Happy Easter from the Made for Love podcast! Christ is risen, alleluia!
We just wrapped up a two-part primer on spiritual discernment in our newest episode of the podcast. Fr. Timothy Gallagher has been the leading voice in spreading St. Ignatius's rules for discernment for years, and he joined us to talk about how it intersects with the call to love. Kara and Andrew also completed a two-part look at The Prince of Egypt, a beautiful reflection on Passover, which we just celebrated at Holy Week.
Find previous episodes of the podcast here and share it with your friends!
|
|
Cautioning the "Synodal Path" |
|
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco spoke on his concerns over the German "Synodal Path", and about why he signed an open letter to German bishops asking them to reconsider their role in the process.
Several German bishops have called for an outright change to Church teaching regarding same-sex relationships. Additionally, the Cardinal Archbishop of Luxembourg has claimed that the teaching relies on an outdated "sociological-scientific foundation" while ignoring that the teaching's actual foundation is human love as revealed by Jesus Christ.
|
|
Speaking for Those in Most Need of the Truth |
|
Fr. Philip Bochanski, Executive Director of Courage International, also wrote an open letter about the state of confusion in some areas of the Church. Speaking from the perspective of someone who ministers to same-sex-attracted people, he offered a plea that bishops not violate the Oath of Fidelity taken in preparation for priesthood. Doing so, he argued, would do significant harm to those same-sex-attracted people striving to live chastely, but who depend on clear teaching from the Church to do so. |
|
Pastoral Framework for Marriage and Family Life |
|
This national pastoral framework from the USCCB will assist dioceses as local pastoral planning and implementation continue to take place since the publication of Amoris Laetitia. " Called to the Joy of Love" provides guidelines for the pastoral accompaniment of married couples and families in every phase of life, drawing upon the teachings and recommendations contained in the apostolic exhortation.
|
|
President's Priorities - In mid-April, over 90 federal agencies in the Biden Administration released problematic “equity plans” to specially enhance the ways in which they serve, contract with, and otherwise impact or engage with groups of people based on characteristics such as race, but also “LGBTQI+” identifications, in accordance with a 2021 executive order by President Biden. Bishop chairmen spoke to that order in the course of addressing another in a statement last year.
Parents' Rights and Protecting Children - On April 8th, Alabama enacted laws to criminalize medicalized gender-related procedures for minors and to require school restroom use to match birth certificates. On April 12th, the Ludlow school district in Massachusetts was the latest to be sued over policies that encourage students to adopt new "gender identities" with names and pronouns while concealing it from parents. On April 20th, the Florida Dept. of Health issued guidance critiquing the evidence behind HHS guidance that recommends “gender affirming care” for children with gender dysphoria, and saying such transition should not be pursued for children. Two days later, Gov. DeSantis signed a law revoking the special status that Disney enjoys under state law, as the result of a saga in which the company attacked the state's enacting a new law in March (commonly misrepresented as the "Don't Say Gay" bill) to stop the imposition of gender ideology in elementary schools.
More Gender Ideology in Schools - Also in April, New Jersey's curriculum for teaching first-graders to choose their "gender identity" regardless of their "body parts" was exposed in detail; Maryland's dept. of education issued guidelines to teach pre-K students about non-traditional familial arrangements and kindergartners about "gender identity," and to conceal students' "gender identities" from parents; an Illinois school district unveiled similar lesson plans starting in preschool; Stillwater, Oklahoma, became center stage of a broader dispute among state officials and parents on restroom access in schools; and Linn-Mar community schools in Iowa passed pro-"transgender" policies.
School Sports - Kentucky became the latest state to enact a law protecting women's school sports when its legislature overrode a veto on April 13th. The Missouri house passed a bill on April 25th to require sports participation to match birth certificates. On April 26th, the Kansas senate overrode its governor's veto of a sports bill. And, building on its existing law protecting women's sports, Tennessee enacted penalties for violations on April 22nd.
Free Speech - On April 14th, Shawnee State U. in Ohio relented in litigation and settled with Professor Nick Meriwether, whom it had punished for his refusing to use students' preferred prefixes and pronouns (he had originally offered to use preferred names). The settlement, which follows three years in the courts and a loss for the university last year in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, allows him to retain his job and free speech rights, and awards him $400,000 in damages. Tennessee's house, meanwhile, passed a bill on April 25th to protect public school teachers' rights to decline to use students' preferred pronouns.
Medical Mandate - On April 25th, a federal court in Missouri ruled that nurse Angelia Scott's lawsuit should move forward against her Catholic-affiliated employer, St. Louis U. Hospital, for declining to cover her child's "transgender care."
Records - On April 21st, a federal judge in Montana blocked the state's new law requiring surgery before changing the sex on one's birth certificate.
Overseas - At the beginning of April, the UK's prospective "conversion therapy" ban was cut back to cover only sexual attraction and not "gender identity." Later, the country's health secretary was reported to be ordering an inquiry into NHS's gender services for minors. South Korea's supreme court overturned a military conviction of soldiers engaged in same-sex conduct on April 21st.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
