Mom's Night In & Catholic Reading Wednesday

Here's a friendly reminder that Mom's-Night-In is on THURSDAY, September 11th

We will get together for a stress-free evening, enjoy feminine fellowship, maybe play a game or two, and pray for PEACE.
I would rather not publish the hostesses address, so please email me at saintagnesfamilies [at] gmail.com if you plan to come. Please bring a snack or drink to share!

 We will kick it off at 7:00 pm.

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With many thanks to our wonderful and insightful curator, Karen Celano, you can explore faith-related news topics each Wednesday! Karen writes this week in Catholic news:

• In The Week, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry debunks the idea that Christianity will change its ideas on same-sex marriage. The usual argument is that Christianity's teachings have changed on many biblical proscriptions (such as the laws concerning the stoning of witches or the eating of pork) - so why is the teaching on homosexuality any different? But sexuality, Gobry maintains, belongs in a different category of moral teaching, and the ethics governing it have remained “surprisingly consistent” over the last 2,000 years – to such an extent that the Christian understanding of sexuality is fundamentally connected to Christian identity.
• The American Conservative reports on the decision of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City to allow gay groups to march in the 2015 parade, and on the decision of Cardinal Timothy Dolan to retain his position as grand marshal for the parade. He raised the ire of some when he said of the decision to let gay groups march: “I have no trouble with the decision at all. I think the decision is a wise one.”
• The National Catholic Register reports that the cause for the canonization of Fulton J. Sheen has been suspended indefinitely, to the chagrin of Sheen’s most ardent devotees.

• Reuters News Service reports that the ruling Socialist Party of Venezuela has changed the words of the Lord’s Prayer into an “ode to its beloved late leader Hugo Chavez.” The change has been condemned as idolatrous by Venezuelan leaders.
• The Atlantic reports that The Boston Globe is launching a new website specifically devoted to coverage of the Catholic Church.
• Richard Dawkins caused a firestorm last week when he suggested in a Tweet to a pregnant woman that it would be immoral not to abort a baby if the mother knew it had Down’s Syndrome. Many people with Down’s Syndrome and their parents condemned his remarks, but Dawkins dismissed their criticisms by calling their viewpoint “an emotional one, not a logical one.”
• For the historically and theologically inclined, this piece from the York Aquinas Reading Group in the U.K. provides a nice explanation of Thomas Aquinas’ method in his writing of the Summa Theologica. Of particular interest is the observation that the medieval scholastics displayed a high level of “intellectual honesty” in that they were “obliged to justify [their arguments] in the light of the strongest possible objections.” In other words, they were required to make the best possible case against their own position, and then argue against it – forcing them to treat their intellectual opponents with a great deal of respect. Perhaps in today’s contentious political and cultural climate we could learn from their example!