Vatican City, November 17, 2014 Dear Friends, It is my distinct honor and personal pleasure to be with you at this important Colloquium on the complementarity of man and woman, and to share with this august assembly the perspective of … [Read more...]
The Sacramentality of Human Love according to St. John Paul II
December 2, 2014 by Most Rev. Jean Laffitte
The Legacy of the Vision of Pope John Paul II for Marriage and Family
November 14, 2014 by Dr. William Newton
Not even the bullet from the barrel of an assassin’s gun could stop Pope John Paul II from emphasizing early in his pontificate the issues of marriage and family. In just the first five years, he created six key markers in these critical a … [Read more...]
Streamlining Annulments
November 14, 2014 by Fr. Mark A. Pilon
This headline greeted the announcement that Pope Francis was establishing a commission to make suggestions for altering the annulment process in the Catholic Church. The word “streamlining” is, perhaps, not the Vatican’s word, but it does ca … [Read more...]
True, Virginal Wife of Joseph
October 29, 2014 by Jonathan Fleischmann
Recently, a holy, married couple made the following claim regarding the central place of sexual intercourse in sacramental marriage, expressed as a personal insight, gained over the course of more than 50 years of sacramental … [Read more...]
Fall Reading for October 2014
October 29, 2014 by Book Reviews
History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium. James F. Hitchcock (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012) 584 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ) The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of … [Read more...]
Past and Present Conceptions of Tradition: Looking at the Synod on the Family
October 13, 2014 by Joshua Brotherton
“Tradition” is one of the most important concepts in Christianity, and yet, it is a term very often misunderstood among Catholics, let alone other Christians. I propose that this is precisely why the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which … [Read more...]
What Should the October Synod Discuss?
August 25, 2014 by Msgr. Cormac Burke
...I must say that we are blinking at reality if we do not face up to the fact that since the 1950s, marriage and the family, outside and inside the Church, have been plunged into an ever-growing crisis—to the extent that their nature, and v … [Read more...]
“Go and Call Your Husband”: What Enables a Marriage to Endure?
August 25, 2014 by Dr. Peter Kahn
The unity of will between a husband and wife that God establishes is realized also through a life that is fully shared. A marriage is contracted as a result of the consent of the spouses, and this consent needs to be renewed each … [Read more...]
The Side Effects of the Pill: Why the Church Has So Much to Say about Contraception
March 21, 2014 by Dr. William Newton
The Church pays special attention to the issue of contraception ... because so many of the modern errors in moral theology converge in this particular question of conjugal morality. There is an impression out there–in the world and even w … [Read more...]
Defining the Obvious
September 9, 2013 by Dcn. Tracy Jamison, OCDS
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional is an example of how basic definitions logically determine what is regarded as morally just and what is regarded a … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Decision on Marriage: “Tragic Day for Marriage and our Nation”
Statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
June 27, 2013 by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Marriage is the only institution that brings together a man and a woman for life, providing any child who comes from their union with the secure foundation of a mother and a father. June 26, 2013 WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court d … [Read more...]
Husbands and Fathers in the Image of Christ: Facilitating God’s Will for Our Wives and Children
January 10, 2013 by Dr. E. Christian Brugger
What does it mean for a man to love his wife and children as Christ loved (and loves) his Church? Obviously, a lot rides on the word “as”—loving as Christ loves. ... It means according to the same standard with which Christ loves. Pope … [Read more...]
The Dynamic of the Gift: Authority and Submission in Christian Marriage
January 3, 2013 by Mary Stanford
Both persons in a marriage are called to love ... called to a life of giving and receiving. The catch is: spouses don’t give and receive in exactly the same way ... because man and woman are not replicas of one another, nor are they mir … [Read more...]
Gender: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?
Some Thoughts on Femininity
November 16, 2012 by Dr. Maria Fedoryka, PhD
We Americans face a state of affairs relating to marriage and family ... (where we) must now attempt to show why the divinely-instituted laws of marriage and family are binding not only for Christians, but hold true for … [Read more...]
Spousal Love in Conjugal Spirituality
September 17, 2012 by Christopher J. Stravitsch
Spousal union is sacramental because it makes visible the invisible reality of God’s spousal love for his people. Our Catholic faith is lived through an array of spiritual traditions. While each observes the same theological truths, the … [Read more...]
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