Louisiana passed a bill this week that requires women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound, first. The bill will also require women to be offered an opportunity to see the ultrasound. Many supporters of the bill have made it clear that they hope to persuade women against having abortions by giving them more information [...]
There is a great website, luke181.com, dedicated to uniting Christians around the world in prayer for the end of abortion. It is called the Great Prayer Project. The concept is pretty simple: click on the calendar and sign up for a 20 minute time slot. After a few clicks, I found the login process and signup [...]
Now is the time for prayer. From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website: House leadership ignoring pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation Won’t even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding Ignoring conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants. WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops urged the House of Representatives to fix [...]
Thank God for our courageous bishops who are not afraid to stand up for the dignity of the human person, even as some seek to further attack that dignity. Please pray that God’s will be done in this health care debate. Also pray for those Catholics who do heed the moral guidance given by our [...]
Regardless of the various positions on Health Care Reform, one of the most dangerous aspects in the eyes of the pro-life movement remains the federal funding of abortions. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, has held firm in a pro-life stance that he will not vote for a bill that includes funding for abortion. He has aligned himself with [...]
There is a common misconception about the “vocation crisis”: Marriage is a vocation, too! Just like a vocation to religious life, marriage calls men and women to respond to a call to holiness. An initiative has been started by the USCCB to provide support and answers for marriage. For Your Marriage provides activities and articles dedicated to preparing for [...]
We just added a new document to our library. “Papal Teaching and the Relationship between Contraception and Abortion” is a paper that I wrote last semester for a class at Notre Dame Seminary on Sexual Ethics. I hope it provides some useful information.
-Jonathan
More on Abortion and Contraception can be found on our CRL Teaches pages: here for abortion and here for contraception
Louisiana passed a bill this week that requires women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound, first. The bill will also require women to be offered an opportunity to see the ultrasound. Many supporters of the bill have made it clear that they hope to persuade women against having abortions by giving them more information on their unborn children.
Ben Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life Federation and Catholic Real Life contributor, stated, “Louisiana furthered its exemplary commitment to defending unborn human life by enacting these critical pieces of pro-life legislation. We thank Governor Jindal for signing these bills into law and for his administration working with us every step of the way to pass these measures.”
Clapper continued, “We brought these bills forward to the legislature out of the desire to increase the positive effects of ultrasound and to prevent the government funding of abortion. We are confident these new laws will save the lives of unborn children and open the door to life-affirming choices for mothers.”
Read the entire Louisiana Right to Life Federation press release here.
To learn more about the Catholic Church’s teachings on abortion, visit CRL Teaches: Abortion or watch CRL Life Spots: Abortion.
In Christ,
Michael
There is a great website, luke181.com, dedicated to uniting Christians around the world in prayer for the end of abortion. It is called the Great Prayer Project. The concept is pretty simple: click on the calendar and sign up for a 20 minute time slot. After a few clicks, I found the login process and signup very easy. They offer several useful pages, including Abortion Facts and Take Action.
There are even prayer tips on how to use your 20 minute slot: pray that adoption agencies would be successful in finding loving families for babies that are placed in their care, pray that the right of conscience would always be protected for all medical personnel, spend the final minute of prayer in silence listening for God to inspire you as to what ways you should be involved with the local Pro-Life movement…
I would also suggest praying a rosary during this time and offering up these same intentions.
Although many Christians have lost hope in the legal fight over abortion, we should never lose hope in the power of prayer for those considering or participating in abortions. It is for men and women, as well as the unborn, that the power of prayer has a profound effect.
In Christ,
Michael
Now is the time for prayer.
From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website:
House leadership ignoring pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation
Won’t even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding
Ignoring conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. bishops urged the House of Representatives to fix flaws in health care legislation or vote against its passage in a March 20 letter to House members. The letter was signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair on the Committee on Migration. The letter follows.
Dear Representative:
For decades, the United States Catholic bishops have supported universal health care. The Catholic Church teaches that health care is a basic human right, essential for human life and dignity. Our community of faith provides health care to millions, purchases health care for tens of thousands and addresses the failings of our health care system in our parishes, emergency rooms and shelters. This is why we as bishops continue to insist that health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all is a moral imperative and urgent national priority.
We are convinced that the Senate legislation now presented to the House of Representatives on a “take it or leave it” basis sadly fails this test and ought to be opposed. Why do we take this position, when we have a long record of support for health care reform? Our fundamental objections can be summarized in two points:
Now, after a year of divisive political combat, members of the House are told that they can advance health care reform only by adopting the Senate legislation as is, including these fundamental flaws. The House leadership is ignoring the pleas of pro-life members for essential changes in the legislation. Apparently they will not even try to address the serious problems on abortion funding, conscience protection and fair treatment of immigrants.
We are bishops, not politicians, policy experts or legislative tacticians. We are also pastors, teachers, and citizens. At this point of decision, we cannot compromise on basic moral principles. We can only urge — and hope and pray — that the House of Representatives will still find the will and the means to adopt health care reform that protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all. The legislation the House adopted, while not perfect, came closer to meeting these criteria. The Senate legislation simply does not meet them.
With deep regret, but clear in our moral judgment, we are compelled to continue to urge House members to oppose the Senate bill unless these fundamental flaws are remedied. At this critical moment, we urge Representatives to take the steps necessary to ensure that health care reform respects the life and dignity of all, from conception to natural death.
____________
For more information on the bishops vision for an authentically pro-life health care reform, visit the USCCB – Health Care Reform webpage.
The peace of Christ,
Jonathan
Thank God for our courageous bishops who are not afraid to stand up for the dignity of the human person, even as some seek to further attack that dignity.
Please pray that God’s will be done in this health care debate. Also pray for those Catholics who do heed the moral guidance given by our bishops.
______________
Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, issues the following statement on behalf of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops addressing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ stance on health care reform.
“The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly supports the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in their opposition to the current Senate health care bill. Some in the Catholic Church maintain that the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for abortions and that it will uphold longstanding conscience protections. They are mistaken. It is our belief that the Senate bill fails to maintain longstanding policy against federal funding of abortion and does not include adequate conscience protections. Therefore, the bishops of Louisiana are disappointed in both the inaccurate interpretations of some within the church, as well as the confusion that this has caused. Our focus continues to be to advocate for health care reform that respects the life and dignity of all, while being both accessible and affordable. Please pray for those who represent us in Congress that they will re-examine the health care bill.”
The Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans
The Most Rev. Sam G. Jacobs, Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux
The Most Rev. Michael Jarrell, Bishop of Lafayette
The Most Rev. Robert W. Muench, Bishop of Baton Rouge
The Most Rev. Ronald P. Herzog, Bishop of Alexandria
The Most Rev. Glen John Provost, Bishop of Lake Charles
The Most Rev. Michael G. Duca, Bishop of Shreveport
The Most Rev. Shelton J. Fabre, Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans
[from the Archdiocese of New Orleans website]
Regardless of the various positions on Health Care Reform, one of the most dangerous aspects in the eyes of the pro-life movement remains the federal funding of abortions. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, has held firm in a pro-life stance that he will not vote for a bill that includes funding for abortion. He has aligned himself with other pro-life democrats that are prepared to block the bill from passing.
Here are a few articles that summarize Stupak’s opposition:
Christian Brugger, for the Culture of Life Foundation, asks that Christians contact pro-life politicians and urges them to “stand firm against the pro-abortion measures in Washington.” He also provides highlights from Bart Stupak’s interview with George Stephanopoulos in which Stupak states that his group is willing to take responsibility for “bringing down health care over one issue.” Click here to read his entire article.
In a transcript from an interview with Great Van Susteran of FoxNews, Bart Stupak states, “We are not voting for health care if we do not resolve this language on public funding for abortion — no public funding for abortion.” Click here to read the entire transcript or watch the interview.
Charles Riley and Jeff Simon, for CNN.com, provide an update on additional democrats that have come out against the health care bill. They mention that Stupak and his coalition will play “a key role in the health care vote calculus.” Negotiations with Stupak have thus far failed to reach any agreement. Click here to read the entire article.
The Church is opposed to abortion because it teaches that the human life begins at conception. We should pray that all pro-life politicians will take a heroic stand against any legislation that acts against the sanctity of life. Please see our CRL Teaching page on Abortion for an explanation of the Church’s teachings.
God Bless,
Michael
There is a common misconception about the “vocation crisis”:
Marriage is a vocation, too!
Just like a vocation to religious life, marriage calls men and women to respond to a call to holiness. An initiative has been started by the USCCB to provide support and answers for marriage. For Your Marriage provides activities and articles dedicated to preparing for and sustaining a marriage. There are answers to common questions ranging from marrying members of different religions to catholic teachings on cohabitation.
I found a few highlights to the website as I explored the various resources:
The Must Have Conversations are an important read for anyone preparing for marriage. These issues include conflict resolution, careers, finances, intimacy, children, faith, and values. Check them out here.
There is also some pretty fun and harmless quizzes to open lines of communication about various issues. Try out a Marriage Quiz out here. I found the quiz on “Can you read your spouse’s mood?” pretty compelling. If you are up to assessing your own marriage, you can grade your marriage to identify issues that need to be discussed.
There is a lot to digest on the site, but I found it pretty easy to navigate through the different sections. I believe it is a great resource if you are seeking ways to truly live out this wonderful vocation as God intended. I hope you find it helpful.
God Bless,
Michael
As the Olympic spirit gears up, especially considering Team USA’s success so far, one very unfortunate statistic is being reported: the number of condoms being distributed to the Olympic athletes by the organizers of the 2010 games. According to many reports, that number is 100,000. Yes, you read that correctly: one hundred thousand condoms are being distributed for free to the athletes at this year’s Olympic games. According to a website which totally condones and is even impressed with this statistic (I will leave the website unnamed so as to not inadvertently support their advertising income), that adds up to an average of 14.6 condoms for each of the 6,850 athletes at the Olympics.
This amount of sexual promiscuity should be scandalous and outrageous even to the most dulled of consciences. It is important to realize that there are certainly many virtuous athletes who refuse to engage in this kind of rampant promiscuity. Let us pray to God that these athletes will have the strength to live a morally upright life, and let us especially pray for the conversion and healing of those who are engaging in such promiscuity. We should remember that sports is a way to nourish our effort to live a life of virtue, not an excuse to indulge in vice.
There is a good article on this issue which can be found at lifesitenews.com.
For more information on the Church’s teaching about the moral problems of using contraception, check out our CRL Teaches: Contraception page.
National media has been buzzing of late about the Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial, which apparantly will tell the story of his mother choosing to continue with her pregnancy, despite doctors advising her to abort. It should come as no surprise that abortion groups have attacked CBS for airing the commercial. Abortion groups do not want the mother to be considered “heroic” for choosing against abortion. Groups have even attacked the legitimacy of her story, stating that abortions were illegal in the Phillipines, and no doctor would reccomend it.
Here is a list of a few Christian sites that have commented on the issue:
Fr. Frank Pavone, with priestsforlife.org, asks, “Why should it bother people who call themselves pro-choice if women watch Pam Tebow and her son Tim on Super Bowl Sunday and freely decide to choose life? Would fewer abortions be a bad thing?” Click here to read his blog.
Steven Ertelt, for lifenews.com, summarizes the arguments of the National Organization for Women. One of their arguments cited is that the pro-life group sponsoring the commercial has “insulting and dangerous” views on women. Click here to read the entire article.
LifeSiteNew.com has a petition to CBS to support their decision to air the Super Bowl Ad. They state, “The story of Tim Tebow and his heroic mother is an all-American story. It is a story of beating the odds, of courageously taking on hardship and reaping rewards through sacrifice. What better story could there be to lift the spirits of Americans and encourage them to reach for their best?” Click here to read the entire petition.
Catholic Real Life is a website devoted completely to acting as a teaching resource on pro-life issues. Jonathan and I were inspired to start Catholic Real Life (CRL) while pursuing Catholic breakdowns on these difficult topics. It was our goal to establish a site that would provide clear and simple breakdowns of all pro-life issues that are prevalent in our society.
While many Christians understand the problems with many popular social practices, such as abortion, they do not always understand the Catholic position on sensitive issues, such as in vitro fertilization. We hope CRL provides an approachable way to read and hear teachings on all pro-life issues. Please use our materials for seeking answers for yourself, or even explaning answers to friends.
We have chosen 6 topics to start: abortion, capital punishment, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and in vitro fertilization. To access these teaching pages, simply visit the CRL Teaches: The Real Life Rundown link. There you will find a simple breakdown of each issue, followed by the explanation of Catholic teaching. You can also watch one of our Life Spots videos that have been provided by various experts to further explain these topics. We will also be adding documents to each page that provide important updates and resources relevant to that topic.
Feel free to add comments to our posts, or even provide suggestions to useful teaching resources.
Thanks again for visiting Catholic Real Life.
God Bless,
Michael
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