The Way

As I watched The Way, I was extremely inspired by the different stories and burdens of each individual. Although each of the main characters led themselves along different journeys of self-discovery as they walked El Camino, they found solace and companionship in those sharing the same physical journey. My favorite part of the movie as a whole was that the pilgrimage united a mismatched group of people who not only lead very different lifestyles, but also probably never would have met if not for undertaking this journey. The characters were all able to connect and understand each other, despite their differing backgrounds, cultures, and interests. The film inspired me because it never got overly sentimental or dove too deep into the personal experiences of each character. As a religious movie, you might almost expect it to focus on the major change Tom made in his life after making this trek, but instead, the movie ended when the pilgrimage ended. I think the film didn't focus on how El Camino changed Tom's life because the whole movie was about how different people have different reasons for making the pilgrimage and most definitely have different outcomes at the end. Of course we see that Tom's journey evolves from a journey for his son to a journey for himself (or, more accurately, both his son and himself). I loved at the end of the movie when Tom reached the final destination and he put his name on the certificate, but then asked to have the name switched to "Daniel" for his son. While Tom made the physical trek, both Tom and his son, whom Tom carried with him, shared in a spiritual journey.

Mixed Messages

Having been in Catholic school for 12 years of my education, I can definitely say I've received mixed messages from the Catholic Church about the role of women in the Church. The Church encourages young women to live out the life of Christ by participating in community service and Church activities, whether it be a Church-sponsored event or participating in the Mass as a lector, cantor, or Eucharistic minister. In this way, the Church establishes an important role in the community and in the Church. However, much of the Bible is focused on men, and in discussing the sacrament of marriage, women are limited in their roles. For my newspaper project, I researched quotes in the Bible pertaining to marriage, and some of them seemed to be derogatory to the role of women. One quote starts:  "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." Similarly, women are allowed to participate in the Mass, but they are not allowed to hold leadership positions in the Church. While the Church looks up to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as a role model, it does not seem to emphasize the important impact young women can have.

Abortion

According to the US Catholic article, abortion rates have increased exponentially in the developing world, where abortions are either illegal, unsafe, or both. However, according to a different article, abortion rates in the United States are at the lowest level since 1973. Bryan Cone's article attests that a large part of the differing rates of abortion in the developing world versus the developed world relates to contraception and its availability in different countries.

In countries where contraception is readily available, there is a notably lower rate of abortions, as women are able to prevent unwanted pregnancies and do not have to turn to abortion. If the Church is unwilling to change its views on contraception, the best way to prevent abortions would probably be education. Informing people in the developing world about natural family planning has potential.

However, as the article suggests that while abortion and contraceptives are both against the views of the Church, choosing contraception as "the lesser of two evils" may resolve rising abortion rates while still maintaining a respect for the dignity of human life.