The Experience of Infertility
The latest episode of the podcast brings in Kimberly Henkel and Ann Koshute of Springs in the Desert. Their work has helped numerous couples accept infertility, but their experiences can help all of us love in whatever way God has offered to us. Later we talk about the new German film I'm Your Man, which is not a way of loving which God offers to anyone.

Find previous episodes here and share it with your friends!
Pastoral Framework for Marriage and Family Life
The USCCB's newest pastoral framework is intended to assist dioceses as local pastoral planning and implementation continue to take place since the publication of the 2016 apostolic exhortation on the family, 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.

Read and download the digital version of the pastoral framework here.
Pray for Dobbs
Our coworkers at the USCCB Committee for Pro-Life Activities are taking part in an initiative which could help save the lives of the 600,000 babies killed in abortions each year in the United States.

The upcoming Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, is our greatest opportunity in a generation to change that. Join Christians across the country – Catholic and Protestant – uniting in prayer and fasting for a just decision in the Dobbs case.
Civilize It 2021
As a nation, including many in the Church, we are polarized and divided. But as Pope Francis writes in Fratelli Tutti, we can seek “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good” (no. 154). We can see ourselves as members of one family. We can seek the truth together. We can jointly come up with creative solutions to the problems that face our world. Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics is a response to Pope Francis’ invitation.

If you’re interested in loving your neighbors through open engagement, join us to model this “better kind of politics.”
A Year of St. Joseph
Pope Francis has proclaimed in his Apostolic Letter Patris Corde a special “Year of St. Joseph,” a wonderful opportunity to increase our love for St. Joseph, patron of both the Universal Church and of all families.

The USCCB has compiled a hub of resources, catechetical materials, and prayers/devotions to assist in the ongoing celebration of this special year, and our podcast just covered it in its newest episode.
Legal/Policy Updates
School Assault Case - While they sought to pass a controversial transgender policy, Loudoun County, VA schools may have concealed a sexual assault of a 9th grader by a boy wearing a skirt in a Stone Bridge High School girls bathroom. The same suspect later allegedly committed a second sexual assault in another school’s empty classroom. In response, over 100 parents and demonstrators, many claiming to be feminists and Democrats, protested at a Loudoun County Public Schools board meeting, demanding the resignations of the superintendent and school board members. Email records revealed the superintendent knew of the assault a month before denying he knew of it.

Administration - The White House unveiled a "National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality", which includes safeguarding abortion and "ensuring equity in education" for "LGBTQI+ youth". The State Department issued its first passport with an option for a nonbinary gender designation, expected to be widely available in early 2022. In another first, the HHS approved a state requirement for "gender-affirming care" to be covered by private individual and small-group health insurance plans. The change would take effect in Colorado at the beginning of 2023. 

Congress - Four bishop chairmen issued a letter to the House on its bill to reauthorize the Family Violence and Prevention Services Act, commending the good elements but warning that problems must be fixed, such as forcing even religious women’s shelters that partner with the programs to place male “transgender women” with females.

Courts - Christian Employers Alliance filed suit to challenge Biden mandates to cover gender transition procedures. The Minnesota Dept. of Human Rights settled a lawsuit against CSL Plasma, which had refused a trans-identifying male blood donor after he requested the company record him as female. Two women sued the state of Nebraska for legal recognition as equal mothers of both their children (each gave birth to one child), even though they split up before Obergefell legally recognized same-sex "marriage" nationwide.

States - Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed into law a bill prohibiting school athletes from playing in events of the opposite sex. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill preventing public colleges from "deadnaming" (using birth names instead of preferred names) trans/nonbinary-identifying students on their records and diplomas. A 78-year-old trans-identifying man filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission against an assisted living facility because it rejected his request to share a room with a female resident.

Schools & Localities - The diocese of Brooklyn dismissed a Catholic school teacher for violating his contract by entering into a same-sex "marriage" and the diocese is now receiving significant criticism, which could result in legal action.

International - Italy has received strong opposition from the Holy See for the former’s "anti-homophobia” bill, particularly on religious liberty grounds with respect to nebulously defined SOGI discrimination. A letter from the CDF to a pro-family association echoed Pope Francis’s warnings of the dangers of gender ideology before the bill was suprisingly blocked in the senate. India's National Medical Commission ordered publishers and medical schools to change their materials to exhibit greater sensitivity on LGBT-related issues. The lower house of France's parliament advanced a bill that would introduce prison sentences and fines for people who "attempt to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT citizens." 

Health - Two of the most prominent providers in the field of "transgender medicine" have expressed second thoughts about some of the field's most common practices.