The Before Trilogy
Nine years have passed since the completion of Richard Linklater's "Before trilogy" of movies. Each movie followed the same couple on one day nine years apart, so the podcast is tackling each of them over the next few episodes. The newest episode covers the first film, Before Sunrise, and its characters' many attempts at understanding love, God, and the world. They don't always succeed, but that's half the fun.

Friend of the podcast, Abigail Favale, returned in the prior episode to talk about her new book, The Genesis of Gender. She explains how the Church's vision of human sexuality reveals many of the flaws which contemporary gender theory inherited from earlier schools of thought.

Find previous episodes of the podcast here and share it with your friends!
"Adoption is for children, not adults."
The Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life just released Keys to Bioethics, a free e-book covering a variety of topics from abortion, to sexual identity, to adoption. This teaching tool represents a strong commitment from the Holy See to witness to the truth about human love.
"[T]he body and soul are intimately united."
The Diocese of Green Bay updated its education policies to reflect the realities of human sexuality and sexual identity. It joins a growing number of dioceses across the country who are addressing these issues with truth and love. For more examples, check out the Gender Theory section of our Resources.
Renewing Families
Between the recent World Meeting of Families in Rome (where the US had a significant presence) and the USCCB's pastoral framework, "Called to the Joy of Love", there is a serious effort underway to renew the pastoral care of marriages and families. You can buy a copy of the pastoral framework or download the PDF.
Legal/Policy Updates
Redefining Marriage (Again) - The U.S. Senate is actively considering a bill, the "Respect for Marriage Act," that would entrench marriage redefinition in federal law, increase threats to religious liberty, and open the door to federal recognition of so-called polyamorous relationships. Archbishop Cordileone wrote a letter opposing the bill (jointly with Archbishop Lori in opposition to the "Right to Contraception Act") to the House of Representatives, where it passed with an alarming 47 Republican votes on July 19th, and another letter to the Senate on July 22nd. Please contact your own senators and tell them to oppose this harmful legislation!

And Redefining Sex (Again) - The Michigan state supreme court ruled on July 28th that "sex" discrimination includes "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" under state law, affecting more types of businesses and services there than could be reached under the federal Bostock decision, in this case a wedding venue and a hair removal salon.

Medical Gender Transition Mandates - On July 25th, the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a proposed regulation to force health care providers to perform gender transition procedures. The proposal would also involve insurance coverage and potentially even abortion-related requirements. USCCB bishop chairmen issued a statement in response. Click here to learn more about this and other hostile regulations pending in the federal government, and what you can do to help.

Stopping More Mandates - On July 15th, a federal court in Tennessee granted preliminary injunction against guidance by the U.S. Dept. of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that had sought to impose overly expansive "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" nondiscrimination policies without a full regulatory process.

Catholic Teachers - On July 28th, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Catholic schools' religious freedom in the case of one of the guidance counselors who had been let go from Roncalli High School in Indianapolis for being in a same-sex civil "marriage."

School Lunch and Gender Policy - On July 26th, 22 states sued the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to stop a new policy that some fear would be used to force schools to either embrace various pro-"transgender" policies or have students cut off from the critical National School Lunch Program.

School Sports - Also on July 26th, a federal court ordered Indianapolis Public Schools to allow a 10-year-old boy to participate in girls' sports, effectively blocking the new state law prohibiting competition from males in female school sports.

Abroad - In a major development in the United Kingdom, the country's primary gender clinic is being shut down as unsafe for children after being exposed for rushing them into "gender transition." In Mexico, a local judge was reported in late July to have declared a right to polyamorous "marriage." The European Union announced on July 15th that it will be suing Hungary in attempt to strike down a law protecting children from "LGBT" materials.