By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations (UN) said on Monday that some UN programs seeking to advance gender equality are becoming too ideologically driven and have become a hindrance to woman’s advancement.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A California Federal District Court ruled that a San Diego School District violated the constitutional rights of a teacher when it ordered him to remove banners from his classroom because they “over-emphasized” God even while allowing banners highlighting Hinduism and Buddhism to remain.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
International outrage is growing over an Italian Facebook group that is calling for children with Down Syndrome to be gotten rid of by using them as targets at shooting ranges.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Researchers say the first decline in divorce rates seen in years may be the result of the recession.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Even though a record number of people under the age of 30 claim they are not affiliated with any organized religion, other indicators show they are still very religious. This generation was also found to be very open to blending practices from a variety of faiths.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is advocating comprehensive sex education for children as young as 10 and accuses Catholics and Muslims of denying youth access to these programs.
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by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A long-time video gamer and devout Catholic is sounding the alarm about a new breed of satanically-themed video games that target God and the Catholic Church, invite players to make pacts with the devil, and elevate Satan to hero status.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A soon-to-be released Gay Couples Study, which found that nearly half of all homosexual marriage involve routine infidelity, is prompting some to suggest that this may be the way to save traditional marriages.
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
A new study has found that attending a Catholic college has little impact on a student’s faith life.
According to Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) found significant declines in students’ support for Catholic moral teaching on abortion, marriage and sexuality after four years at a Catholic college or university. These declines were generally greater at non-Catholic private and public institutions.
The report found that 16 percent of students at Catholic colleges and universities became more pro-life and more convinced of traditional marriage, whereas 31 percent became more supportive of legal abortion and 39 percent embraced same-sex “marriage.”
Only seven percent increased attendance at religious services, while 32 percent reduced attendance.
Eight percent of Catholic students left the Catholic faith while attending a Catholic institution.
Commenting on the study to InsideHigherEd.com, Richard Yanikoski, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) argued that the loss of faith at Catholic colleges and elsewhere reflects societal trends. Despite CARA’s analysis showing that the choice of a Catholic college has little significant impact on a student’s faith practice and beliefs, Yanikoski pointed to the raw data indicating that “a typical Catholic undergraduate student attending a Catholic college or university emerges more spiritually intact than if she or he had attended a public or secular private institution, but not nearly as spiritually active as would have been the case a few decades ago.”
“That’s hardly something to celebrate,” Reilly said. “If the ACCU thinks it a happy fact that Catholics lose their faith somewhat slower at Catholic colleges than elsewhere, then they fail to appreciate the concerns of faithful Catholic families.”
Catholics should be alarmed by the significant declines in Catholic practice and fidelity at many of America’s Catholic institutions, he said.
“Everyone expects a Catholic college to be markedly different from a secular one. Students should be inspired to embrace and deepen their Catholic faith, not negotiate around Catholic moral teaching.”
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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Popular Hollywood attorney Gloria Allred is joining the war over the airing of a pro-life Super Bowl ad, saying the ad should be withdrawn because it is “misleading advertising.”
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