Catholic Culture and Abortion

1. An absolute must-read article by Jody Bottum on Catholic culture and the NDU situation. His basic thesis is that opposition to abortion is central to Catholic culture and identity in the United States, and the many prominent Catholics, like the leadership of NDU, just haven't grasped that fact.

2. A Jesuit from Georgetown takes NDU to task.

3. A gay rights activist on the President's advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships takes the opportunity to insult Pope Benedict, saying that he is "insulting Jesus" by his criticism of condoms for HIV prevention, and that the Church is "hurting people in the name of Jesus" and justifying violence against homosexuals. This is the same individual who previously called the Holy Father a "discredited leader" and the Knights of Columbus "foot soldiers of a discredited army of oppression" because of the Knights’ support of Proposition 8 in California. How much more demonic anti-Catholic junk does it take to get fired by the President?

4. Meanwhile, on the Planet Earth, the Holy Father puts things in the right perspective. I especially loved the comment that the Church is not a political force, but a spiritual force. Amen to that.

5. Outstanding article by a New York seminarian on the need for objective moral principles, and the dangers of consequentialism, when discussing significant public issues like torture and stem cell research.

6. Doctors in Washington State are declining to cooperate in assisted suicide requests, citing moral obligations. This is authentic heroism, because you know that the powers-that-be will come after them for "unprofessional conduct".

7. Mother's Day was yesterday, and the Temple of Moloch, er, I mean Planned Parenthood, used it to raise money so they can kill more babies and ruin the lives of more moms. Disgusting quote of the day from the pitch letter: "There is no organization that I know of that supports motherhood and all that it means more than Planned Parenthood." Here are two numbers to keep in mind about this -- 305,310 (the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood in 2007/2008), and 0 (the number of babies born at Planned Parenthood clinics in 2007/2008). Mothers Day? Or Mourners Day?

8. In contrast, a beautiful article about mothers who bore their babies despite an adverse pre-natal diagnosis. Towards the end they quote our friend Theresa Bonapartis of Lumina, the ministry to post-abortive men and women.

9. Blogged over the weekend about my experiences at the Witness for Life outside the Planned Parenthood clinic last week. Please check it out, and let me know what you think. No Varia tomorrow -- I'm off to Albany with my brother Knights of Columbus (i.e., the "army of oppression") to wield our Rosaries at the prayer rally on the steps of the Capital.