The Way

I really enjoyed watching the film, The Way.  Watching each of the characters as they traveled on the camino was very inspiring.  I thought that it was really cool to see how each of the characters in this movie changed  as they walked their pilgrimage.  It was inspiring to see how they all seemed to get more in touch with themselves as they traveled through Europe.  I agree that the purpose of the Camino is to find yourself and reflect on your life and its' purpose.  I think it would be beneficial for everyone to go on a pilgrimage whether it be 3 days or almost 3 months like in the movie.  It is a great way to get away from the stress of our everyday lives.  On the Camino, I think that Tom's purpose changed throughout his journey.  He began the Camino so that he could carry his son's ashes and complete it for him.  As the pilgrimage went on, I think that Tom realized he was meant to walk the Camino not only for his son, but also for himself.  

Mixed Messages

I think that the Church sends a lot of positive messages to young women.        
The church teaches women to treat themselves with respect and to make sure that men treat them this way too.  Also, the church teaches women the importance of families and how crucial their role is as a mother to their children.  While the author of the article thinks the church is limiting women to only being mothers, I think that they fully support women who want to be a mother and have a career.  Also, I think that going to a Catholic, private all-girls school has taught me a lot about what it means to be a woman.  I have been taught to always strive for the best and to have a strong faith in God.  I have also been taught to have respect for myself and others who are around me.  While I think that there are more positive messages than negative messages, I think there are some negative messages the church teaches.  An example is that only  men are allowed to be priests.  This isn't a really bad thing, but some women see this as the church treating men and women as unequal.

Abortion

I think that the amount abortions that go on all over the world are horrible, but I think that it is even worse that in developing countries more than half of the abortions done are unsafe. Abortions done in the United States are safer than those in other countries because they are legal here. While I  think that it would be ideal for abortions to be illegal, I think in doing so, more illegal abortions would take place in the United States.  

There are several ways to help lower the number of abortions in these developing countries.  One way is to give the women access to contraceptives and birth control.  It is only fair for these women to be able to have some control over when they will get pregnant.  If contraceptives are not available, then the chance of getting pregant is much greater.  Also, I think that these people should be more educated about family planning and why abortion is wrong.  I think that some of the women that become pregnant get abortions because they don't know what else to do, when they could give their baby up for adoption instead of aborting it.  Also, while legalizing abortions in developing countries would not help decrease the rate of them taking place, it would decrease the number of unsafe abortions.