Articles by Mercedes W. Gutierrez
A Pro-Woman Approach to Abortion
Nov 16, 2006 / 00:00 amCan you really be a feminist and pro-life? What about in cases of rape? Is it fair to ask a girl to give up her education to have a baby she doesn’t want? What about poor women who lack adequate resources?These are just some of the questions Serrin Foster, President of Feminists for Life, answers in her new online education effort entitled Pro-Woman Answers to Pro-Choice Questions(TM). Foster, a longtime pro-life feminist, launched this national web campaign on October 5, 2006 with an aim to bring peace to America’s painful, 30-year abortion conflict.Foster is optimistic that this campaign will bring people back to the discussion table, even those long opposed to open, honest dialogue regarding the abortion issue. She hopes that the campaign will reach “everyday people whose lives have been touched by the topic you can’t bring up in polite conversation as well as those who influence lives every day through their work—such as policymakers, educators, health professionals, and employers. Women—including those who have had abortions—as well as men are welcome at this feminist table.”Could this charitable initiative be any timelier? Abortion has polarized Americans into two vocal camps: one who shouts about the rights of the mother and the other who shouts in defense for the rights of the child.We need only consider the recent turn of events in South Dakota for illustration. Earlier this year, the South Dakota state legislature overwhelmingly passed an abortion ban that forbid the procedure, except when saving the life of the pregnant mother. Lawmakers had hoped the ban would provoke litigation that might eventually reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.Well, doesn’t look like that will be happening any time soon…just this week, proabortion political activists celebrated as South Dakotans voiced their concerns and voted to reject the ban because it was apparently too intrusive.Clearly, conversation needs to take place and this round-table cannot continue to have close-minded members dominate the discussion. We need to adopt the mentality of Serrin Foster: “For years, Feminists for Life has been redirecting the debate by working with those on both sides to address the root causes that drive women to abortion, and by answering the critical questions in the most contentious places—from Capitol Hill to college campuses.”We, as Catholic women, must also open our minds to grapple with the realities that these women are facing—primarily lack of resources and support. Although this is not always the case, we know that abortion is a strong indicator that we are not meeting the needs of women today. Initiating discussion on the topic can only help open doors for honest communication and offer healing to the many women angered and hurt by the devastations of abortion. Just as Feminists for Life’s motto exhorts: “women deserve better!” And, with a heart softened by compassion, an ear open to understanding, and a will convicted by the truth of Jesus Christ, we can change this culture of death into a thriving culture of life…one woman at a time.To sign up for Serrin Foster’s Pro-Woman Answers to Pro-Choice Questions(TM) E-Course visit http://www.feministsforlife.org/register/PWASubscribe.htm
The Need for Modesty: Confronting Today’s Fashion Faux-Pas
Oct 31, 2006 / 00:00 amIt is an understatement to say that we live in a visual age. Each day, our eyes scan millions of images on billboards, in magazines, while surfing the internet or flipping through the eight-hundred plus television channels now available to consumers. These images subtly, or not so subtly, tell us what to think, consume, and buy. And, oftentimes they successfully convince us that our lives are incomplete without such purchases. Honestly, how many of us have interacted with someone who believed that their life was in some way deprived because they didn’t have the latest cell phone or the new $90 pair of jeans? It sounds ridiculous, but is more common than one would imagine...especially with teenage girls.It is safe to assume that a majority of young women face an “unsaid expectation” that they should own an Abercrombie mini-skirt, American Eagle t-shirt, and J-Crew Flip Flops at some point in their high school careers. And, it doesn’t help that secular society reinforces the idea that what you look like is of sole importance in this life. Unfortunately, this manipulative advertising promotes materialism and convinces young girls to find their identity exclusively in their clothes and other externalities. Materialism is wreaking havoc on our youth because prides itself on objectifying and exploiting young women. Just think about the 5 minutes that you spend standing in line at the grocery store. You can turn in any direction and catch sight of a magazine touting some young covergirl. As your eye meets the beautiful model, it is safe to assume that your first thoughts are not, “I wonder if she is good student?” or “Do you think she likes to cook?” Unfortunately, in most cases, we don’t even register the fact that this is a human person with real interests and desires. Instead, we see a bunch of body parts that oftentimes arouse feelings of jealousy or envy at her perfect wardrobe, flawless skin, or flat abs. Those models have inherent dignity and deserve the respect owed to every person created in the image and likeness of God. Sadly, most of these women don’t even know their own priceless worth…either do many of the girls living in our own homes.To confront this secular lie, we need to educate our daughters, sisters and friends that our bodies are very powerful tools. They not only tell us who we are as individuals, but communicate to others who we are and what we believe. Moreover, our bodies are the most obvious physical sign about our spiritual meaning and purpose as human beings. Scripture reiterates that the body is a sacred temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul asks the Corinthians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). We need to ask ourselves this same question.
Revisiting the Nature of the Priesthood and Women
Oct 2, 2006 / 00:00 amEarlier this summer, the Washington Post ran an article entitled “Reclaiming the Feminine Spirit in the Catholic Priesthood.” It recounted the story of 12 American women who participated in a floating ordination ceremony off a dock in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The women believed their act of defiance would reclaim “a proper, equal role for women in leadership” in the Catholic Church. As one of the women explained, “there is a glass ceiling, and women are second-class citizens.” She was speaking in reference to the “sexist” all-male priesthood.Although I addressed this issue a year ago with my column on the impossibility of women’s ordination, it appears we need to re-visit it once again, especially in light of a startling poll. The poll, taken by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, suggests 70% of “rank-and-file Catholics” are in favor of women’s ordination to the priesthood.So, what is wrong with ordaining women anyways?To understand, we must first look at the nature of priesthood. The priesthood is an office entrusted by Christ to His Apostles for teaching, sanctifying, governing, and fathering the faithful. Fatherhood is essential to the priestly vocation. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to view the Church as a large corporation operated by men seeking to oppress women. The quote by the woman seeking ordination this summer proves this point. She, like many others embroiled in the debate, views the all-male priesthood as a sexist “glass ceiling” that women must break through for equality’s sake. The allusion to this Catholic corporate ladder is dangerous and misleading. Moreover, this secular train of thought is exactly where society struggles to understand the role of women in the Church without female priesthood. The Church is not a corporation, but rather a divinely inspired family. In understanding this concept, it is helpful to look at basic family dynamics. Within my own growing family, my husband doesn’t feel discriminated against because he can’t act as the mother. Actually, during this first trimester of our pregnancy, he is quite relieved that he cannot biologically act as the mother! Similarly, I don’t feel robbed of some right to be the father. We share mutual understanding that each has our own role in service to one another and in raising our family. Also engrained within our understanding is the knowledge that we share equal dignity as persons. This analogy directly relates to the life of the Church. Just as men cannot be biological mothers and vice versa, men cannot be spiritual mothers and women cannot be spiritual fathers. This reality is stamped within our nature. We are made differently, yet created with equal dignity. In Inter Insigniores, the declaration addressing women’s admission to ministerial priesthood, the Church “intends to remain faithful to the type of ordained ministry willed by the Lord Jesus Christ and carefully maintained by the Apostles.” Christ, while choosing His twelve apostles, was deliberate in His choice of men. Through Apostolic Tradition, the Magisterium is safeguarding this tenet of faith that was instituted by Christ. Some remark that He was merely acting in accordance to the customs of His time. However, through examination of the Gospels, it is obvious that Jesus broke away from the prejudices of His time regarding women. We need only look to Jesus’ interactions with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:27), the hemorrhaging woman (Mt 9:20), and the woman taken in adultery (Jn 8:11)…to name a few. These accounts testify to Christ’s counter-cultural attitude towards women. Moreover, no where in His charity, acceptance, and ministry to women does Christ call them to become one of the Twelve, not even his Mother nor the numerous women who faithfully accompanied Him during His public ministry.We cannot deny that the debate over women’s ordination is alive and heated, but women need to enter the conversation with honesty and openness to the message of Christ. He calls each of us to pick up our cross and follow Him, equally! We might have different roles, but we are equally made and equally called to be His disciples. We must remember that obstinacy never trumps obedience to Christ. He is the Truth! And, ignoring or circumventing Truth to pursue our own wants or desires inhibits are ability to fully live the Christian faith.
Pornography: A Public Health Crisis
Sep 13, 2006 / 00:00 amA recent article in the Denver Post warned that the infusion of pornography into mainstream culture has reached “epidemic” proportions, to the point of being classified as a “public-health crisis.” James Weaver, a professor at George Mason University in Virginia conducted research on pornography and its effects in the 1980s. He concluded, “we need to do with pornography what we did with smoking and drunk driving.” In years past, “we had the courage as a society to talk about smoking and responsible drinking, but we haven’t been able to get past our inhibitions about talking about pornography.” He insists that we need to call pornography what it is: a distortion. And, as research confirms, this distortion is devastating our marriages, families and society as a whole. For example, a 2002 survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers analyzed the impact of Internet use on marriages. It indicated that 56% of the divorce cases in the study involved one party’s obsessive interest in pornographic websites. Along with destroying marriages, pornography is affecting children at younger ages today. Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that the average age a child gets their first glimpse at pornography is now five years old. No wonder Weaver is labeling pornography’s influx as “a public health crisis.” Pornography, especially internet porn, wreaks havoc on society because it is easily accessible, anonymous, and addictive. Not only do pornographic pop-ups infiltrate cable channels and internet sites, but the ability to view the material in the privacy of your own home removes any shame associated with the act. Tragically, most viewers buy into the illusion that this pornographic fantasy world is merely entertainment. They have little understanding that this addiction is detrimental to their own physical, spiritual and emotional well-being.The Catechism explains that pornography “does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public) since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others” (#2354). In other words, pornography separates the sexual act from the intimacy of spouses and places it on display for pleasure and profit. Pornography perverts and strips the conjugal act of its meaning. In addition, those involved in the act exploit themselves and those who view the material. Respect for the gift of sexuality diminishes along with the reverence owed to the dignity of the human person. Again, pornography exploits for pleasure and profit. And, this pornographic mentality is infiltrating our daily print, radio, and televised media in ways we don’t even recognize. For instance, when perusing through fashion magazines, almost every advertisement exploits a certain feature of a woman. Most especially, ads for Victoria’s Secret over-sexualize women and use obvious pornographic poses to sell their products. Similarly, an increasing number of network television programs like Desperate Housewives or Sex in the City are known for their provocative portrayal of sex and sexuality. This messaging is very dangerous, especially for women today. It not only objectifies the women in the ads or programs, but subconsciously convinces us that we must exploit or objectify ourselves.As women, we need to be aware of these advertising ploys and guard our hearts and minds from objectification. In addition, we need to educate and safeguard our families against the addictive accessibility of pornography, which seeks to undermine the inherent dignity of the human person.
Plan B: Emergency Contraception
Aug 17, 2006 / 00:00 amFor two years, the FDA has delayed approval for the over-the-counter sale of an oral emergency contraceptive, Plan B. Plan B is a morning-after pill that prevents ovulation, fertilization, or implantation if taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse. Although supporters of the drug tout that Plan B will prevent pregnancy and, therefore, prevent abortions…we need to ask ourselves, “has wide-spread contraceptive use prevented abortion in the past?” The answer is “no.” Since mainstreaming oral contraceptives into the daily rhythm of life during the 1960s, promiscuity has increased, along with a growing disregard for the natural consequences associated with sexual intercourse (i.e. a child). Proof of this point: in the first year after abortion was legalized nationwide (1974), the Guttmacher Institute, a leading advocate for birth control, counted 898,600 abortions. In 2002, over 1,293,000 abortions occurred in the United States. Obviously, widespread availability of contraception does not stop abortion. These statistics even suggest that abortions increase with contraceptive use. Promoting a contraceptive mentality is dangerous. It indoctrinates individuals to think that they can have sex whenever they want, with whomever they want, at any age they want, without any long-term effects. Plan B would only exacerbate this mindset. We cannot continue to remedy this life crisis with band-aids and “back up plans” (the theme that gave Plan B its name). Today’s society is experiencing a slow and steady corrosion of the soul and we don’t even realize that it is happening. It is like the analogy of the frog and the pot of water. If you throw a frog into a boiling pot of water, it will jump out immediately because of the scalding temperature. However, if you place a frog in a pot of lukewarm water and turn on the burner, its body temperature adjusts as the water heats and it slowly dies without ever knowing it was in harm. Regarding abortion and contraception, we’ve been in a heated pot of water for over 45 years and we have to get out…quick. This begins by addressing consequences of contraception including a generally lowering of morality, a loss of respect for ourselves and another’s personal dignity, ignorance about the sacredness of human sexuality, not to mention the abortive measures taken when contraception fails. Clearly, these are deep-seeded issues and a quick fix like an “emergency pill” isn’t going to help us get out of the boiling water!Such a culture cannot and will not reform itself when given “tools” that further its own demise. We need to discard the mentality that “people are going to do it anyway, so let’s at least help them be safe.” Setting such a low standard is very detrimental, especially for teens. Moreover, if the FDA grants over-the-counter status to Plan B, it will be as easy to purchase as a pack of gum at the local drug store. This easy access will have serious implications among the youth in our society. For proof, we need only look to some European countries where morning-after contraception has been available for more than 20 years. Currently in Spain, 71% of the women using “emergency contraception” are under the age of 24 years. Easy access does correlate with increased promiscuity, especially with teens.It’s time to rethink our approach to this serious issue. We don’t need more excuses or rationalizations as to why contraception is needed. Instead of relying on Plan B, we should be strengthening Plan A! Abstinence; Accountability; Authentic love! We must raise the bar in society and have the courage to teach responsibility, self-worth, and faithfulness.
Rewards of a Virtuous Life
Jul 28, 2006 / 00:00 amThere is a story about a man named Jim who traveled to Calcutta to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity. To his surprise one morning, Mother Teresa asked for his help as she roamed the streets looking for the sick and dying. When they left the house and were walking through the slums of India, Mother Teresa spotted a man lying in a ditch. She bent down and told Jim, “Pick him up.” As Jim looked at the dying man covered with sores, he thought to himself, “whatever you do, don’t touch him, don’t touch him.” So, he pulled his sleeves over his hands and reached down to lift the poor man out of the ravine.
An Examination of Conscience
Jul 6, 2006 / 00:00 amWith the buzz of summer in full swing, it is easy to get swept up in vacation planning, traveling, and family festivities. But, just as we pause during Lent to allow for the spring cleaning of our souls, it is important that we stop during these weeks in Ordinary Time to reflect on where we’ve been spiritually and assess where we are headed.St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), created a simple method for examining one’s habits that we, as lay faithful, can easily incorporate into our daily lives. Using his Spiritual Exercises, in particular his Examination of Conscience, we can follow these five steps toward greater sanctification.In the first step of our examination, we thank God for all he has given us. How easy is it to spend an entire day running errands and never once stop to thank God for the gifts He has blessed us with that day? When we offer thanksgiving to God for His spiritual and temporal graces, we enter into a prayerful dialogue with Him. Second, we ask God for the grace to know and correct our faults. This prayer of petition opens our minds and hearts to better recognize the areas in our life where we lack charity or have not allowed the indwelling of God’s presence. Just as Christ instructed us in the Gospel to “ask and it will be given to you,” we must ask for the grace to grow in holiness (Matt 7:7).Next, we take time to reflect on the past and recognize the faults that we have committed in word, deed, thought or omission. By reviewing those times throughout the day when we did not act with love, we are able to identify specific vices that we must combat or virtues that we can foster. After recognizing our faults, we humbly ask for God’s pardon. Scripture reminds us that our God is compassionate, so with contrite hearts we approach the throne of grace confident in His mercy. At this moment, our hearts move from contrition to peace and like King David we rejoice, “Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven” (Ps 32:1). Trusting in God’s forgiveness, we finally propose an amendment to change our lifestyle and grow in virtue. This firm resolution is integral to our examination because it provides a tangible path to holiness. If we reflect daily on our weaknesses and propose ways to attack those vices, we will inevitably grow in virtue. The Catechism teaches that “a virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good” (1803). Virtuous people pursue goodness and choose it in concrete ways. We will become God’s saints if we examine our consciences daily with a firm desire to rid sin out of our lives and make room for virtue. Practice makes perfect! Just as the Prophet sings in Lamentations: “Let us search and examine our ways that we may return to the Lord” (3:40).
The Marriage Debate
Jun 12, 2006 / 00:00 amEarlier this week, the United States Senate rejected a proposed amendment to the US Constitution that would ban gay “marriage.” Although the 49-48 vote favored passing the amendment, it did not receive the necessary 60 votes to move the amendment forward. This Congressional defeat is due in large part to the misconception that the “marriage” ban is bigoted and discriminatory against homosexuals.As evidenced on Capitol Hill, this “marriage debate” is divisive and sure to dominate the 2006 state elections. In response, Catholics need to understand the reasons why the Catholic Church is standing in defense of traditional marriage. First of all, the Church understands that marriage is a sacrament, and as a sacrament, it has God as its author. Marriage is not purely a human institution, but is a vocation that “is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator” (CCC #1603). The Church also explains that marriage, as revealed in Scripture, is twofold in its purpose: it is both unitive for the good of the spouses and procreative in the spouses’ openness to life. We must reiterate that both of these qualities must be recognized and embraced in marriage, not one to the neglect of the other.With this foundational understanding of marriage, the Church further explains that “by its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory” (CCC1652). This is the fruit of marriage: children and family life! Obviously, homosexual relationships are not able to share in this procreative act with God and therefore defy the nature of marriage itself.The Church sees the family as “the original cell of social life” and teaches that “the family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom” (CCC #2207). The stability, attention, discipline, and love that children receive growing up lays a solid foundation for each child’s success and active participation in society. This foundation is imperative since a child’s familial experiences act as an initiation into societal life.Recognizing the importance of this stable family foundation, the push to re-define marriage and the family as simply mutual interdependence upon another person is worrisome. For sound reason, the Church teaches that “a man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family” (CCC #2202). The Church considers this nuclear definition of married husband and wife who are open to life as the normal reference point by which all other family relationships are to be evaluated.This is not to question the love or goodwill in homosexual relationships. Clearly,homosexuals have a desire for commitment, which stems from our most basic need to love and be loved. However, compromising the institution of marriage and the nuclear family structure to accommodate non-traditional lifestyles will have its consequences. Healthy marriages and stable families create thriving children and strong communities. When marriage and family life breaks down, everyone suffers. As Catholics, we work to promote the common good. Therefore, it is our duty to acknowledge, protect, and defend the true nature of marriage and family.
Authentic Feminine Sexuality
Apr 18, 2006 / 00:00 amAccording to the Commonwealth Fund, nearly one-third of American women (31%) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lifetime. Just as this statistic reveals, violence against women is all too prevalent in our society today. Pope John Paul II recognized this disturbing fact and declared that “the time has come to condemn vigorously the types of sexual violence which frequently have women for their object.” In response, many Catholic college campuses have created educational programs that inform students on the gravity of sexual violence, while also teaching them how to prevent abuse and help survivors heal. These programs are needed. They help to create awareness about sexual assault and strengthen community efforts to combat violence in all areas of society. Recently, however, a sexually enlightened agenda is accompanying the need for factual and honest education on Catholic campuses. This is most evident in the contemporary “educational project” entitled The Vagina Monologues. The Vagina Monologues is a collection of monologues based on interviews with over 200 women about their memories and experiences of sexuality. It surfaced in New York in the late 1990s as a theatre production aimed at informing the public about sexual violence, but in actuality does little to effectively educate the audience. The production’s raw and irreverent approach to female sexuality, along with the choreographed use of profanity merely for the sake of alarming the audience, reveals more of its radical feminist agenda than its desire to educate. Honestly, what sense does it make to oppose all acts of violence that turn women into sexual objects, but then oppose the violence by reducing women to a sexual object: a vagina. Does anyone else see the irony? The Catholic Church recognizes that violence, especially against the vulnerable and defenseless, is abhorrent. In addition, the Church believes that female sexuality is a beautiful and precious gift from the Creator. She also desires to protect and uphold the dignity of all women by teaching that women are more than just body parts. Women should be valued for their tremendous intellectual, artistic, moral and spiritual capacity as well. The Vagina Monologues negates this entire premise and instead is vulgar and reductionist in its approach. When asked why he would not allow The Vagina Monologues on his Catholic campus, Reverend Brian J. Shanley, O.P., the President of Providence College in Rhode Island, stated that “precisely because its depiction of female sexuality is so deeply at odds with the true meaning and morality that the Catholic Church’s teaching celebrates, The Vagina Monologues is not an appropriate play to be performed on our campus.” Similarly, his statement reiterated that the performance “simplifies and demystifies” female sexuality by reducing it to a vagina. Shanley also pointed out that the so-called “new bible” for women, as the play is often referred, is “deeply and diametrically opposed” to the truth regarding human sexuality that inspires the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the true Bible. Unfortunately, other Catholic campus leaders across the country are not as courageous as Shanley. For instance, Reverend John I. Jenkins, C.S.C, the President of Notre Dame University is justifying the performance under the guise of “artistic” and “academic freedom.” In his Closing Statement on Academic Freedom and Catholic Character, he remarked, “we are committed to a wide-open, unconstrained search for truth, and we are convinced that Catholic teaching has nothing to fear from engaging the wider culture…our goal is not to limit discussion or inquiry, but to enrich it.” I applaud his efforts to engage a culture that does not know Jesus Christ and challenge the secular worldview, but how exactly does sponsoring an event that undermines the intrinsic nature of the human person actually enrich the student body of a Catholic institution? This guise of “tolerance” parallels the thought process that “pornography is pervading all of society, so let’s expose ourselves to it in an effort to better understand how and why society is addicted to it.” No, this approach is inherently flawed. Never should “academic freedom” permit Catholic institutions to support and promote ideologies that utterly oppose the teachings of our Mother, the Church. Again, it is necessary to combat sexual assault, abuse, and violence against women in our day and age. But we, as lay faithful, and our Catholic institutions must support and defend women in their entirety: body, mind, and soul. The Vagina Monologues does not do so.
Lenten Message
Mar 3, 2006 / 00:00 amOn my co-worker’s office wall hangs a small newspaper cut-out of a homeless man living in Denver. Amidst the sea of faces present in the photo, his weathered face stands apart in the crowd. The man’s bright eyes peer out beneath the hood of his jacket and penetrate through the camera. Mesmerized by the clipping, I asked my co-worker why he taped this image to his wall. He remarked, “never have I seen the gaze of Christ so vividly as the moment when I first saw this picture in the paper.”
The Prodigal Daughter
Feb 16, 2006 / 00:00 am“Oh, she’s a ‘fallen-away’ Catholic.” “No, she’s Catholic in name only!”
What an Epiphany!
Dec 29, 2005 / 00:00 amWith the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season in full swing, it’s easy to get caught up in the shopping, gift wrapping, gift returns, endless baking, and holiday feasting… not to mention, the resolution list-making which promises a healthy diet and regimented fitness routine.
Finding a New Feminist
Oct 28, 2005 / 00:00 amI recently read an article in the New York Times about a club at Princeton University that promotes chastity. The group originated when students, who were fed-up with the onslaught of sexual innuendo on campus, wanted to alert fellow undergrads that not everyone at this Ivy League was engaging in premarital sex.
What about Women’s Ordination?
Oct 4, 2005 / 00:00 amA few months ago, during the election of Pope Benedict XVI, I came across a disturbing political cartoon in a local newspaper. The sketch depicted the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica with a tall smoke stack standing atop. Smoke emerged from the stack and spelled out “No Women Need Apply.”
Faith and Fellowship
Sep 13, 2005 / 00:00 amDuring his homily at the World Youth Day in August, Pope Benedict XVI urged the young faithful to “form communities based on faith!” He explained that “in recent decades, movements and communities have come to birth in which the power of the Gospel is keenly felt.” These words regarding faith and fellowship have lingered in my mind since my return from Cologne a few weeks ago.
Feminine Role Models
Aug 30, 2005 / 00:00 amWhen talking about women’s issues, many comment that in today’s world, we lack current role models for true femininity. On the surface, this statement resonates with me. Since society places sex appeal, power, and popularity on a pedestal, any woman possessing these attributes subsequently qualifies as an attractive role model.
Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Aug 12, 2005 / 00:00 amOftentimes, when people speak of the Immaculate Conception, they incorrectly allude to Jesus’ miraculous conception in the womb of Mary. However, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is important to understand the truth behind this widely misunderstood dogma.
Finding someone to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
Aug 11, 2005 / 00:00 amWith the recent departure of Sandra Day O’Connor from the United States Supreme Court, women and men are up in arms debating, analyzing, and even predicting the future of women’s rights in America. Many now fear that a woman’s right to abortion is in jeopardy because of the high court vacancy. Senator Barbara Boxer has even pointed her finger at Pro-Life nominees stating that thousands of “women will die” if Roe v. Wade is overturned.