Beloved Family:

   Billboards truly do garner attention.  I imagine most of us have seen billboard signs advertising – well, billboard sign advertising.  As much as they can be an eyesore, it is challenging to miss or ignore them.  Two cases in point.  When I traveled to the Detroit area, back in August, for the first module of the Pastoral Supervisor Certification program in which a number of Cleveland priests are enrolled, I could not get over how many advertisements we saw, for “legalized” cannabis.  One would have thought it is an essential item for people to have available for health— I do not believe that is the case.

   Then, on my car trip home from North Carolina last Friday, I saw several billboards for “family planning”— that is, contraception.  In each case, the smiling face of a woman of color was featured.  Now, I realize that regional advertising is likely to be contoured to regional populations.  However, I could not help but think that certain groups of people are being targeted for this deception.  

   How say I “deception?” It is due to the connection between contraception and abortion.  In the recent election, seven out of ten states passed ballot measures potentially enshrining abortion (and other “reproductive rights”) in state constitutions.  This is tragic, in and of itself.  However, in order to defeat the extermination of life, we need to win hearts even more than elections. What is the above-mentioned connection? It is a hard but necessarily-addressed truth: once the sexual act has been separated from the commitment represented in marriage, and once the procreative element has been separated from the marriage act, then a veritable Pandora’s box of deception is opened, carrying with it grave costs to our human dignity.  

   Somewhat at the heart of this deception is the grand illusion and utter lie that human persons can carry out a physical act without physical, emotional and spiritual consequences.  How many young women who thought they were “protected” by a pill or device, subsequently conceiving a child, are then directed to abortion as so-called secondary contraception?  How could we believe this marks an advancement on behalf of women in society?   It is not only the life of the unborn child that is subject to destruction; the hearts and souls of precious daughters of the Father are under attack.

   I urge you to listen to a specific episode of the podcast, , hosted by Jesuit Fr. Robert McTeigue.  The episode reference is: “Let’s Go to Fr. Spitzer’s Universe” (date: 11/7/24).  In it, fellow Jesuit Fr. Robert Spitzer, who has done masterful work in the field of synthesis between faith and science, tackles the spiraling cycle of violence to which man exposes himself, when we do not examine the effect of original sin in our lives.  He is straightforward,  and yet he offers compassion and hope in the surpassing power of the Lord to lead us to reform and healing.  Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, parents ought to listen first before referring their teen children to the episode.

   In contrast to the billboard messages noted above, while driving up Akron Road on Tuesday I saw a wonderful sign calling our attention to the work of the Pregnancy Care Center of Wayne County.  It bears no anger, no threats—simply, the beautiful truth that help is available for women in need.  It isn’t only for a female “audience.”  We men must be willing to take a deep look within our hearts, to confront the darkness of the ongoing scourge on souls that results from the objectification of woman. We are called to heroic self-sacrifice.

   And where was I headed on Tuesday: to be present for the evaluation of parish seminarian Chuck Cairnie—who once again anticipates diaconate ordination in spring of 2025.  I do not say this solely because Chuck is a seminarian, but because of who he is as a young man: if any young man is looking for a peer to learn from, it would be so worth your while to “get to know Chuck!”

Let His Peace by with you,

Fr. Stephen