Revisiting the Rabbits

He said it. I wish he hadn’t said it, but he said it: “God gives you methods to be responsible. ... Some think that—excuse the word—that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits. No.” Pope Francis’ unguarded line about an un … [Read more...]

The Virgin Birth, Perpetual Virginity, and NFP

...we need to look back at the reign of Joseph’s direct ancestor, the great King David ... (which) will help us understand that Mary was ... the lifelong Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and that Joseph was her protector, but not her sexual p … [Read more...]

How to Help Cohabiting Couples

I would like to point out what I believe to be the via media, whereby these our brothers and sisters in Christ can both be welcomed and challenged to live the call of their baptism.   But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the … [Read more...]

An Essay on Natural Family Planning

 The Catholic Church has never opposed family planning, but she teaches through her Magisterium, or teaching authority, that man may not, of his own volition, separate the two meanings of the conjugal act, the unitive and the procreative, … [Read more...]

Attacking the Roots of Abortion

What is really required ... is to address the thought processes and motivations that prompt people to seek abortion as a solution to a personal problem that should not have occurred in the first place. Catholics, and our counterparts in … [Read more...]

Revisiting Humanae Vitae

What has been summarized as his most profound theological contribution, Theology of the Body, John Paul II labeled the entire work a “rereading of Humanae Vitae.” Two days after the publication of Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI remarked dur … [Read more...]

Refilling the Empty Pews: Can an NFP course be an agent of evangelization?

The problem of the rare use of NFP is not a lack of information. The basic problem is a two-fold lack of faith, and faith-based love. Catholics may never hear this teaching from the pulpit, or see it in the parish bulletin. But the … [Read more...]