Catholic Fire

By Donald DeMarco In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of the University of Notre Dame wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine's fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing "Humanae Vitae," this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once "the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity." If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, "There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes." Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned "Humane Vitae" back in 1968. For Playboy, however, the letter was treated as an object of ridicule and its content irreverently dismissed: "Brother, you sound like St. Thomas' lawyer," wrote the Playboy editor, who went on to bless "both kinds" of sexual relations. This holier-than-thou post...

VATICAN CITY, February 5, 2007 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - Today, the Vatican released Pope Benedict XVI's message for the World Youth Day 2007, which is to be celebrated in all dioceses on Palm Sunday, April 1. The message focuses on love, and a significant portion is dedicated to preparation for marriage. Rather than assume young people incapable of avoiding premarital relations, the Holy Father challenges youth to remain pure even during a marriage engagement. "The period of engagement," he said, "very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and words." Typical of Pope Benedict, he provides youth with the reason behind the instruction. "It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each other," he said "it helps you to practise self-control and to develop your respect for each other." The Pope added, "These are the characteristics of true ...