Sneak Peak

As we prepare to move to our new online home, Love Means More, check out this sample of the sort of content you can expect from the new site!

Is love how someone makes you feel?

No. It can include that, but it is primarily an act that involves the whole person, not just the emotions.

“Love does not seek its own interests.” -St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:5

Ok, but what does that actually mean?

Brian was nervous whenever Charlotte was around. He had never felt much of anything for anyone, but she singlehandedly changed his view of people without even trying. Her radiant face and the lighthearted way she interacted with people were more than enough to make him forget his troubles. Just being in the same classroom with her was enough to fill his life with joy. He thought he could be happy with her. He asked her to prom. She said no. She explained as kindly as possible that, no matter how much she wanted to feel the same way about him, she just couldn’t force it. The butterflies in his stomach turned to lead weights and sank to his feet. Now what?

The view that love is only a feeling can’t help Brian be respectful of Charlotte. If he thought, “she makes me feel truly alive, therefore I must be in love with her”, he would be tempted to reject her honest response. He might either doubt that she meant it, or resent her because he believed that she owed it to him to return his “love”. This is how wounds go unhealed and develop into bitterness.

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Respect Life Month

As we work to end abortion, Pro-Life Committee Chairman Bishop Michael Burbidge called on Catholics to exhibit "radical solidarity" with pregnant mothers, borrowing a phrase from Pope John Paul II.

Read the full statement

Action Needed to Defend Life

Time is running out to make your voice heard! The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has put out a proposed regulation that would require employers to accommodate employees seeking abortions, such as by giving them leave to obtain one. Bishop Burbidge spoke out against this proposed distortion of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is a new law meant to help working mothers keep their job, if they wish, while protecting their health and that of their preborn children. The public comment period lasts until October 10, so be sure to submit your comment to the EEOC before then!

Biden Administration – A German homeschool family that had been granted indefinite asylum in Tennessee for 15 years is in danger of being deported without explanation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The US Census Bureau requested permission from the White House to test questions regarding "sexual orientation and gender identity" for incorporation into its large-scale American Community Survey.

Speaking Out on GAC – The gender clinic at St. Louis Children's Hospital ceased its provision of "Gender Affirming Care" (GAC), for minors after a state law took effect. The clinic was met with additional controversy after a former employee went public with whistle-blowing claims about the clinic's harmful practices. This came amid news of a British study that showed that GAC led to deteriorating mental health for as many or more children than it helped.

Courts – A Virginia woman whose daughter ran away from and was sex-trafficked before being rescued by the FBI filed suit against a school board and Baltimore public defender for concealing information about the daughter's identification as the opposite sex. A Catholic bookstore in Florida could not be forced by a city mandate to use customers' preferred pronouns, according to a settlement with the city of Jacksonville. Two California courts issued opposite rulings over the legality of teachers notifying parents if their child requested to use a name or pronoun not reflected in their records.

States – California ended its ban on state-funded travel to 26 "anti-LGBT" states. The governor of California vetoed another bill that would have required child custody hearings to factor in a parent's affirmation of a child's "gender identity". On the other hand, California passed a law that allowed the state's superintendent to reduce schools' funding if they did not meet state standards for LGBT content in the classroom. Laws in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas banning GAC for minors were allowed to stand by the rulings of their respective court systems. Kansas changed its birth certificate policy to only reflect an individual's biological sex, instead of being alterable according to an individual's self-reported "gender identity".

International – German priests in Cologne openly defied the Vatican and Cologne's archbishop, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, by performing a ceremony that attempted to bless same-sex couples. British Parliament declined to draft legislation banning so-called "conversion therapy" despite earlier stated commitments to doing so in the current session. Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal ordered the city's government to extend new legal recognition to same-sex couples.