Say A Little Prayer
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Just me on Wednesday, February 08, 2012
My home state of Maryland is one of several where same-sex marriage is being debated in the legislature.
Call it “no good deed goes unpunished,” but a column I wrote arguing that the debate over marriage is another front in the battle over religious liberty garnered the attention of the Maryland Catholic Conference.
I’ll be one of those testifying in defense of marriage before committees of the Maryland House of Delegates this Friday.
“Committees,” plural, because the process is being manipulated.
A similar measure was defeated in the judiciary committee last year, so this year the bill is being brought before a double committee in an effort to get it voted out for a floor vote.
The legislators are not very kind to marriage defenders, and I will admit I am anxious. (Though, since I’m not the head of any group, I’m not all that likely to draw fire.)
Say a little prayer, therefore, will you—for me and for all the witnesses?
May we be calm and our words gentle, but may they travel like arrows to the hearts of our delegates.
It would be nice if Maryland, founded as a refuge of liberty for Catholics, would refrain from turning the law into a cudgel to beat us all down.
Traditional Christians Are Unfit Parents
Posted by Rebecca Teti in News on Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Perhaps you recall the case of Owen & Eunice Johns from a post last March.
They’re the couple in Britain who were banned from being foster parents for refusing to say there was nothing wrong with practicing homosexuality.
Mind you, they were not crusaders on the issue. They weren’t planning to bring it up.
They simply told regulators in all honesty that if the issue came up they could not in conscience equate homosexuality with traditional marriage. For this they were deemed a threat to children.
The Johns appealed the decision, and in London, the High Court has ruled that Christians with traditional opinions about homosexuality indeed pose a threat to children and may not serve as foster parents, as this news story explains.
Can "Reparation Therapy" Work?
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Wednesday, September 14, 2011
My intent was to publish something about the Triumph of the Cross, today’s feast.
I decided this reflection on same-sex attraction provides an exemplar of how a cross can lead to triumph.
Responding to homosexual scoffing at so-called “reparation therapy,” a chaplain for the Courage apostolate wrote this in his local paper.
The plain truth is that people with same-sex attractions experience them... READ MORE
Unique For A Reason
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Friday, March 04, 2011
The Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee in Defense of Marriage has a host of useful resources on that topic.
Links to Church documents, videos, the latest news about Church positions on state issues—
—and a very good “FAQ” section, with answers not only from a religious perspective, but arguments that can be used when you are discussing these issues with anyone.
"Just" Your Conscience
Posted by Rebecca Teti in News on Monday, November 16, 2009
My hometown’s City Council is poised to shut down many Catholic charities within the District of Columbia’s borders.
It’s doing so through a measure with the Orwellian title the “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009.”
The proposed law does preserve the right of religious groups not to provide goods, services or facilities in violation of their religious beliefs.
Unless... READ MORE
How Could It Hurt?
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Prof. Hadley Arkes has a nice piece on same-sex marriage over at The Catholic Thing.
Particularly valuable is his refutation of the argument, frequently heard, “How does my relationship hurt your marriage?”
The main point is that the law is a moral teacher. Anything which is “a right” it is wrong to oppose. And therefore acknowledging a “right” to same-sex marriage is precisely the same act as declaring... READ MORE
Stumbling Onto The Truth
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Signatures are being collected for a ballot initiative to ban divorce in California.
The move is entirely sarcastic, as the accompanying t-shirt indicates.
Behind it is a homosexual activist who wishes to showcase the hypocrisy of defenders of one man, one woman marriage. He is “retaliating,”
as he sees it, for Proposition 8.
It is sad to see how much this gentleman actually hates marriage as an institution (note the come on for the t-shirt at the link).
Yet, as we have discussed previously, he’s stumbled onto a truth, hasn’t he?
No Family, No Peace
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Wednesday, October 21, 2009
-300x203.jpg "AP-Yonhap")
Weeks ago I promised a further look at this quotation from Pope Benedict XVI.
”...everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children, constitutes... READ MORE
Marriage Is The Maine Topic
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My colleague Tim Drake has an update on an effort to “citzen veto” same sex marriage in Maine.
Here’s the first ad from a group called Stand for Marriage Maine.
On the same topic, but more broadly, here’s a column from Fr. Thomas Berg on the topic, occasioned by the introduction in our House of Representatives of a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
What is Marriage? Part I—body and soul... READ MORE
Mommy, What's A Lesbian?
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Marriage on Wednesday, July 22, 2009
What do you do when your children befriend kids whose home life is significantly different than yours—in ways that could be harmful to your children?
Here’s a wonderful essay detailing how one Christian mom handled the issues posed when the child of lesbian neighbors came knocking.
First it will just break your heart—as in this exchange overheard between the new neighbor girl and the author’s own... READ MORE
