Interestingly, the anti-abortion movement in the U.S. Catholic Church is a lay movement. Priests don't usually get involved.

Priests don't usually talk about sex, either - but conservative lay Catholics have latched onto John Paul II's unrealistic "theology of the body" as a way to teach their kids not to do anything to embarrass the family.

Benedict and Francis have said very realistic things about sex, but the conservatives don't listen to them. They hear only John Paul II - and I have no respect at all for JPII.

Steve, I think only conservative Christians find a need to "reconcile religion with science." The rest of us see no conflict between faith and science. YOUR concept of God won't allow you to see that, and it's an interesting phenomenon. You have a fundamentalist concept of God, and you rightly reject that concept. But you cannot seem to understand that many people of faith have an understanding (or perception) of God that is radically different from your concept.

You and I see the same thing, or experience the same thing. I perceive the essence of that as divine, and you don't. That's fine with me, as long as you don't deny my perception or prevent me from expressing my perception - including expressing this to my children. My perception is no threat to your having a different perception. Both are OK.

-Joe Offer-