Justice and mercy are often excruciating...

but always life-giving.

With a diaconal bow to Deacon Greg, over at what we here at Καθολικός διάκονος simply refer to as The Bench, and another of my partners in crime, Frank, whose choice stylings you can check out at Why I Am Catholic, and while the Missouri GOP work vigorously to set the pro-life movement back years, if not decades, by reaching the correct conclusion using poor, pseudo-scientific, and downright offensive arguments, I urge you to think about Rebecca, who courageously, if briefly, tells her story, courtesy of a great group, Feminists for Life-

I have a friend of long-standing who became pregnant when she was gang-raped as a young woman. She gave the child birth and let him be adopted by a childless couple. To wit: rape is never a blessing, it is one of the worst things a person can do to another person. But courageous women, like my friend Shauna, who for several years shared her story on a limited basis, who refuse to be victims, or to victimize others, are magnificent, grace-filled people who give amazing witness to the beauty of life! They possess what I can only describe as heroic virtue.