Justice For Women

We Spread That Freedom Far and Wide ...

2007-05-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Laura Bush assured us we were bringing freedom to the women of Iraq.

Furthermore, extremists in both Sunni and Shiite areas have taken over pockets of the country and imposed their own Taliban-like laws on the population, requiring women to wear full-length veils, segregating the sexes in public and forbidding such activities as singing and dancing. Hair salons are bombed, and many have gone under-ground. Women college students are stopped and harassed on campuses, so going to school is a risk. “I don’t have one woman friend who has not been harassed, or worse, on the street,” says Mohammed. Women who work for OWFI (Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq) are routinely threatened with beatings or rape if they aren’t completely veiled. Islamist “misery gangs” regularly patrol the streets in many areas, beating and harassing women who are not “properly” dressed or behaved.

"The Talibanization of Iraq," by Bay Fang

Just as conservatives try to claim feminists have ignored women in Islamic countries. (Via Zuzu at Feministe)

Right.

Fun with Paternalism

2007-05-12T14:52:00.000-05:00

The head of the Bishop's Pro-Life Activities in Omaha, NE, displeased by the College of Saint Mary's choice of commencement speakers, asks the people of the diocese to "take a stand and to prevent the College of St. Mary's from tarnishing its reputation."

Because a college full of grown women can't make that decision for themselves.

Live Blogging! (Kinda-Sorta-Maybe)

2007-04-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

I'll hopefully be live-blogging kinda (if local technology is cooperative) from the national Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice conference April 24-26 in Washington, DC for the Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom blog with plans to cross-post here.

Sweet!

In US South, No Justice for Poor Women and Children

2007-04-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

The New York Times reports today that after decades of progress infant mortality is on the rise in the southern US. Many are pointing to cuts in welfare and Medicaid, as well as lack of access to doctors. Reading between the lines, however, there is also a story of the feminine face of poverty, racial disparity, and a lack of access to sex education and family planning. It's a travesty that in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, women lack access to information that can save their children, as well as improve their own lives.

Federal Abortion Ban and the Value of Women's Lives

2007-04-19T07:54:00.000-05:00

I've been silent recently, I know, because I've been busy at work, traveling (home over Easter, DC for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice conference next week), preparing to become a consociate, and getting ready for the wedding and moving . . . but (ironically, I think) I was at Minnesota's pro-choice lobby day when I got the news that the Supreme Court upheld the ban on so called "Partial Birth Abortion." While there's a lot I could say, Amanda at Pandagon has already said it.

So this bill skips the preliminaries of dismantling women’s rights one at a time and instead gets to the heart of the matter. Late term abortions are performed for maternal health reasons, full stop. Sometimes it’s a fetal health issue, that it’s dead or will die as soon as it’s born, but in the end, it’s still about not forcing a woman to go through labor and delivery, which are dangerous, for no reason. And sometimes they are performed because the mother will die, be crippled, or have serious mental health problems if she delivers. The concept of “choice” isn’t really part of this discussion so much. This is about the concept that women deserve to be treated as full human beings who deserve proper medical care despite their current situation of being in a state only women can be in. That is what was on trial and the answer is no.

It’s a strike at the concept that women have independent value. If you reduce a woman to a baby factory, then one who needs a late term abortion is malfunctioning in her purpose somehow, so if she dies, she’s scrap metal, I suppose. Or scrap blood and tissue, as it were. I hate to be blunt like this, but there it is. They skipped over the preliminaries about what kind of rights women should have and attacked the idea that our very existence and health matters if we’ve failed in our duties as fetal incubators.

Take action to support the Freedom of Choice Act at NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Women Crucified

2007-03-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

O God,
through the image of a woman crucified on the cross
I understand at last.

BustedHalo just released "The Contemporary Christa" by Donna Freitas, exploring the controversial image of Madonna crucified on stage:

If you managed to avoid the controversy last summer and fall, the centerpiece of Madonna’s summer Confessions Tour was a crucifixion scene. Each night an enormous, mirrored cross rose up from the performance stage to reveal Madonna wearing a bright crimson blouse and long black skirt, a crown of thorns resting on her head. With her arms outstretched, she sang the somber ballad “Live to Tell” (reportedly written about her experiences of domestic abuse while married to Sean Penn), while images of African children suffering from AIDS flashed in the background.

It didn’t go over well.

What more approprate image than the slow, painful death of crucifiction to represent the slow emotional and physical death caused by domestic violence?

Freitas goes on to detail the contoversy surrounding not only Madonna on the cross, but the imaging of God or Christ as a woman. But, as Freitas notes, if we are all in the image of God/Christ, can we not be images of God or Christ in the world?

It’s not that I’m not aware of Madonna’s past and her infamous ability to shock and scandalize especially when it comes to all things religious—it’s that in this case, I don’t think it’s relevant. In She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, Elizabeth A. Johnson argues that “the Christological symbol of God’s active suffering in Christ [is] a historically inclusive one, encompassing the suffering lives of women and men of all ages.” In other words, the possible portrayals of the divine are not only endless but endlessly diverse. For as Johnson argues, women are “imago Dei, imago Christi, daughters of Wisdom.”

If we are all imago Christi, then why not Madonna too?

Freitas' article brought to mind two other images of women crucified. The first being "In the Name of God," a life-size statue of a pregnant teen girl on the cross, representing victims of the Catholic Church's official policy on condoms as a means of AIDS prevention. This image stirred up controversy of its own, along with cries of blasphemy.

The next image that came to mind is of a woman crucified on a uterus posted in a blog on Rock for Life. Respondents to the blog call it "disgusting," a "mockery of Christ's crucifiction," etc.

What I find most interesting about the responses to all of these images is a revulsion towards equating women's bodies with the sacred, and a fear of women's sexuality, along with really examining or dealing with the issues attached (such as sex, abortion, birth control, and violence against women).

I have known you as a vulnerable baby,
as a brother, as a father.
Now I know you as a woman.

As women's lives are seen as disposable, women are crucified every day. These images, tragically, reflect that reality. Ignoring that fact will not make it go away.

(Italicized portions from an untitled prayer in Soul Weavings: a gathering of women's prayers edited by Lyn Klug)

Vatican Statement at the Comission on the Status of Women

2007-03-06T17:04:00.000-06:00

Apparently, I'm on fire today. :)

Check out the Vatican's statment to the 51st session of the Comission on the Status of Women at the UN, with especially strong language regarding human trafficking.

Spotted as I'm out the door to this event.

NYT: No Comfort

2007-03-06T12:59:00.000-06:00

The New York Times released an editorial today, calling Japanese Prime MInister Shinzo Abe to the mat for claiming that there was no evidence that victims of the World War II "comfort women" system were coerced.

V-Day 2006's spotlight was Justice to "Comfort Women", and I had the pleasure of seeing my alma mater bring to life the monologue written by Eve Enser for the women, "Say It" (which I can't seem to find online, now that I'm out of the organizer phase).

Women Healing From Abuse

2007-03-06T09:28:00.000-06:00

Nicole Sotelo, author and activist, has a blog to accompany her book, Women Healing From Abuse: Meditations for Finding Peace! Go buy her book (if you haven't already)!

You can also join Nicole for a retreat at Evensong Retreat Center, Harwichport, MA, March 23-25.

Using International Law to Protect Battered Women

2007-03-05T12:15:00.000-06:00

On March 2, Jessica Lenahan became the first U.S. domestic violence survivor to bring her case before an international human rights body.

Lenahan has exhausted all her legal options in the United States, inlcuding the Supreme Court, in her quest for justice against a Colorado police department that did not properly enforce her protection order. Lenahan and her attorney, Caroline Bettinger-Lopez, are taking her case to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The article also highlights another D.V. related case that may go before the commission.

Check it out: A Traveling Theologian

2007-03-03T09:37:00.000-06:00

While I recover having my wisdom teeth remove, feed on the wisdom of regular commenter Bex, at her new blog A Traveling Theologian. Here's a teaser:

But that doesn't make it any less painful to hear your gender ignored in liturgy. And it's also ironic that the only time that the word "man" means "adult males" and not "all human persons" in Catholic doctrine is when it refers to the priesthood. Then, and only then, are women supposed to recognize that they are not included, but we are to assume our inclusion in every other use of the term "man." Ironic, huh?

Help Stop the Next War Now!

2007-03-02T09:51:00.000-06:00

Join CodePink in speaking out prevent war with Iran on International Women's Day!

A Farewell to Frances

2007-02-25T09:16:00.000-06:00

After twenty-five years of leadership on church reform and women's rights on a global scale, Frances Kissling steps down from her presidency at Catholics for a Free Choice.

Kissling has led CFFC through numerous controversies with church officials. Predominantly, these have related to the right to be Catholic while disagreeing with church positions on contraception, abortion, gay rights and stem cell research. Under her direction and with an extraordinarily talented staff, CFFC has grown into one of the largest church reform groups in the world with partner organizations in six Latin American countries, Canada and Spain, and representation in the United Nations and at the European parliament.

Executive VP Jon O'Brien will be stepping in as president.

"She is a sister for all Iraqis"

2007-02-23T10:04:00.000-06:00

From Wednesday's New York Times, this article illustrates the prevalence and silence surrounding rape in Iraq. However, one young Sunni woman chose to break the silence.

There is Love

2007-02-19T15:54:00.000-06:00

They're getting hitched in the Garden State!

Hurrah!

V-Day: On Sr. Mary Eve, getting it, and not getting it

2007-02-17T13:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the V-Day celebration at my alma mater. I laughed, I cried, I got thoroughly embarassed when the college president noticed me and asked me to stand up for the crowd. *blush* The president's assistant, who has had to handle most of the angry calls, shared with the audience the humor she found in the fact that a) the majority of people who called to protest were men (we're a women's college, so therefore, they certainly aren't alums) and 2) none of them could bring themselves to say "vagina." They'd say they were in calling in regards to "The Monologues" and she would innocently say, "Which monologues? The Vagina Monologues?"

In honor of V-Day, I was planning on posting a bit about another great BustedHalo.com article, "Remembering V-Day" by a young nun who writes under the pseudonym Sr. Mary Eve.

My girlfriends and I generally didn’t talk about what our vaginas felt like, what it felt like to have our period, etc. Perhaps because our experience is a lot more internal than external, hidden even on a physical level, it remained an issue that we kept to ourselves and didn’t discuss. And when we did try to talk about it we learned that it was just not appropriate for women to discuss the functions of their reproductive system. This tendency is extremely detrimental to girls and women because it leads to keeping anything connected with our vaginas a secret—sexual abuse being the best kept secret among them.

The Vagina Monologues instead celebrates the beauty of the vagina, in direct contrast to the message that women have often had to internalize— that it is dirty and not to be touched. For the first time, women have a public forum in which to process their experience in a mature way. So, I am left with the question: Why has The Vagina Monologues—which isn’t intended to be sexually arousing or gratuitously vulgar—been protested by a vocal minority of Catholics when it has been offered on Catholic campuses? I wonder if the fully-cassocked seminarians who often participate in these protests understand the pain that many women carry because their sexuality is often denigrated, abused, and defiled? Do they have any sense of the experiences of women that brought the Monologues into existence?

However, since the article arrived in my mailbox, I was surprised today to see the (crazy) responses to this article on BustedHalo. Follows is a sampling of my favorites, people who have become completely unhinged at the thoughts of nuns and vaginas:

Sr. Mary Eve brings her mental yeast infection to bear on Church teaching which she obviously does not understand. She's all for vaginas coming out but apparently does not have the courage of her convictions to stand out within her own community. If she doesn't believe in the organization she belongs to and has to be covert, at least have the honesty and integrity to leave. Maybe those research projects, though, are a little too cushy. Allows her to be the enemy within.
Brother Jesu Adam

And to what order do you belong, Brother?

I think if women are to be model purity and chastity in modeling ourselves after the ultimate woman Mary the Mother of God, than there is no real need for the Vagina monologues.

I feel that sexual abuse rape etc would not happen if all women modeled themselves after Mary. There would not be pornography or illicit houses of prostitution or even dirty shows on internet or tv or cable. Maybe just maybe there would really be respect for women.
Sue Trevino

Nothing like internalized sexism and victim blaming on a global scale.

Sr. Mary Eve has some serious problems with her faith and her feminine psychology. We need to pray for her.
Edmond Rosky

Whaaa???

Subject: sister b***h
plain as day....another heretic b***h who worships her tw**.
RZelon

File this under "So You Want Me to Believe You're a Christian, Huh?"

Sr. Mary Eve also got to respond to some of the letters publicly, including this gem:

Good Girls and Pap Smears
TOMDZZX (no name given) wrote the following regarding the need for sisters to have pap smears:

“Please tell ‘young’ Maria Monk that old nuns don't need Pap tests since they test for a virus communicated by intercourse (an STD). Consequently, if the old nuns have been good girls they should have no fear of cervical cancer. In fact, one of the reasons that this cancer was found to be an STD was its almost total absence in nuns….”

I hope that this reader and all readers are aware of the fact that a pap smear not only detects cervical cancer, but yeast infections, and other infections, as well as the sexually transmitted herpes virus. Secondly, the herpes virus is not the only cause for cervical cancer, although it is often the cause. Therefore, my friend, it is highly recommended that even “good girls” have pap smears.

Sr. Mary Eve - you get it. Nut jobs - missing the point, as usual. Please also visit the links for a surreal discussion on what the eternal virginity of Mary means . . . so much time and energy spent to miss the point entirely.

Dear CNS

2007-02-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

Whoa! You've stumbled across my humble little blog! I offer you a hearty welcome.

After scoping out your comment, I just wanted to let you know that you did update your V-Day page with the list of colleges and presidents after my original post, and I want to thank you for that, because I'd like to invite my readers to visit your site to get the e-mail addresses of college presidents and thank them for standing for an end to violence against women, student free speech, and academic freedom. I know I will! :)

In you comment on an earlier post, you mentioned that you do encourage students to do fundraisers as "alternatives" to V-Day. Perhaps you'd like to highlight that more clearly on your website, along with the success of those events and where the money went to?

Also, by reading your website, I know you are working with the original V-Day script, which is not used for College Campaign performances. At some point, you might like to get a copy of that, which includes "In Memory of Her Face," "Crooked Braid," "My Short Skirt," etc.

All this is bringing back so many memories . . . remember V-Day 2005? When my name showed up on your website? Oh, the things you did to my Google search! Gosh, such fun! The nuns REALLY loved my "Irish Catholic moan." I took that role and owned it.

Please come again!

Best,
Johanna

Jill Stanek and HPV: an uncomfortable truth

2007-02-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

While I should be working on a piece I am writing for Girlistic, I was unfortunately distracted (as I sometimes can be) by ProLifeBlogs. What pushed the ol' button today, however, had nothing to do with the abortion debate, but solely with shaming women. Jill Stanek, World Net Daily columnist, posted "HPV and Lung Cancer", in which singles out two high-profile women who have "come out" about their HPV status in an effort to get women vaccinated. Stanek lists some behaviors that these women should talk about instead of the vaccine:

Winokur and Halvorson would be most helpful by discussing the health consequences of pre- or extra-marital sex. Here are some potential topics:

-They could discuss the number of sex partners they have had throughout their lifetime and how each one increased the likelihood of contracting HPV.
-If they even had only one sex partner aside from their husbands, they could discuss how one can contract HPV from a sole encounter.
-They could discuss whether they realized at the time their sex partners carried HPV, which most trusting, vulnerable women don't.
-They could disclose whether it was their husbands who passed HPV on to them after sleeping with other women, demonstrating another reason for chaste behavior outside the marraige [sic] bedroom.
-More uncomfortably, if they contracted HPV through rape, they could discuss ways to avoid rape.

But neither one advocates avoiding a risky behavior that leads not only to HPV but to 20+ other STDs and their strains, along with unplanned pregnancy. They merely advocate trying to avoid the consequences of risky behavior. Shame on them.

Since HPV is a virus spread by human contact, let's imagine that Stanek was talking about the flu, another virus spread by human contact that is preventable by a routine vaccine, using yours truly as the subject:

Johanna would be most helpful by discussing the health consequences of pre- or extra-marital contact with other people. here are some potential topics:

-She could discuss the number of times she left the house during flu season, flew on a plane, interacted with sick people in a closed space, or shook hand with someone throughout her lifetime, and how each time it increased the likelihood of contracting the flu.
-If she encountered even one person besides her partner, she could discuss how you could contract the flu from a sole encounter.
-She could discuss whether she realized her classmates, co-workers, family and friends carried the flu, which most trusting, vulnerable women don't.
-She could disclose whether it was her partner who passed the flu onto her after encountering other people, demonstrating the reason for touching no one outside the home.
-More uncomfortably, if she contracted the flu from someone coughing on her against her will, she could discuss ways to avoid someone coughing on you against your will.

Hyperbole? Yes. Relevant? I think so. Especially when you consider that Stanek's discussion points a) put women in the victim role (trusting, vulnerable, taking it for their husband's bad behavior) and b) blaming them for it (The whole "rape prevention" thing irks me - how about rapists STOP RAPING? That should effectively prevent rape!).

While I will not argue that HPV is most often spread through sexual contact, and that abstinence IS a very effective tool for preventing STDs and pregnancy, I don't think women should die for having consensual (and in Stanek's "uncomfortable" scenario, certainly not non-consensual) sex. And women who choose to be sexually active will not be the only victims of HPV. Read one of the heartbreaking comments to this post on Stanek's blog:

I fully agree that a sexually pure life is God's way and it protects you from all kinds of sexually transmitted disease. But I still have HPV.

I don't blame God or abstinence for it. I just get a heartache when I read statements like yours. It makes us that have HPV into some immoral women, or at best stupid and naive. We are not, or at least I am not. I have a friend who is still a virgin and she's got HPV.

Furthermore, I don't think that a virus, or the status of having a virus, can be enough to make moral judgments on another person. While certain choices can reduce your risk, the risk remains, and being smart and utilizing preventative measures will save lives. Why is that something that is so upsetting to Stanek and her ilk?

I am reminded of a young woman who I encountered in the debate groups on MySpace, who I will call P., who waited until she was married to have sex, had a faithful husband, gave birth to two kids, was fervently pro-life - and who had cervical cancer by age 22 due to HPV. She did everything right by the conservative book, but she was the one facing infertility at 22. She is an ardent activist for universal access to the HPV vaccine, and will vaccinate her daughter.

Conversely, don't let this post lead you to believe that I think only those who have lived a "perfect" life deserve the vaccine. I simply use these stories to illustrate the fact that HPV doesn't care who or how, it will attack when it has the chance. ALL women deserve access to the vaccine at an affordable price, because sex should is not a crime punishable by death.

CNS Introduces a Kinder, Gentler Anti-V-Day Campaign

2007-01-27T14:19:00.000-06:00

The Cardinal Newman Society, a self-proclaimed watchdog organization of Catholic higher education, has introduced it's Campaign to Stop the V-Monologues 2007. This year, instead of harassing college presidents (I'm guessing mostly because it didn't work to well), they are trying to show how much they care about women by offering support and funding to V-Day organizers who instead schedule "alternatives" to The Vagina Monologues. Please take note that only one of these "alternatives" are even tangentally related to violence against women and none of them are designed to be fundraisers for local and international anti-violence organizations, which is a major goal of V-Day.

CNS also quotes extensively from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Catholic writers on the "nature" of women and sexuality, but, as if to further prove my point that they really don't care about violence against women, leaves out this paragraph:

2356 Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person. It does injury to justice and charity. Rape deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right. It causes grave damage that can mark the victim for life. It is always an intrinsically evil act. Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them.

Blog For Choice Day: Why I am Pro-Choice

2007-01-22T08:37:00.000-06:00

I'd like to begin by telling you a few stories. I will only use a first initial to identify these women:

When I was 19, a good friend told me the story of her mother's abortion. D. was homeless, living on the streets of San Francisco. She managed to hustle enough to eat a Quarter Pounder with cheese once a week. D. was malnourished and sick. When she found out she was pregnant, she knew that her body was not healthy enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Anyway, where would she live? How would she care for a baby if she couldn't even care for herself? D. chose abortion. She went on to marry and have two daughters, including one of my best friends. When she came to visit on spring break, I gave her a bumper sticker that said "Pro-faith, Pro-family, Pro-Choice." She also happened to work for her Episcopal church.

The next year, another friend told me her mother's story. L. was fifteen, a church-going Lutheran, and a normal high school girl. She was raped by a boy she knew, and since this was before EC, she became pregnant. L. chose abortion. She went on to also marry and have two daughters, including one of my best friends. I learned this because her daughter and I wrote a column for our college paper defending the right to choose (an exciting thing to do at a Catholic college), there was a terrible backlash, and L. (an employee of the college) wrote a letter to the editor telling her story. She never sent it in, but she wanted us to know how much it meant to her that we would continue the fight.

During my volunteer year, I had the joy of meeting a K., a friend of one of my volunteer-sisters. K. had a precious little boy, and they were frequent welcome guests in out home. Little boy had been an unexpected pregnancy, but K. chose to give birth. She is an art student, working hard, and being an incredible mom. She depends on some assistance, such as child care assistance from the state and ample student aid. One night, as little boy slept on his mom's lap (after a long day of bear hunting in our attic and warning me about the scary parts in March of the Penguins), she quietly told me the story of a second unplanned pregnancy, a failing marriage, and the demands of being a good mom. K. chose abortion this time, with no regrets.

Working the crisis line one night, a woman called and told me she was pregnant, and her boyfriend told her that if he found her at home and still pregnant, he would kill her. She was against abortion and needed a safe place to go. I told her to come into the shelter and I put her name on a room. She arrived that night with her two children, stayed for a month, and moved into a new apartment with an OFP to keep him away.

I tell these stories because what really brought me into the pro-choice movement were women's stories. The anti-choice movement alternately portrays women as promiscuous baby-killing hussies who should "keep their legs shut" or "deal with the consequences," or as easily duped, victims of everyone's desires but their own. However, when you enter into conversation with women who have faced unplanned pregnancy, they are none of these. Good women make good choices - for themselves, their families, and their future. I believe that women deserve to (and, right now, have the right to) make their own choices about their reproductive lives with dignity. I believe it is necessary to defend this right for the well-being of women.

I also use these stories to illustrate what I believe the scope of being pro-choice includes. Being pro-choice does not just mean abortion. Pro-choice means access to abortion, access to resources to have healthy families, safety and freedom from coercion, and access to birth control and sex ed. As these stories illustrate, the pro-choice and feminist movements benefit women and facilitate their choices even if they do not want an abortion.

I'm also pro-choice because I recognize my position of privilege. I'm lucky enough to have health insurance that covers birth control, I have a good partner, and I know that if I became pregnant, it would be more of a cause for celebration than for dread. I hope that I will never need an abortion, but if I do, I live in a place where it is legal. I know that not everyone is so lucky. There are many countries where abortion is illegal, pregnancy and birth can be deadly, and contraception, even condoms, is hard to come by due to international pressure and the unfair influence of the Catholic hierarchy. I believe that the privilige I have in my life, thanks in large part to the pro-choice movement, should be extended to all women everywhere. Even if they make very different choices than I do, they should have the opportunity to make those choices for themselves in an environment where it won't cost them their life or freedom.

Finally, I am pro-choice because of religious freedom. It's not talked about much in the pro-choice movement (except in talking about freedom from religion), but different religious traditions have different teachings on the legality and morality of abortion. For instance, in the Jewish tradition, the fetus does not have the same legal status as the women, and when a woman's life or well-being is in danger, the woman's life is always put first. In Catholicism, abortion is never considered acceptable. Should I, as a Catholic, be able to force a Jewish woman to break the commandments of her own religion? No, never. (However, there is still room in Catholicism for pro-choicers, links at the end of the post.) Each woman should be able to make her own reproductive decisions in line with her faith, without the interference of the state.

For more on my post . . .
Abortion Stories:
I'm Not Sorry
Speak Out: I Had an Abortion

Global Women:
UNFPA
Harvard Global Reproductive Health Forum

Faith and Choice:
Catholics for a Free Choice
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

Pedophile Blames Eight-Year-Olds for Conspiring Abuse Against Them

2007-01-20T10:25:00.000-06:00

Convicted sexual predator Charles Sylvestre blames other clergy, a school principal, and the victims for his sexual abuse of nearly fifty little girls.

Lawyer Paul Bailey interviewed Sylvestre to show that pedophilia is not a "mere moral failure" but rather a "distinct psychological pathology."

Even more disturbing, Sylvestre was sentanced to only three years for the sexual abuse of forty-seven girls and was apparently not defrocked. A failure of church and state, and a disturbing commentary on how little both value the safety of children.

Via Pandagon.

Hug this Jesuit.

2007-01-17T08:52:00.000-06:00

Bex, I hope you are reading this. ;)

I did a random search on Busted Halo with the keywords "domestic violence" (yes, I am looking for places to freelance), and up popped, This Is What a Feminist Looks Like? by James Keane, SJ - a beautiful defense of The Vagina Monologues at Fordham University. And that doesn't mean one necessarily has to like it to defend it:

Unlike the vast majority of the protesters, I have actually sat down and read the Vagina Monologues. It ain'ít Shakespeare. Truth be told, I didn't even find it to be very compelling. Then again, I'm a thirty-year-old man with a vow of chastity, and I doubt that Eve Ensler and I fish in the same literary ponds. But its popularity on college campuses quite clearly has nothing to do with its artistic merits; what the staging of the Vagina Monologues is almost always about is a chance for female students to celebrate womanhood and speak out against domestic violence and sexism.

And a particularly stunning hallelujah moment:

The Tuesday night before the play opened at Fordham, I was delighted to see two female students at the Latin mass on campus wearing pink t-shirts that read "This is what a feminist looks like." Hallelujah! I'd wear one myself, but the other scholastics in my house look at me funny if I dress in pink. But is this not exactly the message we want to send to young Catholics? That the gospel is empowering to women, that their voices are heard in the Church, that the Church is better off if they express themselves and cherish their womanhood?

With a comment on the state of our future priests:

And who made up a significant portion of the protestors outside the Vagina Monologues at Fordham University? You guessed it, a gaggle of local Catholic seminarians

And the ramifications of their actions:

For the length of the protest, every student entering and exiting the dorm came face to face with that crucifix and that painting, used not as signs of hope and charity but instead as instruments of division and intimidation. The typical student response, that it looked like what you might find outside an abortion clinic, is perhaps the most heartbreaking news of all. In the students' minds, the protestors (some in Roman collars) had equated a real and menacing evil, the slaughter of unborn children and the mutilation of their mothers, with a student-produced play put on to encourage women's empowerment. And that , in case you're wondering, is a perfect example of why many young women take official Church teaching on sexual morality with a grain of salt. The line between divinely inspired teachings and misogynist threats is, in such circumstances, tragically blurred.

While I disagree with Fr. Keane's thoughts on abortion (but I will say, he certainly sounds like a pro-life feminist I could have a very thoughtful and intellectually honest conversation with), I think he strikes on a very important point. I've commented on the use of such imagery outside of abortion clinics as the same - instruments of division and intimidation - which drive women and men away from the Christian community instead of inviting them in to conversation. And Fr. Keane is right on about one of the reasons it is so difficult to take Chruch teaching on sexuality seriously, that women's lives and experiences are seen as dirty, heretical, or worthless. And perhaps it's not strictly the fault of official Church teaching, but of fundamentalist interpretations of it.

My favorite part, though, was the counter-protest by students:

A group of student counter-protesters chanted one night, "Who's Catholic? I'm Catholic!" And they're right, being Catholic has little to do with obsessive heresy-hunting and much to do with the joyful celebration of Christian life. The students radiate such joy in abundance. Could the protesters say the same?

That's right! Who's Catholic? I'M CATHOLIC! :)

While this article was written in May 2005, I'll be forwarding this onto the women I know organizing at my alma mater. Please pray that all the performances of The Vagina Monologues will educate, bring healing to many, and bring abundance to the organizations it funds.

Women in the Developing World: Quick Round-Up

2007-01-15T11:25:00.000-06:00

Two topically related bits from two very different places, focusing on the status of women in the developing world.

First off, Kevin Clarke for US Catholic, "They Can Do It":

Poverty and the status of women are inextricably bound according to economic development experts. Too often the talents and potential contribution of women go unrealized because of insufficient or nonexistent educational opportunities, widespread inequality, sexual exploitation, and patriarchy’s sometimes vicious instinct for self-preservation. A vast, vibrant tool for poverty mitigation and community-based economic development remains ignored because of patriarchal prejudice and prerogatives. That means that any comprehensive approach to the problem of global poverty cannot be fully realized without an effort to address the status of women.

Next, Feminist Wire reports on the new WHO director and her agenda:

Margaret Chan, the newly-elected Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), recently announced an agenda for her term centered around women’s health. Dr. Chan is focused on achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, which include the promotion of gender equality and female empowerment, as well as improving maternal health.

For more on the Millenium Development Goals, click here!

"New" Feminism, Old Sexism?

2007-01-15T11:17:00.000-06:00

Nicole, a fellow member of WOC's Young Feminist Network, sent a link to the listserv from US Catholic, "Redesigning Women". The article explores the "new feminism" promoted by John Paul II:

Last spring at the University of Notre Dame a heated debate about campus performances of the controversial play The Vagina Monologues made national news, provoking widespread debate not only about academic freedom at Catholic universities but also about the compatibility of Catholicism and feminism. While the debate surrounding Monologues took center stage, inciting lively debates in the op-ed pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, another forum on campus quietly attracted more than 300 people. A weekend conference organized by three Notre Dame undergraduates, “The Edith Stein Project: Redefining Feminism,” attempted to respond to the late Pope John Paul II’s call for a “new feminism” in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae (“The Gospel of Life”), tackling such issues as abortion, pornography, contraception, eating disorders, and rape.

First off, a small disclaimer as to how I approach this topic and this article. As an undergraduate at a Catholic college, I brought the firestorm that is The Vagina Monologues onto campus. Interestingly enough, I took Edith Stein as my confirmation name when I was in high school. Some nine years later, my personal philosophies have taken a different route than Edith's, but I chose her because at 15 I knew I was a feminist, and she was a brand new saint (I'm gunning for my little sister to pick Mother Theodore this spring) who was not only a feminist, but who was educated, encouraged women's education, and struggled with God and religion as I did and continue to do.

This article, by Renee LaReau, highlights some of the more troublesome aspects of the "new feminism" for me. While it cozies itself up close to cultural feminism with talk of uplifting "women's work," recognizing the value of nurturing, and so forth, it diverges quickly because it is a feminism that was created by and for the maintanance of a patriarchal structure. At least one nun agrees with me:

Some women theologians are wary of a “new feminism” initiated by a male Catholic hierarchy. Part of the problem, says Sister of Mercy Mary Aquin O’Neill, is that the church hierarchy is defined by having a teaching role, rather than a listening role, which may inhibit their ability to learn from the experiences of women.

“It will always mean that men are defining women and telling women what it is like to be a woman,” says O’Neill, director of the Mount Agnes Theological Center for Women in Baltimore. “It’s not particular to the pope, it’s particular to the system.” O’Neill also says that, as long as women are excluded from higher-level leadership church positions, sexism within the church itself can go unchecked.

Another troubling aspect is that many of the women who espouse the "new feminism" seem to have a very poor understanding of what feminism is and where it came from.

“For a long time, feminism has been about doing: Can I build a skyscraper the way a man can? Can a man do half the housework? Can a woman break through the glass ceiling?” says Pia de Solenni, a Washington, D.C.-based moral theologian. “It hasn’t been about who I am.”

Maybe. I won't make assumptions on Ms. de Solenni's feelings about feminism, but she clearly doesn't know the whole story. Feminism is about equality between the sexes at it's most rudimentary level, which includes some of what Ms. de Solenni speaks of. However, feminism has also always been tied up in giving women more choices about their lives and giving more respect to the work women have done and continue to do. For feminists, caring for children has always been as honorable as running for office, as long as each woman could make that choice for herself.

Another "new feminist" who is interviewed for this article, Madeleine Ryland, is senior at University of Notre Dame and one of the organizers of the aforementioned Edith Stein Project had this to say, and I hope beyond hope she was incompletely quoted:

“For my generation the word feminism has more of a negative connotation now,” says Ryland, 22. “Feminism was important then, but do we really still need to be talking about this stuff? Women have equal voting rights—isn’t that all we needed from that? It’s kind of a dead horse people are still beating.”

She and her peers care about feminism to the extent that they don’t want to go into job interviews and be discriminated against.

Uh, what? Do we really still need to be talking about this stuff? As a matter of full disclosure, I will say that I disagree with some of the basic beliefs of the Edith Stein Project and the speakers they bring in, but both last year's conference and this year's discuss eating disorders, rape, domestic violence, and immigrant women's rights. We need feminism because this stuff is still happening. Feminist.com has done a stellar job of compiling facts about the violence women face on a national and global scale. It was the secular feminist movement that brought violence against women out of the home and into the national spotlight, created domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. What the "new feminists" seem to forget when they deride the secular feminist movement for some imaginary slight against the stay at home mom is that feminists are on the front line every day saving women's lives.

Another related problem I have with the "new feminism," along with pro-life feminism, the ease and eagerness with which the term "feminism" is co-opted by individuals and groups who align themselves with anti-woman fundamentalists. The Edith Stein Project links to the group One More Soul who famously link condoms with lethal experimentation and cohabitation with multiple health problems, Feminists for Life have been courted by the Christian media opened the door for even the most radical anti-shoice groups to claim a "feminist" connection by citing Susan B. Anthony. I've encountered people who tell me they are "feminists" in one breath and say that contraception is immoral and women should "keep their legs shut" in the next.

Is the "new feminism" anything "new" really, or is it the old gender determinism, now masquerading oppression for liberation? As Aisha Taylor, executive director of WOC says in the article's sidebar, "But ‘new feminism’ falls down when it says women are meant to be mothers and are more nurturing because they are women. Then instead of doing something because of your gifts or because you feel called by God to do it, it’s because of traditional gender roles."

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby

2007-01-10T13:33:00.000-06:00

Catholics for a Free Choice unveils the beginning of a discussion on how Catholics view sex and sexuality. Click here to read the first installment. You can also submit your own thoughts from the page.

Pope Benedict XVI Links Women's Equality to Peace

2006-12-14T13:33:00.000-06:00

From Zenit.org:

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI warns that peace becomes a mirage when the dignity of woman is not fully respected.

The papal warning is included in the message for the World Day of Peace, to be observed Jan. 1. The day's theme, "The Human Person, Heart of Peace," addresses the challenge posed by the equality of nature of all people.

"Insufficient consideration of the feminine condition also causes factors of instability in the social order," states the message.

In particular, the Pope mentions "the exploitation of women treated as objects and in so many ways of lack of respect to their dignity."

In particular, the Holy Father unmasks the persistent conceptions in some cultures "which still assign to woman a role of great submission to the discretion of the man, with consequences offensive to her dignity of person and [the] exercise of the fundamental liberties."

"One must not fall into the illusion that peace is assured while these forms of discrimination are not also overcome," he notes. Such forms "lacerate the personal dignity inscribed by the Creator in every human being."

This is good news for women's advocates worldwide. However, it still waits to be seen how Pope Benedict will reconcile this with the Church's position on women's ordination, et. al. Unfortunately, I'm a cynic, so I'm not holding my breath.

H/T: Women's Ordination Conference

"Saints That Weren't"

2006-11-01T08:32:00.000-06:00

In honor of the Feast of All Saints, I give you "Saints That Weren't", James Martin, SJ's reflection on the Church's newest American saint, Mother Théodore Guérin. You can also visit the Canonization Blog, maintained by her order, the Sisters of Providence of Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods.

CatholicPrecincts.org on Minnesota's Sixth District

2006-10-31T14:03:00.000-06:00

One Jason Jones, president of a group called CatholicPrecincts.org, condemns the mainstream Catholics United for the Common Good, a group dedicated to infusing Catholic social teaching into public life, because they dared to demand that Republican congressional candidate Michele Bachmann explain her position on whether or not the Pope is the anti-christ, a teaching of her ultra-conservative denomination the Wisconcin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

“It is sad that CUCG spends their time wanting to publicly debate theology while Bachmann’s opponent, Patty Wetterling, is staunchly in favor of the destruction of innocent human life and holds other positions that are unquestionably opposed to Catholic values. Wetterling is so strongly pro-abortion that she is one of only a few candidates nationwide that are being funded by EMILY’s List, an organization that proudly supports partial-birth abortion and taxpayer funded abortions."

I, for one, want to know what Bachmann really thinks of Catholics, especially in our heavily Catholic district. For the record, CUCG has not endorsed Bachmann's Democratic opponent, child safety advocate Patty Wetterling.

Ask Pope Benedict to Lift the Ban on Condoms!

2006-10-25T11:43:00.001-05:00

Catholics for a Free Choice is asking for people of all faiths to sign on to a letter asking Pope Benedict to lift the Church's ban on condoms to protect against HIV/AIDS. The Condoms for Life campaign launched on World AIDS Day 2001, and has been working to change the Church's position on condoms to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Why does this matter, especially to people of different faith traditions? Because a Catholic health system may be the ONLY health system in your community (as it is in mine). Throughout the US, Catholic hospitals and health services have a mixed record on providing care, resources, and referral for HIV/AIDS prevention and ongoing care. (See New York, California, DC.) It is imperative that all people have access to these services free of guilt, fear, a lecture, or a run-around.

In related news, a recent poll shows that the majority of Kenyan Catholics support the use of condoms to prevent the spread of disease.

"It is very apparent that the Catholic church's official position is at odds with most of its members, and thus needs to do a lot more work in its pursuit of its policy in this particular area, or simply tolerate their dissent," says a section of the report released by Steadman Group.

According to the study, more than three quarters of Kenyans support condom use for family planning and prevention against sexually transmitted diseases, with even stronger support for the latter.

Sign on today!

"You are not bound to obey an unjust law."

2006-10-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

Bishop Patricia Fresen

Here are some highlights from the July 31 ordination in Pittsburgh. Hurrah!

Day of Prayer for the Women of South Dakota

2006-10-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

The national Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is hoting a Virtual Vigil and National Day of Prayer for the Women and Girls of South Dakota. Click the link for prayers and resources.

Also, check out the work on the ground being done by Pastors for Moral Choices of South Dakota.

Call Waiting

2006-06-06T13:58:00.000-05:00

From the June 2006 issue of Minnesota Monthly magazine, a great article abour Regina Nicolosi's call and impending ordination to the priesthood.

Nicolosi felt the tug toward the priesthood renewed when her husband, a physician, was ordained a deacon in 1978. She had gone through the training with him, but that was as far as the church permitted her to go. “We may have [had] all the training and qualifications,” she says, “but we, as women, were only able to hold our husbands’ stoles.” Which meant the priesthood was no closer to being a serious option. Indeed, in his 1994 epistle Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II reasserted that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and…this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” Period. End of discussion.

“I did what a lot of women do,” Nicolosi says with a sigh. She earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies—“to be ready if the church opens up.”

She raised her children, served as a prison chaplain, headed a senior housing center, volunteered on her parish council, and began work on a doctorate in ministry, but none of that diminished her desire to be ordained. “My spiritual journey has been to find the feminine face of God,” she says. “It’s a very important part of my call that God is both male and female and that the female body is sacred, too. I want to represent God at the altar.”

For the complete article, click here

For more on the ordination of Regina and other women, visit Roman Catholic Womenpriests.

DaVinci Code . . . you know you want to

2006-06-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have to admit it, I did see The DaVinci Code opening week. And yes, I've read the book too. And, I admit, I think Audrey Tatou is the most gorgeous human being on planet Earth. I will even admit that I cried at the end watching Langdon (Tom Hanks) kneel before the Magdalene's tomb.

Even after all this, surprisingly, I still don't believe that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were necessarily married. Why? Because it's fiction, not a documentary. However, that being said, I am happy with the excessive press the film is getting. It has created a ripe opportunity to discuss the position of women in the Christian Church, historically and today. It has sparked interest in the non-canonical gospels, which provide a rich, complex portrait of Jesus, the disciples, and the early Church.

For more info:
Women's Ordination Conference: DaVinci Code Raises Questions About Women's Role in the Catholic Church
The Truth at the Heart of The DaVinci Code, by Elaine Pagels

Minnesota Doctors on th Front Line

2006-05-01T14:41:00.000-05:00

As South Dakota becomes the epicenter of the abortion debate in the United States, a little known fact is that the only clinic that provides abortions in the entire state is staffed by doctors who fly in from Minnesota to do the procedures. KARE 11, the local NBC affiliate in the Twin Cities, did a fantastic feature on the 10:00 news last night. Here's an excerpt of their interview with Dr Paul Ridder, who is affiliated with the Alpha Center, and Sioux Falls crisis pregnancy center:

Still, Dr. Glenn Ridder says South Dakota is "a very pro-life state."

Ridder, a family practitioner, thinks the majority of South Dakotans are, like he is, strongly opposed to abortion. And he says they steadily apply what he calls "pressure."

"We had a physician that made a statement, a few years ago, that he would do abortions if he didn't have to take the heat on himself and his family," Ridder said.

When asked if "heat" meant "threats," Ridder said, "I don't know what it would be, just pressure."

What a special guy. Click here for the transcript, extended videos, and relevant links

Condoms4Life campaign welcomes the words of Cardinal Martini

2006-04-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

From Catholics for a Free Choice:

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini joined a growing chorus of voices within the church suggesting that for couples where one partner has HIV/AIDS, the use of condoms is “a lesser evil.” Now we hear that the pope himself has commissioned the Council on Health Care to study this issue in the interest in changing it long-contentious stand against the use of condoms, even to prevent the spread of disease.

Visit the Condoms4Life campaign.

Report Back from Mass at Luther Seminary With Rev. Dagmar Celeste

2006-04-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Last night I had the privelege of joining Rev. Dagmar Celeste and Deacon Regina Nicolosi of Roman Catholic Womenpriests for a Mass at Luther Seminary in St Paul. Dagmar's daughter-in-law is a professor at Luther, to make the connection as to why we were holding a Catholic Mass at a Lutheran Seminary. :)

Dagmar and Regina led a beautiful celebration with inclusive language and a model of the discipleship of equals. During the homily, Dagmar invited us to stand and bless the people next to us. I heard the Holy Wind, Wisdom Sophia, move through that upper room as the voices of women whispered blessings upon each other. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

We also learned that Regina, our very own from Minnesota, is in formation for the priesthood and will be ordained this June. Minnesota will also be sending another woman to be ordained a deacon. I'm hoping that this will result in the formation of a feminist church community in Minnesota.

We learned that Victoria Rue's weekly mass at San Jose State has finally drawn the notice and ire of the bishop the the Diocese of San Jose, causing him to release a statement in the bulletins of all the churches in his diocese that Victoria's ordination, masses and administration of the sacrements are "invalid." See the Most recent bulletin from St Victor's Church as an example. (Scroll down to "Religious Scams.")

After Mass, in the coy and faux-innocent style of Regina's humor, she asked of the photo we took, "Are you going to send this to the Catholic Spirit?"

Oh, wouldn't that be fun? Only if the headline can read, "Local Girls Participate in Heresy, Gunning for Excommunication." :) Hopefully, photos will be available soon.

Women's Ordination Event at Luther Seminary

2006-04-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

A eucharistic celebration, lead by Rev. Dagmar Celeste, and ordained Catholic Womanpriest will be held in the Meditation Chapel of Olsen Campus Center at Luther Seminary in St Paul. Click for map.

Monday, April 24
7 p.m.

some lovely commentary on The Vagina Monologues at Notre Dame

2006-04-06T12:56:00.000-05:00

In this gem of a commentary, "Diogenes" manages to compare Eve Ensler to Fred Phelps. But here's my favorite one-liner:

"But only a whore -- a whore terrified by the prospect of her patron's displeasure -- could state that the Vagina Monologues pose a serious challenge to conformism or fear."

no comment.

speaking of which, the comments are extremely clever and show that said commenters have no idea how TVM is in play at Catholic colleges and universities across the US.

This is what we're up against. I think we can handle it. :)

South Dakota Watch

2006-03-25T16:52:00.000-06:00

Okay, Blogger is not properly showing my updated links section, so have faith in me. It will come soon.

The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families is launching a petition drive to overturn the legislature's cruel move to ban abortion. By overturning it on the state level, this does not give anti-choice organizations the federal challenge to Roe v. Wade they were hoping for. They need money and volunteers, so please help anyway you can.

Thanks to Coat Hangers at Dawn, a great new blog watching the politics around the SD ban, which I read religiously now.

Hopefully they will be showing up in my Links section soon. Go, Blogger, go!!

so LifeNews.com is good for something

2006-03-15T19:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, when I am bored, I admit that I troll at Pro-Life Blogs to keep abreast of what's hot in the anti-choice blogosphere. I happened across a blog post entitled "Planned Parenthood Sping Offensive Against World Population," which links me to this article from LifeNews.com. While I usually brush off LifeNews articles, this one, even through it's unmistakeable bias and desire to hate everything a pro-choicer does is fully present, this one tipped me off to a great bill sponsored by two Minnesota reps, (ohmygosh, ohmygosh, its)Betty McCollum and Jim Ramstad to provide $188 million in international aid for family planning (not abortion) and HIV/AIDS testing and treatment. The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice gets a mention for supporting this bill. Check it out and call your reps.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

2006-03-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

I totally forget yesterday was Blog Against Sexism Day, mostly because I was thinking about the stupidity of the South Dakota abortion ban which I'm sure you've all heard about by now. So my co-editor and I came up with some great proposals for the South Dakota legislature:

1) Now that you've made abortion illegal in South Dokota, state law should mandate that all children born to women in South Dakota receive paternity testing at birth and the father's wages are garnished until the child turns 18. Hey, he made his choice when he had sex . . . (This is for all those who oppose a woman's right to choose and throw out that clever little cliche. What's good for the goose - well, you know)

2) Effective July 1, same day as the abortion ban is set to take place, South Dakota's WIC roles should increase to serve 800 more infants and their mothers (since 800 abortions a year take place at the one clinic in South Dakota)

See, no matter how much we hear anti-abortion activists screaming about how they care about mother and baby, until they respond to women's real needs instead of fighting for every tax cut they can and bankrupting the poor, I'm just not buying it. There seems to be this major disconnect that if you ban abortion, one of the outcomes will be a whole lot of unprepared single mothers in desperate need of assistance. And not just a few packs of diapers from the local Crisis Pregnancy Center. Nutrition, housing, and education are all crucial to the well-being of the children that anti-abortion activists hope to "save" through this measure and their dream of overturning Roe v. Wade. Maybe that's why Gov. Mike Rounds' comments at the bill signing seem so hollow to me. He refused to raise the minimum wage when he had the chance.

With more on South Dakota, we turn to Charon Aestoyer's piece in Indian Country Today, "South Dakota Task Force on abortion hurts pregnant women". Aestoyer points out how the proposed amendment to the South Dakota Constitution (still in the works) with the imposition of fetal rights infringes on women's autonomy and religious freedom without saving any lives in the process.

On a different but related note, the Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom annual summit is coming up in June. I attended the summit in 2003 and had an amazing time and learned a LOT about religion and the right to choose. Here's the info:

SPIRITUAL YOUTH FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM, the Religious Coalition's
Youth and Young Adult Program, to host second Student Summit, June 5-7,
2006

What: Student Summit 2006

Theme: Putting Faith into Action for Reproductive Justice

Why: To Reflect, Connect, Inspire, and Act!

Where: Washington, DC

When: June 5-7, 2006 (plus an in-gathering social event on the evening
of June 4th)

Who: Spiritual pro-choice college students

Sponsor: Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (www.syrf.org), a
program of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
(www.rcrc.org)

Cost: Housing and meals are free for the first 100 participants.
Limited scholarship money for travel costs will be available on an
as-needed basis

How: Registration is available online at www.syrf.org

This event will bring together spiritual pro-choice college students and
religious leaders for three days of worship, dialogue, workshops, and
social action. We will offer workshops on bringing moral language and
messaging into the pro-choice movement, challenging the anti-choice
messages of the "Religious Right" on campus, organizing pro-choice
Peaceful Presence at anti-choice demonstrations, building strong SYRF
chapters, organizing advocacy events, being an effective advocate on
Capitol Hill, and more.
Please register or spread the word!

Report from Conversation and Celebration of Women Called

2006-03-07T09:16:00.000-06:00

sorry it took so long. :) a version of this article will appear in the march 2006 issue of Together, a publication of the Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, St Paul Province. for more on the event, visit WOC's website

On February 18, 2006, I had the great pleasure of traveling to Santa Barbara, CA for Conversation and Celebration of Women Called, co-sponsored by Women’s Ordination Conference and the Los Angeles Province. The event brought over one hundred women (and a few men) from all over California and the United States.
Our day together opened with a ritual which asked, “Who is invited to the table?” While St. Paul writes in Galatians, “There is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus,” there are many in our communities who are not invited to the table by institutional church. Some of those represented in our ritual include gays and lesbians, women called to ordination, priests who have married, and those who are poor and isolated from a parish community. The ritual was followed by a small group discussion asking the questions: Who is not invited to the table in our communities? What tensions exist in our local worship communities?
Our first keynote speaker of the day was Nicole Sotelo, writer and director of Call to Action’s Next Generation. Nicole spoke about the history of ordination, our current understandings of what “ordination” means, and five action steps for the movement for church reform. Some of Nicole’s historical revelations included the fact that as late as 1000 CE, women deacons were common and accepted, based on a letter from Pope Benedict VIII affirming their role. Nicole also spoke about some new understandings of ordination from various theologians, including the idea that ministers should be called by their communities and that a charism or ministry may not be a lifelong call. Finally, Nicole gave the group some concrete action steps that she feels the movement for women's ordination and church reform must take, including envisioning ourselves as part of a larger global movement for justice, to recruit young people, and to take anti-oppression action within our movement.
Our second keynote speaker was Rev. Victoria Rue, an ordained womanpriest who was ordained on the St Lawrence Seaway in July of 2005. She spoke about her call to ordination and her work as a professor of religious studies and women's studies at San Jose State University. She spoke of her call by a community to serve as a minister, the positive response of her college community to her ordination, her thoughts on true communion and experiencing the body of Christ, and the role of women who seek ordination. Womanpriests, since they cannot have parishes within the structured Church as their male counterparts do, she said, are called to the worker priest tradition of the early twentieth century, laboring with the communities they serve. My favorite part of Victoria's keynote was her discussion of “living in the margins.” Those of us who work for justice for women and GLBT in the Roman Catholic Church are forced to live and work on the margins. But, as Victoria put it, “I like it out here on the margins. There’s more room. More possibility. And there are a whole lot of us out here on the margins!” It was a nice reminder that we are not alone in the struggle for justice.
One of the highlights of the day for me was the breakout session, when I was able to gather with other young women who are part of WOC's Young Feminist Network. There were about a dozen young women who participated in the conference. Many young women echoed the sentiment that they wished they had known about WOC and other church reform groups sooner, and that they finally felt that there were other people “like them” in the Catholic Church. We came up with some action steps to stay connected and to advocate for women's ordination. Aisha Taylor, the executive director of WOC, also revealed that the theme for this year's World Day of Prayer for Women's Ordination, March 26, would be “Good Catholic Girls Stand Up for Women's Ordination.”
Our day together ended with a liturgy conducted by Victoria and a small group of ordained womandeacons. For me, this was one of the most stunning and moving parts of the day. Watching a woman, in full priestly garb, lead us in worship and celebrate the Eucharist nearly brought me to tears. It was truly a vision of what our church should look like. Singing, praying, and breaking bread with this committed group of feminist women gave me a sense of hope and renewed my commitment to helping create a more just church.
My day concluded with dinner with members of the WOC board (quite accidentally through a new friend) and a quick trip to the Pacific Ocean, which was one of my life-long dreams! This trip was an incredible experience for me to meet new people and network with other Catholic feminist women. It was a memorable and moving weekend, and I feel truly blessed to have been a part of it.

As a Christian, As a Feminist

2006-02-16T12:54:00.000-06:00

Anne Lamott speaks out to a room full of Catholics about her abortion, Jim Wallis smooths it over, and an old lady gives her a big fist-pump of support (as I would have had I been in the room).

Click and be inspired.

Women's eNews: Two Catholic Campuses Hush The Vagina Monologues

2006-02-12T10:02:00.000-06:00

Women's eNews does a great job on this issue, with interviews with the organizers from Providence College and University of Notre Dame (the latter I think is a case of a new president giving his bishop what he wants).

I suggest contacting the presidents of these colleges to let them know how very disappointed we are in them . . . and if you happen to be an alum, threaten to keep your donation this year . . .

Keeping an Eye on CNS

2006-02-10T11:43:00.000-06:00

And their math skills. While the website says 32 Catholic colleges are hosting The Vagina Monologues, I counted 22 on their list.

But the swell news is that 2 more colleges have been added since my last V-Day rant. :)

News Notes From CFFC

2006-02-10T11:35:00.000-06:00

In Catholic Circles, Spring 2006 from the newsjournal Conscience.

Of particular interest (to me anyway):

Catholic School Fires Pregnant Teacher
"A pregnant Catholic schoolteacher in Brooklyn, NY, has been fired by a Catholic school because she is unmarried. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Brooklyn said that it supported the decision by the Saint Rose of Lima school to fire Michelle McCusker because the teachers’ handbook stated that 'a teacher can not violate the tenets of Catholic morality.'

Speaking at a rally in support of McCusker, CFFC board member Eileen Moran said, 'I am appalled by the unjust, unethical treatment she has received. This action violates the church’s own teaching on the rights of workers to be treated justly and with respect. St. Rose and the Brooklyn diocese behaved abysmally and hypocritically in its firing of Ms. McCusker. To me, Ms. McCusker exemplifies the best of Catholicism. She chose teaching, a career of service over material gain and she now shows she has the courage to challenge injustice not only on her own behalf but on behalf of other pregnant women.'

The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a wrongful dismissal complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and McCusker has also filed suit against the school."

(aside: when's the next time CFFC and Feminists for Life are going to be agreeingon something? :) )

Canadian Priest Suspended for Supporting Women’s Ordination
"The Rev. Edward Cachia, who served at St. Michael’s parish in Cobourg, Ontario, has been suspended for suggesting that the ordination of nine women on a tour boat on the St. Lawrence River was 'the beginning of a new and awesome change in the life of the church.' Bishop Nicola De Angelis issued the order to Cachia, stating that he 'can no longer be relied upon to celebrate the Eucharist within the Church as Christ intended.'"

20 Colleges Remain on the CNS Protest List, PC Pres Misses the Mark

2006-02-07T14:38:00.000-06:00

And hurrah for these twenty brave colleges.

link.

CNS takes plenty of credit for the nine that have been removed from the list, even when no event was ever planned. But I digress.

The real GOOD news is that Catholic colleges that are not backing down are receiving community support. St Kate's event in St Paul (scheduled for this week) sold out before I could buy tickets! Saint Mary's College of California has also been added!

The BAD news, and the big story, is Providence College's president cancelling what has become an annual event at the school. It's especially dubious with a tagline like, "Transform Society, Transform Yourself." Rev Brian Shanley's statement does a swell job of towing the CNS line, and while he references the paperback version of the book, I truly wonder if he's ever even opened it. If he did, he would see that CNS's descriptions of the monologues are downright false at worse and miss the point at best. He also seems to lack the ability to comprehend metaphor (see the "new bible" remark).

But my real contention with Rev. Shanley's statment is the passage that follows: "Any depiction of female sexuality that neglects its unitive and procreative dimensions diminishes its complexity, its mystery, and its dignity." This makes me really think that he's never opened the book or seen the play that he is banning from the PC campus. Let's all think about The Vagina Monologues for a minute, and the monologues that even talk about sex . . . unitive? Check. Procreative? Check. Neither is neglected. And all this "mystery" around sexuality is what leads to unintended pregnancy, sexual abuse and violence (because there is no vocabulary for it), shame, and 70-something year old women having never experienced and orgasm. And dignity? (Warning: rant follows) What authority does the Catholic Church have to talk about what constitutes the "dignity" of women when the Church continues to refuse women's call to the priesthood and women's ability to determine if, when, and how many children they will have. It's ludicrus. And I say this as a Catholic. Seriously.

One more thing for Rev. Shanley: as much as we'd all like to believe you are truly advocating for women's "dignity" and an end to sexual and physical violence, your week long effort in April is missing one very important part of the V-Day movement - FUNDRAISING. I cannot emphasize the importance of this aspect of the V-Day movement enough. Through performances of The Vagina Monologues, local organizations which provide services to women experiencing violence receive cash donations. What Providence service provider will got without this year? Without systemic change and cash flow (both of which are lacking from Rev. Shanley's Project SAVE week proposal) violence against women will continue and there will be no place for survivors to turn.

The Vagina Monologues isn't always polite, correct, or Catholic. But neither are women's experiences, whether they attend a Catholic college or not.

Here's V-Day's response to Rev. Shanley. Much more eloquent and less rage-induced than mine.

But I don't want anyone who reads this to think that all Catholic male priest presidents of colleges are bad. Because they aren't (especially Jesuit ones). So here's a statement from Rev. Kevin Wildes of Loyola New Orleans. It's quite good.

So in short: YAY Benedictines, CSJs, and Jesuits. BOO CNS, Shanley, and anyone else who thinks censoring women is a moral action.

Catholic Feminists - Call for Essays

2006-01-22T14:07:00.000-06:00

A book project of interest:

Call for Essays

Are you a young feminist theologian?
Are you struggling to reconcile your faith and your feminism?
Feel like you have something to say about it?
Then this project might be for you!

If you are under the age of 30, are Catholic*, and are a feminist, your essays are needed for a forthcoming book on feminism and the challenges and issues facing young feminists in the Catholic Church.

Submit an essay on one or more of the following topics: sexuality, sexual ethics, complicity, women’s ordination, the role of faith in action, etc. Any topic you think applies to faith and feminism is fair game.

All submissions are due no later than May 15, 2006.
See submission guidelines below.

*By Catholic, we mean those who call themselves Catholic, those who don’t but are, and really anyone who is somehow involved with the Church (students at Catholic colleges and universities, volunteers, lay ministers, etc).

Submission guidelines:
- No shorter than 5 and no longer than 25 double-spaced pages.
- All documents must be in Microsoft Word format.
- All citations must be in Chicago Manual Style and should appear as footnotes.
- All submissions should include: author’s name, author’s contact information, title of the paper, and full bibliography.
- Papers may be submitted as attachments via email to youngcatholicfeminists@yahoo.com or they mail be mailed to the address below. All papers submitted via mail must be accompanied by a CD containing the file.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Young Catholic Feminists Essay Project
2101 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55404
youngcatholicfeminists@yahoo.com

(Paper copies of this call will also be available at Rock For Roe tonight at the MN Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice table.)

CNS Releases V-Day Protest List

2006-01-17T15:03:00.000-06:00

Oh yes, it's that magical time of year when the Cardinal Newman Society shakes itself from hibernation to harass Vagina Warriors on Catholic campuses across the U.S. The list has been updated as of January 16. The campuses still planning performances include: B.C., Holy Cross, Mount St Vincent, St Ben's (woot!), St Kate's, St Rose, DePaul, Fordham, Georgetown, John Carroll, Loyola Chi-town, Loyola New Orleans, Providence, Regis College, St Louis U, St Joseph's of CT, St Mary's of CA, St Xavier, Seattle U, Detroit Mercy, Notre Dame, and USF. All I can say is, way to represent, Jesuit schools! And Hurrah to women's colleges in Minnesota! Here's the link to the list. If your alma mater is on this list, please call the president with messages of support. If yours isn't on the list, call and ask why!

Sad News from Up North . . .

2005-12-15T23:11:00.000-06:00

Fr Bob, the priest who baptized and confirmed my finace, has resigned his position in campus ministry at St John's over the Vatican's position on gay priests. Fr Bob was a great advocate for GLBT students on campus.

From the New York Times:

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (AP) -- A priest at St. John's University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican's latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood.

''Because I can no longer honestly represent, explain and defend the church's teaching on homosexuality, I feel I must resign,'' the Rev. Bob Pierson said in an e-mail Wednesday to administrators and students at St. John's and the nearby College of St. Benedict.

The Vatican announced last month that it was toughening its stand against gay candidates for the priesthood, advising that men with ''deep-seated'' gay tendencies or who ''support so-called gay culture'' shouldn't be admitted to seminary or ordained. Others with ''transitory'' homosexual inclinations can be accepted if they have ''clearly overcome'' them for three years.

Several gay priests are now questioning whether they can continue serving the church. The Rev. Leonard Walker quit his parish assignment in Mesa, Ariz., in protest. The Rev. Thomas J. O'Brien, a Jesuit retreat director from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., disclosed his sexual orientation publicly -- a rare step among clergy -- saying the Vatican document promotes ''bigotry.''

Pierson, the chaplain and director of campus ministry, said in the e-mail that that he is gay and celibate. He said he did not accept several elements in the Vatican document, including the assertion that homosexuals are ''objectively disordered.''

''I am not an infallible person, but I cannot remain silent about my disagreement in conscience with this document, or the church's teaching on homosexuality,'' said the priest.

Pierson said he would resign effective Jan. 15. He will remain a member of the monastic community at St. John's Abbey, which is on the campus but technically separate from the university.

University spokesman Michael Hemmesch said the school regretted Pierson's decision but ''we must respect his personal conscience.''

Pierson did not immediately return a message left at the university Thursday.

link

Upcoming Women's Ordination Event

2005-12-15T09:55:00.000-06:00

Conversation and Celebration of Women Called
February 18, 2006
Casa de Maria, Santa Barbara, CA

for more info, visit WOC's website

Hopefully I'll be there, with a purple stole on! :)

More to come.

Good News for Women in Africa, Catholic Woman Speaks Truth to Power in US

2005-11-17T09:50:00.000-06:00

Two great articles found in my inbox today:

1.) Togo becomes the fifteenth African country to ratify the African charter on human rights. This charter guarantees many rights for women, including the right to an abortion in the cases of rape, incest, or endangerment of a woman's life or health and legal prohibition of female genital mutilation.

2.) Rabble Rousing, by Rose Marie Berger on civil disobedience at the White House and saying "NO!" to war. Particularly uplifting as get ready to leave for the annual vigil to close SOA/WHINSEC outside Ft. Benning tomorrow morning. Shut it down, yo!

Oh, but they are serious . . .

2005-11-09T17:41:00.000-06:00

Just an FYI-

One of the groups that I monitor regularly in the context of feminism and the Catholic Church is the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, which can easily be put into the category of the far right-wing. They view themselves as crusaders to save the Church from feminism (see their anti-V-Day campaign), the feminine (see below), and the feminine divine (see their campaign to shut down the movie version of The DaVinci Code). Misogynists, hardcore. but they'll try to tell you that they are trying to save us women from the evils of self-determination.

But my real point is their latest foray into the music industry with their recording of "Echoes of Catholic Militancy", a recording of traditional Catholic choral music "sung in a masculine and forceful style." They toss around words like "combativeness" and "virility" without ever stopping to think that, maybe, perhaps, our constant attachment of combativeness and forcefulness to our ideals of masculinity may have some tiny connection to the domination and abuse of women by men. And as if I could ask for a better example, they perfectly illustrate Michael Kimmel's thoughts on masculinity as homophobia. What is so frightening and evil about femininity and women that these men must constantly point out how seperate they are from it?

*sigh* I can't even bring myself to listen to what they might have done to the Ave Maria. If someone else is braver, please let me know.

Good News to Start, for a Change

2005-11-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

Catholic women's colleges are standing up for student academic freedom and women's rights here in Minnesota. I am please to announce that my alma mater, the College of Saint Benedict (in conjunction with Saint John's University, lest we forget) is moving forward with it's February 17, 2006 presentation of The Vagina Monologues. And let me stress that this is academic because I know at least one person will be doing a fabulous ILP. The beneficiary will again be the Central Minnesota Sexual Assault Center, which is the only sexual assault center serving five counties in central Minnesota.

On another up note, according to the November 7 issue of The Wheel, the student newspaper at the College of Saint Catherine in Saint Paul, "On Nov. 3, after lengthy discussions, the College of Saint Catherine's (CSC) administration decided that CSC will host Eve Ensler's 'The Vagina Monologues.'" This will be part of a month long celebration. Their beneficiary has not yet been made public, but there are plenty of good groups in the Twin Cities who would certainly benefit.

Solidarity, sisters!