Contraception and related Archives

IP#332 Terry Polakovic – Life and Love on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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What a joy to speak with Terry Polakovic about “Life and Love: Opening Your Heart To God’s Design.” Personally, it was an honor and a blessing to talk with the co-founder of “Endow” (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) which is an organization I have greatly admired for many years. This is her first book and she approaches her subject with joy, fascination, and love, especially for the teachings of inspiring pontiffs of the Church like Pope Leo XIII, Bl. Pope Paul VI, and St. John Paul II. This is a must-have book for anyone who wishes to be touched by wisdom and encouraged in “life and love.”

You can find the book here

From the book description:

In Life and Love: Opening Your Heart to God’s Design, Terry Polakovic takes us on a fascinating tour of eight Church documents, spanning nearly 140 years, that pertain to human life and love:

Arcanum Divinae (On Christian Marriage), by Pope Leo XIII, 1880

Casti Connubii (Of Chaste Wedlock), by Pope Pius XI, 1930

Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life), by Pope Paul VI, 1968

Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), by Pope John Paul II, 1981

Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women), by John Paul II, 1988

Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), by John Paul II, 1995

Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), by Pope Benedict XVI, 2005

Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), by Pope Francis, 2016

Whether you’ve read these documents before or are discovering them for the first time, Life and Love will help you understand how the Church consistently and fearlessly offers the only true response to the battles of our time.

USCCA39 – The 6th Commandment: Marital Fidelity Part 2 – U. S. Catholic Catechism for Adults w/ Arch. George Lucas

USCCA39 Chapter 30 – Marital Fidelity pt 2

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Archbishop Lucas offers insights on the US Catholic Catechism for Adults Chapter 30:

THREATS TO MARRIAGE The Catechism lists the following behaviors as acts that undermine the purpose and dignity of marriage.

Adultery is gravely sinful because it violates God’s call to a loving covenant of fidelity between a married man and woman. The act of adultery is an injustice to the wounded spouse. It weakens the institution of marriage and the stability of the family.

Divorce is contrary to the natural law for it breaks the promise “to which the spouses freely consented to live with each other till death” (CCC, no. 2384). Jesus clearly taught that God’s original plan for marriage excluded divorce (cf. Mt 5:31-32, 9:3-9; Mk 10:9; Lk 16:18; 1 Cor 7:10-11). Marriage is an indissoluble union. Jesus removed the accommodations for divorce that had been tolerated under the Old Law.

The couple may be allowed a separation in certain cases, such as when adultery is occurring or some type of abuse is present. A separation can be, at times, a prudent action to take. “If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense” (CCC, no. 2383). In such cases, a Catholic can still receive the Sacraments.

Cohabitation (an unmarried couple living together) involves the serious sin of fornication. It does not conform to God’s plan for marriage and is always wrong and objectively sinful. Cohabitation does not guarantee successful married life, as has been revealed in the painful experience of many, and is detrimental to future commitment.

Polygamy (having more than one spouse at a time) violates the understanding of the equal dignity that a man and woman bring to marriage and contradicts the unitive purpose of marriage.

Attempts to justify same-sex unions or relationships or to give them matrimonial status also contradict God’s plan—as revealed from the beginning both in nature and in Revelation—for marriage to be a lifelong union of a man and a woman.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (2012-04-02). United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (Kindle Locations 5936-5951). United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Kindle Edition.

The Most Reverend George J. Lucas leads the Archdiocese of Omaha.

For other episodes in the visit our Archbishop George Lucas page

This programs is based on:

More information can be found here.

We wish to thank the USCCB for the permissions granted for use of relevant material used in this series.

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IP#249 Simcha Fisher – The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

What a delight to talk with Simcha Fisher! She is one of the most intriguing, engaging, and truly authentic Catholic writers out there today. Her blogging for the National Catholic Register is a stand out for their online features, and her Patheos blog “I Have to Sit Down” is one of my all-time favorites (I highly encourage bookmarking it). It’s a joy to be able to heartily recommend “The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning“! Far from being just a critical examination of the topic, this book reads more like a conversation with a good friend at a coffee house. All issues on are the table and thoughtfully discussed. Wherever you find yourself on the subject, respect and encouragement is the order of the day. Challenges are acknowledged and addressed by Simcha, who delivers time tested wisdom that is only garnered from a lived faith and years of experience. Everyone should be reading this book, not just young married couples, but also priest, deacons, religious, and couples engaged in the conversations that shape our culture today.

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You can find the book here

Simcha speaks … with honesty along with the wit and wisdom that always make her teachings so memorable and helpful. She summons all of us to trust, mutual patience and kindness, and to a joyful honesty about NFP. —Msgr. Charles Pope, Pastor of Holy Comforter – St. Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC

Before The Sinner s Guide to NFP, the only way you could get this kind of candor on the subject of Natural Family Planning was in private conversations with your best friend. Simcha has taken all the things we think about NFP but feel like we can t say, brought them into the light, and addressed them with insight and razor-sharp wit. You ll laugh, you ll nod your head in recognition, and you ll ultimately walk away inspired by the kind of encouragement that only someone else in the trenches can offer. —Jennifer Fulwiler of Conversion Diary

IP#146 Mary Eberstadt – Adam and Eve After the Pill on Inside the Pages

Mary Eberstadt is one of the brightest lights we have voicing the intelligent response to the arguments brought forward by women who advocate the “contraceptive” mentality, especially those which come from women who claim the Catholic mantle. Her book, “Adam and Eve after the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution” is outstanding! In her incredibly fluent writing style, Mary chronicles the damage done to women, men and children as a result of the “sexual revolution” and the paradoxes of our promiscuous behavior. She is wonderful to listen to as she calmly fillets, like an intellectual ninja, the viewpoint of the sexual secular left. In our conversation, she also discusses the challenges to religious liberty that we face in this country. A “don’t miss” book and discussion.

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You can find Mary’s book here

Mary Eberstadt is our premier analyst of American cultural foibles and follies, with a keen eye for oddities that illuminate just how strange the country’s moral culture has become. —George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Be sure to check out Mary’s “Inside the Pages” interview for “The Loser Letters”