feminine-genius

OK, who knew...?

The Bishops have a campaign:

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week is a national educational campaign. The Natural Family Planning Program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops develops a poster each year with basic supportive materials. It is the individual dioceses however, that offer a variety of educational formats in the local church to focus attention on Natural Family Planning methods and Church teachings which support their use in marriage.

This event is, um, this week. As in more than 1/2 over. Has anyone felt the slightest ripple of this? As for Providence, RI -- nothing. Such a loss. [H/t: American Papist]

Marriage as foundation

While we struggle against redefinition of marriage here in the West (against the same-sex crowd as well as the "drive-through" adherents) we have to be equally vigilant to protect marriage from those who abuse it in other ways:

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Kidnapped by three Muslims, and forced to convert to Islam: this is what happened to two underage sisters in the district of Muzaffargarh, in the province of Punjab, last June 26. The charge is made to AsiaNews by a relative of the victims, providing further details about the affair involving, against their will, 13-year-old Saba Younas and her 10-year-old sister Anila.

According to their uncle, Khalid Raheel, the kidnappers presented a statement to the local district court affirming that "both girls converted to Islam following their marriage with two Muslims". For Islam, if a woman marries a Muslim, she embraces the religious faith of her husband as a direct consequence. The family's lawyer has rejected the demand of the three men, emphasising "the underage status of the sisters" and, in consequence, the impossibility for them to "change faith or proceed with regular marriages without the authorisation of a parent or guardian". In the course of the dispute, the judge asked to be able to see the two girls, but the Muslims flatly rejected the request.

How can one share culture with people who found marriage on such things?

• marriage is mutual decision between mature parties;
• vows must be freely taken;
• religion must be based on individual conscience;
• deceit, force, assault, and pressure cannot be a part.

The legal case has run its course, and the parents have lost their appeals to have their girls returned. Since the girls "converted," they can no longer live with Christians, leaving them to be chattel to their new husbands. (Btw, where are the feminists...?)

Three beautiful things

From the trusty "Moments with Mary," a lovely reminder:

I am the Creator of Heaven and earth, one divinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; I spoke to the patriarchs and the prophets and to the one whom they awaited. In order to achieve their desires, according to my promise, I took human flesh free from sin and concupiscence, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin just as the sun shines through a transparent windowpane. Indeed, as the sun does not break the windowpane while shining through, in the same way Mary's virginity was not injured or broken when I took my humanity (Revelation of Jesus to Saint Bridget of Sweden).

Secondly, the current issue of Canticle Magazine is available online. I provide a review, as usual (p. 28), and was blessed to be with Donna Marie in Rome for the Mulieris Dignitatem anniversary (cover story, p.26).  Pages refer to .pdf document, not print version.

And finally, those of us who know the Church as Bride of Christ know of her beauty, but it's heartening to see that it became evident even to the disinterested residents of Sydney Australia as they watched World Youth Day unfold.

Catholic or not, most people want love and goodness in their lives and the contrast between the radiant faces of the pilgrims and the strained masks of their most strident condom-waving detractors was striking. Beauty was not just in the eye of the beholder.

For many Sydneysiders, even jaded priests, it showcased a new generation of young people who shocked them with their social conservatism. This wasn't the fabled youth of binge drinking, drug abuse and rampant sexually transmitted diseases, but a group of gregarious, sophisticated people unashamedly embracing the 21st-century revival in orthodox religious faith.

It provides an excellent reminder of "hope" for those who think all kids are lost (and this lack of hope is often evident both in pagans as well as those who are more-Catholic-than-the-pope).

What a difference

I watched To Sir With Love (1967) this week, introducing it to the next generation. What was surprising to me (now that I'm significantly older and have endured the ensuing decades of the sexual revolution) was the combination of promiscuity with the clear expectations of marriage and children. Although the girls were forward and often vulgar, they didn't bat a [heavily-caked] eyelash at Mr Thackery's assumption that they would soon be marrying and making homes. The kids were still bound by household chores that interfered with their education, with one kid running laundry and another missing class to watch her younger siblings. Pamela wanted to tidy the teacher's desk each day, since that was "women's work."

I found it sweet, in an odd way--sadly realising that their vulgar tendencies would be amplified by the radical feminists and their domestic tendencies would be squelched with the insistence that contraception would "improve" their lives. Forty years of rounded rejection of Humanae Vitae (1968) hasn't improved anyone's life, and the maternal urge is still lurking in women's souls--despite tweaking the hormones, the workplace, the definition of family and men's expectations.

God help us--and the children!

Same old story

Of course, from half-a-globe away, it's impossible to corroborate the details, but nothing in this story is too far off the well-worn reservation.

An Iranian woman arrested at the age of 13 is due to be hanged after spending 18 years in jail. Soghra Molaii Najafpour was sent to work as a maid in the northern city of Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, when she was nine years-old and accused of the murder of her employer's eight-year-old son, Amir.

She claimed responsibility for the murder of Amir in court , reportedly under pressure, and told the judge how she killed the boy. However, her confession was contradicted by other evidence that raised doubts about her confession. She later said she had not killed Amir, but she was sentenced to be executed.

When Soghra was 17 years old, she was transferred to solitary confinement, where she was kept until she would be executed before dawn of the following day. Soghra escaped execution after Amir’s mother could not bring herself to witness Soghra’s execution, and had requested that the execution be postponed until a later time.

Children sent to be maids to send home money to family--typical. Rough-housing with child the same size ending in death? Possible I suppose. Confession after "pressure" [read: torture] very common. Retraction after wounds subside, to be expected. Mother of dead child recoils at having to watch another child die: plausible.

Now, what are the missing details?

[A]ccording to the site SaveDelara.com, when Soghra was a maid in Rasht, she was subjected to sexual abuse and was repeatedly raped by Amir’s father. The site claims that on the day of the incident, Amir’s father had once again attacked Soghra and was raping the 13 year-old when Amir walked in and witnessed the crime.

In an attempt to get rid of him, Amir’s father pushed the young boy away, and that is how young Amir hit his head to the wall, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness. Soghra’s employer then allegedly forced her to dispose the boy’s body in a well because he could not bring himself to do so.

Now we're reduced to a "he said; she said," since each accuses the other of the crime. Without witnesses, we have convention, which says that maids are expected to provide sexual favours for men in the house. Thus, her accusation isn't too far fetched, although a decent inquiry at the time could have easily discerned if she were still a virgin. If she were not, there wouldn't be far to look to figure out who was responsible. Sadly, she was a child in a country where her rights didn't measure up to those of the men around her, and it's entirely possible that the father is guilty of both child rape and murder.

Finally, I find this interesting:

Iran has ratified international treaties including the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for underage youth who commit crimes. In Iran young men are considered to be adults from the age of 14 and young women from the age of eight and a half, and therefore responsible for any crimes that they commit.

So despite the fact that a woman's word is worth only half a man's, her accountability as an adult begins so much sooner. It would be wicked of me, I know, to suggest that making her an adult allows men to hide behind her young age as being capable of "consent" to conjugal relations, now, wouldn't it? Another dodge for a perverse tradition.

Let us pray for Soghra. Eighteen years in jail--much in solitary confinement-- is much to bear.

Beyond heroic

While we've all been absorbed in the remarkable rescue in Colombia, Sheila Liaugminas does a good job of patching together the heroic nature of Ingrid Betancourt, who was in captivity over six years--three of which were spent chained night and day. And then she was on the move.

Ms. Betancourt said the jungle was “an absolutely hostile world.” She described “no sun, no sky, a green ceiling — it was too much, it was too much, a wall of trees, a lot of insects, each more dreadful than the next.” She said she walked perhaps 200 miles a year. “I walked with a hat pulled down over my ears because all sorts of things fall on your head, ants that bite you, insects, lice, ticks, with gloves because everything in the jungle bites, each time you try to grab on to something so that you don’t fall, you’ve put your hand on a tarantula, you’ve put your hand on a thorn, a leaf that bites.

Read about her faith, her hope, her tenacity, her ability to forgive. Tremendous for us, and a story to share with the children this summer. Let them see authentic heroism without gadgets, buttons, super powers or appeals to the dark side.

UPDATE: It would seem that our heroine has gone to Lourdes to thank the Blessed Mother for her release. Two things: all I see on her part is gratitude--despite the horrors she could be dwelling on. Good lesson for all of us.  And secondly, how can she be so very exquisite--even after years of jungle captivity?? Is there something about this "eldest daughter of the Church" thing that trickles down to every French woman...?

   

Out of the ashes...

The ever-stellar Get Religion blog brings to our attention this excellent film about Rwanda as covered by a religion reporter in the Washington Post. It involves those living in a world that has been turned inside-out through mass torture and genocide. How to move forward beyond simply existing?

In the film we meet Rosaria, who pulls up the hem of her dress to reveal mounds of raised scar tissue running down her legs. Hacked and beaten during the genocide, she now lives in a house built for her by Saveri, the man who killed her sister. Another survivor, Chantale, who lost 30 family members, meets John, the stooped gangly man who killed her father. He can’t face her; her eyes are embers. “Remember all your old neighbors,” she says. Yet the next day, Chantale begins working to build a house for another ex-con who confessed his crimes.

For Hinson, it was proof that the “transcendent filters through every aspect of life” and also that the world is really messed up.

"Reconciliation," she adds, her wide green eyes peering across the hall as she curls a finger into her drooping gold flip-flop, picking at the hard skin of her heel. "I think it's one of the most challenging subjects anyone can face. You choose to give up your right to hold that against him."

One can easily see the Providence that led her to this project, which combined her own personal need to forgive with the monumental future that lies before Rwanda after monstrous events in the recent past. The entire story is illuminated with deeper questions and the need to understand the transcendence that is all around us. I certainly look forward to seeing this film, and am delighted to see that this young lady and I share an alma mater.

Terminate the distractions

This timeless piece (which means I got to it over a year late) shows the similarities between Jews and Christians in holding onto the essence of ritual without getting swept away in the push for etertainment and "relevance."

My son William was recently invited to his friend Josh's bar mitzva. William had never been to a bar mitzva before, and he's still talking about it. The invitation was a video tape of Josh, dressed like the Terminator and doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression: "Come to my bar mitzva, or else!"

When I dropped William off at the five-star hotel ballroom, everything was decorated to look like metal. There were robots standing guard with blinking eyes and moving arms; destroyed tanks and cars strewn about (rented from a movie prop house); and inflatable jungle gyms and slides, all in camouflage colors. There was even a life-sized Arnold Schwarzenegger cutout for guests to sign.

After the aliya latorah, Josh made his grand entrance on a "T2" motorcycle - his bar mitzva gift from his parents! Following the motzi, a live rock band played modern techno music. Josh did a really cool robot dance. During the traditional candlelighting ceremony, Josh lit 13 candles with a butane lighter shaped like a Terminator rifle. My son wished he could take it home with him.

Many of our children--goyim though they be--are invited to bar (and bat) mitzvas in middle school, which provide interesting views into modern (more liberal) Jewish life. They usually emerge after hours of fun with trinkets, personalised clothes, shades, and heaps of party favours--all of which makes the actual ritual itself bearable. (Some families allow their kids to skip the synagogue and go directly to the party, which is mistifying.)

It is reminiscent of our attempts to make the sacraments "fun" or worse, lavishly competitive. There are even those who will postpone the sacraments until enough money is saved for the right reception or until the bride can fit into a slinky dress (post-partem). In Equador, a family I met didn't baptise their daughter, knowing they couldn't afford the chickens necessary to feed the extended family, so they were going to wait for another child and hope to manage a two-fer.

The short-term goal, for parents, is often to make rituals fit into our lives with minimal spiritual discomfort, although the irony is that the mundane trials become even more traumatic.  After planning her own son's bar mitzvah began to reach crisis mode, the mother

made a dash for my bookshelf to retrieve my dog-eared copy of the Book of Jewish Values to see what the ever wise and rational Rabbi Joseph Telushkin might have to say about the situation. He didn't let me down.

"Out of the desire not to appear cheap or unloving to their children, many... Jews feel forced to spend far more on [bar mitzva] parties than they can or want to," he writes. "Furthermore lavish parties often end up diminishing, sometimes even eliminating, the religious significance of the bar mitzva. For many of the celebrants, what counts is the 'bar,' not the mitzva."

What we desperately need, says Telushkin, are some "wealthy moral heroes... prominent, affluent Jews in our largest Jewish communities - to throw a simple bar or bat mitzva celebration, one in which the party is very pleasant and celebratory, but not lavish." In doing so, he holds, "the good they would do for their fellow Jews would be almost incalculable."

Thank you Rabbi Telushkin! The same goes for Christian weddings, where the warantees on the piles of gifts often outlast the actual unions. Kids may enjoy Terminator rifle candle lighters, but the flame itself is often overpowered by the schtick. Mothers--as keepers of the flame and builders of culture--would do well to be the moral heroes and teach children that ritual is often meant to be sacrifice. If it is pleasing to God, then He'll provide the reward, not Arnold.

"Rogue women"

Indeed, I've been caught, and plead guilty. The anniversary initiative DignityofWomen was discovered by Matthew Bigelow, a writer for U.S. Catholic and it fit into his article on how Catholics are using the internet these days.

When Genevieve Kineke and a group of lay-women decided this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem, Pope John Paul II's document on the dignity of women, she needed to get the word out. A mailing list, however, never even occurred to her.

"Someone had said, 'Are we going to get a mailing list?' No, we don't use paper and stamps anymore, we just don't. We're an Internet generation," Kineke says.

Soon thereafter Kineke, an author and speaker on Catholic femininity, launched dignityofwomen.com, a website with contact information, an online version of the document, and updates on her movement to commemorate the 20th anniversary. Soon an e-mail listserv used by Kineke and her colleagues was aflame with rumors about this "lay group."

Who were these rabble rousers, promoting awareness of a Vatican document without any formal ties to the church? Were they qualified to speak on it?

"So many writers are used to the chain of command and say, 'You guys are coloring outside of the lines,' and 'Who are we to have the website?' " Kineke says. "It just looked like a bunch of rogue women."

Well, I'd prefer to think of us as "inspired," but that's a matter of taste. Some events are spilling well into next year, so it's not too late to consider reading the document, sharing it with others, and putting together "days of reflection." I did enjoy talking to this young writer, lo these many months ago. I know that much of the hierarchy still looks at most internet-based apostolates with suspicion, which is perhaps prudent. Caveat emptor (but you can always trust me, heh!)

Stumbled on this

I didn't realise that New Oxford Review had some kind words for the book.

Here is a much-needed book -- a beautiful meditation on "authentic femininity" for our times. Genevieve Kineke sees women today as the chief victims of a culture steeped in "sexual heresies." Yet women also have the power to change things: they can offer the world "authentic femininity and take charge of transforming the culture." For a woman's love, her "primordial intimacy with the human person," is far more important in the scheme of things than worldly power.

Thank you, sweet Anne, for the generous review. For those interested in reading it with a group of women, a study guide is available upon request.

Life, liberty, and pursuit of ...?

This Independence Day, much is made of "freedom," although it is widely misunderstood to mean "license;" licence to do whatever we want, instead of the proper definition which means an unencumbered ability to choose the good. Below, someone took issue with the license brought about by radical feminism, which has entrenched in our citizens the mindset of the sexual left.

Witness, the measures of "safety" which we undertake in order to guarantee such license.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released a report based on new documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. The adverse reactions include 10 deaths since September, 2007. (The total number of death reports is at least 18 and as many as 20.) The FDA also produced 140 “serious” reports (27 of which were categorized as “life threatening”), 10 spontaneous abortions and six cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome – all since January 2008.

Freedom leads to joy and tranquility of spirit. License leads to anaphylactic shock, foaming at mouth, grand mal convulsion, coma, paralysis, infertility, and the human papillomavirus (itself leading to cervical cancer and death). Consider this version of freedom:

• girls must be free to be sexually active
• guys must be free to be sexually active
• promiscuity leads to STD's
• abstinence impacts "freedom"
• avoiding STD's thus necessitates injections
• quick answers short-circuits testing protocols
• dangerous drugs are marketed, even mandated
• "freedom" brings a body count that population takes in stride.

Any questions? Is it possible that we've misunderstood freedom?

[You'll note after the report, a comment from a mother who still misunderstands both the nature of freedom and the risk she takes when guaranteeing her daughters license to engage in promiscuity. Will the children turn around and vent their rage at their parents one day for their toxic inheritance?]

A chivalrous man

I was saddened to read of the death of Jesse Helms, who--fittingly-- passed on to His Maker early this morning.

"We'll never forget how he battled, especially during those first lonely years, to protect our liberties, preserve our family values and keep America strong. There he was, standing day after day to a government Goliath, crying out like a voice in the wilderness," former President Ronald Reagan said in a 1983 speech. "Bit by bit, he became more than a lonely crusader. He grew into a lionhearted leader of a great and growing army."

Many political observers credit Helms' support for catapulting Reagan to the presidency in 1980 and accelerating the conservative agenda – cutting taxes at home, fighting communism abroad and opposing many government social programs – at the national level. He also served as Reagan's right flank for years, allowing the president to make political compromises as needed. "(I decided to) stay to the right of the president's right and make it easier for Reagan to be Reagan," Helms wrote in his memoir.

We all owe him a debt of gratitude. It will take courage for someone to take up this mantle--and yet in the time since his retirement in 2002, there has been no singular replacement. RIP, from an appreciative bystander.

Two points

Father Zed has done an excellent job fisking an article by the NCReporter, about the consequences for a Woman Religious who attempted ordination in the diocese of Saint Louis. The piece combines some facts with some reactions, creating a typically biased piece which is long on feelings and short on doctrine. (Father's comments are in red.)

Sister of Charity Louise Lears, forced out of all church ministerial roles [Ummm… she attempted ordination – for crying out loud!  Can you say "excommunication"?] by Saint Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, is described by friends and colleagues in near saintly terms.

They call her a bright, energetic, compassionate and faith-filled woman. They see her as a creative, generous and selfless person, a highly effective parish minister. They say she is first rate teacher and preacher. They view her as a person guided by the gospels including an unwavering commitment to justice and the local poor.  [Do they see her as a contumacious excommunicate and probably a heretic?]

These seemingly universal accolades, however, were not enough to save Lears from a severe interdict by Burke who banished her from all Saint Louis church ministries last week.

He also banned her from receiving any of the Sacraments in the archdiocese.

It was her belief that all church ministries, including women’s ordination, should be open to women. [Which seems to trump what the CHURCH says about the matter.  "I want it this way!"] Curiously, this seems to have been only one of many of her passions and, perhaps, not her central passion, which seems to have been parish work.

There are many good things in his analysis, but I think two comments missing. Since his combox is off (perhaps for his sanity's sake) then I'll provide them here.

1. In making the point that the Church has lost the wide range of gifts that this Sister has provided -- as parish administrator, as college professor, as guide for troubled women, as advocate for victims of brutality, and helper to the homeless, the writer forgets the wider, more obvious point: look how much the Church appreciates the feminine genius in all its manifestations. Even without ordination, there is so much to be done by laity and religious -- and she sounds like a very accomplished, compassionate and busy woman.

2. More importantly, as the above snippet makes clear, ordination was not her "central passion." This is staggering, given that she risked it all to make a point that wasn't even about her true "vocation." A man with a vocation to the priesthood would be consumed by the necessary holocaust of his life -- given in imitation of Christ, sacrificing everything so that he could be true to God's call. The way this is phrased, it sounds like she embraced the premise that women should be ordained, and pursued it to make a point -- going through the motion "in principle." If she cannot see the scandal of her disobedience, then at least can she consider the scandal of pretending a vocation to make a point?

Whatever her angle on the charitable works (and we'll have to assume it was all pure of intention for the greater glory of God) the angle on ordination is coy and political, which is as bad as any theological "misunderstanding" behind it. Wrong and bad, and I'm glad Apb. Burke dealt firmly to safeguard the flock and the sacramental games. May he stand as firmly by these principles in his new post at the Signatura. 

Annoyances

From today's Moment with Mary:

One day Father Oblat was trekking across the high mountains of Lesotho, with a rosary in his hand, visiting the Christians spread here and there scattered throughout the villages. Suddenly, a clap of thunder threw him to the ground. He got up painfully, with the help of his catechist who begged him to turn back. "The demon is annoyed because there is a soul to save," replied the priest. And they continued their route in prayer.

After a good deal of walking on mountain paths, they heard cries coming from a remote village. The good father stopped, "Someone is calling us, let us go there!" he said. The catechist replied, "No, that village is full of witches, it's a trap." But the priest answered, "Perhaps there is a soul to save there. I must go and find out." And the priest set off to the village, followed by his reluctant assistant who seemed to be more dead than alive.

When they arrived, several women surrounded the priest and took him into a hut where a girl about 17 years of age was dying. The women said, "She has been calling for you. She wants to be baptized by a Catholic priest so she can be with the beautiful lady." The father knelt down close to the dying girl who said with great effort, "Are you a Catholic priest?" He replied, "Yes, I am." - "Then baptize me quickly. Please hurry..."

Testimony of a missionary of Lesotho
Published in the magazine "Our Lady of New Time" #6 1982
Told in the Marian Collection 1986 by Brother Albert Pfleger, Marist

Pray for guidance. Sometimes obstacles are to be respected. Sometimes, they indicate that more resolve is needed.

Guess who's turning 30

That would be Louise Joy Brown, first "test-tube" baby, as we called it then. Now, thousands are born annually using IVF. Her parents, having waited nine years for a child, offered these words the day after her birth:

'Louise is, truly, a gift from God,' she told assembled television reporters, her voice breaking with emotion. 'Every woman who has yearned to hold her own child in her arms, and then been flooded with the love that only motherhood brings when that longed for dream comes true, will understand what I mean.'

While recognising the pain and suffering of infertility, we must also consider the cost of IVF: the indignities for the father, and discarded human life, and the child conceived outside the marital embrace. Not to mention the risks:

We have all heard the happy-ever-after stories of countless women for whom IVF has made motherhood a possibility. But what few women realise is that IVF treatment has become increasingly aggressive: so much so that there are very real risks involved.

Take the case of Temilola Akinbolagbe. Just two days after she began fertility treatment she suffered a massive heart attack at a south London Tube station. She was rushed to hospital where, five days later, her life-support machine was switched off. She had been a healthy young woman who had simply yearned for a child. But her body reacted fatally to the drugs she was given to stimulate her ovaries.

Granted, such deaths are rare but the fact is that they do happen. And, worryingly, up to 10 per cent of women, particularly those under 35, react badly to the hormonal drugs they are given. They are used initially to shut down the reproductive system and then to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs instead of a single one, which can then be surgically collected and fertilised with the father's sperm.

A less intense hormonal regimen is being phased in, although the frantic women wanting success don't necessarily want to hear about minimising the risks. Emotions run high, as do the bills.

Since almost 80 per cent of women seeking fertility treatment do so at private, and highly expensive, clinics it seems surprising then that more clinics do not opt for the mild version. The traditional mindset seems to be that more drugs mean more embryos put back in the womb - resulting in more babies and higher places in the league tables compiled by the regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Prof Fauser believes the reality is that the huge costs charged (a single cycle of IVF costs about £3,000) has meant that there is fierce competition among the clinics. 'With all the commercial pressure and all the money involved,' he says, 'it is easy to understand. But it is not to the benefit of the patient.' With all parties desperate for results, the tendency has been to use more drugs to produce more eggs and, hopefully, more babies. Thus IVF has become a multi-million-pound industry.

Each story is one of unique suffering, and yet, while they are all tied to the notion of reproducing (naturally enough) they are also locked in a struggle of wills -- despite the losses, the discarded children, and the dead-ends. I've read so many testimonies of infertile couples who find peace -- in God's will. Accepting "no" is inevitable at various points in life. God's consolation must line these beds of pain in a unique way, but He must be sought on His terms. If only these couples considered Providence and how else to receive the seeds of grace, then this dark industry would diminish. For now, prayers for the children who won't see the light of day. Some day, they will judge us all.

Dilemma of the day

Laura Ingraham finds a gem, in which a woman is clearly confused about her priorities (not to mention rational thought):

Dear Abby: I have been in a relationship with “Wade” for six years. The situation is this: He has gotten into trouble and can’t be around children because he’s a registered sex offender. I have an 11-month-old daughter by him. I want to be with Wade and work our relationship out, but if I do, I’ll have to give custody of my daughter to my parents and live in my own place with him.

I think we can say that the "women's liberation" movement was grossly misnamed, for such women are in shackles of their own making -- as firmly bound as any women who have ever graced the planet. She is probably no more stupid that any others in the sisterhood. Whether her daughter breaks free from the death spiral is anyone's guess. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! When will folks see?

Screening love

In light of a couple's deliberate conception of a child who would be free of a particular gene leading to breast cancer, blogger Denise Hunnell makes an excellent point about eradicating illness

A few months ago I attended the funeral of an amazing woman who died of breast cancer. She was in her thirties when the disease was diagnosed. She valiantly fought this disease for six years...She was a loving wife and a faithful friend. Her funeral Mass was so packed with people it looked like Easter Sunday. Do these people in Great Britain really think it would be better if this woman had never been born?

This reminds us of how we define ourselves, whether it is "disabled," "gay" or "breast cancer survivor." Those details may [severely] impact our lives, but they shouldn't define us -- not in the way that "image and likeness of God" should define us. We cannot let the challenges to our holiness win by coopting our need to live virtue, regardless.

It also highlights the euphemisms accepted by the world, such as the one used by "March of Dimes." When they say they are "eliminating birth defects," we must respond firmly by saying that they are not. They are simply eliminating the children who have birth defects. Big difference. Likewise, this British mother talks of "screening" embryos for hereditary breast cancer.

The woman decided to have her embryos screened because her husband had tested positive for the gene and his sister, mother, grandmother and cousin have all had the cancer. The couple produced 11 embryos, of which five were found to be free from the gene. Two of these were implanted in the woman’s womb and she is now 14 weeks pregnant.

Thus in order to "save the life of her child" she created ten others who subsequently died. Rather than saying "it is better that one man die for the sake of the people," we now kill ten so that one has a chance at living. Bizarre word games; monstrous proportions. Sayeth the mother:

“It has been successful for us which means we are eliminating the gene from our line."

No, my dear. You have simply eliminated your children. You have "saved" them from knowing you and your brand of love, and you have saved yourself from looking them in the eye before death. I wish you and this surviving "miracle" every happiness, but what a price.

"Hooters for women"

Women in Japan seem to agree that they do the brunt of the domestic work, are solely responsible for family commitments, and are overwhelmingly unappreciated by Japanese men. Thus, this campy break from the routine seems to provide a harmless respite -- and jobs for western men.

In season and out

Folks who know me know my pet peeve about "random acts of kindness" which are not the Christian way. Love demands a constant generous presence, with which we all struggle. Tell a newborn about random feedings. Tell a dialysis patient about random hours of operation. Or consider what these Sisters outside Hanoi [Vietnam] have done consistently for over 45 years.

Children who have at least one leper in the family, and for this reason are the object of discrimination and marginalisation: for them, studying would be unheard of if it were not for a community of sisters of Saint-Paul de Chartres, who welcome them in Pleiku, in the region of the Vietnamese highlands.

In addition to studying, in fact, the 160 children welcomed by the sisters practice sport and music, as well as having the opportunity to deepen their understanding of religion.  There is also a daytime centre that cares for another 200 young people.

In addition to providing educational opportunities and a haven of love for so many on-site, they also go out and tend to over 700 lepers -- consistently. God be praised!

Evolution isn't working

For all the assurances of the sexual left, the women aren't falling into line about being able to "love 'em and leave em:"

OTTAWA, June 26, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the last several decades many have claimed that the sexual and feminist revolutions freed women to enjoy casual sex without fear of adverse consequences. Yet according to Professor Anne Campbell from Durham University in the UK, the negative feelings reported by women after one-night stands suggest that they are not well adapted to fleeting sexual encounters. Her findings are published online in the June issue of Springer's journal, Human Nature.

Professor Campbell looked at whether women have adapted to casual sex by examining their feelings following a one-night stand. She hypothesized that if women have adapted, they should rate the experience positively. To test this theory, a total of 1743 men and women who had experienced a one-night stand were asked to rate both their positive and negative feelings the following morning, in an internet survey.

Prof Campbell added: "Evolution often acts through positive or negative emotions which draw us towards adaptive behaviours or drives us away from harmful ones. For example, we enjoy other people's company but get depressed if we spend too much time alone. Basic emotions guide us down pathways that have been advantageous for our ancestors. It seemed obvious that if our female ancestors really were adapted to short-term relationships they ought to enjoy them."

Overall, however, women's feelings were much more negative than men's. 80 percent of men said they had overall positive feelings about the experience, compared to 54 percent of women.

The predominant negative feeling reported by women was regret at having been "used". Women were also more likely to feel that they had let themselves down and were worried about the potential damage to their reputation if other people found out.

"What the women seemed to object to was…the fact that the man did not seem to appreciate her. The women thought this lack of gratitude implied that she did this with anybody," Professor Campbell explained.

There seems to be some serious hard-wiring in the way here. It would seem that the need to be "appreciated" is blocking the necessary evolution to "mindless animal couplings." I'd also like to commend that 20% of men who aren't so base as to enjoy sex without some level of commitment. I'd also speculate that drugs and alcohol probably have a lot to do with the folks who claim "no regrets."

Belgium, 2008

A 21 year old woman was raped in a major Belgian train station with passers-by ignoring her plight. Two North African immigrants accosted her as left her train and said she should be wearing a head-scarf. (She was not a Muslim.) Thus they held her at knife point and assaulted her.

Is this the way of the New Europe? Is this what women can expect? Rogue immigrants and detached local men? Is this the accumulation of years of post-Christian malaise, the banality of sexual prurience, outright rejection of a chivalric code and waves of Muslims?

Her father, of course, is outraged. She is hospitalised. Police are mulling about looking for clues. No bystanders have come forward to help. Not during, not after. Without God, moral duty withers. (Duty to Allah, evidently, is a thing apart.)

A different kind of vigil

Zimbabwe has suffered under a brutal dictator for years. He wields power through violence and intimidation, and nothing seems to be able to dislodge him. He holds rallies around the country, fueled by alcohol and drugs, which all locals are forced to attend. The upcoming election has ramped everything up still more:

As the country heads for a second round of a presidential election on 27 June ... MDC Information Director Luke Tambironyoka says more than 500 women and girls have been sexually abused and raped in the political violence gripping the country.

"We are still yet to establish the exact figure as some cases are still yet to be reported officially," he says. "Furthermore, the majority of the victims are in the outlying remote rural areas, where they are in hiding fearing for their lives."

[T]he abuse tends to happen at night-time vigils, called "pungwes." These are gatherings held in the open where people are forced to sing revolutionary songs to prove their loyalty to the ruling party. Many residents in the area are made to attend, including girls as young as 16 where, if they catch a commander's eye, they are kept at the base until the militia leave the area.

Some are held for weeks or longer, such as Maidei -- a young widow on whom this story centers. Those supporting Mugabe don't even deny it.

Asked about the allegations that men were raping women and girls forcibly at the meetings, he replied matter-of-factly: "We have to share in comradeship as we have the same aim to get rid of the opposition here." He confirmed that the young and beautiful women were often identified at the meetings and made to stay on with the group leaders.

Just this weekend, the only man running against the brutal dictator pulled out of the race, since he couldn't guarantee the safety of his supporters at the polls and much of his staff has been arrested. Supporter of his opposition party have had their homes burned and many international observers sent to the country have been killed. He's in hiding in the Dutch embassy.

The older members of the ruling party are all dying of HIV/AIDS, which the members spread even further with the rape campaigns. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 37 years. So far, the international has no leverage over this country, and sanctions prove useless. Half the country desperately needs aid from abroad, which the government already refuses to distribute. Oremus.

Mother-daughter outing

Spending the day with mother is often unappreciated by teenagers. Most kids prefer to hang out with friends, maybe being dropped off at a mall or some such. But by the time the daughter turns twenty, many mothers and daughters begin to get along much better, to which Megan Lampros and her mother can attest. They stopped into the Westin near their home in Columbus to allow Megan to have some pictures taken and really enjoyed themselves.

She winked and smirked for photos in a blue bikini, then agreed to take off her top.

She wasn't so sure, though, about her next move.

"Do I just throw it away?" she asked the photographer, holding her bra.

(Well, yes, but toss it over your shoulder, like a bride with a bouquet, she was told.)

Next, she was instructed to remove her suit bottoms -- a request she didn't expect.

Her question: "Do I take my shoes off?"

After the five-minute audition Tuesday, Megan returned to the lobby to tell her mother that she had just been photographed completely naked.

"Oh, nice, princess!" the proud mom exclaimed.

There is a competition, doncha know, for the 55th anniversary edition of Playboy, and lots of girls want to make the cover. It seems lots of mothers think it would be a real accomplishment as well. Not much experience necessary, evidently. Win or lose, it's the chance of a lifetime.

If she doesn't become the Playboy model, Whitney Degroat, 22, of Springfield figures she'll at least have a life experience to share: "It's something to tell my grandkids: 'Grandma tried out for Playboy.' "

No doubt, they'll be thrilled.

Urgent

Just in:

We just got a message from Brother Peter, a Christian missionary in
Zimbabwe who spoke briefly at our January Walk for Life this year.

He said that people are being massacred right now in the general
vicinity of his church. He asks prayers from everyone.

Please alert all prayer chains immediately

Sheer myopia

Seventeen girls in one high school made a pact to each try to conceive a child. Various mating rituals take place, including using older men of dubitable qualities -- and the community is stunned.

The pregnancy rate at the 1,200-student school is four times higher than the previous year, and officials were shocked to learn that men in their 20s had fathered some of the babies, Time.com said. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," Sullivan told Time.com.

The Gloucester baby boom is forcing this city of 30,000 to grapple with the question of providing easier access to birth control, something this largely Catholic enclave is slow to embrace, the site said.

Perhaps there are not enough clues:

• kids are inundated with contraceptive materials already;
• kids are told that promiscuity is modern day fun;
• the girls wanted to be pregnant;
• standards indicate any living male would do for sperm donor;
• the repeated tests were to acertain who succeeded.

The feminists have obviously failed in showing that motherhood is a trap, since the girls "reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers." But the educators prove themselves just as hard-headed, straining at gnats (sex often leads to babies--yikes!) and swallowing camels ("nice" girls engage in party games like "trysting with vagabonds" in order to be single parents).

Two glaring examples that show that those who are forming the youth are often clueless in the most important matters. John Dewey, call your office.