The Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision on June 26, 2015, did not simply redefine marriage. It also directly attacked my freedom to serve the public as an explicitly Catholic social worker. The reality is this: Within the next several years, this self-consciously “progressive” decision will . . . . Continue Reading »
Some months back, I made a plea—that the Church not yield on withholding the Eucharist from divorced and remarried Catholics. I wrote briefly of my own Catholic conversion, which has left me, as a divorced and remarried woman, unable to receive. I mentioned that my husband and I hoped to be granted a decree of nullity. Now we have received word that we are approximately six weeks from the end.At this post-Obergefell moment, and with my annulment in view—and on the eve of the anniversary of Pope Paul VI's great encyclical, Humanae Vitae—I wish to make two proposals to the Church and to my American Catholic brothers and sisters.First, let us embrace Humanae Vitae in word and deed. Second, let us embrace a renewal of celibacy. Continue Reading »
A new Associated Press-Gfk poll, released on July 18, reveals that the Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 decision to make same-sex marriage a constitutional right has not solved the deeper debate in this country, contrary to the media assertion that this is settled “law” and that everybody needs to . . . . Continue Reading »
The aftershocks of Obergefell will reverberate for a very long time, but what happens over the next few years will be critical. Here I speculate on the immediate political fallout and legal trajectory, and sketch the complexity of the necessary response from churches. Politically, Obergefell puts . . . . Continue Reading »
Two days after the Obergefell decision, New York Times columnist Mark Oppenheimer suggested that it is now time to rethink the idea of tax-exempt status for religious institutions: “Rather than try to rescue tax-exempt status for organizations that dissent from settled public policy on matters of . . . . Continue Reading »
A political system, along with such supportive traditions as the rule of law and loyal opposition, is supposed to be a durable fixture on the political landscape and ought not to be changed lightly. It should be amended only when a favorable consensus can be achieved, and if that consensus is not forthcoming, then the constitution remains as it is. Continue Reading »
In the public square, many misuse the word “dignity” by conflating its subjective and objective meanings. Some see it as descriptive of behavior, an idiosyncratic concept that can vary widely across cultures. Thus, when I am on the dance floor, few would say I exhibit dignity. But my herky-jerky . . . . Continue Reading »
Very recently, I was at a conference where Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Gergis, two of the nation’s foremost intellectual champions of marriage, spoke about marriage post-Obergefell (confession: Ryan and Sherif are close friends).Something about their address moved me. I realized that we’re back . . . . Continue Reading »
In Obergefell v. Hodges, Justice Kennedy has penned a decision of historic hubris and stupidity—as both Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia argue in their dissents. The basis of the decision is a claim to special enlightenment (we shall not say “revelation”) about the meaning and . . . . Continue Reading »
How does someone go from giving a TED talk on civil debating to saying, “Will anti-gay Christians be politically and socially ostracized? I sure hope so.”? A lesson in (un)civil discourse.
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