A bit of varia
May 9, 2008 by Amy
The new Latin website from the Vatican.
Sandro Magister reprints an article recounting a 1997 visit to Mount Athos
A new blog from a Salesian priest - Da Mihi Animas
Msgr. Eric Barr of the Diocese of Rockford is going to be looking a lot at the Prince Caspian movie over the next week, and invites you to join him. Also take a look at this article he wrote on the book and the forthcoming film.
I’m delighted, on one hand, for the fact that Laura acted on the discernment of her call to physical motherhood; but on the other, I am ambivalent about her adoption of a child who will not have a father. Is there any helpful Catholic guidance on this topic, about the hierarchy of goods in retrieving a child from an institution and introducing her into a single-parent household? If I have the marital situation wrong, please forgive me, but I ask in all sincerity.
GSK,
I heard her announcement yesterday as well and share your concern. She does not appear to be married. We have 2 boys we brought home from Russia. I can’t believe she was back at work within a couple of days. She should be home with that child for at least one month. No one else should nurture that child. There’s lots of good literature, which I’ve found to be consistent with many of Greg Popcak’s attachment parenting ideas. I don’t know that the professionals whose books I’ve read are Christian/Catholic, but I really like their emphasis on parental authority and primacy with their children. It’s very important for kids who’ve not known what families are like.
My sister and brother-in-law adopted 2 beautiful girls from Guatemala and they have been so happy with their decision! The girls are just wonderful! God bless Laura and her baby! Thanks for adding me to the blog Amy! Padre Steve, SDB
I’m not ambivalent - every child deserves a father.
PERIOD.
Laura is smart and beautiful. I’m guessing the men would be lining up for her hand, no?
Let me get this straight. It would be better for this precious child to be in an orphanage in Guatemala than with Laura who can provide for her materially, love her, and guide her spiritually — at least from my observations seeing Laura on television with Raymond Arroyo.
I am saddened a see a student who is still in high school and pregnant, but on the other hand, I’m thrilled that the teen had the courage to choose life for her child instead of abortion.
I hope Laura and Maria Caroline have a blessed life together.
¡Felicidades a Laura y su hija María!
I heard the announcement on the radio, and my first thought was sadness for the child, who will undoubtedly have material goods in abundance but who will not have the two-parent family that our Church insists is every child’s right.
No doubt being raised by a single parent is preferable to being raised in an institutional setting, but were those really the only alternatives for this child? If Laura Ingraham or any other rich celebrity had really wished to give this one little girl what every child needs and deserves, she could have supported her adoption by a two-parent family in her homeland. It certainly would have cost her less and done far more good.
As it is, this looks like just another rich American putting her own biologically driven desires over the wellbeing of a weak and vulnerable person. It makes no sense to celebrate it.
I have to say, I always have a slight sinking feeling when I hear about a single woman adopting a child. As a single woman I can understand the desire to have a child. However, as a Catholic Christian, I value the right and the need of every child to have two parents. There are many, many couples who are anxious to adopt children from Guatemala and elsewhere. The child would not be languishing in an orphanage. Also, when adoption is done by a single parent, male or female, the child is going to be put into day care during the work day. That always bothered me as well.
I am also hesitant to be completely joyful about Ms. Ingraham’s announcement. Yes, the girl will leave a bad situation. But she will be now be raised by a very-busy single mother. Not exactly the vision of the Church for raising children.
And I don’t think it is an either/or situation. There are many Catholic couples who would love to adopt but cannot afford the adoption expenses. Perhaps Ms. Ingraham could have helped one, or many, of them?
I may have to avoid listening to her show. I am starting to get a fixation on criticizing her. Obviously, the child will have infinitely greater possibilities for life than she would have had at an orphanage in Guatemala. [I don't know that we can be sure that she (or most/all) abandoned children will be adopted.] But the baby is being left already it appears with a nanny or in a day care and Laura will simply seem like evening the caretaker, just like at the orphanage. If the child is in daycare, that would be horrible to take a child from one institution to plop them into another.
I went absolutely bonkers hearing that she had a party for the child over the weekend, with over a dozen kids, a bounce house thingie…The child needs about a month or more to bond uniquely with Laura–NO ONE ELSE. No excitement, no nothing, no Happy Meals, no abundance of toys; just love, security and a connection. There are many great professionals on this in DC. I hope she’s talking to at least one of them or to some more experienced friends.
I will pray for Laura to be blessed with a good husband for her and her daughter.