Posted July 22, 2013 Book: Man to Man Dad to Dad: Catholic Faith and Fatherhood Author: Edited by Brian Caulfield Pauline Books and Media. Boston, Massachusetts. 2013. Pp. 119 An Excerpt from the Jacket: Embracing your call to holiness through marriage and fatherhood can lead you experience the greatest joy a person can have in this world. In Man to Man, Dad to Dad fourteen Catholic men weigh in on the adventure of finding one's vocation to be a husband and dad not just in name but also in deed. An Excerpt from the Book: Millennials, Morality, and New Evangelization Jason Goden Recent studies on young people would appear to offer little hope for the future of fatherhood and the family in America. Statistics on cohabitation, single motherhood, divorce, and same-sex "marriage" indicate problems that could become worse as the Millennial Generation (those born after 1980) grows to adulthood. Yet there are many bright spots on the horizon when we recall that the millennial group includes the "John Paul II Generation" --- those who grew up during that great papacy (1978-2005) and have embraced the call to a New Evangelization that continued under Pope Benedict XVI. As a thirty-two-year-old college professor, and husband and father of two young children, I think that young Catholics can be the leaven for renewal in the present age. It will take a lot of hard work and a courageous and confident witness based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and John Paul's Theology of the Body, which has the power to reach young people with a message about the harms inflicted on our hearts and health by this secular, sex-saturated society. We should look at our witness not as a crusade, but rather a service of love, to bring the balm of healing to those who don't know why they are hurting. This is the essence of the New Evangelization. In won't be easy. Studies suggest that the Millennial Generation is connected technologically, divided physically, and adrift morally. Starting in 2006, the Pew Research Center has conducted surveys on social attitudes among eighteen to twenty-nine-year-olds as part of a report called "Millennials; A Portrait of Generation Next." In February 2010, an initial report was released, stating that the Millennial Generation was the first "always connected" generation in history, with 75 percent in that group having a profile on a social network site. The same report added that millennials value parenthood far more than marriage; they distinguish "one of the most important things" in life as "being a good parent" over "having a successful marriage" by a ratio of 52 percent to 30 percent. Millennials also are less likely than previous generations to have grown up in intact families. Additional results published in March 2011 produced deeper insights into how millennials view marriage and parenting. On marriage as an institution 44 percent thought it was "becoming obsolete and 46 percent found the "growing variety of family arrangements" to be a "good thing." When asked about the reasons for marriage, 49 percent answered "having children" as "very important," significantly behind "love" (88 percent), "making a lifelong commitment" (76 percent), and "companionship (71 percent). The report also revealed that 51 percent of births among the Millennial Generation were to unmarried couples, yet 53 percent believed that a child needed both a father and mother to grow up happily. Perhaps some of the apparent contradictions in the surveys can be explained by the fact that so many millennials have lived through the divorce of their parents, an experience that could make them skeptical about marriage but certain that children need a mother and father at home. Indeed, an over-whelming amount of data supports the vital importance of an intact family. Summarizing the findings of multiple studies: children living without their biological father at home are five times more likely to live in poverty and are at greater risk for dangers such as substance abuse. A child living in a single-parent home is twice as likely to suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect, and children without fathers at home are also twice as likely to either repeat a grade or drop out of school. Table of Contents: Introduction: Dads in Deed Brian Caulfield 1. The Prodigal Son meets the forgiving father 2. St. Joseph: A man's man 3. Balancing work and home life: insights from the experts 4. Five steps for discipling kids 5. Good sports for kids 6. A father's vital presence 7. The best sex you will ever have 8. Theology of the body for fathers 9. Millennials, morality and New Evangelization 10. Superdad: more than an action figure 11. You can keep you kids Catholic 12. Repairing a broken marriage 13. Breaking the chains of porn 14. Three simple steps 15. Acknowledgements