Prostitution Laws and Christian Morality
Today I have a guest post at Julian O'Dea's blog on the controversial topic of prostitution laws. It includes a Catholic historical perspective and should provide plenty food for thought.
The Memorare
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
I agree with you Mishka. Both prostitutes and their johns need to be prosecuted. It has struck me that here in the US that the penalties on the johns are miniscule compared to the prostitutes. I could be wrong but that's my impression. My solution is to keep the penalty on the prostitutes but triple the penalty on the johns. Legalizing prostitution would be a disgrace.
ReplyDelete