Waaay too much information

Cherie Blair is thrashing a book, which is often done. And yet, in her case, decency and family privacy has been trampled for the sake of talk show flash points and lurid cameo's from a prime minister's holiday. I'll spare you the details about what was and what was not in the suitcase that weekend, but the take-away is another jab at what constitutes Church teaching:

"People seem to be quite shocked that perhaps a Catholic girl even uses contraception but it is really an important thing for women because one of the things about the book is about how women's lives have changed," Mrs Blair told Ms Kelly. "One of the reasons women's lives have changed is that they have been able to control their fertility, it is an important issue."

Mrs Blair's remarks came after she spoke of the 10 "fantastic" years she had enjoyed in Downing Street, a time when she had met the Queen and two Popes. She said meeting two Popes was a "huge thing" for a "good Catholic girl".

Mrs Blair's remarks on contraception come after Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month strongly defended the 1968 Papal encyclical Humanae Vitae, the controversial Papal document against artificial birth control.

Controversial? Not to this enlightened woman. It's a no-brainer. The comments below the story indicate that Britain's history with this couple is somewhat strained, and it's heartening to see several posters come to the defense of Church teaching.

"Behold,children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127: 3-5).

All in all, what adults don't seem to understand -- in their rush to defend "Me, me, me!" is the flip-side of the argument and how children receive news of their own unasked-for arrival. Children subtly learn that they must be timely, convenient and affordable, and to bear stoutly when glancing references infer that some "accidents" were nearly aborted. Tread lightly, dear little ones -- and kindly treat your aging, vulnerable parents better than they treated you.