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Nathaniel Peters, over at the FIRST THINGS blog site, noticed a New York Times article on infidelity, particularly the rise in women reporting their own infidelity.

But what most amazed Peters was the language used in the NYTimes article:

The noticeable shifts came in men and women over 60 and those under 35. One could say many things about the findings, but I was struck by the tone of a few sentences. One, in the print edition, summarized the article:

“More people are cheating, new studies find, and younger women appear to be catching up with men.”

Another did the same, but in the body of the piece:

“Notably, women appear to be closing the adultery gap: younger women appear to be cheating on their spouses nearly as often as men.”

Notice the language. It’s not that women are as unfaithful as men or that women’s infidelity is rising; it’s that women are “closing the…

Posted earlier this week, Jennifer Fulwiler’s America magazine article,  A Sexual Revolution: One woman’s journey from pro-choice atheist to pro-life Catholic, hinted at Humanae Vitae :

Given my [secular] background, the Catholic idea that we are always to treat the sexual act with awe and respect, so much so that we should simply abstain if we are opposed to its life-giving potential, was a revolutionary message…..

In fact, Humane Vitae, promulgated 40 years ago, was not revolutionary. It was consistent with Christian tradition and teaching, Catholic and Protestant, going back 2000 years. What was revolutionary was the public reaction to Humane Vitae by various Catholics — and others –who demanded the teaching not apply to them.

There was so much outcry, in fact, that few would have forseen a new, vigorous, growing defense of Humane Vitae 40 years later. Thirty-one year old Jennifer Fulwiler is but one of many today who understand that Pope Paul VI was not only right…