The Holy Father and Madame Speaker

1. The Holy Father met with Madame Speaker and, as expected, did what a pastor should do -- he spoke the truth to her. The Vatican press release puts it perfectly: he spoke to her of "the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development." Seed planted. Let's pray that the soil is welcoming and will bear fruit.

2. Perhaps now Madame Speaker will find time in her busy schedule to meet with her own Archbishop, a meeting she just hasn't been able to arrange so far. UPDATE: She did in fact meet with the Archbishop -- see my posting for 2/19, above.

3. Perhaps the first test of Madame Speaker's new conversion will be her reaction to a letter that has been signed by over 100 pro-life House members, seeking her assurance that provisions of appropriations bills that have previously banned funding for abortion (so-called "pro-life riders" like the Hyde Amendment) will be retained, or, at least, put up for a vote. This is an important part of the pro-life strategy this year, so the reaction to this will be crucial.

4. Two Republican leaders in the House respond to Cardinal Rigali's letter about FOCA and other threats, promising to work with pro-lifers to defeat these threats and to retain current portections for unborn life. And the response so far to the Cardinal's letter from the Administration is…. (sounds of trees falling in the woods with nobody to hear them).

5. The saga of poor Prof. Kmiec continues, as he twists and spins his way through the realm of moral self-justification to explain why the new Administration's policies are really pro-life. Really, it's like watching a slow-motion car wreck. Very sad.

6. Well, if the Times reports it, it must be true. The Newspaper of Record now recognizes that IVF carries risks of genetic problems in the babies. No kidding, really? Keeping eggs and sperm frozen, suspended in chemical media, well beyond their normal lifespan -- this has an effect on them?

7. What used to be a leading human rights organization has now descended into all the madness of the present age. Amnesty International, which once cared about the freedom of conscience against state coercion, is now protesting Mexico's protection of the right of doctors to decline to commit abortions or to dispense emergency contraception. Naturally, since the "right" to kill unborn children is now the trump card that outranks all other rights.

8. Mary Beth Bonacci has an excellent piece on "What if my kids ask me about my past?" The short answer -- the most important thing is to be living a chaste life in your marriage, where sex is sacred and beautiful and private. The kids will get that message from how we live, more clearly than anything we say to them.