Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas can be difficult times for many families and individuals, especially during a period of quarantine-related separation and loss. If you, your family, or friends are experiencing anxiety or depression at this time, it's okay to acknowledge it! We have a podcast episode with helpful interviews to get the conversation started, so that fewer people will suffer in isolation. That and more episodes can also be found below. Christ doesn't come only to those whose lives are perfect.
His advent is first made known to those in darkness.
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Recent work in the public square |
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On November 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, where Catholic Social Services is trying to survive a mandate to place children for adoption with same-sex couples. The USCCB filed an amicus curiae brief with the court in June.
There has been increasing pressure in various organized sports to allow men who identify as transgender women to compete in women's athletics. Defending the nature of the human person as a sexed, embodied being, Bishop David A. Konderla of Tulsa, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, issued a letter of support for a pair of bills in Congress which would protect women's opportunities in sports. The full press release and letter are now available to read.
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Made for Love is returning!
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Made for Love will be returning soon! Our podcast on living out the call to love has a lot of highlights already, so be sure to catch up with some of them here. We've already aired episodes related to both of the above stories.
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Which one is your go-to Catholic podcast? (skip if you answered last month)
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Catholic Stuff You Should Know
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Other (tell us which one by replying to this email!)
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Legal/Policy Updates
Election - Joe Biden is poised to reinstate Obama-era policies mandating acceptance of "transgender" students' preferences in school restrooms and sports, and to reintegrate "transgender" troops and provide for their "gender confirmation" medical procedures, in January. Meanwhile, "transgender"-identifying persons nearly doubled their representation in state legislatures upon the election, including in some traditionally conservative states, and made gains in local judgeships.
Sex Ed. - Also on election night, a controversially "progressive" comprehensive sex education law was upheld by referendum in Washington state.
Still Redefining "Marriage" - Nevada passed a referendum on election day to redefine "marriage" in the state constitution to include same-sex couples, regardless of Obergefell.
Parents' Rights - Parents in Colorado sued the Boulder school district on November 16th for not allowing their elementary school children to opt-out of presentations on "transgender" issues.
Non-parents' Rights - The Kansas supreme court held in two cases on November 6th that a former same-sex partner has just as much legal "maternity" with respect to children as her partner who bore and had a biological relationship with them, even if the couple had not been "married."
Catholic Schools - On November 19th, a New Jersey appellate court ruled that a Catholic school cannot fire a Catholic teacher for being pregnant out of wedlock, claiming that a policy against premarital sex should be applied equally to all men and women, not just women who become pregnant.
Major Free Speech Case - On November 20th, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that bans on so-called "conversion therapy," which could prevent therapists from simply talking with people about living chastely or accepting their own bodies, are unconstitutional. This sets up a split with other circuits, making it ripe for Supreme Court review.
Abroad - Next door in Canada, a mother won a temporary block against her teenage daughter's "gender affirming" surgery. In the UK high court, a mother who wants to be listed as a "father" on her child's birth certificate lost her case. And the European Union announced on November 12th a 5-year plan (likely targeted at Eastern European countries with more traditional views) to promote "LGBTQ equality."
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