Based on the findings of a recent Gallup poll released on May 30, Americans are becoming more accepting of a number of controversial issues. At the top of Gallup's list of 19 issues was contraception, of which 90 percent of Americans approve, followed by divorce at 69 percent and premarital sex at 66 percent. Others making the top ten were embryonic stem cell research (65%), childbirth outside of marriage (58%), same-sex unions (58%), euthanasia (52%) and abortion (42%).
These
numbers shouldn't surprise us; after all Americans have been steadily
rejecting a Judeo-Christian morality in favor of secular relativism for
decades. In the so-called sexual revolution of the late 1960s, sex was
separated from the person -- body and soul -- and the human body became
regarded as an instrument one could manipulate and even exploit for
pleasure.
Of
course, it goes back more than a few decades. As is often the case,
what seems like a sudden explosion was really the logical outcome of
hundreds of years of growing confusion about who we are as persons.
René
Descartes (1596-1650) was a French scientist and philosopher who many
credit with helping to launch what later became known, somewhat
ironically, as "the Enlightenment." Among his contributions to the way
people thought was to place body and soul in opposition to each other,
later leading to the idea that the human body could simply be seen as an
object one could manipulate according to one's desires. Simply put, you
are your mind, and you have a body; as opposed to the traditional
Christian view that you are both body and soul. In this, Descartes
followed Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who believed that the goal of human
knowledge should be to successfully achieve not stewardship of, but
domination over, nature.
It's
telling that today this does not sound controversial to many people.
It's even difficult to see how radical this change was, but let's put it
this way: instead of beginning with the idea that we grasp reality
through our senses and think about it, we would now begin with our own
mind as the basis of knowledge and from there subjectively interpret
reality.
Books
are still being written about what became known in philosophy as
mind/body dualism, a view that is rejected by the Church. This dualistic
view is assumed by most today, even though most don't realize it or see
how it informs even their most basic assumptions about reality, and
other people.
Okay,
enough philosophy. Let's look at how this affects our lives today with
respect to our own bodies and relationships, the results of which are
shouting at us from the Gallup poll...
Sincerely yours in Christ, 
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
PS
Please see the report below from our representatives who attended the
Organization of American States assembly in Paraguay this week. As
always, it is only with your generous financial support that we are able
to defend life and family around the world. Please support our mission with your financial gift to HLI today. Thank you, and God bless you!
HLI in Latin America
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by Marlene Gillette-Ibern, Esq.
The Organization of American States (OAS) held its 44th General Assembly from Monday, June 2 to Thursday, June 5, 2014, in Asuncion, Paraguay. The theme of this year's assembly was "Development with Social Inclusion." Several representatives of Human Life International were on hand to bring the pro-life and pro-family message to this important international event. Read More...
Commentary
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In a couple of instances over the past week, Pope Francis made strong comments about marriage, imploring married couples to be open to having children, and also warning that the devil is out to destroy marriage and the family. Human Life International President Father Shenan Boquet spoke to LifeSiteNews about the Holy Father's comments. Read More...
As LifeSiteNews.com reports, a new Gallup poll on morality shows that a large majority of Americans feel that a number of issues considered mortal sins in the Catholic Church are "morally acceptable" to them personally. Human Life International President Father Shenan Boquet reacted to the poll saying the results show the need for faith leaders to be more engaged in preaching on moral issues. Read More...
