By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In an 8-1 ruling in Snyder v. Phelps, the United States Supreme Court has declared that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to air their opposition to policies and laws condoning homosexuality by staging peaceful protests during high-profile military funerals.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
An abortionist accused of running a “house of horrors” abortuary in Philadelphia that left one woman and scores of infants dead, pled not guilty at an arraignment hearing yesterday where prosecutors indicated they may seek the death penalty in a case that horrified the nation.
Feast of St. Katherine Drexel
(1858 – 1955)
“Justice ceases to be just when it ceases to be human.”
St. Katherine Drexel
For Reflection:
In light of this quote from St. Katherine Drexel, name some specific ways our contemporary society misinterprets justice. What can we do about it?
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In a landmark judgment which will have a serious impact on the future of fostering and adoption in the UK, the High Court has suggested that Christians with traditional views on sexual ethics are unsuitable as foster parents, and that homosexual ‘rights’ trump freedom of conscience in the UK. The Judges also stated that Christian beliefs on sexual ethics may be ‘inimical’ to children, and they implicitly upheld an Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) submission that children risk being ‘infected’ by Christian moral beliefs.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Dr. Joseph Kenan, president of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, is under investigation by the Medical Board of California after posting lewd photos of himself on Facebook and allegedly promoting illegal drug use and male prostitution.
by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Two experts on pedophilia testified in front of the Canadian Parliament and said pedophilia was a “sexual orientation” similar to that of homosexuality and heterosexuality, raising the question of whether or not this condition will one day win the same civil rights as homosexuality.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Even though the Obama Administration has rescinded most of the conscience protection provisions that were in force since the end of President Bush’s second term, a bill that could restore many of these provisions is scheduled for an important Committee action tomorrow.
“In all talking and conversation let something always be said of spiritual things, and so shall all idle words and evil speaking be avoided.”
St. Teresa of Avila
For Reflection:
According to this statement of St. Teresa of Avila, how do I evaluate my conversations with others? Uplifting or downgrading?
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The saga of baby Joseph Maraachli took another sad turn yesterday when the hospital where he is being treated said they are willing to release the boy to his parents, but without the tracheostomy that will allow him to breathe until he dies naturally.
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that the U.S. House is likely to take on the task of defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) now that the president has instructed the Justice Department to cease defending the law because he believes it to be unconstitutional.
