In Catholic churches across the country, parishioners were read letters from the pulpit this weekend from bishops in their diocese about the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services giving Catholics a year before they’ll be required to start violating their consciences on insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs. But not in the Army.

A statement released this afternoon — which happens to be the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Dorchester, on which four chaplains lost their lives – from the Archdiocese for Military Services explains:

On Thursday, January 26, Archbishop Broglio emailed a pastoral letter to Catholic military chaplains with instructions that it be read from the pulpit at Sunday Masses the following weekend in all military chapels. The letter calls on Catholics to resist the policy initiative, recently affirmed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, for federally mandated health insurance covering sterilization, abortifacients and contraception, because it represents a violation of the freedom of religion recognized by the U.S. Constitution.

The Army’s Office of the Chief of Chaplains subsequently sent an email to senior chaplains advising them that the Archbishop’s letter was not coordinated with that office and asked that it not be read from the pulpit. The Chief’s office directed that the letter was to be mentioned in the Mass announcements and distributed in printed form in the back of the chapel. ...

Following a discussion between Archbishop Broglio and the Secretary of the Army, The Honorable John McHugh, it was agreed that it was a mistake to stop the reading of the Archbishop’s letter. Additionally, the line: “We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law” was removed by Archbishop Broglio at the suggestion of Secretary McHugh over the concern that it could potentially be misunderstood as a call to civil disobedience.

Labels: Catholic Church, contraception, culture, religious liberty

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Middle school is hard. Children leave the structure and relative safety of elementary school, and armed with a brand new set of hormones and "feelings,"get thrust into a school where the hall talk has moved from Pokémon to bra sizes and sex. Yes, sex. I get that. I thought I was prepared for it.

Then the middle school took my daughter and threw her in a world of sadness and despair, and I had to act fast. ...

On the first day of school, my daughter went willingly, happy for a new environment and I held my breath. I did not have to hold it for long. I got a call within an hour telling me that the principal wanted to talk to me. Here it comes, I thought. I was right; Cheyenne had made sure to tell everyone she was pagan and gay. And then something remarkable happened. They supported me and Cheyenne. Yes, they asked that she not announce to everyone (literally, because she does that) but they were not going to kick her out and would do everything to protect her from other students. The principal and teachers have become her greatest source of strength and inspiration.

It has not all been smooth sailing. She is once again on the outside of the class, since most of the children come from conservative backgrounds. Other girls will even tell her it is wrong to be gay. I do not know for sure, but I suspect the principal must have gotten one or two phone calls from other parents insisting that they expel my child. After all, many of them send their kids to Catholic school to get them away from the very influences espoused in my daughter. She is still a mediocre student, and is a constant thorn in her religious teacher’s side as she challenges every tenant of faith.

But Cheyenne has persevered and thrived.

Labels: adolescence, Catholic Church, culture, homosexuality, schools

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Many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees, the Obama administration announced Friday in an election-year move that outraged religious groups, fueling a national debate about the reach of government.

In a concession, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said nonprofit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies will have one additional year to comply with the requirement, issued in regulations under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

"I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services," Sebelius said in a statement.

Yet the concession was unlikely to stop a determined effort by opponents to block or overturn the rule. If they fail, some predicted that religious employers would simply drop coverage for their workers, opting instead to pay fines to the federal government under the health care law.

Labels: Catholic Church, contraception, religious liberty

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American Catholics have by and large remained loyal to the core teachings and sacraments of their faith, but increasingly tune out the hierarchy on issues of sexual morality, according to a new study released Monday (Oct. 24)

The sweeping survey shows that over the last quarter-century, U.S. Catholics have become increasingly likely to say that individuals, not church leaders, have the final say on abortion, homosexuality, and divorce and remarriage.

That trend holds true across generational and ideological divides, and even applies to weekly Mass attenders, according to the survey, which has been conducted every six years since 1987. ...

The report identified two-thirds of U.S. Catholics as “moderately committed,” a group that inched up in size as the share of “highly committed” has shrunk from 27 percent in 1987 to 19 percent this year. ...

The issue of homosexuality showed one of the largest gaps between the pulpit and the pews. The portion of Catholics who say church leaders have “the final say” on homosexuality has plunged by half, from 32 percent to 16 percent, over the past 25 years, while those who say individuals make the final call has shot up from 39 percent to 57 percent.

Dillon noted that other issues have remained relatively stable, which leads her to conclude that Catholics are taking their cues from the larger culture, much like they did on birth control. ...

The loosening ties to the authority of the hierarchy may also parallel a diminishing commitment to the poor and to parish life.

In the 2011 survey, 60 percent of Catholics said you could be a good Catholic without donating time or money to help the poor, up from 44 percent in 2005. Similarly, three-quarters (74 percent) said you could be a good Catholic without donating time or money to a parish, up from 58 percent six years earlier. ...

The online survey of 1,400 adult Catholics (with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points) was conducted by D’Antonio, Gautier and Dillon in cooperation with the National Catholic Reporter, an independent newsweekly.

Labels: Catholic Church, contraception, culture, economics, homosexuality, religion

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The Catholic Church will cancel registration to conduct legal marriages if hand forced on same-sex unions, says Perth's Archbishop Hickey.

If the state forced the Perth archdiocese to officiate at same-sex unions, the archdiocese would cancel its registration to celebrate legal marriages, Archbishop Barry Hickey said last Sunday.

His comments were made to members of the Traditional Anglican Church parish of St Ninian and St Chad in Maylands.

However, whether the Church would bury dead Catholics who had entered into same-sex unions was something of which he was less certain, he said. ...

The archbishop said he thought the Australian Constitution would have to be changed before same-sex marriage could be passed. Nevertheless, if the push for same-sex marriage succeeded, the Church would continue to celebrate marriage as it always had.

“We might be back to the ghetto. We cannot do those marriages at all. And if the law forces us to, we cancel our registration as marriage celebrants. We just don’t do it,” the Archbishop said.

Labels: Australia, Catholic Church, gay marriage, religion

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A young couple from Beaver County who stole copper wire from utility poles to pay for their wedding has received national exposure for what some may assume was out-of-control wedding madness.

But the priest who celebrated their August wedding says they’re basically decent kids who panicked when the groom lost his job and didn't realize that they could have turned to the church for help. What they did was wrong, he said, but they’re doing their best to make it right.

The theft “isn’t characteristic of the two people I prepared for marriage,” said the Rev. Jim Farnan, pastor of St. Philomena Catholic Church in Beaver Falls, where the bride is a member.

“I think they were embarrassed because he lost his job. I think they felt a lot of pressure to make a nice wedding. People in love do crazy things, and they didn't think it through. But the way they responded, that they’re cooperating with the police, and have admitted what they've done and will make restitution -- that’s the couple I know.” ...

According to Father Farnan, Ms. Russell was an adult convert to Catholicism and her husband isn’t Catholic. During pre-marital counseling they never brought up his job loss, although the priest had heard about it from others.

“They tried to handle this by themselves. They thought that the burden fell all on them, but I think they will learn that there is a whole community of people supporting them,” he said.

Labels: Catholic Church, culture, economics, Marriage, religion, weddings

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The Obama Administration’s fight against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, will undermine marriage and create a serious breach of Church-State relations, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in a September 20 letter to President Barack Obama,

The Administration’s assault on DOMA, Archbishop Dolan said, will “precipitate a national conflict between Church and State of enormous proportions and to the detriment of both institutions.”

The letter with its accompanying analysis of the Administration’s threats to marriage can be found at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/upload/dolan-to-obama-doma-letter-sept-20-2011.pdf

Archbishop Dolan especially objected to the Justice Department’s legal arguments that equate those in favor of DOMA to racists. It is “particularly upsetting,” he said, when the Administration attributes to those who support DOMA “a motivation rooted in prejudice and bias.It is especially wrong and unfair to equate opposition to redefining marriage with either intentional or willfully ignorant racial discrimination, as your Administration insists on doing,” he said.

He underscored the Church’s position recognizing “the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals, including those with same-sex attraction” and said “we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person.”

Labels: Barack Obama, Catholic Church, DOMA, gay marriage, religion, religious liberty

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When Catholic University President John Garvey announced in June that the university would be reverting to same-sex dorms for on-campus students, he probably didn't expect much of a legal challenge.

Well, he got one.

Yesterday the university was forced to explain to the D.C. Office of Human Rights how the new policy doesn't violate the city's Human Rights Act, a claim made by public interest law professor John Banzhaf in a lawsuit. According to Banzhaf, who teaches at The George Washington University Law School, the District's statute prohibits discrimination unless it is a "business necessity" without which an institution could not function. He adds:

Unfortunately for [Garvey], he cannot rely upon religion, because the D.C. Court of Appeals has held -- in a case in which Georgetown University tried to justify discrimination based upon sexual orientation because of fundamental and strongly held Catholic teachings about homosexuality -- that religious motivations were irrelevant, and no defense, under the statute.

Labels: Catholic Church, culture, DC, discrimination law, gender, hooking up, men, premarital sex, religion, religious liberty, sex, universities, women

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SAGONJEVO, Serbia (AP) — Not in her wildest dreams did Edmonda ever imagine she'd marry a guy like Zoran, have his baby and live in his country.

She's an Albanian Muslim, he's an Orthodox Christian Serb — and their people have been mired in a web of ethnic and religious hatred over Kosovo's bloody war for independence.

But Edmonda Kardaku did wed Zoran Tomic, joining hundreds of compatriots, mostly Muslims or Roman Catholics, who have broken deep taboos by marrying men from rural Serbia, where women have been fleeing to the cities or abroad and causing an alarming population decline. ...

Their love story stands in contrast to another couple in the same village, where the Serb is much older than his Albanian wife.

Zoran said the man does not allow the woman to communicate with the rest of the villagers, not even with Edmonda.

"He's old, so probably he fears he's going to lose her," Tomic said.

The flurry of Serbian-Albanian marriages started in 2008 when a group of elderly men from southern Serbia formed a group called "the Old Raska bachelors," after their region which includes the village of Sagonjevo.

Both Serbia and Albania — like most of the Balkan nations — are faced with a massive exodus of young people from rural areas in search of a better life, turning many small settlements into ghost villages. The ethnic wars in the Balkans in the 1990s accelerated the problem.

In Serbia, it's mostly women who are fleeing poverty and stagnation. But in Albania, it's the men who are relocating, says Momir Kovacevic, an Old Raska activist, explaining why this interethnic marriage arrangement works. ...

The average age in Serbia is 41 years and about 20 percent of people in this country of 7 million are over 65. In 370 villages not a single child was born in the past decade. With one of Europe's lowest birthrates, the population has been declining by an average of 55,000 people a year.

Labels: Catholic Church, demographics, Eastern Europe, Islam, Marriage, Orthodox Christianity, religion

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Marriage is losing its lustre for many Filipinos, with an increasing number of couples starting families out of wedlock, the government census office said.

More than 37 percent of the 1.78 million babies born in Asia’s Roman Catholic outpost in 2008 had unmarried mothers, it said in a statement, citing results of the latest population census.

This was 12.5 percent higher than the previous year, and compared with a 2.0 percent increase for all births, the census office said. ...

Eight out of 10 Filipinos are Catholic, and the Philippines is one of only three territories in the world, along with Malta and the Vatican, where divorce remains illegal.

However, the census showed that many couples were defying the nation’s powerful Catholic bishops by not only having babies out of wedlock, but also by shunning church weddings.

Labels: Catholic Church, cohabitation, divorce, Marriage, out-of-wedlock births, Philippines, religion

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The ongoing controversy at St. Cecilia’s Church in Boston over the scheduling, postponing and re-theming of a Mass originally planned to celebrate Boston’s gay “pride month” has brought to the surface issues that extend far beyond the boundaries of one parish or archdiocese. The controversy touches not only on the subject of the pastoral care of the Church toward those with same-sex attractions, but on the much larger matter of the purpose of the Church’s pastoral care to anyone and everyone: Whether the Church, her priests and parishes will faithfully, lovingly and courageously care for people with the fullness of the Gospel; or whether her ministers and ministries — perhaps out of too much fear to give offense, a lack of faith in the teachings of the Church, or a faint-hearted notion of what true love demands — will dilute the Gospel of its saving power by stripping it of the uncomfortable and countercultural teachings that some listeners most need.

Labels: Catholic Church, culture, homosexuality, religion

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For most people, talk of “crisis” and “Catholic Church” inevitably brings to mind the scandal of clergy sex abuse. And with good reason. It remains the dominant mainstream media narrative about the Church, and for Catholics the damaging effects of the betrayal of priestly and episcopal fidelity are likely to last a generation or more.

But there is another fidelity crisis in the Catholic Church that is not only ongoing and gaining in strength, has potentially even greater long-term consequences and yet is virtually ignored and unremarked on: the radical decline in the number of Catholics marrying in the Church.

Consider this single staggering statistic from the analysis we commissioned this week from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University: In 1972 in the United States, 415,487 couples married in the Catholic Church. Last year, even though there are nearly 17 million more Catholics in the United States, only 168,400 couples wed in a Catholic Church (see story, Page 4).

What gives? The CARA researcher who performed our analysis, Mark Gray, identifies a number of potential causes: fewer Catholics are deciding to marry at all; more Catholics are deciding to marry outside the Church, especially if they are divorced; and more Catholics are marrying non-Catholics, outside a Church ceremony.

Some local Churches have begun searching for a solution. In San Francisco, where Catholic weddings have dropped 47 percent in the past two decades, archdiocesan officials last month announced a task force to “focus on renewing existing marriage preparation programs, making parishes as inviting as possible to engaged couples and making the moment of engagement a substantial time of catechesis for couples.”

Labels: Catholic Church, culture, Marriage, marriage counseling, religion

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It is June — that time of year when many of us will be receiving wedding invitations. One thing that may have changed from years past is the likelihood that the address on that invitation is for a country club, beach or community center rather than a Catholic parish.

The number of marriages celebrated in the Church has fallen from 415,487 in 1972 to 168,400 in 2010 — a decrease of nearly 60 percent — while the U.S. Catholic population has increased by almost 17 million. To put this another way, this is a shift from 8.6 marriages per 1,000 U.S. Catholics in 1972 to 2.6 marriages per 1,000 Catholics in 2010.

Comparing marriage rates

The “crude marriage” rate (marriages per 1,000 of a population) for Catholics marrying in the Church is significantly different than the overall crude marriage rate of the United States. In 2009, the most recent data available, the crude marriage rate in the U.S. overall was 6.8 marriages per 1,000 people.

It’s not that Catholics are less likely to marry than non-Catholics. In 2010, 53 percent of Catholics surveyed in the General Social Survey (GSS) indicated that they were currently married. By comparison, 51 percent of non-Catholics surveyed were married (including 55 percent of Protestants and 43 percent of those without a religious affiliation). Instead, many Catholics are choosing to marry outside of the Church.

Labels: Catholic Church, culture, divorce, Marriage, religion

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"Made for Life" is the second video of the Marriage: Unique for a Reason series will be officially released and available for order. Building on the anthropological foundation established in the first video, “Made for Each Other,” “Made for Life” considers the Church’s beautiful teaching about the “supreme gift” of marriage, children, and the importance of fathers and mothers.

In “Made for Life,” real married couples talk about what it means to be open to life; why children are a gift; the heroic examples of adoptive parents and single parents; the importance of fathers and mothers; why sexual difference “doesn’t end at conception”; and much more.

The “Made for Life” video is accompanied by a Viewer’s Guide with further reflections and questions for discussion, and a Resource Booklet for Priests, Deacons, Catechists and Teachers.

Labels: Catholic Church, children, gender differences, Marriage, religion

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Some faith-based agencies in Illinois that try to help the state's most vulnerable residents are in flux over providing foster care services in light of the state's upcoming legal recognition of civil unions.

The Catholic Diocese of Rockford, Ill., said Thursday that it will end its state-funded adoption and foster care program rather than comply with a new law that would require it to place children with gay or unmarried couples. Officials said other dioceses would decide quickly whether to follow suit. ...

Officials from the Rockford Diocese said they were forced to terminate state contracts worth $7.5 million after lawmakers failed to pass an amendment exempting religious groups from provisions of the state's new civil unions law, which will let gay and lesbian couples form civil unions, a rough equivalent to marriage. The law takes effect Wednesday.

Catholic Charities wanted to be allowed to refer unmarried or gay couples to other agencies, as it has for years. ...

Catholic charity groups place children only with married couples or single people — not with couples living together. They consider couples in civil unions to be unmarried and therefore not eligible to adopt or provide foster care through their programs.

If the Legislature does not add a religious exemption, other dioceses could decide to withdraw from the state program, said Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois.

Labels: adoption, Catholic Church, civil unions, discrimination law, foster parenting, gay parenting, Illinois, marital status discrimination, religion, religious liberty, unmarried parents

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After a spate of tweets in support of a hockey agent's stand against gay marriage, Rogers Sportsnet moved Wednesday to fire on-air host Damian Goddard.

Sportsnet suggested in a release that their problems with Goddard did not start with his decision to share his political views online. ...

“In terms of what I said, I stand by it,” Goddard told the Star's Allison Cross at the door to his Oakville home on Wednesday evening.

“I'm a devout Roman Catholic. It's not about hate at all.”

Asked if his dismissal was the result of a misunderstanding, Goddard said, “The truth will come out.”

Goddard tweeted Tuesday in support of Burlington hockey agent Todd Reynolds. Reynolds made waves after he called out New York Ranger player Sean Avery for filming a TV ad in support of gay marriage, describing the player's position as “very sad” and “wrong.” Reynolds was raked online for his position.

“I completely and wholeheartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage,” Goddard nevertheless tweeted a day after the fact. He also invoked the name of Peter Vidmar, the former U.S. Olympic chief of mission who was forced to resign after his own stand against gay marriage was revealed.

Labels: Canada, Catholic Church, gay marriage, religion

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Ascension Press is sponsoring an essay contest for high school students. We want to hear from you on how the Theology of the Body has impacted your view of yourself as a young man or young woman in today's culture.

TOPIC: Essays should be between 1000 and 1500 words. They should explore the following topic:

How has the Theology of the Body impacted the way I see myself as a young man/ young woman in today's culture? ...

The Grand Prize is $1500 each for the male and female winners plus a $500 Ascension Press Gift Card each for the winners' school* or parish/church.

Labels: adolescence, Catholic Church, Christianity, culture, gender, men, religion, sex, women

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...While the overall number of marriages slipped by 17 percent in Rhode Island between 1969 and 2009, the number of Catholic weddings in this most heavily Catholic state dropped far more severely. It plunged 71 percent — from 4,452 a year to just 1,300.

What happened?

The Rev. Joseph D. Santos Jr., pastor of Holy Name Church in Providence, contends that the falloff in Catholic weddings has its roots in the 1970s. That, he says, is when Catholic educators started revamping religious education and “basically destroyed or watered down” traditional teachings to the extent that increasing numbers of Catholics no longer understand what marriage and sexuality are about.

The church has traditionally taught that matrimony has two purposes: To allow the couple to love each other in a way that mirrors Christ’s love for his church, and to become partners with God in bringing new life into the world.

Unfortunately, says Father Santos, the failure to show the connection between those aspects has caused many Catholics to mistakenly think that sex can be primarily about pleasure and gratification and to believe that premarital sex, and even living together without marriage, are OK.

The Rev. Ronald E. Brassard, pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Cranston, says there is no doubt that cohabitation has been the biggest factor in the decline in the number of Catholic weddings. ...

Admittedly, some clergy aren’t convinced the situation is as dire as the numbers suggest.

The Rev. Francis Santilli, who has worked in parishes from Westerly to Pawtucket and is now pastor of St. Philip Church in Smithfield, said many young people are not marrying in Rhode Island because they have moved out of state. ...

The numbers are nonetheless startling. In 1980, 43 percent of all marriages taking place in Rhode Island were under Catholic Church auspices. The share fell to 37 percent in the early 1990s, and dropped to about 27 percent by 2000. In the last five years, the share is down to about 21 percent, or one in five.

Labels: Catholic Church, cohabitation, culture, divorce, economics, Marriage, religion, remarriage, Rhode Island, weddings

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In view of the upcoming 2010 elections the Filipino bishops have reiterated their no to abortion, euthanasia and other policies against family values and invited the public to vote for candidates who fight for life. For this purpose they have published the guide "The Catechism on Family and Life for the 2010 elections”. It is the result of the meeting of the national commission of family and life of the Episcopal Conference on 30 November in Antipolo City (Manila). ...

The debate on Reproductive Health has been ongoing for four years. Despite UN support in favour of the law it has never reached the quorum of 120 votes needed for approval. This is due to the opposition of Catholic lawmakers and the support of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, who has always been contrary to policies of family planning and abortion. The law rejects abortion clinics, but supports a program of family planning, which prevents couples from having more than two children, punishable by the payment of a penalty and in some cases prison. The program supports the spread to all schools and public places of birth control pills, which have been banned by law, condoms and the promotion of voluntary sterilization. The Church and Catholic pro - life organizations instead promote the Natural Family Program (NFP), which aims at providing the people a culture of responsibility and love based on Christian values.

Labels: Catholic Church, contraception, Philippines, population control, religion

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State officials are investigating whether religious agencies that receive public funds to license foster care parents are breaking anti-discrimination laws if they turn away openly gay parents.

If they are found in violation, Lutheran Child and Family Services, Catholic Charities in five regions and the Evangelical Child and Family Agency will have to license openly gay foster parents or lose millions of state dollars, potentially disrupting more than 3,000 foster children in their care.

Though Illinois legislators championing the civil union bill earlier this year insisted that religious institutions would not be forced to bless same-sex unions, it said nothing about same-sex parents.

Now, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Gov. Pat Quinn's legal team and the Department of Children and Family Services are carefully researching the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Civil Union Act and the Illinois Constitution to determine whether they prohibit agencies from considering sexual orientation as a factor in foster care and adoption. In Illinois, all adults who adopt or become foster care providers must obtain foster care licenses.

"Social intervention such as adoption laws and practices inevitably reflect their communities," said Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for DCFS. "Illinois as a state has grown on this (gay rights) issue as evidenced by (civil union legislation). Adoption law and practice should reflect the values of the people of Illinois."

But Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, said Catholic Charities has no intention of changing its policy against allowing openly gay foster parents after nearly a century of serving children in Illinois. Catholic Charities inspired the state to take on foster care, which ultimately led to the creation of DCFS. ...

Though the civil union legislation factors into the inquiry, the issue came to light months earlier when Lutheran Child and Family Services turned away a gay male couple when they tried to become mentors for a gay runaway in the Lutheran agency's care. The policies of Lutheran Child and Family Services, which is affiliated with the conservative Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, preclude "developing or licensing foster care families who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning." ...

Officials at several of the religious agencies at the center of the state's investigation argue that they are shielded by an executive order signed by President Barack Obama in November ensuring that faith-based organizations can provide social services with federal funds without sacrificing their "religious character."

Labels: Catholic Church, Christianity, discrimination law, foster parenting, gay parenting, homosexuality, Illinois, religion, religious liberty

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