I have a playlist called “Medical Gaslighting” that is for unwinding after particularly stupid doctors’ appointments. In 2021 when my brain went mostly-AWOL for a few months, we didn’t even bother going to the doctor — the spouse and I went straight to planning for end-of-life. Why would we do this? Because we had long experience that going to the doctor was unlikely to help, and I already had the list of things that had been useful in the past,... Read more
The new bishop of Charlotte (NC) is under fire from, well, everybody for his recent attempt to micromanage a bazillion legitimate options for the Catholic liturgy. Some of the proposed mandates are just bizarre, such as banning the ringing bells at the start of Mass. Others are downright discriminatory: Prohibiting “quiet” or “low” Masses makes it painfully difficult for those with sensory sensitivities* to attend and pray. Forbidding clergy from wearing clerical garb that doesn’t meet the bishop’s personal taste... Read more
Regardless of whether a loved one dies early and unexpectedly or passes away after a long life and with considerable forewarning, we the bereaved are often left with unfinished relationship threads. Some of the most common longings are: “I never got to say . . .” “I never apologized . . .” “I wish my loved one had understood . . . “ “I wish my loved one could see this now . . .” Of course I think the... Read more
I was thrilled to see that Pope Leo XIV is indeed a Rerum Novarum guy, which I’ll explain in a sec but first here are his own words, from his May 10th address to the College of Cardinals: . . . I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In... Read more
There’s been growing publicity about using genetic screening of embryos as a way to avoid serious genetic conditions. For families who have suffered with devastating inherited diseases, it’s understandable that parents would want to find a way to spare their children that plight. So what’s wrong with using embryo screening? Embryo screening is already here. In vitro fertilization centers are already offering genetic screening as an add-on service, so this technology is not merely hypothetical. Here’s how it works: Eggs... Read more
I had a lovely evening last night at Bible study with a group of moms who are just . . . Catholic. We were not there as women of the “left” or “right” — though no doubt each of us hold points of view that might lean one way or the other. We were there as regular people who love God as well as we can and try to live a good life. It was a refreshing counterpoint to something... Read more
I’m thinking of taking up blogging for Lent. I know! It’s been ages. Nothing overly dramatic going on, other than since August I can’t seem to make it three weeks without catching some new, usually minor virus, but which lays me out hard due the dread disease. But Lord willing, I will be picking back up with blogging here and over at the evangelization newsletter. Today I want to hit a few essential Lenten notes, and also talk about the... Read more
Saw a curious poll on Twitter asking: Should the Catholic Church stay out of politics? It’s an interesting one because the answer is pretty straightforward, at least where Catholics are following Catholic teaching and Church law. Let’s take it apart and make sense of the questions within the question. What is “the Catholic Church”? We can define “the Catholic Church” in any number of ways: Every person, living or dead, who is united in faith with the Catholic Church. This... Read more
When my daughter played in weekend-long sports tournaments, we always went to Sunday Mass, and so did the other Catholics on her various teams. I live in the Bible Belt, though, and I knew that a number of her teammates and coaches were believing Evangelical Christians, so it surprised me that they never attempted to make it to church when they were out of town. I would not have been surprised if some or all had chosen, instead, to host... Read more
I’d like to talk about sporting categories generally, and then look at a couple of specific situations for people with XY disorders of sexual development. Update 8/4/24: See here for “Toward a Robust Definition of Sport Sex” by David J. Handelsman in Endocrine Reviews. Table 2 lays out all the variations in genetic and physiologic status for the purpose of determining how to categorize an athlete for elite sport. (To my knowledge everything I say below in simpler terms is consistent... Read more
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