Catholic Fire

A new website for women “from the men who love them” encourages women to “demand their dignity” and attacks the “incessant, often conflicting” messages and “lies” about women’s worth. The site Demand Your Dignity says “enough is enough” to messages that depict women as a “collection of body parts.” “Demand that men rise up and BE MEN! Demand to be treated as the whole person YOU ARE!” the site tells women. The site says it was made by men “who want to love women, not use them.” Demand Your Dignity characterizes itself as a “plea” to women not to believe the “lies” the world says about them and not to give up hope. “You aren’t alone anymore. We are fighting with you.” Read the story here. This is a great site, which refutes the false images of women in advertising which presents them as sex objects. I'm adding it to my culture of life blog list.

 Sick of the lies today’s media moguls heap on teens and young adults, the ladies of Growing Up Lane and Visualize Love   have come together to send a message that many young people today are choosing chastity and have the strength to withstand attacks and misinformation. The result is Project Chaste . What a wonderful idea to promote chastity and abstinence. H/T: Lisa Hendey

1. Make a firm resolution to be pure and to stop any impure behavior. Decide today to refrain from any behavior or activities that are impure. In 1902, a priest gave instruction on purity to the first Communicants in which he stated, "Purity at All Costs", One of the first Communicants was Maria Goretti, who gave her life rather than offend God. Which do we value more: our eternal salvation or false pleasure which comes from a box of wires - a computer or television? 2. Express Contrition We experience true contrition in our hearts when we realize how much sin offends God, hurts us, as well as others. It is our sins that have caused the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It injures our soul and mortal sin results in spiritual death. Sin also injures our relationship with others, especially with our wife, girlfriend, friends, co-workers, as well as the mystical body of Christ. We should meditate daily on the passion and death of Jesus Christ. 3. Quickly Flee From Temptat...

Reported by the Chicago Sun Times : So what is it like to kiss a girl for the first time ever, after she has become your wife? "It was surreal," said Claudaniel "CD" Fabien... after his marriage to Melody LaLuz Fabien on Saturday.... Claudaniel, 30, and Melody, 28, had pledged to be abstinent before marriage -- but went a little further by agreeing not to kiss each other on the lips before their union was official. Why so strict? They didn't even want to get close to temptation, instead waiting until the minister said the magic words: "NOW, you may kiss the bride."... Both Claudaniel and Melody Fabien are abstinence educators - Claudaniel for the nonprofit Confederation of Spanish American Families. Melody is director of the "What's Good" program for the LYDIA Home Association, a Christian service agency. Both teach abstinence programs within the Chicago Public Schools. Read The entire story here. ~ Via Jill Stanek. [Photo credit: Chica...

More bad news for Planned Parenthood! Via Christina at Real Choice.

Abstinence Survey: Questions to ask yourself

Another good reason for abstinence: Teens who start having sex significantly earlier than their peers also show higher rates of delinquency in later years, new research shows. A national study of more than 7,000 youth found that adolescents who had sex early showed a 20 percent increase in delinquent acts one year later compared to those whose first sexual experience occurred at the average age for their school. In contrast, those teens who waited longer than average to have sex had delinquency rates 50 percent lower a year later compared to average teens. And those trends continued up to six years. [More]

Consider the Costs Excluding the costs incurred to treat HIV, an estimated $8 billion dollars is spent annually to diagnose and treat STI's. There were 757,000 girls ages 15 to 19 who became pregnant in 2002. Fifty percent of unmarried teens were aided by governmental assistance programs within one year of giving birth. Babies born to adolescent mothers are at an increased risk for both prematurity and low birth weight. Compared to children from two parent homes, the generation born to teen mothers is at an increased risk for neglect, incarceration, and drug use. In general, teen mothers attain much lower levels of education than than other women, severely limiting their career options and sharply increasing their likelihood of economic dependency. Only 70% of teen mothers complete high school education or earn a GED, and 1.5% earn a college degree by the age of 30. Abstinence Education Works Since 1991, when federal abstinence funding began, there has been a 43% decrease in births...

The National Catholic Register editors have written a wonderful piece for their February 18 - 24 entitled "Abstinence Saves Lives." It is an excellent article and I recommend you read it. This article has inspired me to share my newfound knowledge of abstinence which I acquired from a recent visit to an a new abstinence program that is helping to save lives in Wichita, KS. The program which, is federally - funded, is called Pure and Simple Abstinence Education, Inc. They have an online website which I have included in my sidebar. To look at it - just click here. Why Abstinence Works It's a Different World Out There Consider these facts... There are at least 25 sexually transmitted infections (STI's) and other strains are being identified. One in two sexually active young people will contract an STI by the age of 25. From 1986 through 2005, the rates of reported Chlamydia infections increased from 35.2 to 332.5 per 100,000 population. The United States has an epidemic...

( CNA ).- Students across the United States and around the world will be celebrating St. Valentine's Day by educating their peers on the value of sexual purity. Leading up to Feb. 14th, which doubles as the Fourth Annual Day of Purity, young people are promoting the choice of purity by distributing flyers, wearing Day of Purity T-shirts and LivePure wristbands, and organizing events in their schools, communities and churches. The Day of Purity, an international project of Liberty Counsel, is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of promiscuous behavior, to promote abstinence and to inform young people who have already engaged in sexual activity, that it is possible to make a fresh start and to practice abstinence. More than three million U.S. teens are infected each year with sexually transmitted diseases, and the country has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries. In addition, 20 percent of the annual 1.3 million abortions in the U.S. are performed on ...

Concerned Women of America has recently posted its views on lawmakers mandating the vacine for HPV on its website: Concerned Women for America does not object to the new vaccine that protects against certain strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer in women. Proponents of the vaccine, however, wrongly wish to compel every young girl from 9-11 years old to be vaccinated before she attends school. Concerned Women for America is committed to support, protect and advocate the God-given right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Parents know what is best for their daughters and if given the information about this disease will make the best decision for the health of their child. Therefore, we urge lawmakers to resist mandating this vaccine. Let parents be parents, for heaven's sake! Yes, I object to the government treating our children like a herd of cattle. Why don't they spend that ...

METUCHEN, N.J. (CNS) -- At a young age, Theresa Hanntz has already battled opposition to her pro-life activities, yet she remains undaunted. Hanntz was honored by the Diocese of Metuchen with a Pro-Vita Award for fighting for her beliefs when the Girl Scouts initially rejected a chastity program she organized at her high school as a project to earn her the Scouts' Gold Award. A compromise was eventually reached and she received the Scouting honor. She and three others were given Pro-Vita Awards during a presentation at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral Jan. 21. Last year, as a senior Girl Scout at Immaculata High School in Somerville and president of the Pro-Life Club, Hanntz wanted to earn her Gold Award by organizing a five-week True Love Waits program at her school.The program, aimed at freshmen and sophomores, educates students on issues such as chastity, abortion and understanding God's plan for sexuality. The Girl Scouts organization, however, did not feel that such a prog...

The Feb. 5 issue of People magazine included a story about actress Marissa Jaret Winokur who, according to the teaser, "learned the cause of her cervical cancer and now makes sure other women know how to prevent it." The sole cause of cervical cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease. Winokur contracted cervical cancer at age 27 due to previous sexual promiscuity, or to put it as ambiguously as possible, said Winokur, "I learned about a year ago that HPV, a common virus, causes cervical cancer. Now there is an HPV test that might have caught my precancerous cells earlier." The "prevention," according to Winokur? No, not a chaste lifestyle. "There's a vaccine, which can be given to women before they're sexually active," she said in People. "It makes sense to take these precautions. I'll encourage my friends' teenage daughters to get vaccinated." Aside from the fact Winokur has no business telli...