Blind Dog & Loyal Brother in Need of Home

Both dogs, approximately 8-months-old and believed to be lab-pitbull mixes, were found on the streets of Philadelphia

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How many Apples has abortion killed?

Deacon Greg Kandra

Since this is Respect Life Sunday, and the beginning of Respect Life month, I wanted to talk about one woman who did respect life – and her choice has made a difference in the life of virtually every person in this church.

Her name is Joanne Schiebel. In 1954, she was a young unmarried college student who discovered that she was pregnant. In the 1950s, her options were limited. She could have had an abortion – but the procedure was both dangerous and illegal. She could have gotten married, but she wasn’t ready and didn’t want to interrupt her education. Joanne opted, instead, to give birth to the baby and put it up for adoption.

And so it was that in 1955, a California couple named Paul and Clara Jobs adopted a baby boy, born out of wedlock, that they named Steven. We know him today…as Steve Jobs.

It would not be overstating things to say that Steve Jobs is my generation’s Thomas Edison. As one observer put it, he knew what the world wanted before the world knew that it wanted it.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad or an iPod, or anything remotely resembling them, you can thank Steve Jobs. If your world has been transformed by the ability to hear a symphony, send a letter, pay a bill, deposit a check, read a book and then buy theater tickets on something roughly the size of a credit card…you can thank Steve Jobs.

And: you can thank Joanne Schiebel.

If you want to know how much one life can matter, there is just one example.

But: imagine if that life had never happened.

Homily for October 2, 2011: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

HAT TIP: The Anchoress

1955 - 2011

The Baby Store

With an international network of surrogate mothers and egg and sperm donors, a new industry is emerging to produce children on the cheap and outside the reach of restrictive laws...

WSJ: Assembling the Global Baby

International black slavery ring?

I know I'm using a lot of "question marks" in my titles these days...it's just a combination of the absurdity of modern life combined with a fear of lawsuits (bloggers are starting to get sued now since the Foley scandal).

Today's thought is, regarding Madonna's newest adventure/competition, which strangely resembles the recent adventures of Brad and Anjie: Are poor little black children from third world countries considered property or are they just considered kids-up-for-adoption like in the U.S.?

Has Eye of the Child (the only search results I found for them brings up stuff like "pink eye and your child") discovered an international black slavery ring? Or has it just stumbled upon a new superstar reality show?

"It's not like selling property," said a statement by Eye Of The Child. They were speaking a day after Malawi's High Court granted an interim order for the star to adopt the boy, named as David Banda. "It is about safeguarding the future of a human being who, because of age, cannot express an opinion," said the group.

Aside from the fact that adopting-poor-little-dark-children-from-third-world-countries seems to be in vogue with the Hollywood crowd these days, I sense a sequel coming: "I was Madonna's son for a day"--or a week or a month or however long this newest drama lasts).

I can't wait.