Recent family-related news included a look out how the move towards divorce for one couple improved their marriage; a recommendation, by a group of Bishops to the Pope, to allow married men to be ordained as priests in the Amazon region; a personal look at one woman’s path to divorce; a bitter custody fight in Texas focused on the gender identity of their 7 year old child and a proposed rule by the Trump administration which would allow adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against LGBT families.
How an Almost-Divorce Kept Them Together Daniel Jones, The New York Times, October 24, 2019 In the 2013 Modern Love essay “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive,” Ann Leary’s marriage to her husband, the actor Denis Leary, was on the rocks…Headed for divorce, they suddenly found a path forward together, and Ms. Leary learned two lessons in love along the way. 1) Deciding to get divorced can be the key to staying married. 2) How you play tennis with each other matters. A lot.
Catholic Bishops Back Ordination of Married Men as Priests in Amazon Region, a Milestone Jason Horowitz, The New York Times, October 26, 2019 A summit of Roman Catholic bishops meeting at the Vatican recommended on Saturday that Pope Francis allow the ordination of married men as priests in the Amazon region, which would lift a roughly 1,000-year-old restriction and potentially revolutionize the priesthood.
The Chicken’s in the Oven, My Husband’s Out the Door Theo Pauline Nestor, The New York Times, October 27, 2019 “Some marriages grind slowly to a halt. Others, like mine, explode mid-flight, a space shuttle torn asunder in the clear blue sky as the stunned crowd watches in disbelief. And the hazardous debris from the catastrophe just keeps raining down.”
Texas Father Says 7-Year-Old Isn’t Transgender, Igniting a Politicized Outcry Karen Zraick, The New York Times, October 28, 2019 A bitter custody battle in Dallas that centers on the gender identity of a 7-year-old child provoked an outcry among conservatives this month. The child’s mother had honored what she said was the child’s preference to live as a girl and sought to compel the father, Jeffrey Younger, to do the same, according to court documents. But Mr. Younger insisted that the child is a boy and said that the mother was manipulating the child’s identity.
Adoption Groups Could Turn Away L.G.B.T. Families Under Proposed Rule Derrick Bryson Taylor, The New York Times, November 2, 2019 A proposed rule by the Trump administration would allow foster care and adoption agencies to deny their services to L.G.B.T. families on faith-based grounds… This seeks to roll back an Obama-era rule that classified sexual orientation and gender identity as classes protected from discrimination.
To suggest articles for inclusion in the FamilyKind Weekly News Roundup please email us at info@FamilyKind.org