50 Year Anniversary of the Pill

Detroit, Mich., May 7, 2010 / 07:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).-

Responding to a recent Agence France Presse (AFP) article that criticized Catholic teaching on contraception, well-known professor, Dr. Janet Smith, said that in her opinion, the poorly researched piece “was inaccurate and slanted from the beginning.”

In light of the recent 50th anniversary of the Pill being released to U.S. markets, the AFP reported on Thursday that in spite of Church teaching, the majority of Catholic women today use contraception.

“Catholics use the pill the same way everyone else does ... Priests don't even preach against it any more,” Jon O'Brien, president of the dissident group Catholics for Choice, told the AFP on Wednesday.

AFP also made reference in the article to a commission of bishops and lay people who recommended in 1968 that the Church should change its position on contraception. The AFP article argued that Pope Paul VI “ignored” the commission in his writing of “Humanae Vitae” and “banned” Catholics from using the Pill.

The article also mentioned that less than five percent of Catholics use the “rhythm method,” which it called the one of the “birth control methods allowed by the Church.”

During a phone interview with CNA on Thursday, Dr. Smith, a professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, said that it was obvious the writer of the AFP article did “minimal research.”

Not only did the writer mention the “rhythm method,” a term that Smith said “no one is using,” but the commission surrounding Pope Paul VI was “simply an advisory panel.” The Pope, said Smith, did not “ignore” anyone by opposing contraception, but rather, upheld the tenets of the faith on the belief that birth control would have devastating societal consequences.

The AFP article, she summarized, “was inaccurate and slanted from beginning to end.”

Defending the Church's teaching that contraception affects society in negative ways and is immoral, Smith noted that “more than one out of three babies in the United States are born to a single mother, one out of four pregnancies are aborted,” and that “more than one out of two marriages end in divorce.”

“If people were living by the Church's teaching on sexuality, those things wouldn't be happening, and those things are a path to misery,” she underscored.

“People born out of wedlock have a very hard life, as do their children. People who get divorced have a very hard life as do their children, and their friends and their family,” Smith asserted, adding that on the other hand, “people who don't get divorced and stay married and raise their children, generally have very good lives.”

“Couples who use natural family planning almost never divorce,” she pointed out. “The divorce rate at tops, we think is around 4%.”

In light of these facts,“who looks foolish?” she asked. “The Church for not changing a teaching that almost guarantees happiness or a culture that is pushing an agenda that almost guarantees misery?”

Also, “it is really, patently absurd for women to be putting chemicals in their body to correct a condition that is not a defect.

“Fertility is a perfectly healthy condition,” Smith emphasized.

While it is true, said Smith, that many Catholics do not follow Church teaching on contraception, many Catholics “also don't abide by the Church's teaching about not having sex before marriage and not getting divorced and even, I'm sorry to say, having abortions.”

Smith even referenced areas outside the realm of sexuality that Catholics “are at odds with their Church,” such as, resistance to Church teaching on receptivity towards immigrants.

Contraception is “not an isolated teaching that's being ignored.”

On the reasons why many Catholics today are disconnected from Church teaching, the noted professor offered two explanations. “One, is that the influence of the culture is just overwhelming – the prominence of the media and the slant of the media on everything. Catholics are going to Church at most, once on Sunday but they're watching TV and reading the media hours and hours and hours of every week.”

“So what's going to have more influence on them?” she asked. “Their Church or their culture?”

The second reason for the modern disconnect between Catholics and Church teaching is “the dissent that happened in the 1960s against 'Humanae Vitae,'” Smith explained.

“A lot of priests were actually taught in the seminaries that the Church was going to change its position on contraception and therefore they shouldn't really bother to teach the Catholic faithful about it,” she said. This confusion over Church teaching on human sexuality is why “John Paul II made it one of his flagship items of his pontificate.”

One of Pope John Paul II's seminal works, the “Theology of the Body,” has “taken off like wildfire around the United States,” Smith told CNA. One the main purposes of the writings, she explained, “was to defend the Church's teaching of contraception.”

According to Smith, the U.S. is responding. “Young people all over the place come to huge conferences” on the theology of the body “and certainly, the training in the seminary is very different now – seminarians are learning the Church's teaching.”

Smith herself has had “over a million” copies of her talks on the Church's teaching regarding human sexuality distributed in recent years.

Reflection: The Catholic Church, and Those who Love Her, Are Best Understood in Christ Crucified

God has given his children an indescribable and indispensable treasure in the fullness of truth that is contained in the Catholic Church alone. When a man, woman or child finds this truth and adheres to it, there is a wonderful, radiant security that rests in their heart.

DENVER, CO (Catholic Online) - When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified True God and True Man, cruelly fixing his sacred Humanity upon a Roman Cross. As they looked upon the Crucified Son, the rulers "sneered" at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." The soldiers, too, "jeered" at him, calling out, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." (see Lk. 23:33-38).

It appears that the soldiers who mocked Jesus did not understand who he truly is. We could say that they failed to distinguish or recognize reality as it is; for it is reality that the Man they nailed to the cross was-is-the Son of God. In their misunderstanding, they jeered at him. "If you are who you say you are," said they, "save yourself." The soldiers had in mind that the Messiah of God should act differently than he indeed willed to act; they could not understand why he would not use his power in a way that they imagined it ought be used.

We see this same type of jeering and mocking continue on this very day in the way the Catholic Church, which Christ himself founded a short time before he hung on the cross, is persecuted. There are those today, in effect, who exclaim of the Church: "If you are who you say you are, then act as I imagine you would." But what type of Church is it that they imagine God would install in the midst of the world? One inhabited by sinless men completely removed from a fallen humankind who inhabit a fallen world? One that is not truly Mother Church but, rather, a distant and unknown stepmother?

It is unnecessary to go into detail concerning the scandals of abuse which periodically surface within the Church. Suffice it to say that every devout Catholic who sees the Church correctly and in the light of reality as it is, is saddened and disappointed and even angered at these tragic, sinful events. Yet precisely because these Catholics recognize the Catholic Church for what she is, they remain ever-faithfully in love with her; obedient to her words of truth, thirsting for her sacraments of life-especially the highest of all sacraments: the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in Eucharist.

Read the rest of this article at catholic.org, the site of first publication.

Nun Sense: Women in the Catholic Church

This article by Kathryn Jean Lopez first published on National Review Online, interviews Sister Prudence.
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A Habited Women Speaks
In his New York Times column this month, Nicholas Kristof wrote about “A Church Mary Can Love.” If you didn’t read the column, you might not be shocked to learn its contents: He’s not that into the Vatican, and he doesn’t think the Blessed Virgin would be either. He’s more into a priest who reportedly told him that he “would build a condom factory in the Vatican to save lives.” However, Kristof also wrote something sensible: “I’ve come to believe that the very coolest people in the world today may be nuns.” Amen. And in the following interview with Sister Mary Prudence Allen, I think you’ll begin to see why. Sister Prudence is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., an order with a special focus on health care.

Sister Prudence is also a philosophy professor and a published author, having written the two-volume The Concept of Woman and contributed to The Foundations of Religious Life: Revisiting the Vision (a compilation from the other “nuns” in the health-care debate, the ones who stood by the bishops conference’s objection to the abortion provisions in the legislation — and by Catholic doctrine on the most innocent human life).

Read the interview here.

Introducing ENDOW Intensives

On a recent morning in one of our staff meetings, someone brought up again how the real mission of ENDOW is educating women, and we wondered how well we were hitting that goal. It is always of concern to us that we may be missing a significant portion of the female population – those women who are simply too busy and unable to commit to an eight week study. How can we reach them? Would they be interested if we could think of a way to fit ENDOW into their schedule? We tossed around ideas of how to make ENDOW accessible to these women and we landed upon the idea of ENDOW Intensives.
The idea was to offer a “turbo-charged” class – one that would condense an 8-week study into a 7-hour day. It would mean that we would have to distill each chapter down to its essence, highlighting key points, being selective about which passages to read aloud, and spending less time lingering on the discussion questions. But the trade-off seemed a good one. While not exactly a precise replica of an ENDOW class, the Intensive would introduce the concepts and the content of an ENDOW topic in a fast-paced and, we hoped, inspiring way. The benefits were obvious – women would be able to immerse themselves in a study and walk away filled up with new information and refreshed and energized about their Catholic faith.
We are happy to report that we debuted ENDOW Intensives earlier this month. Eileen Love taught Letter to Women to a group in the scenic mountain town of Edwards. At the same time these women were in class, ENDOW’s Brigid Sweeney taught Girl Genius to their daughters, the 8th graders at St. Claire of Assisi. The fire of ENDOW was lit and the message of New Feminism is spreading. The young girls had a great day and the women were excited by what they heard and many expressed a desire to continue studying. Then, these past two Saturdays, Intensives on Letter to Women and Edith Stein: Seeker of Truth were offered at the John Paul II Center.
From the feedback we are receiving, we are pronouncing ENDOW Intensives a success. The next one we are presenting is slated for late June in Houston. We’d love to see as many of our Texas sisters as possible! And we will be putting more on the calendar, so watch this space for information and tell your friends!

My Route to ENDOW – A Witness Story

By Judi Piccone

If we believe that God desires us to know the truth then we must be open to seeking it. I am reminded of this when I think of the journey He has brought me on to encounter His Truth and faithfulness through ENDOW. His love for me placed my spiritual voyage on a path to ENDOW and although it has not been easy, I am certain it was purposeful.

My story begins many years ago when I became interested in an international ecumenical Bible study. It had many thriving Colorado locations to choose from and it seemed perfect. It welcomed women of different Christian denominations to gather and study Scripture. In my mind it was noble, even productive to the cause of uniting Christians and its message of being “ecumenical” drew me in. I was encouraged that there were other Catholic women involved, who like me, were searching for more. We wanted to be fed but it needed to accommodate the diapers and daily duties of life. With Catholic Biblical School being too daunting, MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers - a Christian mom and tot group) not enough and no other suitable Catholic program available, this seemed perfect. I became deeply involved.
Although I was a very active and faithful Catholic, I know now I was subtly being led away from my religious roots. Thankfully, God brought me down the path of truth and I am grateful that I knew to listen. After five very involved years in the program, it had been revealed to me by an insider that they were not ecumenical at all, but that the leadership was trained to welcome Catholics only to convert them. NO! This could not be true! At that point I realized I needed the truth and with God’s grace I found the courage to contact the National Director, a woman I did not know, and I asked if this was a fact. After some discussion and some beating around the bush, she finally said, “Yes, we only welcome Catholics to convert them.” While I was grateful for her honesty, I was devastated because I was entrenched in the program and I realized then that I had to cut the dead limb, close the door, and walk away.

Where was I to find Him now? He had brought me to this realization but what purpose did it have if there was nothing similar in the Catholic Church to fill that void? It was a painful process but God is abundantly generous and faithful. Thanks to a group of faithful women who chose to listen to Him, ENDOW was started. It was exactly what I needed and has filled that void in such an amazing way. There have been many truths revealed - like how I am special and unique as a woman of God (Letter to Women), how God gave me Mary to be my companion (Redemptoris Mater) and the joy in uniting myself to His suffering (Salvifici Doloris). These and many other studies have shown me His faithfulness as they have strengthened and fortified me. Through ENDOW, Christ has shown me how deeply He loves me and I am profoundly humbled.

Arleen Mack, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado

Lenten means a time that I, as a busy mother and wife, force myself to make time to work on my own spirituality. It seems that there is never a "right" time to make time for me, but because the well runs dry, I make time in Lent. The way I find that time is to give my faith life a higher priority in my time allocation. I stay away from unneeded shopping, lunches and coffee dates and instead attend two Endow sessions and parish soup suppers to keep up with my women friends. I also minimize my reading to only my spiritual selections. I work hard to find "quiet time" and stay away from the busyness of life. For the Lenten Season I really try to practice good discipline in time, treasure and talent, hoping some of the behavior change may become habits!

Eileen Hierholz, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado

Eileen Hierholz, ENDOW facilitator, Colorado
I have come to find that the things we choose to "fast from" are really the things in this life that we have made into our own "little gods" for various reasons to various degrees. We are so blessed to have the wisdom of the church that gives us this special time to reflect on those things which keep us farther from Our Lord and closer to our attachments, which also keep us from giving of ourselves to His service and others in need. Of course, there is so much more, such as a deepening of awareness of the mercy of God. I look forward to a spiritually renewing and holy Lent.