The Corruption of the Privacy of Marriage

A guest post by Daniel Michel

It's a good time for churches in USA to separate civil ceremonies and church ceremonies to clearly show the difference.

— Fr. Jonathan Morris (@fatherjonathan) June 27, 2015

Within just a few days of the Supreme Court's decision on same-sex civil marriage, those on the victorious side of the case began calling for new discriminatory laws and policies to be put into place. One columnist suggested scrapping the longtime tradition of tax-exempt status from religious institutions — and even polygamists feel emboldened by the decision. Other radical ideas are sure to come about.

It already looks bleak for many of us who support traditional marriage: the true definition, nature, and substance of what marriage, in fact, is. This issue over marriage and same-sex unions has obviously become divisive, and outside of the legal realm, there appears no end in sight to this debate. This is why it may be time to take a new, or rather old, way of dealing with this issue: privatizing it altogether.

Not O.K., Takei: On Defining Dignity

By now, any of you with an Internet connection and even a mild interest in pop culture has heard about George Takei's unfortunate remarks about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In short, Takei, who is in a civil marriage with another man, took issue with Thomas' dissent in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which found that there is a Constitutional right to civil marriage for same-sex couples. Much of the media focus has been on Takei's racially-charged remarks and not on the merits of his criticism of Thomas. Takei finally apologised for being "uncivil" in his remarks towards the Justice (after explaining that there is totally nothing racist about saying that a black person is a fake black person, because famous actor, or something), but he stands by his critique. The problem is, his critique is as baseless as his racist remarks are offensive.

Don't worry, George. This won't hurt. Much.

Real Compassion Is Never Violence

I was checking my email this morning (yes, I'm a teenager who prefers email to text messaging; don't judge) when I saw an email from the petition site change.org with the subject line "War Crimes against Women and Girls." Because I'm a pretty cool Catholic feminist (remember, no judging!) I immediately clicked and read. I'm expecting a petition asking for clothes, shelter, food, or even protection for the women raped and abused by ISIS and Boko Haram, concrete forms of help to comfort, protect, and heal these poor ladies. But what did I get?

Consumerism and the Family

I am a BuzzFeed fanatic. When I’m not doing homework (which I do do occasionally, mom) you can usually find me scrolling endlessly down the feed, looking at quizzes and pictures and lists. This is why, when blog overlord Damian sent me this post containing pictures of dads in Sweden with their kids, I clicked instantly.

Looking at the pictures, those fathers look so happy to be with their kids. Their kids look secure and happy to be with their dads. Sweden has mandatory sixty-day paternal leave and 480 days of total leave time for both parents. (In contrast, the U.S. has a suggested 12 weeks' maternity leave and neither suggested nor mandatory paternal leave!) The Swedish government is actively trying to promote the family, perhaps to combat the fact that Sweden has the second-highest divorce rate in Europe. But the dissolution of families, who are the very foundation of society and civilization, is a worldwide problem, especially in our own backyard. And no, I don’t mean Canada.

Pro-Life and Feminist: Protecting Both Mother and Child

Welcome, New Wave Feminists readers! If you like what you see here, kindly give our Facebook page a "like" and follow us on Twitter!

New Wave Feminists representin' at the 2013 March for Life

The pro-life movement is frequently lambasted by its critics as "anti-woman". Anti-abortion activists, the argument goes, are nothing more than sexist religious zealots, who wish to rob women of their bodily autonomy and have no business dictating women's medical choices, because they will never get pregnant, and they don't have wombs. Well, except for the ones who do.

Liberty Is Liberty, and Love Is Love

The latest chapter in America's ongoing struggle over how to deal with teh gheys in public life has come to a predictable close. Arizona's proposed law, which would permit business owners to refuse to participate in activities which would conflict with their religious beliefs, was met with the Governor's veto.

Although such a law could apply in a variety of situations and to those of multiple faiths, it was fairly obvious that the bill was passed to prevent Christian business owners from having to lend their services to same-sex marriage ceremonies. Multiple lawsuits by aggrieved same-sex couples in other States, which consider sexual orientation a protected class in their public accommodations laws, have resulted in rulings against Christian business owners. Arizona has no such law on the books, and the bill's supporters sought a preventive measure to circumvent such litigation. But for what it's worth, much of the discussion surrounding SB 1062 treated "religious freedom" in nondenominational terms. What is the Catholic response to those with same-sex attraction, and how do Catholics live out their faith in the public square?

"Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth..."

Praised Be Jesus!

I hope this post finds everyone in good spirits — and warm! Traditionally, on February 14, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Valentine, and the secular world has adopted the feast as a holiday celebrating romantic (and, in many cases, erotic) love. This feast causes a lot of hard feelings and usually results in mushy Facebook posts, resentful memes, and angry words from those who are bitter about their single state. I've also heard people murmur that all the erotic undertones are not a dignified for the feast of a martyr of the Church.

The Not-So-Great Divorce

Marriage has been in the news lately. Everyone’s talking about what the word means. Heck, a lot of people wonder if it’s still even relevant. More and more, people just live together, cohabitating, instead of getting married. In light of this, a movie I just saw is strangely prescient. 

The Man and the Mystic

Saint John resting on the breast of Jesus

In the gathering of the Church the Lord opened his mouth and filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and clothed him with a robe of glory. —Introit of the Feast of Saint John the Evangelist