Topics

Mixed Marriages: Breeding Grounds for Religious Indifferentism?

SPIRITUALLY SINGLE PARENTHOOD

John M. Grondelski

Catholic breakdowns of religious barriers followed the breakdowns of ethnic ones, and, in practice, ecclesiastical discipline became much more lenient.

Teaching Sexual Morality to Teens

WHAT ARE OUR SEXUAL FACULTIES FOR?

W. Patrick Cunningham

Genesis teaches that God made us in His own image and likeness. We were designed to be in harmony with ourselves, with each other, and with the natural world.

Will There Be Sex in Heaven?

THE SEVEN-HUSBANDS QUESTION REVISITED

Randall B. Smith

Christ’s answer to the Sadducees does not indulge the misunderstandings that underlie their question but points us back to what is fundamental.

The Second Last Word

LOOKING BEYOND WORLDLY THINGS

Casey Chalk

To die well means to place our physical concerns, however legitimate, within the broader context of the spiritual, which is infinitely more important.

Will There Be Marriage in Heaven?

WHAT GOD HATH JOINED TOGETHER

Michael V. McIntire

Is the bond of unity of man and wife, created by oath in a sacramental marriage, also a spiritual bond that survives mortal death?

For Mature Audiences Only

REVERT'S ROSTRUM

Casey Chalk

America’s conception of sex is downright sophomoric, and its overhaul starts with understanding what sex is and what it is for.

Defending Marriage in the Pope Francis Era

THE DECISIVE BATTLE

Richard A. Spinello

The language and tone of Amoris Laetitia seem to signal a retreat from the notion of exceptionless moral norms and the doctrine of indissolubility.

Lost Identity

Preston R. Simpson

Mary Eberstadt argues that the increase in social pathology in Western society is at least partly due to family dysfunction.

“Love” Conquers All

NEW OXFORD NOTEBOOK

Pieter Vree

What a crazy, mixed-up world we live in where even polygamists claim their lifestyles are part of their 'identity' and who they were created to be.

A Map for the Christian Family-Man

Barbara E. Rose

Instead of frittering away his time, a young man needs to take charge of his livelihood and plan his own family-centered home economy.

Humanae Vitae: A Manual for Better Sex?

REVERT'S ROSTRUM

Casey Chalk

Much popular Catholic literature on NFP is utilitarian, claiming that obeying Church teaching results in a happier, more exciting bedroom experience.

The Sinner's Veto

HAS CANON LAW BECOME A DEAD LETTER?

Jake Neu

Canon law reflects the Church's deliberate wisdom for faithfully carrying out the teachings of her Founder in a way that protects priests, laymen, and the community.

How "Remarried" Catholics Can Validly Receive Communion

GUEST COLUMN

Ines Angeli Murzaku

The regular practice of spiritual communion might be part of their discernment, penance, and preparation for full reintegration into the Church.

Amoris Laetitia: What Is Pope Francis Up To?

THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTNESS OF THE LORD'S YOKE

Anthony Giambrone

When the Apostles, with Spirit-led courage and Christ-like mercy, boldly lifted the full yoke of the law from the disciples' shoulders, they retained sexual morality.

From the Fringes: A Marital Blitz

The growing popularity of polygamy and "self-marriage" shows that the fringes aren't merely encroaching on the center, the fringes are the center.

Pope Francis Streamlines the Annulment Process

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Philip C.L. Gray

Salvation of souls requires us to desire and pursue what is true, not to call true what we desire.

Crossing the Chasm of Faith & Praxis

THE DO-NOTHING CHURCH IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR

Chene Richard Heady

The late-twentieth-century Catholic Church didn't mean ill; she was simply too exhausted to bother her members much.

What the Revolution Has Wrought

INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS & ECONOMIC CRISIS

Tom Bethell

Contraception and the contraceptive mentality have perhaps terminally undermined Western, formerly Christian cultures and nations.

False Mercy & the Integrity of Marriage

Cardinal Burke, the Church's foremost expert on annulment, said the process is "essentially connected with the doctrinal truth" of the Church, and changes should be considered with great care.

The German Question

On the question of how to accommodate second marriages in the Church, most of the key players in the debate, for now, happen to be German bishops and cardinals.

The Radiant Joys of Marital Discipline

GUEST COLUMN

Christopher J. Stravitsch

Husband and wife must pour themselves out for each other in prayer, service, and loving sacrifice. They are called to become "helpmates" in the pursuit of holiness.

Manhood's True Test

ARE TODAY'S MEN DOOMED TO FAIL?

Mitchell Kalpakgian

As marriage has been slowly but surely stripped of its cultural significance, the young men of today have been losing the opportunity to grow fully into mature manhood.

There Goes the Village

Not long after the same-sex marriage battles have begun we are beginning to hear promotion of polygamy, three-parent laws, and even talk of legal incest.

Man-Child in the Promised Land

Video games, superhero movies, and comic-book conventions are marketed to grown men, who comprise a significant portion of consumers of such products.

"Gay Marriage" Is Not Marriage. Here's Why.

AN INVITATION TO INSANITY

Monica Migliorino Miller

The needed healing of our sexual ethic is primarily the work of the Church — a Church that contributed to the moral degeneration of the culture by remaining silent on contraception.

The Wages of Motherhood

Viewed from the perspective of home and community, there's so much value attached to the work of stay-at-home mothers, that we've only just begun to count the cost of losing them to the workplace.

The Future of Marriage in America

Perhaps the Church in America could take a lesson from Mexico, where the government does not recognize ecclesiastical marriages and Catholics must get married .

Natural Family Planning & the New Evangelization

IT'S NOT 'CATHOLIC BIRTH CONTROL'

John F. Kippley

The right kind of NFP course offers a splendid opportunity both for a new Christ-centered evangelization and for teaching the "what" and the "why" of NFP.

Marriage on the Fringes -- For Now

Will the slippery slope lead us to a society that no longer looks askance at a woman who decides to marry herself, her mother, her sister, or the Statue of Liberty?

A Failed Offensive

FALSE DILEMMAS & SPECIAL PLEADING

James F. Csank

Daniel Maguire's "Catholic Defense of Same Sex Marriage" deploys special pleading, rhetoric masquerading as scholarship, authorities misleadingly cited, and logical fallacies.

Blessed Are the Shack-Ups

EXIT SIN

James F. Csank

In justifying cohabitation, these two Catholic "theologians" have abused their positions by undermining Church teaching.

Cohabitation: Ten Facts

GUEST COLUMN

A. Patrick Schneider II

Benedict XVI wrote that among the four "fundamental values" that are "not negotiable," one is "the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman."

The Fruit of Contraception

GUEST COLUMNS

Melissa Scollard

'Pro-women' activists continue to deny the Pill's link to breast cancer, media ignore the Mayo Clinic study, and we all skip along wearing our pink ribbons.

Homosexuality, Contraception & the Defense of Marriage

GUEST COLUMN

Patrick Danielson

Defenders of marriage who also defend contraception speak with an inauthentic voice that unavoidably lacks authority.

Shall We "Privatize" Marriage & Everything Else?

If privatization is a good thing, what's wrong with privatizing marriage, homosexuality, abortion?

Why Are the U.S. Bishops Urging Catholic Couples to Divorce?

FEMINISM RUN AMOK

Sheryl Temaat

Unhappily married adults who divorced were no more likely to report emotional and psychological improvements than those who stayed married.

Inspiration for (Uncommitted) Partners?

Good golly, we've been duped again by relationship politics.

Shacking-Up: A "Divine Imperative"?

HOW TO SIN WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE

Sheryl Temaat

Our goal as Christian parents is to guide our children into the grace of God's love, that they might be with Him for all eternity.

The Catholic Hiroshima

RADIATION SICKNESS IN THE CHURCH

Dermott J. Mullan

Dissent affects spiritual life in a way that is analogous to what happens to biological life in the aftermath of an atomic bomb.

Letter to a Catholic Friend In an Invalid Marriage

THE GRAVE SIN OF ADULTERY

Agnes Martin

A surprising number of couples remarried outside the Church opt to live as brother and sister, so that one or both can receive the sacraments and return to the state of grace.

Berkeley Professor Wants More Catholics to Get Divorced

America magazine is unhappy with Catholic teaching on "remarriage."

The Meaning of Marital Love

Monica Migliorino Miller

Review of Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage in the Light of John Paul II's Anthropology

Unconditional Love — But Not for Your Spouse

When it comes to marriage, liberals throw all that out the window.

The Unbuckled Bible Belt?

Why do the Baptists have the highest rate of divorce?

When the Wedding Bell Rings Marriage's Knell

Invent your own ceremony, write your own vows, and ordain your own minister.

‘Til Annulment Do Us Part?

Nancy E. Smith

Reviews of One Hundred Answers to Your Questions on Annulments... What God Has Joined Together: The Annulment Crisis in America

Preparing Young People for Marital Fidelity

TO DATE OR NOT TO DATE?

Charles E. Moore

The myth of romance takes place in the immediate, the now; what is paramount is the special feeling, not the other person.

The Christian View of Sex

A TIME FOR APOLOGETICS, NOT APOLOGIES

Janet E. Smith

Men and women today are tired of unfaithfulness, tired of shallow and brief relationships. They crave something more meaningful and reliable.

Hallowed or Hollow Marriage?

FRUITFUL OR DESERTED GARDEN?

Annie Moritz

Divorce: The Unnatural Termination of a Story

ON THE INDISSOLUBILITY OF MARRIAGE

Mitchell Kalpakgian

The void created by the absence of stories that exemplify chastity, fidelity, sacrifice, and heroism is occupied by the myths of no-fault divorce, "safe" sex, and same-sex marriage.

When "Open Marriage" Means Openness to Life

GUEST COLUMN

Cecilia McGowan

Out of the Briar Patches of Divorce, Remarriage, and Annulment

HOME AT LAST

James J. Thompson Jr.

In divorcing my first wife I had, I thought, acted dishonorably. To be granted an annulment — to repudiate the existence of our marriage — would compound it.

Gracious Sensibility, Ruthless Self-Examination

Thomas W. Case

Here is a conversion story that talks about how you join the Church seeking a kind of haven and then all hell breaks loose.

Reflections on Marriage After Vatican II

Marshall Fightlin

It is because of this intimate connection between the Eucharist and the remarried person’s prior marriage, that reception of the Eucharist must be refused.

The Pope’s Troubles with America

Robert Coles

Are we only drive-bound or are we at the constant call of drives yet able to be their sovereign: moral and spiritual masters of our particular lives?

Conjugal Intimacy

IN LIGHT OF CREATION, FALL & REDEMPTION

Marshall Fightlin

Sacred Scripture and the mystical tradition in the Church present our redemption by Christ in terms of a husband-wife relationship.