October 12, 2009
October 12, 2009
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Montana Supreme Court Hands Parental Rights of Woman

Today at CatholicExchange.com I came across this sad story, in which a woman who had left the lesbian lifestyle to marry and raise her children was forced to relinquish custody of her adopted children to her former lover. At every level, this makes no sense — the woman who was granted sole custody was not the legal parent of the children.  Nor was it in the children’s best interest, as they have now been denied not only their mother but their best chance to have a father as well. Please pray for this family. These poor kids are going to need all the prayers they […]
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October 10, 2009
October 10, 2009
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NYTimes: “Abortion Foes Tell Their Journey to the Streets”

Today I came across “Abortion Foes Tell Their Journey to the Streets,” a remarkable article in the New York Times by Damien Cave, which (though not entirely sympathetic to the pro-life cause, as the title suggests) nevertheless provided a truly useful and balanced account of those who consider themselves pro-life. Far more balanced than I would have thought possible in the New York Times, frankly. The commentary is predictably negative: (a) denial (no such thing as absolute truth), (b) demonize (those with religious convictions just want to oppress women), (c) distraction (why aren’t pro-lifers doing more to help children already born?). However, there was one response that […]
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October 2, 2009
October 2, 2009
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Weekend Ponderings: Pope says children of divorce and cohabitation “the new orphans”

In this recent interview on CNS, Pope Benedict is quoted during a meeting with Brazilian bishops. He said as divorces increase and cohabitation is on the rise, the children in these situations are “deprived of their parents’ support and become victims of malaise and abandonment, thus spreading social disorder.” Children need concrete fixed points of reference such as having one set of parents who will always be united as a family, the pope said. He said divorce is sabotaging the traditional sense of an extended family by creating too many “parents,” such as stepmothers and stepfathers. I can’t help but wonder whether this “too many parents” […]
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September 27, 2009
September 27, 2009
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Miracle Mondays: “The Fiery Gift”

Today on Sarah’s FB page was a link to this article in America magazine that compares childbirth and prayer. One paragraph in particular caught my attention: “All the adorable clothes for infants, jokes about pickles and ice cream, and debates about appropriate names for children occupy the expectant woman’s mind like sitting-room company sharing a pleasant tea—until labor begins. In a flash, your visitors leave, their cooling teacups half-empty. Alone, or with a trusted companion, you may wait out the beginning contractions by reading a book or watching a movie, but you know as you have never known in your life what the main event […]
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September 20, 2009
September 20, 2009
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Weekend Ponderings: Doing Unto My Political Other

This weekend I was directed to a wonderful article by John Mark Reynolds entitled “Doing Unto My Political Other: 7 Suggestions for Christians in the Public Square.” The article reminded me of a couple of recent exchanges I’d had with a couple of “open records advocates,” who (though they did not bring up any new information to me, and the conversation ended without either of us substantially changing our positions on the subject) did a good job of following these principles. Thanks, David and Mei-Ling. I’d like to include a brief snippet of the article here: Some research suggests that Americans share many common values, […]
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September 13, 2009
September 13, 2009
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Miracle Monday: Between the Dreaming and the Coming True

Yesterday I opened a comment from a reader, Mei-Ling (who if memory serves is an adult adoptee, can’t remember from which country), who writes: Since you didn’t allow commentary on the other post, and I’m just too lazy to e-mail you, here goes: “Should we adoptive parents just go away quietly to lick our wounds, and wait for our child to make up his mind about who is “real” parents are?” Why can’t both sets be real in their own ways, -beyond- the birth roles (for biological parents)?” “Why can’t …”  Like so many questions where families are concerned, there is always the dreaming, and the coming true […]
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September 11, 2009
September 11, 2009
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Today at “Mommy Monsters”: *sigh*

Every once in a while I notice some incoming activity or link from a site that — to put it mildly — doesn’t think much about EMN, or the National Council for Adoption, or anyone who believes that there could be circumstances when a birth mother ought to have a say in whether she wants to be reunited with her child decades after placing him or her for adoption. Usually, I just ignore these links, and I don’t bother to read them. My blog, my rules — their blog, their rules, and I’m pretty sure we’re both set enough in our positions that there isn’t much […]
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September 11, 2009
September 11, 2009
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Weekend Ponderings: A Girl Named Sara and 9/11

Last night I saw the WE program “9-11 Millionaire Widows.”  It describes the lives of several families of 9-11 victims, 3000 of whom received nearly $7 billion in compensation since their loved ones were killed in the Twin Towers attack. Ironically, the image WE used on their website is not, technically, of a widow. Lisa Goldberg was a “partner” to Martin McWilliams, a fireman who was crushed in the North Tower when their daughter Sara was an infant. The couple was not married, McWilliams left no will — and his parents contested her right to accept the money on their granddaughter’s behalf. Granted, Lisa was the mother of their grandchild — but at the […]
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