Pray for a better understanding of the absolute importance and necessity of fathers in family life.

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” (Ps 103:13 ESV)

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The causal relationship is profound between fatherlessness, single-parent families and the resultant murders, shootings, violence, poverty, lack of upper-mobility, school miseries for teachers and students, flourishing of vicious and brazen gangs (replacing fathers), lost job opportunities, illicit drug use and sales, and general quality of life.

The statistics connecting all of these more or less measurable outcomes are well-established, reproduced and replicated. Just look at one summary statement from just one major study (Marriage and Family Review, 2003) titled “The Presence of Fathers in Attenuating Young Male Violence”: “Data analyzed across the U.S. indicate that father absence, rather than poverty, was a strong predictor of young men’s violent behavior.” …

Progressive political leaders are loathe to address or discuss fatherlessness as a problem and resent those who do, with a few exceptions like Maryland State Delegate Curt Anderson, who never is unwilling at least to take up the matter when prodded. When I have discussions on the topic with conservatives, they say the issue should be front and center but claim there is no willing audience to hear it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Anthony McCarthy, head of the communications and public affairs team for Mayor Catherine E. Pugh of Baltimore, became enraged at me on a local talk news show weeks ago owing to my claim that Ms. Pugh did not have the courage to institute a program to engage, monetarily disincentivize and stigmatize fatherless families….

Subsequently, Mayor Pugh herself, a guest on Jimmy Mathis’ show on WBAL, refused to speak to me, a fellow guest, apparently because of either my position on fatherlessness or my criticism of her as lacking the guts to publicly deal with this issue due to the fact that she might energize her own constituents’ political opposition.

None of the foregoing is to argue that the social pathologies caused by fatherlessness are not exacerbated by other factors. Bad police conduct, inadequate schooling weaknesses, and judges undermining the criminal justice system with weak sentencing all make the problems worse. But there is no root cause more consequential in producing permanent violence, poverty and related life dissatisfaction issues than fatherlessness.

Fatherlessness is as close to destiny as you can get…. (Excerpted from The Washington Times, commentary by Richard E. Vatz.)