Happy 16th Birthday Catherine Therese!!

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Although you'll never read this my sweet Catherine, I love you. 16 years ago you changed our life forever. All of your siblings have done this in their own way but you have done so in a very special way. You have made me more empathetic, compassionate, and much more prayerful. Your smile lights up the world around you and we are all blessed by it.  It's not easy living with a saint. You remind me of my weakness and limited time on this earth. You challenge me to go deeper within myself and find what the Lord is trying to teach me...usually patience. You are made in His image and likeness but He uses you so that I can see my own beauty, goodness, and shortcomings.  You struggle mightily against me with every bath, diaper change, and wardrobe change. I struggle mightily with Him against all the changes He wills in my life. You depend on me and your mom for even the simplest of things. You teach me to depend on Him for everything and not rely on my on strength. You teach me that I
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Condomism

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Condomism, to borrow a term from Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, is the belief that condoms are the cure for everything that ails society. It is the belief that AIDS, overpopulation, food shortages, and even global warming can be eradicated if we only had enough condoms.

This belief meets with fierce opposition in the Catholic Church and her constant teachings about the dignity of every human person. A recent Reuters news article stated that one U.N. official claims, "The rapid spread in Latin America of the virus that causes AIDS is made worse by the Roman Catholic Church's stand against using condoms" and "In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region."

Guarantee? That is a very strong word especially in light of the 80% effectiveness of condoms in preventing prenancy and the fact that the virus that causes AIDS is considerably smaller than one sperm. The only true guarantee that the "epidemic would be resolved" is the promotion of abstinence. Abstinence has a 100% effectiveness rate in preventing the spread of any sexually transmitted disease.

Of course the response from condomists would be that we can't possibly expect that everyone would be able to control themselves and not have sex. So, the issue is not really the spread of disease but more an issue of human behavior that spreads the disease. And this, brings us back to abstinence education and education in chastity and virtue. These programs work and continue to work because they respect the human person and see men and women as made in the image and likeness of God not in the image of mere beasts. These programs work because they change hearts and do not simply condone abusive, dangerous behavior by sanctioning it through condom distribution. These programs work because they lift up and challenge the human spirit to aspire to great heights rather than allow their fellow man to wallow in the mire of selfish, destructive behavior. This invisible cure works.

These programs work and they are what is best for the person both in body and soul and this is why the Church promotes these programs. The Church sees that they are truly what is best for all even if the world cannot see it. 2000 years of studying the human condition has not left Her blind and lame but even more in love with all of the children of God.

Comments

Nicole said…
very well written!
9:18 PM
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