Posts by Susan Ciancio
Overcoming Infertility–The Catholic Way
One of the most amazing gifts of a marriage is children. The excitement of a new life coming into the world cannot be matched by much. That’s why it’s so difficult, as a faithful people, to witness the sadness of couples who face infertility. With our country’s advances in technology, couples facing infertility have myriad…
Read MoreAssisted Reproductive Technologies: Which Methods Are Moral?
The Catholic Church teaches that in vitro fertilization is immoral because it not only commodifies a person but also eliminates the marital act from that person’s creation. In addition, it can lead to the deaths of tiny preborn children when unwanted embryos are discarded or used for testing. This is a bitter pill to swallow…
Read MoreResponding to Same-Sex Attraction as a Catholic Parent
Navigating our children’s emotional, spiritual, and mental health is a huge part of parenting. It’s a responsibility that most do not take lightly. And when our children hurt in any way, we also hurt. That empathy is part of the immense love that parents have for offspring. When we see our children hurting, we want…
Read MoreGender Dysphoria in the DSM-5: The Change in Terminology
The word dysphoria means “a state of feeling very unhappy, uneasy, or dissatisfied.” Gender dysphoria occurs when a person feels a persistent incongruence or disconnect between their biological sex and the one they identify with. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association published its latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the DSM-5.…
Read MoreHelping Christians with Porn Addictions
We all have something about ourselves that we don’t like, that we want to change, or that we’re embarrassed about. That’s just part of life. But there are sins that threaten to swallow us, that seek to absorb us, and that change the person we were meant to be. Those sins often lead to guilt…
Read MoreFamily and the Theology of the Body
Over the course of 129 general audiences—from September 5, 1979, through November 28, 1984—Pope John Paul II taught about God’s love, our relationship with Him and with others, and God’s desire to watch us grow in love and fullness with Him. This collection of papal addresses is now known as the Theology of the Body.…
Read MoreMay Catholics Get the Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine?
Our world has been rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus continues to mutate, there is one thing we can be sure of: COVID will be around for quite some time. At the height of the pandemic, as businesses, schools, and other activities closed down, people clamored for a vaccine—something to make this nightmare…
Read MorePlanned Parenthood: Your Questions Answered
Sorting through what’s true and what’s not when it comes to Planned Parenthood can be difficult. The nation’s largest abortion provider hides behind a veneer of marketing and misinformation. But beneath the smoke and mirrors, the facts speak for themselves. And these facts say loudly and clearly that abortion is the core mission of this organization that…
Read MorePermissive Parenting
They say that children don’t come with a handbook. And that’s true. But if they did, it would hold amazing insight from a woman named Diana Baumrind. Baumrind was a developmental psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley in the 1960s. After studying the behavior of preschool children, she found that there is…
Read MoreTheology of the Body for Kids
Young children are bombarded with “woke” language and ideology earlier and earlier in life. From books that normalize transgenderism to school curriculum that does the same, our world has moved further and further away from a society that values the human body. No longer are our bodies seen as gifts. What are parents to do?…
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