Toxic Masculinity, the Death Penalty, NFP Qualms + more
Answering your AMA questions
(This artwork is A Hidden Life in Nazareth by Ukrainian artist Ivanka Demchuk. We continue to pray for all of those affected by Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine.)
Last week, I opened up an Ask-Me-Anything on my Instagram Stories for your questions to build this week’s newsletter. I got so many thoughtful, creative questions, and I really wish I could answer every single one, but I do these AMA issues quarterly, so there will be plenty of future opportunities to get a question in!
AMA disclaimers: Some of the questions were repeats/long and personal, so I’m paraphrasing a few of them.As I grow in my faith + personhood + feminism + motherhood + alllll that jazz, I’m really starting to see just how much I value open dialogue. I think the fact that we have such a hard time having conversations with one another is one of the critical breaking points of our society, especially in America— “land of the free”, etc. So here’s what I want to say: you and I can disagree and you are welcome here. You and I can hurt each other’s feelings and you are welcome here. You and I can have very different beliefs and you are welcome here.The only things I don’t tolerate are you telling someone else they aren’t welcome here, or you deciding to radically blaspheme the Holy Spirit or something. K? Lets pray for each other and assume best intentions as we wrestle with tricky topics. Conflict is what happens when thinking people gather.
How do you discern your family size?
This is such a complex question because its got so many individual factors intertwined. There’s obviously a school of thought coursing through society that the fewer kids the better, if your kids aren’t getting yearly trips to Disney World you’re depriving them of a decent childhood, kids are kind of a lot of work so limit your birthing, please. There’s also a school of thought coursing through Catholicism that women are meant to be pregnant or nursing for each and every one of their childbearing years, any desire to limit a family size is selfish, God wants every single one of us to have twelve children so get to work, ladies.