The Narthex
Womb to Tomb
One church offers an incredible array of pro-life ministries
By Barbara Rose | July 11th 2019 4:10 PMLast year the state of Washington began requiring all health plans that cover maternity care to cover abortion procedures also. This year the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Cedar Park Church challenging the statute as unconstitutional on religious-freedom grounds. No doubt the lawsuit will run…
READ FULL BLOG POSTResurrecting the Dead
Scientists aim to keep the brain alive separate from the body
By Richard DellOrfano | July 11th 2019 3:10 PMA cousin emailed me a news clip about the latest research on reviving dead pig brains. Yale’s BrainEx experiments offer the possibility of keeping much of the brain alive separate from the body. That drastic procedure performed on humans ― which no scientific review board would currently approve ― is…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSilencing the Haters
The homophobia bulldozer shuts down any civil discourse
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | June 26th 2019 4:07 PMAfter a prolonged campaign against smoking, the culture at large mostly agrees that cigarette smoking is evil. Setting aside whether that is true or not, at no time during the debate did anyone accuse other people of being tobaccophobic or call them haters. That was because it was quite clear…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Matter of Biology
Science supports the moral position of pro-lifers
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | May 17th 2019 1:56 PMEvery age has its own set of moral contradictions. Fallen man’s creativity never ceases to find ways to feign moral blindness. In this regard our age is no different. Living in an age marked by an exaggerated reliance on the empirical, morality seems to take a back seat to biology. …
READ FULL BLOG POSTOn Sheep, Goats, and Feeding Tubes
Our Lord made no distinction between a plate and a tube
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | May 6th 2019 3:20 PMOver the last few years there have been a number of high-profile cases of patients in a vegetative state dying after they had their feeding and hydration tubes removed. The most recent case was in France, where a brain-damaged and crippled man named Vincent Lambert had his feeding tube removed…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMy Ticket to Heaven
In trying to stave off death, we delay going to heaven
By Richard DellOrfano | May 6th 2019 2:43 PMI was a friend of the family for 40 years and was visiting Minola, its matriarch. Minola was dying of cancer, and she lay on a hospital bed in her living room, too nauseated to eat. She’d refused the prescribed radiation and chemical cocktails because she knew her life was…
READ FULL BLOG POSTGiving Vaccines a Shot
Behind 'public health' is the Catholic principle of the common good
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | March 29th 2019 4:30 PMA suburban New York county has banned all unvaccinated minors from public places in hopes of staving off a recent measles outbreak in the area. This comes on the heels of a Northern Kentucky Health Department decision to ban unvaccinated students from school after a chickenpox outbreak there. Parents cite…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Sniper
A psychologist, a minister, a disabled Marine veteran, and a writer discuss war
By Richard DellOrfano | March 28th 2019 4:37 PMAs I stood in the entry of an Assisted Living dining hall, hoping to join my friend after lunch, I overheard this comment: “She’s no angel. I heard she shacked up with George last night.” The speaker nodded toward another woman two tables over with coiffed hair and Fifth Avenue…
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Truth vs. Tinseltown
Mainstream media are dead-set against a new film
By Barbara Rose | March 22nd 2019 3:28 PMA group of fearless movie-makers is about to release Unplanned, a film based on Abby Johnson's story of going from being manager of a Planned Parenthood clinic to becoming a highly effective pro-life activist. You can bet that the entertainment industry is dead-set against this film. Check out these quotes…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDeath Is Not What it Seems
God knows how difficult is the struggle against depression
By Richard DellOrfano | March 21st 2019 3:04 PMIt is the Ides of March. I’m at the San Marcos Cemetery. Its flat headstones, aligned between scraggly trees on acres of fresh-cut green grass, can’t compete with cemeteries back east. Richmond, Virginia, has historic statues 20 feet tall and Romanesque tombs inscribed with inspirational poetry and sculpted battle scenes.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTPuberty Blockers and the Principle of Totality
Man does not have unlimited license to mutilate his body
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | March 18th 2019 3:20 PMThe Vatican News website recently printed an interview with a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life discussing the current standard of care for pubescent age children suffering from gender dysphoria. During the course of the questioning, the member, Dr. Laura Palazzani, said that in order to “accompany” children battling…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Forgotten Man
God's love is our ultimate safety net
By Richard DellOrfano | March 13th 2019 2:26 PMI’ve lived in my lower class neighborhood since 1973 when I bought a four-bedroom house and rented rooms to other youths hoping to start a commune. California’s Prop 13 keeps my property tax low, whereas new buyers nowadays pay eight times as much. Sometimes it pays to be old. But…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSuffer the Little Children
Young kids are God’s gift to parents and to those who encounter them
By Richard DellOrfano | February 20th 2019 2:13 PMAfter facilitating a Tuesday senior writing group in the San Marcos County Library, I attended a chess club session held in the same conference room. Four game boards were set up on card tables and eight competitors were playing chess across from each other. At the far end a young…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA-Marching We Will Go!
The pro-life struggle includes moments of celebration
By James Hanink | January 28th 2019 5:51 PMThis time I kept my sign. Heck, I could have been the model for it. On one side there’s a silhouette of a “senior” wearing what looks like my cap. His cane is like one we keep handy at home. On the other side, there’s a Gospel truth: Toda Vida…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFruits of the Same Tree
One cannot be both pro-life and in favor of contraception
By Rob Agnelli (Archive) | January 18th 2019 4:03 PMSince its promulgation in 1995, St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae has become like a pro-life manifesto. It is often cited not just for its eloquence but for its passionate defense of the great dignity of human life. The saintly pontiff is quick to point out not just the…
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