The Bishops In Council - Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, First Things
Dedicated To Douglas Kmiec - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Top 25 Catholic Blogs By Technorati Authority - John Henry, American Catholic
Obama: Armenian ‘Atrocities’, Not Genocide - Tito Edwards, American Catholic
Ohio Catholic Democrats Vs. Catholic Bishops - Donald R. McClarey, Amrcn Cthlc
Irony Alert - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Secular Commentary and Analysis:
Good Riddance - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Why Israel Is The World’s Happiest Country - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Time To Panic - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Obama’s Handshake With Chavez - David P. Goldman, Spengler
Obama Report Card - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
Demographics & Depression - David P. Goldman, First Things
“Spengler” Comes To First Things - Donald R. McClarey, American Catholic
...from Spengler himself...
Drunken Nation: Russia’s Depopulation Bomb - Nicholas Eberstadt, Georgian Daily
(Biretta Tips: New Advent and PewSitter.com)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Going to the Mountian- Births up Abortions down and the ensuing spin
Hi all, I am back from a long hiatus in Europe. For those of you who may not recall, Tito was kind enough to grant me guest posting privileges a few months back after I retired my own blog, so I could still on occasion toss my two cents into whatever issues caught my attention.
I believe it was Homer (Simpson) who once said, "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" To prove that point, the Guttmacher Institute recently released a study concerning life and death, that is to say birth and abortion, in America. What is most useful about this study is that it dispels the myth that the abortion rate went up during the Bush presidency. Friend of the blog, Jay, has a fine post up which intends, "to finally, once and for all, put to lie the notion that the number and/or rate of abortion has gone up."
While Jay does what he can on that front, I thought I'd say a few words on the media spin pertaining to these studies. You didn't think any news along the lines of an increase in babies being born as well as a decrease in America's most common surgical procedure was simply going to be reported as a step in the right direction did you?
Case in point, we have two articles, from the same paper, dealing with the same topic, and by the same author. In a December 21 piece entitled "U.S. Fertility Rate Hits 35-Year High, Stabilizing Population" Rob Stein of the Washington post informs us that...
"For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. fertility rate has climbed high enough to sustain a stable population, solidifying the nation's unique status among industrialized countries." No argument there, but it was rather interesting to read the possible reasons for this laid out in the article.
"The reasons for the unusual U.S. fertility rate are the focus of intense interest. Experts can only speculate, but they cite a complex mix of factors, including lower levels of birth control use than in other developed countries, widely held religious values that encourage childbearing, social conditions that make it easier for women to work and have families, and a growing Hispanic population.
The nation's religiosity also contributes to the higher fertility rate, which varies geographically, experts said. Red states tend to have both more religious people and higher fertility rates.
'Americans are much more religious than Europeans: They believe in God more. They go to church more,' said Charles Westoff, a Princeton University demographer. 'That sort of religious attitude or set of values is strongly correlated with fertility.'"
While organizations representing immigrants were not quoted in the article, and it took an Ivy League professor to point out any kind of link between religion and family, doom and gloom hippies were given a bully pulpit in the article, declaring, "The world is now consuming resources faster than the Earth can sustain over the longer term...Forests are shrinking. Fisheries are collapsing. Water tables are falling. Large parts of the world's grasslands are deteriorating. The U.S. is already disproportionately responsible for that because of our very high consumption levels."
Very similar to the Washington Post article is a more recent one from the AP. It does contain a few quotable gems though...
"Experts believe there is a mix of reasons [for the increasing fertility rate]: a decline in contraceptive use, a drop in access to abortion, poor education and poverty."
Also interesting to note according to one of the quoted professors, "Clearly, U.S. birth rates are not what they were in the 1950s and early 1960s, when they were nearly twice as high and large families were much more common. The recent birth numbers are more a result of many women having a couple of kids each, rather than a smaller number of mothers, each bearing several children."
This is a matter of perspective. Is a woman who has four children "having a couple of kids," or "bearing several children." What about a woman with three kids, or five? I am not sure it is intentional or not but the professor did seem to do a nice job setting up a false divide between these hip and fun women who do have a "couple of kids," and those dour, barefoot, roundheads "bearing several children" In fairness to the professor though, I have been hearing that 3 is the new 2, for number of children in many circles these days.
Just as the case in the Washington Post article, it falls to a professor to explain the religious angle of things, apparently no religious leaders could be reached.
"'The influence of certain religions in those latter regions is an important factor,' said Ron Lesthaeghe, a Belgian demographer who is a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. 'Evangelical Protestantism and Mormons,' he said."
My only point here is a small one about us Catholics not getting any sort of credit (blame?) for this one. After two articles telling us that the US birthrate is highest in Latino families Evangelicals and Mormons are the only religious groups which are pointed out to value the notion of family? I know those two groups have made some in-roads in the Hispanic community, but come on!
Anyway this brings us to the most recent article, one again, Rob Stein, Washington post...
"The number of abortions performed in the United States dropped to 1.2 million in 2005 -- the lowest level since 1976, according to a new report." Deo gratias! In terms of tone though, much of the article goes downhill from there.
"The report did not identify reasons for the drop in abortions, but the researchers said it could be caused by a combination of factors.
'It could be more women using contraception and not having as many unintended pregnancies. It could be more restrictions on abortions making it more difficult for women to obtain abortion services. It could be a combination of these and other dynamics, said Rachel K. Jones of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health research organization."
As Jay pointed out, the pro-choicers have been saying abortions are on the rise for several years, now that the evidence has totally disproven them. Quick to try to grab some credit for the decline in abortions was America's foremost provider of abortions. "'This study shows that prevention works, and that's what we provide in our health centers every day,' said Cecile Richard of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America." Have they no shame?
Also worth noting, "The abortion rate varies widely around the country, tending to be higher in the Northeast and lower in the South and Midwest."
Alright, so where am I going with this? Aside from some of the minor qualms I already pointed out, there is some major dissonance between these articles, let me spell it out in simplest terms.
1-The fertility rate in America is on the rise, according to the MSM and company, a major reason for this is "poor education" about contraception, implicit in this point is that religious people and immigrants are uneducated.
2-At the same time the abortion rate in America is down, according to the MSM and company, a major reason for THIS is "more women using contraception" apparently thanks in large part to the educational efforts of Planned Parenthood.
3-Furthermore, since apparently contraception use and secular outlooks are synonymous with education and the key to preventing abortion, why is it that in the Northeast, a region both articles seem to think rather highly of, the fertility rate is the lowest, and the abortion rate is the highest? Could it be that some Northeasterners are slipping through the cracks of the contraception education establishment and thus have to rely on the back-up plan of abortion, to maintain the region's dubious honor of being home to the fewest children?
So which is it? Are abortions going down because of more contraception use, or is the birthrate going up because of less contraception use? Didn't Stein think about this as he wrote these articles? The truth seems to be that no matter what happens to the abortion and fertility rates in America, the "culture of death" establishment gets all the credit in the media! I guess if the mountain won't come to Mohamed, Mohamed will go to the mountain.
Lip service is paid to to the role of religion, but the pro-life movement and the Catholic Church are not even mentioned here. I guess you can hardly expect the paper to interview a woman who changed her mind and did not go through with an abortion because of the efforts of pro-lifers. This happened in a recent movie and the powers-that-be on the editorial pages were angry enough.
I probably don't even need to tell you what the real story is here with the rise in fertility and the decline in abortions. First of all there is immigration, and the family centered culture many of the immigrants come from. Second, is the so-called "Roe Effect." As nearly everyone born after 1973 is the result of their parent's rejection of having an abortion, the percentage of children born to families that lean religious/conservative/pro-life is going to make up a greater chunk of each succeeding generation. In political terms think about it like this. George Bush barely won Florida in 2000. Had Roe v. Wade been handed down in 1975 say, would most of the thousands of additional 25 year old voters coming mainly from families with pro-choice leanings have voted for Bush or Gore?
As Catholics of course, we need to keep focus on doing as St. Francis said, "Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society." We Catholics must educate each other on Church teachings regarding sanctity of life, this means Priests in their homilies, parents to children (at an appropriate age), Catholic school and CCD teachers to students, and even one Catholic friend to another, etc. Remember many Catholics who disobey or oppose Church teachings are not hostile to them, rather they have never heard them before in the fullness of their truth! Also, we need to live these teachings in our families and in our station in life, and back this teaching and living up with fervent and humble prayer. If we do this, we will see articles about declines in abortions year after year!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Catholic News-Thursday, May 3, 2007 A.D.
CVSTOS FIDEI MORNING EDITION
Vatican Closes Ancient Library for Repairs - David Willey, BBC News
Gay 'Hate Crime' Law Bullys Religious Freedom - Gudrun Shultz, LS
Weapons to Use Against Atheist's - Fidei Defensor, Custos Fidei
Carbon-Neutral Indulgences - Vanderleun, American Digest
How to Raise a Family - Mark Shea, Catholic and Enjoying It!
Egypt: Reverted Copts Must Stay Muslim - Robert Spencer, DW
Protestant Probs & Private Interpretation - Benedict Seraphim, TIL!
Archbishop Nienstedt: "Have More Babies!" - NYer, Free Republic
Divorce Conflict Hurt Children - Elizabeth Marqurdt, FSB
Demonizing Family-Friendly Orgs - James M. Kushiner, MC
Turkish Persecution, Present & Past - Benedict Seraphim, TIL!
Germany's Great Churches Closing - Jeffrey Fleishman, LA Times
ACLU's Hatred of the Soledad Cross - Glib Fortuna, Stop the ACLU
Euro Atheists Target Christian Faith - Domenic Bettinelli Jr, Bettnet
Mt Athos Objects to Unity - George Weigel, E & PPC
Earliest Gospels Acquired by Church - Jennifer Viegas, DN
(Hat Tips: Mere Comments, The WebElf Report, & Albert Mohler.)
Shameless Blog Plug of the Day: Evangelical Catholicism
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Giuliani Tells Me To Get Over Abortion
. . . because "Our party has to get beyond issues like that,".
Nice.
A prominent national politician who so happens to be Catholic is telling YOU and me, American voters, that we have to get over the abortion issue. For those not familiar with this issue and Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he is a pro-abortion candidate who believes killing unborn innocent children is a 'right' for women.
He also appeared to indicate that the Republican Party won't gain supporters if it retains its pro-life position. "Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we are a party characterized by what we're for, not if we're a party that's known for what we're against," he said. However, the GOP has nominated pro-life presidential candidates in every race since 1980 and it has won five of the seven contests -- all against pro-abortion Democrats.
Polls have also shown that abortion is a winning issue for GOP presidential candidates.Post-election polling after the 2004 presidential elections found that President Bush's pro-life stance gave him an edge over pro-abortion Sen. John Kerry. A 2004 Wirthlin Worldwide post-election poll found that 42 percent of voters said abortion affected the way they voted for president. Twenty-four percent of voters cast their ballots for President Bush while 15% voted for Kerry, giving Bush a 9 percent advantage on the issue of abortion. Eight percent of voters in the Wirthlin poll indicated abortion was the "most important" issue affecting their votes and Bush won among those voters by a six to two percent margin, leading Kerry by four percentage points among the most intense abortion voters.Well just like the boycott of Ford, Mayor Giuliani's stance on abortion has been hurting his polling numbers. I predict it will end his presidential campaign, much to notorious cafeteria Catholic chagrin Mr. Hannity. For disclosure sake I am not a registered Republican, I am an independent. Above all else, I am a Christian first. For Mayor Giuliani telling Americans to get over abortion click here. To read how his stance is hurting his polling numbers click here. For Pope Benedict XVI stating that Catholics cannot be Catholic AND support abortion click here. For a previous posting of mine stating not to vote for Mayor Giuliani and why click here and here.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Christian Names
Words and symbols carry great weight in our judeo-christian culture, specifically Catholics more so than others. From the way we worship and pray to what we say and how we name our children. And naming our children is a tremendous responsibility for those that take their faith seriously. Yes a child creates and grows into his or her identity, but to some extent the name itself helps form the child, especially if there is meaning. Meaning that has depth and history behind it.
Many parents take great care in naming their children and I believe this is based on certain motives behind the parents decision making. There is a reason for the names given to their children. Unfortunately some parents don't take their charge in naming their offspring seriously enough nor understand how the names of children do have to some degree an affect on children.
To the point, these past many years I have seen more than a few parents give generic, inanimate, gender-neutral, or gender-opposite names to their children. I grew up thinking the name 'Ashely' was a girls name. To my surprise it was originally a boys name. I've also seen creativity in the naming of children such as Jennifer being spelled Ginnafur or Susan being spelled Zusen. I agree each child should have their own identity, but the name helps form that identity not necessarily to be the identity. The originality of that name is unique, but what else is there beyond that?
What about good Christian names such as Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John? How about David, Elijah, and Moses for you Old Testament fans. Saints and angels such as Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Theresa or Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Each name is unique that carries with it a long and rich history behind it that can only lend itself to a positive reinforcement of Catholic, Protestant, and/or Jewish values to a growing child.
I'll take Robert, Esther, and Mary over Macy, Brittany, McKenzie, Apple, Moon Unit, and Summer any day of my life.
For another review on this topic by New Oxford Review click here.
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