You don’t have to be in the parenting game long to realize how destructive television can be to family values. In the early years, you tend to overlook the occasional compromising situation or innuendo, figuring the kids don’t “get it” anyway. But as the children grow, the cumulative effort of the occasional objectionable material cannot be ignored. And it’s not just a [...]
Charlottetown, PEI- In October 1991, 70 women attended a weekend Women’s Spirituality workshop in the chapel area of the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). The event was co-hosted by the Sisters of St. Martha, the Sisters of Notre Dame (whose Provincial attended), and the Women’s Network. Director Sr. Brenda Pettigrew, a Sister of Mercy from St. Johns Nfld., described it as [...]
When she was once asked by reporters what the feminist movement hoped to accomplish in the future, Betty Friedan answered, “ I can’t tell you that now. You wouldn’t believe it anyway. It’s theological.” In other words, the movement was going to change the way people-especially women- thought about religion. Paradox How well the movement has succeeded in this objective is shown [...]
“I believe that every baby is born when and where he ought to be, to the parents he ought to be with.” What rights does an unmarried father have regarding his newborn child? Canadians may soon be exploring this issue, if a recent news story develops as expected. Nineteen-year-old Montrealer Peter Brassard went to court last December and had his infant son’s [...]
Whenever I find myself in the vicinity of Brampton, Ontario, the car veers almost automatically in the direction of the home of Ray and Rita Holmes, where I am always sure of a good meal. Dr. Ray invariably has something interesting to tell me or show me, usually within the pro-life context. The other day he met me with the words, “I [...]
Adoption: Part II Part I appeared in our October 1991 issue. Editor I’ve counseled street kids and sheltered kids, some on drugs and some in trouble with the law but I’ve never had a client I didn’t really like. There is always something to admire in each of them. Sarah* doesn’t place her child for adoption easily. No girl does. Sarah’s girlfriends [...]
Single mothers in North Bay elect to live in welfare-subsidized apartments rather than Columbus House, a residence operated by the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. Columbus House closed recently due to a lack of clientele, Martin Martinello, chairman of the Columbus board of directors, told The Interim. Refusing to live by the rules laid down by Columbus House, the majority of unmarried [...]
It’s impossible these days to open a newspaper or turn on the radio or TV without reading or hearing or seeing more about violence towards women. There are numerous articles in papers and magazines analyzing this sad and shocking phenomenon and suggesting solutions. There is some truth in most of these opinions, but I don’t think I have read anywhere the suggestion [...]
Fighting provincial government policies that are skewed in favour of mothers working outside the home is a major preoccupation of a newly formed group in British Columbia. West Coast Women for Family Values are established recently to “promote laws and policies promoting family life,” says one of the foundress, Kathleen Higgins of Delta, B.C. “The work of mothers at home really needed [...]
The following story first appeared in the September 24, 1990 issue of the Brandon Sun, under the headline “Natural mother makes unique sacrifice by giving up her child.” It’s reprinted here with permission. I remember that it was a sunny morning, a nice one to sit on the front steps of my parents home and think about the future. I was my [...]
When a new baby arrives, it is not long before all his visitors are deciding whom he takes after. “There ‘s no denying he’s yours!” someone is sure to say. Both sides of the family happily identify whose eyes and whose nose the new baby has inherited. There seems to be a primordial need to recognize ourselves and our family in the [...]
A British Columbia woman has gone public with the story of her January abortion, claming that she was not told of the state of development of her unborn child. The 25-year-old single mother of two believed herself to be 10 weeks pregnant at the time of her abortion at the Burnaby General Hospital. She experienced severe cramping for two days after her [...]
In a precedent-setting decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a substantial damage award to a young girl whose birth defects were caused by her mother’s use of spermicidal jelly. The decision is said to have alarmed pharmaceutical companies, some of whom are in the courts fighting law suits brought by women injured by various brand-name Inter Uterine Devices (IUDs) Ortho Pharmaceutical [...]
Let’s say you’re a mother at home tending the housework, or perhaps watching some TV. Your daughter Erika is at school. So is your other daughter, Erin. At least you think she is. The phone rings. Someone at your daughters’ school tells you Erin is in a nearby hospital for emergency surgery, and that you should go to the hospital. “Was she [...]
The pros and cons of day care have been hotly debated for some time. Critics of day care have often been portrayed as self-satisfied middle-class mothers who do not need to work outside the home and who have no sympathy for the problems of mothers who do. Day care’s critics question whether day care is damaging to the [...]