Before I came back to the Church, I considered myself to be very reasonable about the abortion issue. I took the proverbial politically correct approach: an approach that is the only one absolutely accepted, promoted and certainly championed currently by our overly secularized world.

Pro-choice is the term I chose. It seemed to be hip and, again, “reasonable,” which is quite ridiculous because very little reasoning — or even thinking — went into the issue on my end. It was just a matter of going with the current cultural flow of things. Although I said I would never have an abortion myself, I bought into the lie that I had no right to speak out against another woman’s so-called “right to choose.” Beyond that, I didn’t spend too much time on the subject.

Very few who support abortion realize how it’s an industry that cares little about freedom, choice and, most of all, women’s health. The drumbeat of lies promoted by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers has convinced millions for decades that abortion is a major part of “women’s health.” Without it, women would be reduced to being victimized by back-alley abortions. The trouble is, as more and more cases are showing us, the back-alley abortions never stopped. They just moved to main street after the Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, which gave us abortion on demand through nine months of pregnancy.

The case of former abortionist Kermit Gosnell and his now-infamous Philadelphia “house of horrors” proved to be just the tip of the iceberg. Just recently, another abortion facility, this one also in Pennsylvania, finally was forced to close down because of health violations. Keep this in mind when recalling again how abortion proponents constantly shout from the rooftops how concerned they are about women’s health.

Violations included failure to provide a sanitary environment, outdated medications and supplies, improper staffing with no licensed registered nurse on location and lack of documentation regarding medical staff qualifications.

The story about Hillcrest Women’s Medical Center did get some play in the local press and a lot of coverage in conservative circles. But, as with the Gosnell story, the national media mostly have been ignoring it.

In addition to Hillcrest comes the news that the folks at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England are teaming up with the ACLU and suing Maine’s attorney general along with that state’s 16 district attorneys. The lawsuit is demanding the state wipe out a 1979 law requiring abortions be performed only by licensed physicians. Oh, the injustice of having an actual medical doctor perform surgery! And the pro-lifers are the ones labeled backward and anti-women’s health.

Back in my pro-choice days, I didn’t go around pushing my opinion. But I would, however, tend to get my Italian up whenever I heard someone challenging my extremely comfortable way of looking at things. Looking back, I realize I was being challenged by the Holy Spirit. My very comfortable little world began to crumble when I learned of these types of incidents. I realized I had been sold a bill of goods.

Stories about the billion-dollar abortion industry being about anything but women’s health provide for many a Romans 8:28 moment: “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” God can use them for good to change the hearts and minds of many a pro-choicer. It happened with yours truly. It can happen to those in your circle and beyond as well.

This column first appeared on OSV Newsweekly. To read Teresa’s latest OSV columns click here.

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Hollywood and the media are being very vocal, at least since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, in their support of campaigns such as “Time’s Up” and #MeToo, which attempt to draw attention to the sexual harassment problems that have been going on in their industries for decades. The latest example was at the recent Golden Globe Awards.

A majority of those attending the Golden Globes dressed in black and donned “Time’s Up” pins to show their unity. A number of the award winners even dedicated their acceptance speeches to the issue, declaring that time is indeed up when it comes to abusers and keeping silent about that abuse.

Now all of America is supposed to be very convinced that Hollywood really cares — that they want and are demanding change. While there are certainly some involved in these efforts who are sincere in their concern, important questions need to be addressed.

For starters, are those who now claim to be so dedicated to eradicating these issues sincere enough and concerned enough to refuse roles that only add to the degradation, objectification and harassment problems? Call me cynical, but it’s very hard to take Hollywood seriously when, during the same show where the stars where pledging their allegiance to change, they also were giving recognition by way of numerous nominations and standing ovations to a film, “Call Me by Your Name,” depicting the story of a 25-year-old man having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old boy. Are they forgetting all their own horror stories, some involving teen actors and actresses?

Given the current climate and alleged sensitivity to these issues, why was this film allowed to be nominated in the first place, let alone cheered the same night Tinsel Town was issuing its anti-harassment battle cries? And how hypocritical is it to rail against an unjust system of victimization while promoting the new “Fifty Shades Freed” film? What were network executives thinking when they ran an ad for the film in a commercial break toward the end of the show, and then brought out the film’s co-star as one of the final presenters? Can anyone say “mixed messages”?

So how about a “time’s up” on the continued failure to connect the dots? How about a  “time’s up” on talking or acting out of both sides of their mouths? On the one hand saying that women and men deserve better (and they certainly do), and on the other hand refusing to acknowledge the growing piles of evidence of how pornography devalues women, as Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver pointed out in a recent column, citing researchers of a recent study:  “They discovered that over time, many male porn users became more callous toward women, and less likely to value monogamy and marriage.”

I’m not exactly holding my breath in anticipation for the clouds to part and for Hollywood and the media elites to suddenly wake up, smell their fancy cappuccinos and give the Church credit for its prophetic warnings and rock-solid teachings as to what happens when we fail to recognize the dignity of the human person. If they are truly committed and not just putting on another performance, they at least might be willing to take a look at some of the overwhelming evidence. Unfortunately, if they fail to do so, it will simply be another reminder that all that glitters, including all that was expressed at the recent awards show, is certainly far from gold. It just might be darker than the deepest black gown worn that night to bring attention to a problem that’s grown to near epidemic proportions.

This column first appeared on OSV Newsweekly. To read Teresa’s latest OSV columns click here.

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First, we had the Women’s March lamenting on Twitter how disappointed they were that the website Backpage.com had been shut down by federal authorities. Despite the fact that Backpage was considered by law enforcement to be a major facilitator for the sex-trafficking trade involving women and children, an organization supposedly all about supporting women still found the closure of the site to be a huge negative versus a major positive step in the right direction. Here’s what the Women’s March said on Twitter back in early April:

“The shutting down of Backpage is an absolute crisis for sex workers who rely on the site to safely get in touch with clients. Sex workers’ rights are women’s rights.”

As I was still trying to wrap my head around their thought process, or the lack thereof, along comes another organization, also claiming to be a champion of women’s rights, reportedly doing just the opposite of what they claim to stand for.

According to a new undercover report by the pro-life group Live Action, instead of being part of the solution in solving sexual abuse, Planned Parenthood is actually a big part of the problem. The report, “Aiding Abusers: Planned Parenthood’s Cover Up of Child Sexual Abuse,” was released at the end of May. In the introduction, Live Action explains how Planned Parenthood was allegedly saying one thing and doing another:

“While Planned Parenthood frequently attempts to establish itself as a leading advocate on this critical issue, it is actually one of the biggest accomplices to child sexual abuse in the nation.

“Time and again, rather than reporting suspected abuse to authorities, Planned Parenthood has repeatedly looked the other way, performed abortions on victims as young as 12 years old, and then returned those victims into the waiting arms of their abusers. Planned Parenthood’s repeated failure to report such incidents has allowed abusers to continue abusing their victims, often for years.”

The report goes on to say how Planned Parenthood has become anything but a haven for women needing help and advice.

“A study on the brutal sex trafficking trade published by the Loyola University Chicago’s Beazley Institute documents how traffickers often force their victims to get abortions at Planned Parenthood so they can quickly get them back on the streets.

“The report notes that victims had ‘significant contact with clinical treatment facilities, most commonly Planned Parenthood.’ In fact, Planned Parenthood was the top most-visited facility for trafficking victims, second only to hospital emergency rooms. When asked why they went to Planned Parenthood, one survivor said ‘because they didn’t ask any questions.’”

In addition to the Loyola study, Live Action compiled court cases, health department reports, testimonials from former Planned Parenthood employees, interviews with former clients and undercover videos where investigators posed as underage girls being pressured into abortions. You can find the full report at www.liveaction.org.  The general public may not be aware of the strong connection between the nation’s number one abortion provider and the Women’s March. Planned Parenthood is actually listed as a major sponsor and partner of the Women’s March events. I wonder how many also realize that the Women’s March kicked pro-life groups to the curb when they attempted to register for the first March in 2017. So much for their claim of representing a diverse group of women. Maybe between the public blunder of March organizers and the alleged cover-up of Planned Parenthood, the public will connect the dots and realize that birds of a feather do flock together.

This column first appeared on OSV Newsweekly. To read Teresa’s latest OSV columns click here.

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Across our oversexualized culture, we see the continued fallout of the sexual revolution. It’s not exactly breaking news: the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, the breakdown of the family, and the vocal pushback against the objectification and sexual abuse of women from both the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns.

That said, what is more troubling is the ongoing failure to connect the dots. There is now even more evidence affirming the truth in Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae. That truth, however, is still being ignored by Christians and, more precisely, Christian women.

One startling example comes from Patrina Mosley of the Family Research Council. “Women and pornography” are not words we’re used to reading in the same sentence, since pornography has been considered mainly a man’s issue, but a recent report from the FRC shows that’s no longer the case:

“Unfortunately, times have changed. Today, more and more women are indulging in ‘adult’ entertainment, unaware of the devastating damage that it does to mind, body, and soul.”

As Mosley, who serves as the FRC’s director of life, culture and women’s advocacy explains, the numbers are rising across all age groups and belief systems, with Christian women showing up more frequently in the statistics.

Here are a few of the alarming findings from FRC’s “Women and Pornography” report:

• “More than half of women 25 and under seek out porn and one-third seek it out at least monthly.”
• “About 1 in 5 women use the internet for sexual purposes habitually — every week.”
• “25 percent of married women say they watch porn at least once a month.”
• “A survey of more than 11,000 college-age women revealed that more than half were exposed to sexually explicit material by the age of 14.”
• “According to one study, 15 percent of Christian women view pornography at least once a month, which is about one-half of the national average.”

This is hardly coincidental. We’re marking the 50th anniversary of Humanae Vitae this month. But despite the mounting evidence, mention of the encyclical or Church’s teachings on sexuality and the dignity of women is met, even by many in the Church, with not just rolling of eyes but fierce resistance. The sexual revolution has failed all of us, with women, as Paul VI stressed, among those who suffer the most.

I remember the first time I read Humanae Vitae. I was in my early 30s and had just returned to the Church. Having been greatly misled by the lies of radical feminism, I was open to see what the Church had to say about the issues with which I had struggled. Years later, I return to it every time I see a story about the Harvey Weinsteins of the world or alarming reports from solid pro-family organizations, such as the FRC. With the latest study in mind, one line from the encyclical stands out:

“Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.” (No. 17)

What part of “reduce her to being a mere instrument” don’t we as a society understand? Given the state of the culture, it will likely take more than another 50 years for us to get a clue.

This column first appeared on OSV Newsweekly. To read Teresa’s latest OSV columns click here.

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There is an old saying, “what you don’t know can’t hurt you.” And yet, when it comes to the choices we make and how we live our lives every day, eventually we realize just the exact opposite is true. Even Scripture tells us that knowledge is a positive rather than a negative. The Old Testament prophet Hosea reminds us, for example, that God’s people “perish” for lack of knowledge.

The word “perish” in Hosea 4:6 can be taken literally in many ways. Firstly, since the Church exists to evangelize, what happens when Catholics haven’t been taught or don’t take the time to learn and embrace their faith? They often fall away and embrace practices that may harm and cost them their very souls.

Secondly, they can also engage in dangerous activities that can lead to serious illness, or worse. How many more reports, for example, do we need from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization to remind us of the epidemic proportions of sexually transmitted infections? How many of the warnings, however, are not shared with the average person who might believe that doing whatever they want sexually is “freeing” rather than truly dangerous in more ways than one?

Ignorance is definitely not bliss, despite what we hear in yet another old saying. This is painfully obvious in a new survey of post-abortive women. This particular survey, conducted by the website FemCatholic, posed questions pertaining to their personal experiences with abortion. It is one to share, review and reflect upon as we head into the annual March for Life, and the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton.

These Supreme Court decisions gave us abortion on demand through nine months of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood, along with much of the mass media and the rest of the culture, wants us to believe that women truly “know” what they are doing when they have an abortion. We are practically hit over the head with the word or message of “choice.” Yet, more and more research shows us that women who “choose” to abort their unborn children didn’t realize they actually had a different alternative because they didn’t have or weren’t aware of information that could have changed their decision.

FemCatholic found, among other things, that women noted “a lack of practical information about the support available to young mothers.” According to a Catholic News Agency article, one respondent said that she desperately wanted but couldn’t find practical resources, information and inspiration when she was faced with an unexpected pregnancy.

“How can I finish my degree and be a parent? Where can I live? Can I continue in dorm housing? Are there other mothers out there with thriving careers who started out with an unplanned pregnancy as a single woman?” she asked. Continue Reading at OSV Newsweekly.

Pro-Life Resources For The March For Life

EWTN Prolife Page

EWTN Pro-Life Weekly (Television show)

March For Life

25th Annual Ecumenical National Prayer Service at the March for Life

Walk for Life – West Coast January 26st

One Life LA (March in Los Angeles) January 19th

Students for Life

Pro Life Action League

Charlotte Lozier Institute, (Science & Statistics)

Susan B. Anthony List

And Then There Were None – Pro-life outreach to abortion workers

Abby Johnson – Former Planned Parenthood clinic director, now pro-life

American Life League

LifeNews.com

LiveAction.org

Feminists For Life

Right to Life Michigan

USCCB Adoption Prayers & Resources

Teresa Tomeo’s March For Life Pinterest Board

To view many more helpful resources see Teresa’s Pro-Life page.

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Several years ago, when addressing the topic of culture and media influence on people of faith, Pope Benedict XVI gave us a great deal of food for thought: “Believers are conditioned by a culture of images that imposes contradictory models and impulses with the effective negation of God.”

Note that he didn’t say atheists or agnostics. He said “believers.” He was reminding us how easy it is, even for those who love God and the Church, to be affected by the media to the point where it leads us away from where we need to be.

We see this in so many of us who deal regularly with a variety of insecurities. For example, no matter how many times we tell ourselves, our daughters and friends that they are beautifully made in the image and likeness of God, our encouraging words still have to compete with the messaging from Madison Avenue and beyond.

A steady stream of studies continues to show a connection between confidence, body image and media messaging. One of these studies even showed that media images greatly impacted the body image of girls as young as 5 years old — yes, you read that correctly. The impact can lead to depression, bullying, even suicide. But so far only a handful of those responsible for flooding our culture of images with phony imitations of beauty have been willing to take their own industries to task.

That’s why it was so refreshing to learn about a new campaign from CVS Pharmacy entitled CVS Beauty Mark. Last month the nationwide company addressed the effort in Times Square (of all places), saying they will be cutting way back on using altered beauty imagery in their drug-store chain.

“We will not digitally alter or change a person’s shape, size, proportion, skin or eye color or enhance or alter lines, wrinkles or other individual characteristics.”

Their campaign statements went on to explain how the company realizes even something that seems so simple such as walking down the drug-store aisle for a lipstick or some moisturizer can really impact the way we feel about ourselves — and not in a good way.

“We want our beauty aisle to be a place where our customers can always come to feel good, while representing and celebrating the authenticity and diversity of the communities we serve,” the campaign said.

CVS explains that it’s committed to making some pretty big changes when it comes to promoting its many products related to beauty and cosmetics, including… Continue Reading at OSV Newsweekly.

Read all of Teresa’s OSV Newsweekly columns here.

Image: rawpixel on Pixabay

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The Pure Flix Entertainment film “Unplanned,” based on the book by former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, will be released in theatres nationwide March 29. It’s a powerful story showing how one abortion worker, after viewing an actual abortion via ultrasound, was so traumatized that she abruptly left her prominent position. Johnson eventually would become a pro-life speaker and activist, launching a ministry dedicated to helping other abortion workers leave the industry. Her journey out of Planned Parenthood also would lead her to the Catholic Church. It’s an incredible story of God’s mercy and how truth can and does have an impact if we’re open to it — a story told powerfully and delicately on screen.

While the movie, which I had the opportunity to screen, does contain some scenes that are challenging to watch, in no way did it deserve the R rating recently slapped on it by the Motion Picture Association of America. But why should anyone be surprised given Hollywood’s love fest with Planned Parenthood and the sacred cow of abortion? Those working on the film were disappointed but not shocked. They were also quick to point out the irony and the obvious hypocrisy.

“A 15-year-old can get an abortion without her parent’s permission, but she can’t see this movie without adult supervision,” said Pure Flix Entertainment’s executive vice-president, Ken Rather, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

According to the Christian Post, the filmmakers also sent a letter of complaint to the MPAA. Good for them, because the bottom line here has to do with Hollywood not wanting to allow abortion to be seen as a negative. Another obvious hypocrisy is the MPAA’s efforts to slap a PG or PG-13 rating on movies filled with extreme violence as well as sexual content.

“We consider the MPAA’s current standards to be deeply flawed, insofar as they allowed scenes of remarkably graphic sex, violence, degradation, murder and mayhem to have a PG-13 rating, whereas our film, highlighting the grave dangers of abortion in a straightforward manner, is considered dangerous for the American people to view,” said the letter.

Teens are a big customer base for Planned Parenthood, and if the powers that be in the industry can get parents to think that their kids might be somehow traumatized by “Unplanned,” then they see that as a victory. The MPAA claims it slapped the rating on the movie because of “some disturbing bloody images.” The association added that it will retain its R rating “unless all scenes of abortions are removed or altered.” Of course. A film about the devastating impact of abortion can’t depict abortion, but violence in any other shape or form, and plenty of it, is fine for your children to see — and without your supervision.

Despite the frustrating news from the MPAA, there is a bright spot in all of this. While Hollywood might have been hoping their efforts to muzzle interest in the film was a great idea, their plan appears to be backfiring. Continue Reading at OSV Newsweekly.

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“The people that need to be in the seats just won’t show up.” This was one of the most common concerns expressed for the movie “Unplanned,” based on the life of former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned pro-life leader Abby Johnson. And given the anti-life climate in our culture, who could blame anyone for making these comments? And then there were all of the roadblocks that were placed in the movie’s path, including an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, the rejection of ads by major networks, and what amounted to a near-complete blackout by a vast majority of the secular news media.

Pro-life workers did show up in droves to theaters late last month. However, in addition to those whom we expected to support the film, helping it bring in more than $6 million in ticket sales that crucial first weekend — double the expected initial revenue — there were some new members of the so-called choir along with some powerful evidence showing how those new members, once staunch supporters of legalized abortion, have changed or are at least thinking about changing their tune.

One example of this was an opinion piece by a newspaper writer, Bridget Bayley from the Central Florida Post, who described herself as strongly pro-choice — at least that’s how she felt before seeing “Unplanned.” Now she’s not so sure.

“I was moved to tears several times during the film and actually appreciated the way that the workers of Planned Parenthood were portrayed. The women in the clinic were made to seem like they really did believe what they were doing was morally right and that they were helping the ‘patients.’ This was important to me because I knew there were members of the audience who have never seen the inside of a Planned Parenthood facility.

“By the end of the film, I was completely distraught, questioning everything I had ever believed about what abortion really was. I was hungry for more information; I went to Google; I talked with friends; and I prayed,” Bayley wrote. “This is not my story of how a movie made me change my political affiliation, and I still have many more questions about the validity of what I saw, but I went into that theater thinking there was NOTHING that could go onto that screen that would make me question myself, and I was wrong. What I saw DID make me question myself and my beliefs, and I believe that EVERYONE should go and test themselves as I did.”

Then there were some surprising thoughts expressed in the comments of other secular outlets, including this stunning revelation posted in response to a Variety article on the film. This woman had a complete turnaround on her once staunch pro-abortion views…Continue Reading at OSV Newsweekly.

Read all of Teresa’s OSV Newsweekly columns here.

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I was only about 10 years old when cigarette commercials were banned from TV in 1970. But Madison Avenue was so creative that I still remember one of the more popular ads that promoted a cigarette made just for women: Virginia Slims. The catchy jingle brilliantly tied into the women’s movement, proclaiming that women had come such a long way that they deserved their own brand.

“You’ve come a long way, baby, to get where you got to today. You’ve got your own cigarette now, baby. You’ve come a long, long way.”

Once cigarette commercials were a thing of the past, the ads with the same clever wording carried over into print, always featuring an attractive model wearing the latest fashions and looking ever so sophisticated with a lit Virginia Slims in her hand. The advertising geniuses did a great job of selling cigarettes back then — both on and off TV — but some 50 years later, we should all realize we’ve been sold a huge bill of goods in terms of what real equality and dignity actually look like.

A case in point would be the comments by actress Michelle Williams during the recent Golden Globe awards. While her celebrity friends in the audience whooped and hollered as she accepted her award and blatantly promoted “a woman’s right to choose,” believing they were taking a stand for women’s rights, they were actually continuing to hold women back.

Williams cleverly, as most who support legalized abortion do, avoided using the word “abortion.” She obviously received the Planned Parenthood talking points that are meant to make women and others feel this is all about so-called “freedom.” But if we listened very closely with our hearts (as well as our ears), we would hear a celebrity admitting, even though she doesn’t realize it, that we still live in a world that demands so much more from a woman than a man. She basically told the world that women need abortion in order to pursue their career goals.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose, to choose when to have my children and with whom. When I felt supported and able to balance our lives, knowing as all mothers know that the scales must and will tip toward our children now, I know my choices might look different than yours. But thank God or whomever you pray to that we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my faith and you are free to live by yours; so, women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest; it’s what men have been doing for years.”

Williams wants the public to think that this decision of hers to sacrifice the life of one of her children in order to garner fame and fortune in Hollywood is a win for women and girls and a major shot across the bow to sexism and to the men who’ve run Hollywood and other industries for decades; in reality, it’s just the opposite. She is feeding into a twisted and archaic system that is still encouraging women to terminate their own children in order to be successful. How is this not extremely sexist?

When was the last time you heard of a man in Hollywood, on Wall Street or anywhere else being put in the same position? Williams contradicts herself yet again by claiming that men have always voted their self-interests, implying that’s a bad thing, but then turns right around and tells women of all ages to go out and do the same thing that men have been doing for years. Continue Reading at Our Sunday Visitor.

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It’s said that timing is everything. That certainly held true this week with two major stories concerning media influence and manipulation, and more specifically the ongoing struggles women and girls have with body image, breaking on the same day. While the two stories hit the news cycles separately, there is no denying a connection; one that should cause all of us to be concerned about the ongoing problem of negative media influence and how damaging this is for our families, and more importantly, our children.

On Wednesday, February 16th, about the same time People Magazine posted a major expose including photos of supermodel Linda Evangelista’s botched body sculpting, Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Kids Online Safety Act; a measure brought about in a major way due to social media’s strong impact on young people. One of the main reasons the two lawmakers introduced the measure was directly related to social media usage among younger women. The law, among other things, would require platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram to disable addictive features. The senators conducted several hearings last year with the leaders of tech companies along with Facebook whistle blower, Frances Haugen, who disclosed thousands of internal documents showing the social media giant knew full well, and from its own research, the harm they were inflicting.

So, what is the connection between the sad cosmetic procedure story of a supermodel and a new measure to help kids and parents deal with social media? It’s a powerful connection showing how women see themselves thanks to the countless and unrealistic images constantly presented in our culture, and the need to live up to those images. These are images and expectations experienced by even a supermodel, as Linda Evangelista explained to People Magazine.

“Why do we need to do these things to our bodies,” she asked.

Facebook, (now known as Meta) had plenty of in-house research connecting teens’ mental health issues directly to social media exposure, with young female users insisting they feel great pressure to conform to body images and body shapes of influencers. The research also found that feeling attractive and the desire to have a “perfect” image, were the top reasons for going on Instagram.

Evangelista was one of the most successful runway models in the 90’s, appearing on more than 700 magazine covers. Despite her success and beauty, she still felt it necessary to make some changes she felt would help her continue her modeling career. She is suing Coolsculpting claiming their body contouring treatment left her disfigured. She added she is tired of hiding and claims the legal action is about “recovering her confidence and sense of self.”

“The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.”  — CCC 364

I addressed this on my radio program Catholic Connection, this morning, with my guest Dr. Meg Meeker, MD, a pediatrician, best-selling author, and leading authority on parenting, teens, and children’s health. As Christians, we’re called to be salt and light. As we enter Lent, no time like the present to conduct what I call a media reality check including:

• Taking an honest look at how much media your family consumes.
• Keeping meal times media-free allowing for real “face time” and in-person interaction.
• Utilizing parental control devices on laptops as well as cell phones.

These are just a few simple steps you can take to shine a brighter light in our often-dark media saturated culture that can wreak havoc with our minds, souls, and our bodies as well.

Click Here to listen to my interview with Dr. Meg Meeker, MD.

Resources On These Topics:

• Catholic Resources for Women – Teresa Tomeo
• Letter to Women – Pope St. John Paul II
• Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity and Vocation of Women) – Pope St. John Paul II
• Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World) – Pope St. John Paul II
• My OSV Webinar on Kids & Media
• Media Addiction Blogs – Teresa Tomeo
• NOISE: How Our Media-saturated Culture Dominates Lives and Dismantles Families – Teresa Tomeo
• Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ, Not Conformed to the Culture – Teresa Tomeo
• Beyond Me, My Selfie, and I: Finding Real Happiness In a Self-Absorbed World – Teresa Tomeo
• Modern Media: Facing the Danger, Opportunities & Responsibilities – Streaming Video or MP3 Download, 4-Part Course
• Reclaiming Feminism: The Church’s Traditions & Teachings on the Dignity of Women – Streaming Video 4-Part Course

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