Links for 08/08/16 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 08/08/16 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: European nations solve their abortion issues through parliament.  We don't do that.  We deal in the language of rights, which means that unless Congress grants rights to the unborn under it's constitutional powers, they don't exist.  While many pro-lifers would like to use such power to end abortion, it would likely not get further than the first trimester - which is where Europe puts it.  Third trimester abortions are pretty much unheard of - the child is born and allowed to die of whatever defect plagues him or her.  The second trimester is where it gets interesting.  Could we find compromise? Probably.  Will we?  Absolutely not, because the pro-life money and electoral machine won't let us.  They don't want the issue solved on reasonable lines.



The Vice President's counter-witness is welcome, because the hierarchy's position is wrong - contrary to the theology of marriage which states that the couple marries each other (the officiant is merely a witness) and that fecundity is not a requirement for Catholic marriage, only functionality. Marriage forms families.  Gays have the right to do so (would you rather the two staffers sleep around or act in a sexual manner with women that would violate their personhood?). As for the authority questions, if Biden had been a Catholic deacon, there would be a discipline problem - or if he had performed a religious marriage through online ordination.  Civil marriages can be performed by Catholic judges and officials.   That some are gay and some are straight is a detail and that the Bishops oppose to just performing gay ones is BIGOTRY.  They lost the civil debate. They need to grow up about it and celebrate these marriages themselves.



Aside from the deaths of old white people in Georgia, there has been a significant counter-migration of blacks back to the South, especially to Atlanta.  That white youth are no longer conservative Evangelicals is troubling if they are not finding faith in the more liberal Evangelical or Protestant Churches, but the apostacy of the Nones usually only occurs until children are to be raised.  Of course, they may just be a mirror that rejects the ugliness of Trumpism.



Private to MSW.  See E.J.'s WaPo column from Monday.  Juicy stuff on Trump.



Churches should be beautiful because of who is there and whose name they are gathered together in.  The rest are details showing the wealth of donors and should not be too over the top unless the Charities organization is really strong.