Strollerderby : Catholicism

Earn Cash: Give the Kid a Normal Name

JeanneSager — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:30:00 GMT

A Croatian priest is putting up cash for parents who opt out of the wild baby naming trend and decide to go with something more traditional.

So we take it Bronx Mowgli and Pilot Inspektor are out?

Father Petar Mikic has put up the Croatian equivalent of $174 for every parent who walks into his church for a baptism with a "normal" name. He's even put together a list of suggestions, including Ante (remember, this is Croatia), Petar, Ana and Marija.

"Anything suspicious is out of the question," Father Petar Mikic told the daily Jutarnji List. "We have to prevent Croatia from becoming diluted and disappearing since it is through names that one can know to which nation he belongs. Our ancestors are being honoured by giving children national names."

I'm one of those "not common, but not strange" baby namers, myself. We didn't want every child on the playground turning her head when we called our daughter's name, but we didn't want her to end up in a class of fifteen Brittneys either. And since we all know money talks, I'd say the good friar's on to something. Although as a Catholic, I bet a teeny part of Father Petar's plan is to get parents in the door who have a saint's name lined up to make baptism easier (Catholic kids traditionally bear the moniker of a patron saint, which is why there used to be a lot of Marys and Josephs running around whose parents used their middle names to reference them).

Of course, Father Petar suggests parents name the baby after a saint . . . or a grandparent.

So you've got to wonder what's he going to say if Grandma's real name is Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa?

Image: FabFinance

Vatican Issues Advice: Have Babies! Unless You're Infertile!

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:57:00 GMT

So, a group of celibate male senior citizens has come out with a list of rules that women who want to have sex and/or children should follow. Not shockingly, those rules are at odds with almost all the women's actual normal practices, as well as how they live their most intimate life choices. I'm speaking, of course, of the Vatican, which just issued a sweeping pronouncement on sex and reproduction, including reiterating the church's longstanding opposition to contraception and advanced reproductive technologies -- in other words, we want you to have lots of babies! Unless, of course, it's hard for you to have babies, in which case, don't seek medical help!

I guess the priests' line of thinking is that both contraception and IVF are in essense "playing God," because each is an instance of human beings stepping in to make choices -- for sperm and egg to meet, or not -- that until fairly recently have not been choices left up to human beings to make. And yet, what's a more egregious example of paying God than to reach into someone else's life, home, and marriage and tell them how to live?

If their real motivation is to nurture and grow a loving family of Catholics, I'm afraid they're pretty much messing that up. What better gift can you give your IVF child than to choose a religion to raise her in that doesn't denounce her very existence?

I'm not a Catholic, but I have friends who are. Some are bound to the church by generations of tradition and habit, while others have sought the more liberal aspects of a faith that has at times led the fight for social justice. But for the women I know, Catholic and not, who have struggled with infertility or any other aspect of their reproductive lives as women, the pronouncements of this group of old men sound anything but wise, moral, or holy.

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Photo: Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press

Catholic High School Kicks out Catholicism

JeanneSager — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:32:00 GMT

If you're paying to send your teenager to Catholic school, what do you do when the school decides to go "un-Catholic?" Parents of students at the Northern Virginia Notre Dame Academy have been notified that the private school will cease following the rules of the Arlington County archdiocese in an effort to make the school more financially viable.

But parents who paid tuition so their kids could go to Catholic school are mad - and not just the Catholic ones.

The changes won't go into affect this year, so parents will have the opportunity to yank their kids before they go into ~~affect~~ effect. Still, some parents on both sides of the religious fence say they've been sold a bill of goods. They enrolled their kids thinking they would be sending them to a Catholic school for their entire high school careers.

I wonder how much weight the school board's supposition that it will fare better without the weight of diocesan rules really holds. If half the student body is already non-Catholic, it wouldn't seem their papal patronage is really putting that much of a hurting on the ability to attract tution-paying parents. The fact that there are non-Catholic parents decrying the change would seem to support that school of thought.

Private schools are private businesses. Their bottom line is to stay open - and they can't depend on taxes to do it. So should parents just be thankful the school is still there?

Image: Washington Post

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Make Your Own Religious Doll

Brett Singer — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Doll Creation Station allows people of all religious persuasions to make dolls featuring the accoutrements of their faith. To be fair, the site only offers Christian, Jewish and Muslim dolls, but the company suggests that you "Check back with us as we expand into other religious and ethnic markets."

The best seller at the moment is "Set 3J", which is the Jewish doll.

The set comes with "a Jewish themed t-shirt and matching denim skirt, socks and shoes," as well as a "matching Magen David bracelet set for you and your doll as well as a silver plated matching Magen David necklace set for you and your doll!" But wait! There's more! "Dress your doll in a satin white and gold trim Queen Esther costume with gold crown and sceptre, and play Shabbat with a 10 piece wooden toy Shabbat Set that includes challah, wine, and candles."

Maybe it's just me but "Let's play Shabbat" doesn't really have the same appeal as "Let's play house." But again, maybe that's just me.

Also, if I were a more observant Jew, I wonder if I might be slightly offended by the idea of "playing" a religious ritual. Do Catholic children "play communion"? Also, is it fair to lump all of Christianity together? And what exactly does a "butterfly hooded sweatshirt" have to do with being Christian? (The Muslim doll sets include a "2 piece Hijab", which is more specific to the doll I suppose.) Will the atheist doll come with a copy of "The God Delusion"? (I'll go out on a limb here and say that I don't think they will ever make an atheist doll. Although it would be funny if they did.)

The idea of dolls that better reflect the way the world actually looks is not a new one and it is important. But I always thought the point was more physical than spiritual – that is, all dolls shouldn't have blonde hair and white skin. The company does plan to expand to include other ethnicities, and offers a choice of hair color and type, so part of the pitch is definitely "a doll that looks like you." But another part of it is "a doll that shares your faith."

Would anyone out there buy a religious doll for their child?

Source: dollcreationstation.com

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Update: Wife of Mom Kicked Out of PTA for Prop 8 Stance Speaks Out

JeanneSager — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:28:00 GMT

When I wrote shared the story of a lesbian mom kicked out of the PTA for campaigning against Prop 8 this week, the last people I wanted to offend were Robin McGehee and her family. They are, after all, the victims here - not only of discrimination from the school and the Roman Catholic church as a whole but the entire State of California.

When Robin McGehee's wife, Kathy Adams, responded to the story here on Strollerderby, her words struck at the core of intolerance - what it does to the family, or, in this case, a little boy whose mom says "only wants to see his friends."

Adams shared more of the story behind the church's decision to make her wife their sacrificial lamb. Their little boy, Sebastian, had been enrolled there since pre-K because the public school program in that part of California does not offer pre-K. That Sebastian's birth father is Catholic and the family had a number of connections to staff and other parents at the school all played a role in their choice (as it would in any parents' decision regarding their child's education). They were depending, she said, on a belief that the people at St. Helen's "tried to enact general principles of faith that honors the dignity of all human beings."

Unfortunately, these people didn't try hard enough. McGehee was informed she was a face for St. Helen's as PTA president and her public face as a gay rights advocate put her in a conflict with the church's teachings. The family removed Sebastian from the school that very day, Adams said. Now their little boy mourns for the life he enjoyed with his friends at a school where his teachers were loving, caring individuals, where his recent participation in a walk-a-thon garnered the school more than $1,000 in donations.

Already saddened and disgusted by the church's actions, the details Adams layed out make it that much more difficult to fathom the possibility of one day sending my daughter to Catholic school. It was a question I asked this week - how does one send their child to a school where the teachings are in direct opposition to the family's basic values?

In Adams' and McGehee's case, it was what they saw as their best option. As Adams says, "Parents are often faced with choices that are far from perfect."

She's too right. Public schools in some areas are atrocious. In my rural area, the public school system has been on a rollercoaster ride quite literally since a few days after I graduated when my school was dissolved and merged with two other districts. Private school pickins' in a rural area are slim. A Montessori school with steep tuition is at least 45 minutes from my home on a clear day; the ride lengthens significantly in inclement weather. Living in the northeast, inclement weather is a factor during a large chunk of the school year. Homeschooling is not an option; in part because I don't feel confident in my own abilities to teach but even more so because of the work responsibilities of both myself and my husband. So what's left? A fundamentalist Christian school that churns out kids who head off to colleges headed by Falwell and Robertson. No. No. No.

So we're back to the Catholic school. I was raised Catholic. When I walk into a church, the scent of incense and flickering candles beckon like Grandma's kitchen on a cold winter afternoon. There is comfort in the church, comfort in the familiar. Yet I attend Mass only as an Easter and Christmas Catholic. I refuse to attend in January, when I know they'll be shaking the collection box for the trip to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life. I refuse to put my daughter into a Sunday School where she will be directed - as I was - to copy a form letter in my own child's penmanship to be sent off to my Congressman, begging for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. I refuse to allow my daughter to be instructed that her gay uncles are sinners, that their love for each other is any less powerful than the bond between myself and my husband.Yet, I appreciate the values of "thou shalt not kill," "thou shalt not steal," "the merciful shall obtain mercy." They're values I share with the church, values I want to share with my daughter.

The local Catholic school is akin to many across the country, willing to look the other way when families who skip Mass sign the tuition checks. The school has allowed actors from shows like the Sopranos to act as very public fundraisers - the very non-Catholic values of a HBO show full of killing, cursing mobsters be darned. It is a school first, a religious organization second. And it's schooling I want for my daughter, after all, an education.

So I feel for McGehee and Adams. They only want what's best for their little boy. Can they find it in our world?

Click here to read Adams' entire story and the original post

Image: St Helens School

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Pro-Life Pharmacy won't sell birth control

Brett Singer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

DMC Pharmacy, can we help you?

Oh, you want birth control pills. I'm sorry, we can't help you with that. No, we don't sell condoms either. How about this pamphlet on the Rhythm Method? Perhaps a new Bible? Hello? Hello, are you there?

The DMC Pharmacy in Chantilly, Virginia, is a Pharmacy with a Point of View. Basically, if you're going to "do it," you should be prepared for the pitter-patter of little feet. That means no condoms, no birth control pills, no morning after pill – nada. Zip. The "family planning" aisle will be filled with rosary beads, Left Behind novels and snacks filled with nothing but high (moral) fiber. (We kid, because we love.)

(Aside #1: I wonder how far the store will take this. Would they sell copies of "The Da Vinci Code"? How about "Hustler"? Jolt Cola?)

(Aside #2: Now, don't go to dmcpharmacy.org if you want to find the pro-life pharmacy. That site is for a different DMC Pharmacy, which is part of the Detroit Medical Center. I'm not sure if they'll sell you a rubber, but my guess is that they will.)

Tom Brejcha from the Thomas More Society is, of course, supportive of the venture. Brejcha is representing another pharmacist who refused to fill a birth control prescription on moral grounds. The Washington Post quotes the attorney as saying, "Every pharmacist has the right to do the same thing." According to the Post, "[The DMC Pharmacy in Chantilly] is one of a small but growing number of drugstores around the country that have become the latest front in a conflict pitting patients' rights against those of health-care workers who assert a 'right of conscience' to refuse to provide care or products that they find objectionable."

Now, we may mock (in good humor) the notion of a pro-life pharmacy. But I think they have a right to keep contraceptives off the shelves; I'm not a lawyer but I'm fairly certain that no private store has a legal obligation to sell any product that they don't want to. Manhattan is filled with drugstores advertising a staff that will help you get your health insurance company to pay for fertility treatments, which is something not typically offered at your local Walgreen's. Different strokes, different folks. I do have a problem with a pharmacist who works at a "regular" pharmacy (you know, the kind of establishment that will burn in eternal hellfire – OK, sorry, mocking again, it's just a joke! Ouch! Watch the lightning!) refusing to fill any prescription, or a health-care worker who goes against the policies of their employer. You are absolutely entitled to your beliefs, but don't you also have to do the job that you were hired for? That's another legal question I don't claim to know the answer to.

Obviously it would be a problem is every store took this attitude. Personally, even though I don't need birth control pills myself, I would gladly avoid a store that took a stance against them. The best way to stop stores like this from proliferating is simply to not shop there.

Source: thefrisky

images: Wikipedia (1, 2), and then futzed with in Photoshop by me

Judgment Day: 7 Deadly Sins Grows to 14

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:32:00 GMT

The Vatican recently added "obscene wealth" and "pollution" to the list of deadly moral sins. And while it's already been established most Americans probably don't look to the Pope for moral direction, it is certainly a sign of the times.

Whether or not you rely on a religion or a spirit-guide or a cash machine to form your moral compass or your child's, the 7 deadly sins (now 14) are interesting history if nothing else.

And in case you don't remember them (or never knew), here they are:

1. Pride

2. Anger

3. Gluttony

4. Greed

5. Envy

6. Lust

7. Sloth

In keeping with modern times, other updates to the 14,000 year old list include taking or dealing drugs, causing poverty, causing social injustice, and pedophilia.

So next time you're stuck explaining to your child the importance of living an honorable life, but prefer to leave Everlasting Burning Hell and Damnation out of it, show them this list. They won't know what any of it means but it will inspire awe if presented with enough enthusiasm and/or puppets.

Babble Talk: Choosing a Religion Ain't Easy

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:32:00 GMT

Erin K. Blakeley is Catholic, her husband is Jewish, and their son is...um... In Babble's latest personal essay, Blakeley recounts the process of choosing a religion for her son.

Blakeley and her husband agreed that faith for their son was important, they just weren't sure which. After all, they aren't really religious and the Lord's name is usually only uttered at their house when they've "lost (their) internet connection or broken a wine glass."

So—they talked. They consulted friends and family. They reflected on their past personal experiences and family traditions: decorating Easter eggs, a Bar Mitzvah, Christmas trees, Hebrew school.

In the end, after much soul-searching, and careful consideration, they chose...well, you're just going to have to read and find out.

Pope: Ixnay on High-Tech Babymaking

Patti — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:14:00 GMT

He just wouldn't be Pope if he didn't feel comfortable getting all up in our uteri, would he? Over the weekend, Pope Benedict spoke out against "designer babies". Subjects of his displeasure included prenatal tests that detect defects or disorders (presumably because they might spur parents to terminate a pregnancy?) and artificial insemination (who knows?).

The guy might have a point about prenatal testing to an extent--as our own Karen recently noted. But given the issues that can be resolved much more easily if they are detected prenatally, I'd hesitate to throw this particular baby out with the bathwater. And God only knows what his problem with insemination is. Any thoughts?

Strollerderby : Catholicism

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