Valued and Loved

CW: Brief description of intimate partner violence “I don’t want to play God and decide who lives and who dies,” Helen said reluctantly. Nevertheless, she still thought that abortion was needed in many difficult circumstances. If a woman felt unready, or was battling poverty, how could she care for the child? She spoke at length … Continue reading Valued and Loved

Welcome to my blog!

Hello, and welcome to my blog! My name is Maria, and I live in Ontario, Canada. I am a Catholic woman, a daughter, a sister, a #CoolAunt, and a friend. I am also a pro-life public speaker–you can read more about that here. In this space, I hope to share my reflections on social issues, … Continue reading Welcome to my blog!

The Truth is a Light in the Darkness

Originally posted on November 16th, 2020 for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform “A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,I had not thought death had undone so many.Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.” These lines from T.S. Eliot’s 1922 poem The Waste Land have long haunted me, especially … Continue reading The Truth is a Light in the Darkness

Speaking from the Heart

Originally posted on March 28th, 2018 for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform I felt like I was hitting a wall in my conversation with Danny at the Abortion Awareness Project. We had looked at pictures of aborted children, and we had discussed human rights and the difficult circumstances surrounding pregnancy. He would agree with my … Continue reading Speaking from the Heart

Truth and Healing

Originally posted on October 31, 2017 for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. I’m standing on a street corner in Toronto, holding a sign with an image of a first-trimester abortion victim on it. Many passers-by tend to avoid my gaze and the pamphlets in my outstretched hand. A few pause to vent about why … Continue reading Truth and Healing

The call for an ethical conversion: seeing the faces of the pre-born

Originally posted on March 17, 2016 for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. Several years ago, I encountered the ideas of the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas while I idly skimmed my high school religion textbook. I was intrigued by his philosophy of “the face-to-face.” Levinas argues that when we encounter another human being face-to-face, we … Continue reading The call for an ethical conversion: seeing the faces of the pre-born