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Washington D.C., Apr 5, 2019 / 02:20 pm (CNA).- Students at The Catholic University of America have asked the administration to ban the top 200 pornography websites from its internet system.

 

The call came in a petition and resolution passed by the university’s Student Government Association and signed by its student body president on Monday, April 1.

 

The “Resolution for a Pornography Free Campus Network,”  was sponsored by student Sen. Gerard McNair-Lewis, a junior at the University. It states that the Student Government Association Senate “hereby requests that the University take an outward stance on the use of pornography by prohibiting access to the top 200 pornography sites through the campus network.”

 

“This allows the University to remove itself as a means in accessing such material.”

 

The resolution was passed by a vote of 13 to 12, and signed by SGA President Jimmy Harrington. Student vice president, Weston Kirby, cast the tie-breaking vote.

In a statement issued after he signed the resolution, Harrington said that he did not think that Catholic University of America students had any inherent right to access pornography on the school’s internet.

 

“I am signing the Resolution not from purely religious or Catholic grounds, but because The Catholic University of America can and should exercise its rights to prohibit the use of pornography on the campus network,” said Harrington.

 

One of the resolution’s co-sponsors, Alexandra Kilgore, told CNA that she was surprised to learn action had not already been taken.

 

“I was honestly shocked to learn that such a ban wasn’t already in place. Even my public high school blocked inappropriate content on its wi-fi, so I knew The Catholic University of America could do better,” she said.

 

“As a woman, I thought it was important to be a cosponsor to bring to light that pornography is not just a men’s issue. Not only does the industry exploit and prey upon primarily women and girls, but females can struggle with addition and consumption just as much as males.”

 

Kilgore described the resolution as a positive expression of corporate concern among the student body, not a condemnation.

 

“Our resolution is not intended to shame anyone or to make pornography addiction more isolating than it already is. Rather, it demonstrates the Student Government Association’s commitment to the well-being of the student body and the University’s continued demonstration of the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

 

Harrington rejected the idea that blocking pornography amounted to censorship or a violation of personal freedoms, saying “it is a regulation that the national University of the Catholic Church or any private institution ought to enact.”

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes pornography as a “grave offense.”

It “offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other” and does “grave injury to the dignity of its participants,” the Church teaches.

 

“Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials,” states the Catechism.

 

Harrington pointed out in his statement that many secular organizations ban pornography from their networks, not only out of moral concerns, but also becasue such websites often contain viruses and other malware that can damage machines.

 

“If a secular company can block these sites from their networks and computers, then I am even more convinced that The Catholic University of America ought to be able to and should regulate these sites on its own network,” said Harrington.

 

Cornelius Deep, a member of the student Senate and one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, told CNA that the student body reaction to his resolution was not what he had expected.

 

“Surprisingly, the majority of people I have come across have thanked me for standing with this bill,” Deep said. Others have told him that while they were initially against the resolution, they changed their minds after attending the Senate meeting and hearing arguments against pornography.

 

Deep told CNA that he believes that most men his age recognize that pornography is bad, but continue to consume it due to its addictive nature. Still, he believes that what he and his fellow senators are doing is an important step.

 

“It is important to be the change you want to see in the world and if we want to see pornography, the intrinsic evil of degrading human beings, be eliminated than we must be the ones to start the change,” said Deep.

 

The resolution also enacted a clause requesting that the school provide additional pastoral services through its Counseling Center and Campus Ministry offering assistance to those who exposed to pornography.

 

Kilgore told CNA that many services were already available to students, and that these had a real value.

 

“Campus Ministry offers spiritual direction and/or aid in finding a spiritual director off campus, if that’s the student’s preference,” Kilgore said.

 

“The University Counseling Center also provides 45 free therapy appointments to students and unlimited group therapy appointments if the student would prefer to take a secular route. Just yesterday, Campus Ministry hosted Matt Fradd to speak about the myths surrounding pornography and to offer resources to students struggling [with addiction.”

 

While the resolution has been voted on and signed, it is technically non-binding and there is no guarantee its goals will ever come into fruition.

 

University administrators, though, told CNA that they are grateful with the steps taken by the students on this particular issue and will consider the ban in the future.

 

“It is difficult to ignore the firm stance against pornography made by our student body,” Karna Loyoza, spokesperson for The Catholic University of America, told CNA.

 

When the university last considered banning porn from the network, they found it would have been both expensive and ineffective. Now, due to advances in technology, it is now more affordable to implement this kind of filter, said Loyoza.

 

While students may work around a firewall and continue to access porn, “the student resolution made a convincing argument that banning porn on the University network sends the right message to the student body.”

 

“No decision has been made on the ban, but the University is grateful to the SGA for bringing to our attention their desire that we ban pornography on the University network,” said Loyoza.

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Washington D.C., Apr 5, 2019 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- Mike Pompeo has said the Trump administration is doing its “level best” to prevent foreign aid dollars reaching organizations that perform abortions, and was looking to close “loopholes&… […]

Austin, Texas, Apr 5, 2019 / 12:17 am (CNA).- The state of Texas has banned all prison chaplains from its execution chamber, following a Supreme Court decision that halted the execution of a Buddist man who was denied the presence of his chaplain.

Pat… […]

Nashville, Tenn., Apr 4, 2019 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- As other US states have defunded adoption agencies that won’t place children with same-sex couples, the Tennessee House on Monday passed a bill meant to ensure these agencies’ religious freedom.

HB 836 was passed in the lower house of the state legislature April 1 by a 67-22 vote.

The bill would grant legal protections to adoption organizations which uphold marriage as a union between a man and woman and provides its services accordingly.

It is sponsored by Rep. Tim Rudd and five other Republicans.

The bill now faces the GOP-controlled Senate. Governor Bill Lee, also a Republican, has not yet given his position on the bill.  

The measure protects religious agencies from being subjected to lawsuits for not placing children with same-sex couples. It also states that the department of children’s services cannot withhold a license from agencies that do so.

“No private licensed child-placing agency shall be required to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any placement of a child for foster care or adoption when the proposed placement would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies,” the bill states.

Although religious adoption agencies in Tennessee have not been prevented from acting out of their moral convictions, the bill comes at a time when Catholic agencies in other states have been shut down or denied access to funding.  

Rudd said the bill is comparable to cautionary steps taken by Kansas and Oklahoma, who passed similar laws last year.

“We’re doing the same as nine other states have done,” said Rudd of Murfreesboro, according to the AP. “Throughout the country, these faith-based organizations have been sued to the point they’re being driven out of business due to costs.”

Critics of the bill have said the legislation would be used to permit LGBT discrimination. According to the AP, Democratic Rep. John Clemmons questioned the practicality of religious agencies turning away same-sex couples.

“We have children across this state looking for loving homes, why are we doing anything to prohibit a loving family or a couple from being able to care of a child and take it in and provide for it, why?” said Clemmons.

Laws barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or barring state funding from adoption agencies considered discriminatory have shut down Catholic adoption agencies in Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and Illinois, among others.

Last month, it was announced that Michigan state funds would be barred from adoption agencies for the same reason. It followed a settlement headed by the ACLU and same-sex couples against two Christian adoption agencies. The lawsuit ruled that non-discrimination provisions must be enforced within state contracts.

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Washington D.C., Apr 4, 2019 / 03:01 pm (CNA).- Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against a pro-life group that conducted undercover investigations into possible lawbreaking in the abortion industry may proceed, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined t… […]

Washington D.C., Apr 4, 2019 / 11:40 am (CNA).- Archbishop Wilton Gregory made an uncompromising commitment to transparency during his introduction to the faithful of Washington, DC, at a press conference Thursday.

 

“First of all, I believe that the only way I can serve this local archdiocese is by telling you the truth,” said Gregory at his formal introduction as the next Archbishop of Washington on April 4.

 

Gregory’s appointment, which was first reported by CNA last week, was officially announced by the Vatican on Thursday.

 

The new archbishop pledged to be transparent and open in all matters, even when that means that he may admit that sometimes he is not entirely sure of something.

 

“Transparency includes sharing what you do know, and it also acknowledges that ‘that’s not something that I’m sure of’ or ‘I simply don’t know,’” he said. But, Gregory noted, “I will always tell you the truth as I understand it.”

 

Greogry’s pledge comes as the archdiocese is still reeling from the recent laicization of its former leader, Theodore McCarrick. McCarrick was removed from the clerical state in February after being found guilty of numerous grave offenses, including the sexual abuse of minors and adults. McCarrick led the archdiocese from 2000 until 2006.

 

McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals in July 2018 after allegations of sexual abuse of minors became public. Since then, it was revealed that multiple dioceses had paid settlements to men alleging sexual misconduct by McCarrick while they were studying in seminaries.

 

None of McCarrick’s abuse allegations date from his time in Washington.

 

The revelations about McCarrick’s conduct prompted questions about what his successor in Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, knew about the allegations and what, if anything, he did in response. Over the last months of his tenure in Washington, following CNA reports that he first heard allegations against McCarrick in 2004, Wuerl subsequently had to clarify what he knew, when he knew it, and when he, apparently, forgot it.

 

Wuerl’s resignation was accepted by the Vatican in October 2018. Since then, he has served as the apostolic administrator of the archdiocese. He was present Thursday at the press conference, and introduced Gregory as someone with exemplary pastoral abilities, intellectual gifts, and leadership skills.

 

In response to a question from the Washington Post, Gregory praised Wuerl, but also acknowledged that his predecessor had made mistakes, for which he has atoned.

 

“I know [Wuerl] is a gentleman, he works very hard for the Church, he acknowledges he’s made mistakes,” said Gregory.

 

“That’s a sign of the integrity of the man.”

 

Gregory said that if a situation ever arises where he would have to account for a mistake made by Wuerl, he would do that. The archbishop decried a culture of clericalism that resulted in what he called a “circling of the wagons” to protect members of the clergy and prevent accountability by bishops.

 

“I think this moment has shown the folly of that approach to episcopal governance and episcopal collegiality,” said Gregory.

 

Gregory also spoke about his time leading the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2001 until 2004, at the beginning of the sexual abuse crisis in the American Church. He said that during his time as president of the USCCB he was able to meet with Pope St. John Paul II, and he informed him about the extent of the crisis in the United States.

 

“[The Pope] looked at me and says ‘are you sure?’,” Gregory recounted. “I said ‘Holy Father, I am sure, and there is more.'”

 

It was this experience, Gregory explained, that will set the tone for his time again leading an institution grappling with a serious crisis.

 

“I walked away from my time as president knowing this one thing: that I told them the truth as best as I could. And that’s what I will do with the Archdiocese of Washington.”

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Washington D.C., Apr 4, 2019 / 06:13 am (CNA).- Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s appointment Thursday as Archbishop of Washington marks a significant moment for the Archdiocese of Washington. It is also a milestone in the history of African-American C… […]

Stillwater, Oklahoma, Apr 4, 2019 / 12:28 am (CNA).- When a film crew arrived in the small college town of Stillwater, Oklahoma last spring, few residents realized exactly what kind of movie the crew was making.

The film, which residents soon learned was called “Redeemed,” was rather vaguely described as being “based on a true story of a woman’s journey and God’s redeeming love and forgiveness,” according to local media.

The most tightly-controlled and top secret film set in the town, however, offered some clues about the film’s subject matter. The film crew transformed a nondescript building on the edge of downtown into a replica of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

Father Brian O’Brien, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Stillwater, told CNA that he noticed some changes in his congregation after the filming of “Redeemed” began.

“I started to notice a few more people at Sunday Mass, just some people I hadn’t seen before, and they were there all the time, coming to daily Mass,” he said.

“And so eventually I connected with them, and they told me they were in town for the movie. Some of them were in the movie, some of them were the producers, writers.”

What Fr. O’Brien already knew was that the film known as “Redeemed” was actually “Unplanned,” the true story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who eventually converted to Catholicism and became a leader in the pro-life movement.

Bishop David Konderla of the Diocese of Tulsa had called O’Brien last March to tell him that “Unplanned” was coming to Stillwater, and personally asked him to give any “spiritual support” that he could.

The filmmakers kept the film’s true subject matter— abortion— under wraps during filming, to allay any potential pro-abortion protests during the film’s production.

Did the people of Stillwater realize it was a pro-life movie?

“There was a general sense that that’s what it was. People did not know the full extent,” O’Brien said.

Although not everyone who worked on “Unplanned” was Catholic, O’Brien said he met one day with the group who had been coming to his parish, and they asked him not only if he would like to visit and bless the movie set, but also to celebrate Mass there. He agreed to all of it.

“And so what ended up happening over the course of April and May, spring of 2018, I would go over super early in the morning before they started filming for the day and celebrate Mass on the set,” he said.

“It was early, and the goal was to have Mass before what was typically a 12- or 14- hour filming session.”

He said the other thing he did was a simple blessing of each set every time the film crew moved to different locations around Stillwater.

The directors of “Unplanned” have been open about the fact that several bizarre incidents took place during filming involving cast and crew, including a near-death experience involving the film’s lead actress, Ashley Bratcher.

“What was interesting is that the cast and crew, all throughout filming, reported kind of strange happenings,” O’Brien said.

“The goal was to offer God’s blessings upon this project and see if we could prevent some of that.”

Though the time O’Brien spent on-site was not very long, he said he enjoyed sitting on the set while the crew was filming scenes for the movie, and to support two of the film’s co-directors, Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, both Catholics.

“It was on the set where I met lots of the other pastors of other churches, so I think they put out a call to any church that was sympathetic to the pro-life cause and said, ‘come,’” O’Brien said.

The broader population, meanwhile, was told little about the movie until later in production.

“We only announced it here to our people at church when they needed extras for what I think is the final scene, kind of an aerial shot of a bunch of people at the park,” the priest said.

“They needed extras for that, so we invited all of our people to go, and a lot of people did.”

Now that “Unplanned” is out in theaters, O’Brien said his parish is doing a lot of promotion for the film. They have already bought out two theaters and expect about 200 people to come to see the movie all together.

Sheryl Lacy, operations manager for St. Francis Xavier Parish, told CNA that she helped to encourage people to come and be extras in the film, even those from communities outside Stillwater.

“It was exciting being able to say it was happening in my hometown, but it was quiet, no one talked about it because not a lot of people knew about it,” she said.

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Motherwell, Scotland, Apr 3, 2019 / 05:43 pm (CNA).- The funeral Mass is an important moment of prayer and faith after the death of a loved one – but it is not the appropriate time for eulogies, which are better suited for the funeral reception, said B… […]

Chicago, Ill., Apr 3, 2019 / 04:17 pm (CNA).- A new survey by the University of Chicago has left researchers speculating about why American adults are having less sex than in years past.

Data from the 2018 General Social Survey found that 23% of American adults had not had sex in the past year, an all-time high.

Broken down by age, the survey found that young people were largely driving the decrease in sex. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were more than twice as likely to report not having sex in the past year than were those in their 30s or 40s.

While fewer than 10% of 18-29 year olds reported no sex in 2008, that share had risen to 23% one decade later.

Dr. Jean Twenge, author of “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood,” suggested several factors that may be playing a role in the decline in sexual activity.

She told the Washington Post that fewer people in their 20s have a live-in partner than in past generations. She pointed to declines in labor force participation among young men, which has been tied to a decrease in stable relationships.

Technology may also be a factor, said Twenge, who is a psychology professor at San Diego State University. The rise of social media and streaming video mean there are screens frequently competing for people’s attention, which was not the case in previous generations.

Dr. Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, agreed that “screen culture” is at least partly responsible for the decline in sex among millennials.

“Young Americans are spending lots of time binging on Netflix, playing video games, and traversing social media. These things tend to reduce opportunities for socializing… and having sex in real life,” he told CNA.

He also stressed the importance of marriage in understanding the survey results.

“The sex recession is driven to a large degree by declines in marriage—especially among young adults. Very few married Americans don’t have sex, and quite a few unmarried Americans don’t have sex,” he said.

An article by the Institute for Family Studies last November noted, “Today, there are fewer Americans married, and more Americans single, than at any point in at least the past 140 years.”

A decline in marriage rates is correlated with a decline in the frequency of sexual activity among adults age 25-34, the article said. Unmarried adults in that category are far more likely to say they have had not sex at all in the past year than are their married peers.

Experts have further suggested widespread anxiety and depression, environmental hormone disrupters, and concerns over sexual misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo movement as possible factors in the decline in sexual activity.

The General Social Survey also found a significant gender disparity in results reported by young people. In 2008, the numbers of men and women ages 18-30 who had gone a year without sex both hovered around 10%. In 2018, 18% of women in this age group said they had not had sex in the past year, compared to 28% of men.

In her comments to the Washington Post, Twenge noted that more young men than women are living with their parents.

Pornography could also be playing a role. Pornhub, the most-visited pornography site in the U.S., has seen its daily visits triple from 2012 to 2017.

In a series of studies examining pornography use, “The Social Costs of Pornography: A Collection of Papers” published by the Witherspoon Institute, researchers found that those who viewed pornography became less satisfied with their sex lives, and that viewing porn just once can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction toward a human partner.

According to a 2012 article in Psychology Today by clinical psychologist Tyger Latham, Psy.D, erectile dysfunction, once considered an issue plaguing old men, is arising more in young men who rely heavily on pornography to become sexually aroused. A study by the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine surveyed 28,000 men on their internet porn habits, and found that porn use over time led to a lower sex drive and an eventual inability to become aroused at all.

Pornography could also be contributing to the continuing decline in marriage rates.

Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and a Catholic who has studied religion and sexual behavior, cautioned against assuming that correlation equals causation in such studies – but said that pornography use is likely part of a more complex reason for dropping marriage rates.

“We know that both things are occurring, but it’s difficult to establish a causal connection,” he told CNA in a 2015 e-mail interview. “A variety of things are contributing to the declining marriage rate.”

“I don’t think porn use necessarily causes that, but contributes to it (together with diminished earnings power, diminished confidence, etc.),” he added. “To be sure, porn use doesn’t help build confidence in men, something that’s pretty necessary (but not sufficient) to be considered marriageable. So I’d say porn use is a suspect here, but connecting the dots is hardly straightforward.”
 
 

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