Pope Wows Secular Madrid

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

From the moment he landed in one of Europe’s most secular nations, Pope Benedict XVI took on secularism in Spain, encouraging a massive throng of nearly one million youth from 190 countries to build their lives “on the firm foundation” of the Christian faith.

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Humility

Do you wish to rise?
Begin by descending.
You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?
Lay first the foundation of humility.
It was pride that changed angels into devils;
it is humility that makes men as angels.
St. Augustine

For Reflection:
What opportunities has the Lord given me in the last week to lay the “foundation of humility” in my life? Did I see these opportunities as such when they were given me? Can I cooperate with grace to see them as such now?

Enticing Pedophiles: French Designer Launches Lingerie Line for Four Year-Olds

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Not even a month has passed since the furor over the indecent display of a 10 year-old in Vogue Paris and the fashion industry in France is under fire again – this time for a lingerie designer whose website is full of pictures of scantily clad girls as young as four sporting makeup, beehive hairdos and a new line of age-inappropriate underwear.

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Should U.S. Catholics Return to Meatless Fridays?

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Reflecting on a recent ruling by the bishops of England to reintroduce the discipline of abstinence from meat on Fridays, New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan thinks American Catholics should consider doing the same in order to restore some of our lost Catholic identity.

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Study: Rising Cohabitation Rates Putting More Children at Risk

By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

An analysis of over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles on marriage and family has found that the divorce rate is down but cohabitation rates continue to rise, putting more children at risk than ever before.

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Humility

Do you wish to rise?
Begin by descending.
You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?
Lay first the foundation of humility.
It was pride that changed angels into devils;
it is humility that makes men as angels.
St. Augustine

For Reflection:
What opportunities has the Lord given me in the last week to lay the “foundation of humility” in my life? Did I see these opportunities as such when they were given me? Can I cooperate with grace to see them as such now?

The Media’s Glaring Double Standard on Pedophilia

Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

For those of you who were shocked by our recent article about the pro-pedophilia conference being held in Baltimore this week, you’ll be even more appalled to learn how the mainstream media, who never misses a story about the priest sex abuse scandal, provided almost no coverage of this story!

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