Marriage and Family
Every year of their childhood on the feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, my friend Rebecca’s children awoke to a stack of rectangular wrapped gifts next to their shoes. St. Nicholas always brought them books. On Christmas we celebrate the Word Made Flesh. Why not savor beautiful words from great stories during this Advent and Christmas season to prepare your heart — and the hearts of those in your family — to receive the Word with joy?
Continue reading “Advent and Christmas stories to share”Below is the text of a letter that I sent to Archbishop Sartain on November 16, 2018. At that time, the letter was printed and mailed with over 130 signatures of women.
November 15, 2018
To: The Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle
Your Excellency:
We are Catholic women who feel sickened and betrayed by revelations of the continuing culture of coverup, silence, and inaction in response to the “summer of shame” in our church. We are wives, mothers, sisters, parish volunteers, parish staff, and Catholic women active in our faith who love our church and, with mother’s hearts, are horrified that young men, teenaged boys, children, and girls have been sexually violated and traumatized to gratify the desires of predatory priests. We are equally horrified by the culture of coverup that enables this to continue.
Continue reading “Women’s Letter to Archbishop Sartain”
Here are steps we can take, in our families and in the church
Betrayal hurts families in many ways. Extramarital affairs, financial infidelity and untreated addictions break trust between husbands and wives. Teenagers can lose their parents’ trust, and parents can also lose their children’s trust. In our church family this year, we have felt the painful sting of betrayal keenly as patterns of hierarchical cover-up of sexual abuse and clerical unchastity came to light.
The church is a wife, too. Ephesians 5:25–28 and Revelation 21:2 are examples of Scripture verses that refer to the church as the Bride of Christ. This year, we the church are in the position of a wife who realizes she has been deceived, and we are now experiencing a wide-scale sense of betrayal trauma.
Continue reading “How do we rebuild trust?”
Three tips for addressing clergy sex abuse and the cover-up with your children
How do we talk to our young children and teens about clergy sex abuse and the cover-up by bishops? It is good that victims’ stories are getting heard like never before. It is healthy for the church that systematic cover-up be exposed and addressed. Yet, for most Catholic families, struggling through this “summer of shame” has been a blow. Cardinal McCarrick’s double life. The Pennsylvania grand jury report. The controversy surrounding former papal nuncio Viganò’s accusations, and Pope Francis’ enigmatic response. Faith has been shaken, trust has been broken, and learning about the accounts of abuse may have caused secondary trauma for many. How do we address these difficult topics with our children? Continue reading “Helping kids and teens deal with the scandal”
Photo: Shuttershock
“I recently discovered that my husband has relapsed in his struggle with porn. I am hurting pretty badly right now.”
“My husband’s life is consumed with porn. He’s living a lie and it’s destroying our family. I can’t even begin to describe the sadness I feel about this.”
Photo: Shuttershock
Fifty years ago, in 1968, the sexual revolution was just getting traction. It was starting to convince the culture that sex, babies, marriage and sexual difference don’t need to go together. No problem if they’re separated! It will be fun! Thus, on July 25, 1968, Blessed Pope Paul VI was widely viewed as a big party pooper. Despite his record as a progressive for reconvening and implementing Vatican II, addressing the United Nations, and urging solidarity with the poor, his popularity was instantly diminished that day thanks to the document he issued reaffirming the consistent teaching of the church on sexuality and marriage.
Photo: Shuttershock
My next-door neighbor, Karla, recently posted this conversation with her 7-year-old daughter, Ainsley, on social media:
(Mary, Queen of Ireland at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. I remember the peace I would feel as I would sit in here and pray, with little baby Clare growing in my womb, while I was a doctoral student at CUA.)
I have a lot of items to share with you this month, and a big prayer request for Ireland. Continue reading “Pray for Ireland! (Also: Quick Roundup of Resources for the Domestic Church in May)”
Sir,
I am a Catholic moral theologian, and I must protest the misrepresentation of the Catholic moral tradition in Patsy McGarry’s Tuesday, May 15th article, “When Does the Human Person Come into Being?” Continue reading “Letter to the Editor of the Irish Times”
Photo: Shuttershock
What stories did Jesus hear from his grandparents?
Did Joachim and Anna have a way with words, like their daughter Mary? Would Jesus have learned colorful expressions and turns of phrase from them along with knowledge of family history and the history of the people of Israel? We know that family was highly valued in the Jewish culture in which Jesus grew up. Listening to the elders was very important. Jesus would have been raised to soak up their words and stories. He would have heard stories of his ancestors, stories of his people and their journeys, their hope in God. Continue reading “Grandparents, share your stories!”
