Catholicism, Contraception, and Conscience: Church Imposed Teaching, God’s Gift of Free Will, and Political Rhetoric by Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
ertainly one cannot turn on the news without seeing a story about the feud over the Catholic Church’s stance on... more
ertainly one cannot turn on the news without seeing a story about the feud over the Catholic Church’s stance on forbidding the use of contraception and Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that mandates free contraception to women. In preparing this article, I took the time to review many articles from liberal and conservative news outlets, law professors who are experts on constitutional law, and statements from the USCCB and Bishops. Before asking questions, I want to outline the following points:
*In the literature reviewed, only two women, Sr. Carol Keehan and Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, made a statement against this policy stating that the government is interfering with the working of the Church. Most voices heard and shouting the loudest are members of the clergy.
*Hospitals considered “Catholic” hire people of all faiths and various beliefs. They also treat patients of all faiths. They are not exclusively “Catholic.”
*Catholic identified Colleges hire professors and staff that are not Catholic. Moreover, their student body is not totally Catholic.
*Catholic Charities, once again, hire non-Catholics.
* Insurance plans currently in place often offer contraception prescriptions at a zero to low co-pay price. These plans are in-force at many Catholic Institutions.
*Under HIPAA, healthcare of employees are protected and the Employer, even the Catholic Church cannot violate the privacy of the patient, even if it is an employee.
*Birth Control Pills are often prescribed for women with endometriosis or other “female” reproductive disorders and not birth control.
Women pregnant, carrying a dead baby, cannot have surgery due to risks are given medication to induce abortion are given
“Screening Faith: Catholics on TV”
In: Hermann Josef Schnackertz / Saskia Hertlein (eds.), The Culture of Catholicism in the United States, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter 2012, pp. 213-236. (revised and abbreviated version of: John Andreas Fuchs: “Showing Faith: Catholicism in American TV Series”, Moravian Journal of Literature and Film 2 no.1 (Fall 2010), pp. 79-98.)
According to Colleen McDannell, Catholicism stands above all other religions for the film and TV audience because it... more According to Colleen McDannell, Catholicism stands above all other religions for the film and TV audience because it seems to be the most mystical and the most easily recognizable of all religious creeds; however, it is also the most criticized and suspicious denomination. Since Catholics star on the big screen, as well as on the flat screen in American homes, it is useful to have a close look at the different depictions of Catholicism and their criticism by institutions. Using examples from movies such as Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino as well as TV series such as Ally McBeal, Bones, The West Wing and The Simpsons, this article discusses the fascination with Catholicism on the screen and argues that even depictions seen as negative by the Catholic League do not necessarily harm Catholicism.
Download (.pdf)Jesus+Golgotha+Medici Alter+Mary Queen of Scots..
by Frank Dougan
My visit to the Holy Sepulchre Basilica, Jerusalem, Israel; February 2012
Jesus+Golgotha+Medici Alter+Mary Queen of Scots..
All pictures presented and directed by; Frank... more
Jesus+Golgotha+Medici Alter+Mary Queen of Scots..
All pictures presented and directed by; Frank Dougan...
Jerusalem
He sat on a donkey on palm strewn paths
Cries of delight arose from the mouths
The First born Son of God Christ Jesus.
To the temple he was led
There the money changers the people were bled
He cast them out of the House of His Father
The Sanhedrin were in a rage
Who is this Man to whom multitudes did gather?
He taught a new ideology of the age.
Secret plans they did form to bring Him down
To rob Him of His holy crown
Pilate and the Roman lords were sought
A price of 30 silver coins His friend was bought
At the Garden of Gethsemane from a kiss He was put in chains
Plans to kill Him for their ill-gotten gains
Pilate washed his hands of the affair he could find no crime
The high priest Caiaphas mind was distorted with grime
On His 6th day in Jerusalem they hung Him on a cross
He called to heaven that none of His sheep were lost
His promise to Peter He would return
The start of a new beginning had begun
Jesus is the Messiah the Chosen One.
He cried out loud before He went away
“Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani”?
His dead corps was taken down and in a crypt buried
On the 3rd day from His death His word delivered
The Son of Man rose from the dead at the hand of Rome
In Jerusalem the spark of light was born Jesus was in His holy home.
By Frank J Dougan
Inside the Basilica of The Holy Sepulchre....is Golgotha (Calvery) where Jesus Christ was executed.....
The Holy Sepulchre Basilica also contains the tomb where Jesus lay...and rose from the dead!
At the foot of where The Cross stood stands the Medici Alter...
Mary Queen of Scots name is inside the Medici Alter!
The Medici Alter was commissioned a few months after Mary was martyrd!
The Alter is on the exact spot where Jesus lay after He was taken down from the cross and Held in His Mother Mary's arms!
Catherine de Medici was the mother Francis II of France....Mary was married to him!
The 11th Station - the Latin (Catholic) chapel.
The chapel's striking altar marks the 11th Station, the site at which Jesus was nailed to the Cross. A fine example of Renaissance art, the altar was made in Florence in 1588 and given to the church by Cardinal Medici a few decades later.
Look for the Medici name. Six panels of hammered silver (four in font and one on each side) depict scenes from the Passion.
— in Jerusalem, Israel.
Social Networks and Religion: The Role of Congregational Social Embeddedness in Religious Belief and Practice
Previous literature argues that social networks influence religiosity, but surprisingly, no studies have used national... more Previous literature argues that social networks influence religiosity, but surprisingly, no studies have used national data of a variety of religious traditions to assess the relationship between embeddedness in congregation-based friendship networks and different dimensions of religiosity. This study uses new national data (Baylor Religion Survey 2007) to estimate models of religious activity (church activities and devotional activities) and of religious belief (supernatural beliefs, biblical literalism, and religious exclusivity). Among U.S. Christians, congregational social embeddedness is a robust predictor of all religiosity outcomes and is among the largest effects in models. These effects are not substantially moderated by religious tradition, although Catholic affiliation attenuates the positive relationship between social embeddedness and church activities. These findings strongly suggest that social sanctions and solidarity rewards within congregational social networks play an important role in heightening religiosity. Religious research would be enhanced by devoting greater attention to the importance of congregational social embeddedness.
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Reading the Corinthian Veils through Hijabs and Habits
In: Intercultural Readings of 1-2 Corinthians: Race, Ritual, Food, and Community. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013. Presented at SBL 2009.
In this paper, I use anthropological insight gained from veiling practices in Catholic and Muslim subcultures in the... more
In this paper, I use anthropological insight gained from veiling practices in Catholic and Muslim subcultures in the United States to provide a new interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:1-16.
Please contact me if you would like to read the manuscript submitted to the publisher.
"The Transformation of Ourselves and the World": Politics, Government, Catholics
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has become a spokesman for American bishops on political questions, and his... more Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has become a spokesman for American bishops on political questions, and his 2008 book provides a full account of his position. Archbishop Chaput acknowledges that his book emerges from his personal experiences, and is not an effort to articulate a “grand theory.” This present study attempts to undertake his questions through the lens of political theory. The archbishop’s arguments do not withstand careful analysis on historical or political grounds, but he is quite right to articulate the need for a “grand theory.” Beginning from moral agreement with the archbishop about the political relevance of Catholic faith, this study clarifies the choices Catholics face in American politics in order to chart the way toward a more ambitious theory of Catholic political action.
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Introduzione a "Jacques Maritain e i diritti umani"
Published in D. Lorenzini, "Jacques Maritain e i diritti umani. Fra totalitarismo, antisemitismo e democrazia (1936-1951)", Morcelliana, coll. "Storia", Brescia 2012 (208 p.)
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Seen by:![](http://photos.academia.edu/601901/210755/558599/tiny_pietro.giovannoni.jpg?1329980740 "<strong>Pietro Giovannoni</strong><br/>"Tor Vergata" University of Rome"){kind=small}
Catholicism, Contraception, and Conscience: Church Imposed Teaching, God’s Gift of Free Will, and Political Rhetoric
originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project
Certainly one cannot turn on the news without seeing a story about the feud over the Catholic Church’s stance on... more
Certainly one cannot turn on the news without seeing a story about the feud over the Catholic Church’s stance on forbidding the use of contraception and Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that mandates free contraception to women. In preparing this article, I took the time to review many articles from liberal and conservative news outlets, law professors who are experts on constitutional law, and statements from the USCCB and Bishops. Before asking questions, I want to outline the following points:
In the literature reviewed, only two women, Sr. Carol Keehan and Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, made a statement against this policy stating that the government is interfering with the working of the Church. Most voices heard and shouting the loudest are members of the clergy.
Hospitals considered “Catholic” hire people of all faiths and various beliefs. They also treat patients of all faiths. They are not exclusively “Catholic.”
Catholic identified Colleges hire professors and staff that are not Catholic.
Moreover, their student body is not totally Catholic.
Catholic Charities, once again, hire non-Catholics.
Insurance plans currently in place often offer contraception prescriptions at a zero to low co-pay price. These plans are in-force at many Catholic Institutions.
Under HIPAA, healthcare of employees are protected and the Employer, even the Catholic Church cannot violate the privacy of the patient, even if it is an employee.
Birth Control Pills are often prescribed for women with endometriosis or other “female” reproductive disorders and not birth control.
Women pregnant, carrying a dead baby, cannot have surgery due to risks are given medication to induce abortion are given.
With this background, I want to address the question causing the most controversy:
"'The Jesuits taught me how to think': Catholicism and Jesuit Education on Homicide: Life on the Street"
In Christianity and the Detective, eds. Anya Morlan and Walter Raubicheck. Forthcoming on Cambridge Scholars Press.
On Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1997), the character Frank Pembleton represents one of the ways in which the... more On Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1997), the character Frank Pembleton represents one of the ways in which the show both worked within and challenged the conventional representations of detective work in fiction, film, and television. Frank’s character arc is unique among popular representations of the detective in that, over the course of the series, Frank loses and struggles successfully to regain his faith. For the Catholic Fontana, and fellow products of Jesuit education writer James Yoshimura and actor Andre Braugher, Catholicism and Jesuit training were integral elements of Frank’s character from its inception. The extraordinary coherence of this subtle, respectful representation of faith reflects a striking continuity of vision nurtured by an entire creative team.
"'The Jesuits taught me how to think': Catholicism and Jesuit Education on Homicide: Life on the Street"
In Christianity and the Detective, eds. Anya Morlan and Walter Raubicheck. Forthcoming on Cambridge Scholars Press.
On Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1997), the character Frank Pembleton represents one of the ways in which the... more On Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1997), the character Frank Pembleton represents one of the ways in which the show both worked within and challenged the conventional representations of detective work in fiction, film, and television. Frank’s character arc is unique among popular representations of the detective in that, over the course of the series, Frank loses and struggles successfully to regain his faith. For the Catholic Fontana, and fellow products of Jesuit education writer James Yoshimura and actor Andre Braugher, Catholicism and Jesuit training were integral elements of Frank’s character from its inception. The extraordinary coherence of this subtle, respectful representation of faith reflects a striking continuity of vision nurtured by an entire creative team.
Motherhood: Still Women’s Most Valued Creative Contribution to Society? by Ivy Helman
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project.
I’m expecting…
The stork is delivering as we speak! I hope you can join me in celebrating this joyous... more
I’m expecting…
The stork is delivering as we speak! I hope you can join me in celebrating this joyous news – although you should know, the stork is the United States Postal Service, and I am expecting my first book, not my first baby!
It sounds somewhat crass (even to me whose book this is) to even try and pass off a book in the same way in which women announce they are expecting baby/babies. Sadly, writing books, which is one use of a woman’s creative energy, does not seem to be as valued as a woman’s ability to procreate, another use of a woman’s creative energy. Among the circle of friends I grew up with, children still seem to hold a more cherished place. On facebook.com, my “friends” post weekly updates as to the progress of their babies, pictures of their “baby bumps” and pictures of their newborns. Just through reading comments, the excitement is palpable.
Diminished Quality of Catechesis as a Basis for Limiting the Role of a Catholic Theologian: An Examination of the Controversy Surrounding Elizabeth Johnson’s Book The Quest for the Living God By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
originally published on the Feminism and Religion project.
The biggest mistake people make is to use theology and catechesis interchangeably. This is an important... more The biggest mistake people make is to use theology and catechesis interchangeably. This is an important distinction that impacts the scholarly community of Catholic Theologians. So what is the difference? Catechesis in the Catholic tradition is an “echoing” of the faith. Theology on the other hand, using St. Anselm’s definition, is “faith seeking understanding.” Michael G. Lawler and Todd A. Salzman, in “Beyond Catechesis: What is the Proper Role of Theology”, states that catechesis can be included in theology, but theology is distinguished from catechesis because it “uses scholarly principles not only to communicate the truths of faith but also to explore the meanings of those truths and contemporary ways of articulating them.” Also the theologians’ role is seen as mediator between the magisterium and the faithful. Richard P. McBrien states that the required role of a theologian is to investigate and examine the whole of the Christian tradition; what it means, how it fits, how it is developed, and how it relates to the outside the world in theory and in practice. Ex Corde Ecclesiae also emphasizes community and dialogue, which is not always realized in practice.