Family Values

VALENCIA, Spain -- Maria Pilar Hervas, a teacher, remembers the insults hurled her way when she walked through the streets with her five children. Large families were out of fashion in fast-modernizing Spain. "People treated me as though I had committed a crime" by producing such a large brood, Hervas said yesterday as she listened to Pope Benedict XVI extol the virtues of the traditional family, and of marriage between man and woman, to a gigantic gathering of faithful. The pope was concluding a visit of scarcely more than 24 hours to lend his support to an international meeting of families, and to drive home what he considers to be a central tenet of his papacy: There are basic truths that must not be marred by fads and the "dictatorship of relativism."

It's a story about friendship, family values and self-confidence. A group of average Joes tries to make ends meet after being laid off, and they are truly tested to see how far they will go to keep their lives, and their families, together. The story is, of course, The Full Monty, which will be performed by the Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre tomorrow through July 2. Although a touring production played at the Mechanic Theatre in 2003, this is the first time the comedy has been produced by a Baltimore theater.

Charles R. Boutin, a member of the Public Service Commission, apologized yesterday for using his state computer account to exchange sexually oriented e-mails with a prostitute. In a written statement, Boutin, 64, a former Republican delegate who was appointed to the commission last year by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., acknowledged that his conduct was "morally wrong and I am ashamed and deeply sorry." Boutin's admission was made as the Harford County Sheriff's Office said it intended to release thousands of e-mails and documents it obtained as part of its criminal investigation into Valerie Fletcher, a Baltimore County woman who pleaded guilty last month to one count of prostitution.

WHEN IT COMES to encouraging more open societies in other countries, one can usually accomplish more by setting an example of adherence to democratic principles and of respect for human rights than by dictating rules for others to follow. In that context, in the wake of Abu Ghraib and other miscues, the Bush administration is no longer in any position to set examples in Iraq. Nor is it in Cuba. When humanitarian groups urge Cuba to permit a respected international agency to visit political prisoners on the island, for example, the Cubans can respond that they are simply following the lead of the United States, which has not permitted such visits to about 600 prisoners held at the Guantanamo Naval Base.

BOSTON - Toward the end of this marriage-in-everything-but-name, this wedding-in-every-sense-except-the-legal, the rabbi lay two wrapped glasses on the lawn. One was for my cousin Adam. The other for his partner Rodrick. The rabbi told the friends and family on that meadow that the custom of breaking the glass had many origins but one seemed to fit this occasion. Once people believed that there were demons in the world out to thwart the chance for human happiness and to harm the couple.

I never thought I would live to see the day when gay marriage would be considered a good thing by those who believe in the importance to society of family stability. I am happy to know that it looks like I made it. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down sodomy laws as an invasion of privacy and a weapon of harassment produced a lot of talk. Some of it was predictable doomsday bluster: This decision will certainly also require the legalization of polygamy, incest, pedophilia and bestiality.

Like millions of Americans, Chris Seay was hooked after watching just a few episodes of The Sopranos, HBO's hit series. "The characters were so real, so true to life," he recalls. "They were truly flawed heroes, and that is compelling to me." The saga of an Italian-American family living in northern New Jersey is characterized by award-winning writing and acting. It is also drenched in blood, sex, greed, crime and, most of all, the angst of its protagonist, Mafia boss Tony Soprano. What makes Seay, 30, different from other fans of the series is that he is a Christian minister.

For the 6,000 Catholics attending Youth and Family Encounter 2002 at the Baltimore Convention Center this weekend, the emphasis was on family, and was never more apparent than at a Mass celebrated yesterday morning by Cardinal William H. Keeler. Hundreds wore the event's signature yellow T-shirt with "Family" encircled on the back. Couples prayed with their children and grandchildren. Most of those in attendance were members of an international conservative movement known as Legion of Christ and a branch of the organization known as Regnum Christi.

NEW YORK - Kansas state Sen. Kay O'Connor, a self-described "old fashioned conservative lady," recently admitted that she "does not celebrate the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 1920" - a woman's right to vote. "We have a society that does tear families apart," said the Republican legislator, who originally entered the workplace to assist with her daughter's medical expenses. "I think the 19th Amendment, while it's not an evil in and of itself, is a symptom of something I don't approve of. The 19th Amendment is around because men weren't doing their jobs, and I think that's sad."

To forge ties with Baltimore's black churches, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon plans to speak next week at a Baptist church, part of a 51-day, 50-state whistle-stop tour of the country. Moon, 81, the leader of the Unification Church, has declared himself the Messiah come to unite all religions. His mass weddings and church members' proselytizing have led some to call his church a cult. But the Rev. Willie Ray, longtime anti-violence crusader and organizer of Thursday's We Will Stand revival, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in West Baltimore, is embracing the Korean-born leader.