Tag: Jennifer Roback Morse

Sex Before Dating

by Penna Dexter This article was first posted February 24, 2017, at pointofview.net. A new study commissioned by the dating service Match.com shines a light on today’s hook-up culture, and it isn’t flattering. Match.com recently announced the results of its survey in which a shocking 34 percent of young adults report having sex before even […]

Practical, pastoral guidance for Catholics

A January conference in Phoenix will tackle tough issues of homosexuality, transgenderism by James Graves at OSV Newsweekly on January 27, 2017 Clergy process out of the chapel at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Mich., in August 2015 after the opening Mass of the Truth and Love Conference. CNS photo by Mike Stechschulte […]

Padres: please tell us the full truth!

by Jennifer Roback Morse on February 14, 2017 In my line of work, people tell me their stories of family breakdown and heartbreak. I recently heard the following story. I will tell it in first person, roughly as it was told to me. My comments are in italics. “Like you and your husband, my wife […]

National Marriage Week 2017: 101 Tips on Morning Drive

(February 8, 2017) Dr J is Dina Marie Hale’s guest on Mater Dei Radio’s Morning Drive. They’re discussing the Ruth Institute’s newest book, 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person, authored by Dr. Morse and Betsy Kerekes.

Sex before 1st date? Shocking trend means big regrets

‘We are separating ourselves from our bodies’ An interview of Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse by Greg Corombos   This article was first posted at World Net Daily on February 11, 2017. A new survey detailing the extent of casual sex among singles shows many are having intimate relations before the first date, a development that […]

A Closer Look at National Marriage Week 2017

(February 8, 2017) Dr J is once again Sheila Liaugminas’ guest on Relevant Radio’s A Closer Look. They’re discussing matters of the heart during National Marriage Week: 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person, marriage, the effects of divorce on children, government and cultural pressures, and more.

Poor Kids Need Their Parents Too

By Jennifer Roback Morse Published on January 29, 2017, at stream.org. Life-long married love benefits children. Why then, is our government creating incentives for parents to not marry? Poor children need their own parents and a stable family life every bit as much as children of the middle and upper classes. If you are not […]

Study finds skyrocketing rate of abstinence among Millennials

by Ben Johnson This article was first published August 3, 2016, at LifeSiteNews. Think Millennials are the most sexually active generation in history? Think again, say the authors of a new study released on Monday. The number of young adults born in the 1990s who report they are not having sex is more than twice […]

CDC Report: Virgin Teens Much Healthier Than Their Sexually Active Peers

This article was first published at The Christian Post on December 6, 2016. by Brandon Showalter A new Centers for Disease Control study examines teenage health behaviors in connection to their self-reported sexual activity and shows those who remain abstinent are much healthier on many fronts than their sexually active peers. (Photo: Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi)Teen girls […]

Probably a dumb thing to do right before Christmas….

Writing a long, heart-felt letter on a difficult topic is probably a dumb thing to do right before Christmas. You’re looking for cheer and comfort. But I’m reaching out to you because I have something on my heart that I’m guessing is on your heart too. I know that some of you are deeply concerned […]

Finding Mr. (or Mrs.) Right

This article was first published at Fathers for Good on November 23, 2016. New book outlines Catholic plan for marriage If the “101 Tips” of this handy little book could be summed up in a few words, they would be: Know thyself. The wisdom of Socrates holds true today, though the modern dating scene may […]

A Guidebook for Young Adults

By Barb Szyszkiewicz, OFS This article was first posted November 10, 2016, at CatholicMom.com. Two marriage-and-family writers have teamed up to put together a book of tips for Catholic singles seeking marriage. Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy Kerekes compiled 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person. Subtitled “Helping Singles Find Each Other, Contemplate Marriage and […]

Book Review: 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person

by Terri Kimmel This article was first published on October 24, 2016, at CatholicLane.com. In today’s electronic world of tweets and status updates, communicating with brevity is everything. 101 Tips for Marrying the Right Person: Helping Singles Find Each other, Contemplate Marriage, and Say I Do by the Ruth Institute’s Jennifer Roback Morse and Betsy […]

‘Healing Family Breakdown’ retreat set

by Crystal Stevenson / American Press This article was first published October 21, 2016, at AmericanPress.com. How to heal after the breakdown of one’s family unit will be the topic of the San Diego-based Ruth Institute’s inaugural Louisiana event. The “Healing Family Breakdown” retreat will be 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Our Lady […]

Social justice warriors: Here’s a cause for you

by Jennifer Roback Morse Originally published at The Blaze on October 14, 2016. Dear Social Justice Warriors, In some circles, the term “Social Justice Warrior” is a slur: an overly sensitive, obliviously privileged college student in a continual uproar over trivia. I don’t agree with this caricature. I agree with you that social justice is […]

Recapturing the public square: Sept. 17 event to provide ‘pep talk’ to Catholics

By Joyce Coronel This article was first published September 10, 2016, at CatholicSun.org. In the midst of a contentious political season, Catholics might be tempted to obey the maxim about steering clear of politics and religion in public. But that’s not what they’re called to do. That’s one of the messages Catholics will hear at […]

Not your momma’s free market

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on September 29, 2016. I got into the conservative movement as a 19-year-old economics undergraduate at Ohio State University. My OSU professors were all recent graduates of the University of Chicago and were true believers in the free market. The theory was elegant, […]

Why the Prophetic Voice of Pope Paul VI Still Matters

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on September 12, 2016. Those of us who live in prosperous countries may not realize the full impact of the contraceptive ideology around the world. You know the ideology I mean: everyone old enough to give meaningful consent is entitled to unlimited sex […]

The LGBT Movement Will Not Self Destruct

The fact that an ideology is incoherent does not mean that people are not deadly serious about implementing it. By Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Federalist on June 6, 2016. I hate to disagree with Rachel Lu, whom I admire and consider a friend. But we simply cannot count on […]

101 Tips for a Happier Marriage

This book is great – simple, achievable hints for a better relationship. by Tamara El-Rahi This article was first published August 16, 2016, at Mercatornet.com. It’s not often that couples are in unhappy relationships because of big things like star-crossed fates or the fact that their families are feuding. More often than not, it’s the […]

Pro-Choice Puritans

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published August 18, 2016 at The Blaze. For a very short time, Puritanism was the dominant religion in America. The need to populate a large continent led to lots of immigration of lots of people from different religions. Since then, we Americans have developed a sardonic definition […]

HOME ECONOMICS: Jennifer Roback Morse proclaims the social utility of the family

First published August 11, 2016 at heymiller.com and will be in the NATIONAL REVIEW August 29, 2016. by John J. Miller “It’s a discouraging time to be a social conservative,” says Jennifer Roback Morse. “We’ve been marginalized everywhere: the media, the academy, the legal system, and now even in politics.” Many of her brethren know […]

Transgender People are Not Sick

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on August 3, 2016, under the title, “Under Obama, Transgenderism Is Not Medical Condition. It’s a Political Stepping Stone.” This may seem to be a remarkable headline for a well-known social conservative. But I must defer to the authority of the Obama administration’s […]

Elite Women Wage Social Warfare on Everywoman

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first posted at The Blaze on July 5, 2016. So a radical feminist and two childless women walk into a courtroom. How do you expect them to rule on abortion or contraception? Their lives as they know them, depend on both. In Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt, the […]

Study claims premarital virginity is now ‘antiquated’

by Fr. Mark Hodges BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, July 5, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — A new study from the Alfred Kinsey Institute claims premarital sex is so universally accepted and practiced that virgins are considered social misfits stigmatized as undesirable relationship partners. Published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sex Research, the study, titled “Has Virginity Lost Its Virtue? […]

Don’t Feed the Trolls – It Just Encourages Them

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first posted at The Blaze on June 21, 2016. As an observer of the human species, I believe I have discovered a new type. I call them “paid internet protesters,” or “PIPs” in internet-speak, who are all armchair culture warriors.  Dr. Rachel Lu, a senior contributor at The […]

Arguments about religious liberty failed to defend traditional marriage

By Marilyn Rodrigues May 27, 2016 at Catholicweekly.com.au.   Dr Jennifer Roback Morse believes surrogacy will become more prevalent if same-sex marriage is introduced along with a renewed push for legalisation of commercial surrogacy. Photo: Patrick J Lee The inherent right of children to be raised by their biological mother and father should be the […]

The Church’s Finest Hour

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published May 11, 2016, at The Blaze. Many Christians are distraught over our political situation. We are trying to chart an honorable course through an increasingly unreasonable moral minefield. I think the solution is at once simpler, and more difficult, than it seems. We need to tell […]

Why Everyone Should Oppose Surrogacy

By Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on May 4, 2016. I am an outspoken critic of gestational surrogacy, in which the gestational mother carries a child to term for another person or couple. I have noticed that many people do not understand the stakes in this issue. Pro-life people […]

Married people more likely to survive cancer than single individuals, new study shows

by Andre Mitchell This article was first published at Christianity Today on April 23, 2016. (Pixabay) A study conducted by researchers from Fremont’s Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that married people are more likely to survive cancer than single individuals. Based on an analysis […]

Who is the Child’s Mother? LA House passes surrogacy.

Watch Representative Joe Lopinto assume the very thing that needs to be proven: he asserts that the genetic parents should not have to adopt their “own” child. But according to Louisiana law, and indeed the law of every civilized country until the day before yesterday, the woman who gives birth to the child is the […]

Experiment on Small Children? Really?

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on April 28, 2016. On Wednesday, Dr. Morse testified against the Louisiana surrogacy bill in Baton Rouge. Surrogacy is a social and medical experiment, with great risks to children. This is her prepared text. Thank you for the opportunity to share my concerns about HB1102. I am the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, a global non-profit organization, with offices in San Diego, Pittsburgh, and now, Lake Charles, Louisiana. Our organization is dedicated to creating Christ-like solutions to the agony and injustice of family breakdown. We oppose surrogacy on principle. We consider it a form of family breakdown. Surrogacy breaks down motherhood itself, reducing it to a series of functions. The genetic, gestational, care-giving and even the legally-recognized mothers could all be distinct individuals. The full impact of these divisions cannot be fully known at this time. However, we owe it to future generations to look down the road as far as we can, and try, at least, to anticipate the consequences. We do know that infants attach to their mothers in the womb. Neonatal research has found that newborns can recognize their mothers by sight, by voice and even by odor. Research strongly suggests that prenatal infant attachment is correlated with secure attachment between mother and infant after birth. We have no idea how surrogacy affects this. Does a secure attachment between the gestational carrier and the infant translate into a secure attachment with the genetic mother? Does a disruption of the bond between the gestational carrier harm the child? We just don’t know. The practice of surrogacy amounts to a social experiment using babies as subjects. The adults involved, surrogates, donors and commissioning parents, can give meaningful consent, at least in principle. But children, in the nature of things, cannot consent. We have a responsibility to protect their interests, which they cannot protect themselves. Experimenting on small children i

In An Industry That Makes People, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published April 20, 2016, at The Blaze. Sperm donation, egg donation and surrogacy: Third party reproduction seems to be a “done deal” in Western society. Even ardently pro-life people do not seem to see the problems. Hey, these techniques are making babies, not killing them. So what […]

FAVS: The Family and the Market

(April 15, 2016) Dr J addresses Christian faculty, clergy members, and business leaders at the Acton Institute’s "Toward a More Free and Virtuous Society&quot, conference. Her talk is entitled "Virtue and Economic Thinking."

The Latest Pope Francis Controversy and Why Non-Catholics Should Care

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first published at The Blaze on April 12, 2016. Non-Catholics may be wondering why Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” or “The Joy of Love,” has Catholics in an uproar. Has the Pope changed Catholic doctrine? Has he left the doctrine officially intact, but changed pastoral practice so […]

Save the Sisters: Stop the War on Women’s Fertility

Originally published at The Blaze, March 22, 2016. The Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns who serve the indigent elderly, will be in court this week, defending its right to exist. Religious freedom will be the principle legal issue. As worthy as that cause is, I propose another, equally significant issue […]

It’s Time to Stop Letting the Elite Class Define What Family Looks Like

This is my maiden voyage at The Blaze.  The virtue of this blog, is that I can tell you The Rest of the Story, that you won’t necessarily see on the published article. For this article, I can tell you that I wanted a different title, “The Rich and The Rest.” The editor over there […]

Is Contraception a Legitimate Response to the Zika Virus?

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was originally published at Crisis Magazine on March 4, 2016. Pope Francis’ latest press interview on the plane from Mexico created confusion about the Church’s teaching on contraception. The Holy Father said, “Paul VI, a great man, in a difficult situation in Africa, permitted nuns to use contraceptives in cases of rape.” The Papal spokesman, Fr. Lombardi, trying to clarify matters, seemed to say that women in areas affected by Zika are in a “case of emergency or gravity,” and so are allowed to “discern” whether to use a contraceptive. The process of “discernment” Fr. Lombardi seems to be suggesting, does not really make sense on its own terms. Let me explain. Just this past weekend, I met David and Roz Rowan, a couple whose only child died suddenly at the age of 23 from a Massive Pulmonary Embolism. Why would a healthy young woman die from a stroke? Doctors attribute it directly to her use of hormonal contraception. The parents have set up a foundation in her honor, to do research on the link between contraception and Massive Pulmonary Embolisms. Likewise, Erika Langhart died of a double pulmonary embolism, at the age of 24. She was using a NuvaRing, contraceptive device. This family refused an out of court settlement from the drug manufacturer. The parents wanted Merck, the international pharmaceutical giant, to face a jury trial, and be held accountable for the deaths of women like Erika. As her mother said, In our opinion, Merck got away with murder, and continues to do so to this day. In 2011 NuvaRing made the company $623m; in 2013 it was $686m; and in 2014, after the settlement, Merck made a staggering $723m from it. Settlements are just the cost of doing business to Merck, all at the expense of women’s health and lives. Earlier this year, Erika’s mother committed suicide. How could Erika have predicted her own death, the nightmare her parents would endure on her behalf, the callous behavior of government agencies and drug companies, and ultimately, her mother’s suici

The Church Has Been Right on Divorce All Along

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was first posted at Crisis Magazine on January 27, 2016. I would like to weigh in on Ross Douthat’s on-going dialogue with theologians employed at nominally Catholic institutions. Like Douthat, I am not a theologian. However, we don’t have to be theologians in order to be good Catholics or […]

It’s Legal To Buy And Sell Children, As Long As They’re Small

Children created during in vitro fertilization can be disposed of for potential flaws, evaluated for ‘desirable’ characteristics, experimented upon, and bought and sold.   This article was first published at thefederalist.com on January 25, 2016. By Katie Schuermann, with extensive quotes by Dr. Morse   Abortion is not the only legalized medical procedure that hurts […]

Missing Millennials — What Must the Church Do to Reach a Generation?

Experts weigh best practices to reach younger adults, who are less likely to attend Mass and more likely to back same-sex ‘marriage.’ by JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND 07/09/2015 WASHINGTON — When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its June 26 ruling, which found a constitutional right to same-sex “marriage,” Catholic leaders called for renewed efforts to evangelize […]

Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism

A book review by Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse This book review appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of The Independent Review and was posted here. The latest book by Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, is a series of essays held together by natural-law reasoning. Although George is a devout Roman […]

Judge rules against polygamous couple

Posted at Life Site News December 11, 2016. By Fr. Mark Hodges HELENA, Montana, December 11, 2015 – A bigamist and his two women are fighting Montana’s bigamy laws. Nathan Collier says he was inspired to sue the state to legalize bigamy by the Supreme Court Obergefell decision constitutionalizing homosexual “marriage.” But on Monday, U.S. […]

Help for the victims of the sexual revolution

By Alyson Smith Celebrate Life September-October 2015 Jennifer Roback Morse, PhD, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, brings a unique voice to discussions of love, marriage, sexuality, and the family. Tell us about the Ruth Institute. What led you to found it? I had been a hard-charging career woman in my 20s and early […]

50 Shades of Gay

by Jennifer Roback Morse First published January 4, 2016, at Crisis Magazine. The Sexual Revolution was supposed to liberate us from sexual stereotypes. In fact, we have replaced the old stereotypes of gay men with new and even more rigid stereotypes. Perhaps some people regard the new view of gay as more positive and affirming […]

Sexual Revolutionaries Target Cal State Professor for Defending Families

COMMENTARY: A tenured professor of English is threatened with dismissal because he challenged one of the sexual revolution’s core assumptions. by JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE This article was first posted November 11, 2015, at NCRegister.com. Robert Oscar Lopez, a tenured English professor at California State University-Northridge, is on the verge of being suspended without pay, ostensibly […]

Bisexual prof. raised by lesbians who supports traditional marriage faces loss of tenure

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, November 10, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — Robert Oscar Lopez isn’t your typical social-conservative professor: he was raised by his mom and her lesbian partner, and he openly admits that he is bisexual. But he also opposes same-sex “marriage” and adoption, and even submitted a brief to the United States Supreme Court arguing against […]

Society victimized by divorce

by Francis Michael Walsh This article was first published October 3, 2015, at Pacific Daily News. On the very week that the Catholic Church sponsored a World Meeting of Families, the PDN published a column extolling the virtues of Guam’s divorce laws. We were told by the correspondent that the divorce laws in Guam are […]

Uncovered — the dirty secrets behind the feminist movement

This article was published October 13, 2015, at ReligionNews.com. Longtime Cosmo writer reveals how she hijacked the women’s rights crusade SAN FRANCISCO – The 1960s women’s rights movement has had a profoundly adverse impact on women throughout the United States, including Sue Ellen Browder, a former ardent propagandist for sexual liberation who wrote stories meant […]

The Catholic Church, Children and Same-Sex Parenting

Deliberately depriving children of a relationship with one of their parents is an injustice to the children. by JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE This article was first published at National Catholic Register on October 16, 2015. Editor’s note: This article is an adaptation of a talk Jennifer Roback Morse presented at the “Living the Truth in Love” […]

The Impact of Re-Defining Marrriage on Children and Society

(March 7, 2015) This is Dr. Morse’s talk from the 2015 "Bringing America Back to Life&quot, convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s entitled "The Impact of Redefining Marriage on Children and Society.&quot, Special thanks to Molly Smith and From the Median for this audio.

The Supreme Court Has Legalized Same-Sex Marriage: Now What?

A National Review Online Symposium, June 27, 2015 Jennifer Roback Morse After the Obergefell ruling, we can expect the following: Parenthood will no longer be considered a natural reality to be recorded by the government but the creation of the state for the benefit of adults. Some children will have a legally recognized right to […]

Bedding 12 Strangers in a Year, Not Surprisingly, Ends 18-Year Marriage

An interview of Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse by Austin Ruse This article was first published at breitbart.com on March 23, 2015. Sex in her 18-year marriage had gone routine and stale. What’s more, forty-something “Robin Rinaldi” wanted a baby, something her husband was adamantly against. So she proposed a limited open marriage, a 12-month sexathon […]

Defending Marriage with Dr. J

Get it while you still can! We’re phasing this product out to make way for soon-to-be updated materials. Buy yours before it’s gone! This disk includes the renowned and chilling talk, “What did you do to help the bishop?” recorded in Oakland, CA, about our likely future if same sex marriage were enacted. Many of […]

Impressive lineup at San Francisco NFP conference

Dr. Morse will be at this event. If you can make it, please join us! This article was first posted at California Catholic Daily. “Male & female he created them” draws star speakers On August 21 and 22 the Archdiocese of San Francisco is hosting the the 13th statewide conference of the California Association of […]

With Same-sex Marriage, What Happens to the Rights of Children?

An interview of Dr. Morse by Zoe Romanowsky at aleteia.org. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse believes we are experimenting with vulnerable children. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage, the court heard testimony from adult children who grew up in same-sex relationship households. The Washington Post ran a piece about this just before the […]

Marriage Has Been Redefined: Now What?

Posted June 26, 2015 at catholicexchange.com. In an unsurprising but still disappointing decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Obergefell vs Hodges that states may not define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Many Catholics, along with other people of good-will who believe marriage is intrinsically related to men, women, […]

After Gay Marriage, A Look Into the Future

Posted By Carl C. Curtis on Jun 27, 2015, at thechristianreview.com. Now that Justice Kennedy has, in the face of 200 years of legal precedence, set the record straight on what the Constitution says about marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges), Christians will certainly be wondering what the effects will be on society, other than the visible, […]

Court Decision Will Renew Campaign for Marriage

by Jennifer Roback Morse This article was published at crisismagazine.com on June 29, 2015.  The long-awaited US Supreme Court ruling on the definition of marriage is as bad as we had feared. The Obergefell ruling will have harmful long-term effects on the family, the church, self-government and society. Each one of the four dissenters wrote […]

Propaganda Alert

Dr. Morse posted this on Facebook: “No evidence that children of same sex couples negatively impacted, study shows.” This headline is very misleading. The study does not present new data on outcomes for children. Instead, it studies the date at which the research community achieved “consensus” on the “no difference” claim. If the community systematically […]

The Supreme Court Has Made New Law…

(June 29, 2015) Dr J is once again Molly Smith’s guest on "From the Median&quot, to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.