Bad Arguments

  Prolifers and pro-choicers occasionally attempt to fortify their arguments by invoking older moral disputes. Prolifers echo Vietnam-era anti-war protests when they call pro-choicers “baby killers.” Calling pro-choicers “eugenicists” insinuates a similarity to Nazis and...
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insult and compliment

In Praise of Dishonesty

  For several years, I was represented in Congress by a man whom I admired. He worked hard, listened to a diverse group of constituents, and, at least in my own neighborhood, did much good. He consistently advocated for the pro-life movement. But then came a scandal: He had...
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Vanity and the Gospel of Life

Abortion is the sacrament of those suffering the futility of self-deceit—a condition that tinges much of the world. Mothers and fathers vainly pretend they are not parents to the unborn child. Clinicians pretend they are delivering health by dealing death. The community pretends...
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Toward All Truth

  With hope and fear, the United States awaits an imminent ruling from the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Last month’s unprecedented leak of a draft ruling seemed to indicate that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, thereby removing a major...
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Witness to Life

  “What are we, chopped liver?” Thus, I imagine the indignation of his fellow apostles when Thomas refuses to believe their claim that “We have seen the Lord.” Why does Thomas not believe them? And how should they respond to his unbelief? This is the second time I am writing...
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The Burning Bush

  It’s hard for the pro-life movement to meet the high standard the world sets for it. Pro-choicers and even agnostic bystanders, irritated by the social and political conflict, are tempted to use any reason they can find to dismiss us as crackpots and cranks. We are...
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Put Out into the Deep!

“Put out into the deep: duc in altum!” Barely a generation ago, Saint John Paul II repeatedly invoked this Gospel imperative to prepare the worldwide Church for the third millennium. Now, suddenly, these words take on new meaning for prolifers, who are facing a new era in our...
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Rejoice!

In the Roman liturgical calendar, this is Gaudete Sunday, “Rejoice Sunday,” a break in the (formerly) stark fasting and penance of the Advent season in favor of a little anticipatory celebration of Christmas. If, like members of monastic orders, you’ve been steeped in self-denial...
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Pro-Life Together

At its core, the pro-life movement is about extending the protection of the law to unborn children. But prolifers should still care about winning over the hearts and minds of those who don’t share this commitment, not least because broad sympathy for the pro-life cause will help...
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Photo 203072680 / Pharisees © Jozef Sedmak | Dreamstime.com

Doing Good Well

But Jesus grew angry, responding to them as if to say, “Really? These people are full of anger, lust, greed, distrust; they’re dying, spiritually dying, in all their interior sins, and you’re upset by how they wash their hands?”
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