Sexual politics and the Catholic Church

Two stories this week detail troubling incidents emanating out of Catholic schools. First, a woman was told she couldn't officiate a Catholic school boys basketball game because "women weren't allowed to be in positions of authority over men." The name of the school, incidentally, is St. Mary's.

I'm no expert on Catholic theology, but I did attend 11 years of old fashioned Catholic education, and this strikes me as a perversion of Catholic thought. Yes, the Catholics will probably be among the last to allow women to serve as full members of the clergy. Their rationale is that priests and bishops serve in the function of the Apostles and that Jesus didn't select any women Apostles. But the Church, as far as I know, has not in recent times asserted that women have a lesser role in non-clerical matters or within the family. Contrast that to the Southern Baptists. The Catholics just don't want a woman to bless the host because I guess that means no transubstantiation would occur due to the fact that Jesus was only talking to the male Apostles at the Last Supper. Perhaps realizing this, or worried about the growing media attention, the school clarified that it had nothing to do with women's authority over men, but some strange policy regarding keeping the sexes apart in the physical education setting during the adolescent years. (I guess my high school violated this policy, we had co-ed phy-ed.)

Second, in Minnesota, a young, unmarried Catholic school teacher was dismissed after she became pregnant. This type of hypocrisy drives me crazy. The teachings in the New Testament, as I understand them, surround about loving one's neighbor, forgiveness, and not judging. Furthermore, this sends a clear message: "You should be ashamed and banished if you become pregnant outside of marriage." How often do unmarried men in Catholic institutions get similar treatment if they father a child? The worst part is the message to other Catholics, particularly the kids in the school, that it is the better course of action in facing an unintended pregnancy to quietly get an abortion. Is that what the school officials wished this teacher had done? Because that is the message relayed. How many unmarried Catholics in that community will see that and realize that they will have to get an abortion if they get pregnant and wish to stay a part of the community?

I'm pro-choice. But if a religious group opposes abortion on moral grounds, fine. I just wish there would be some consistency in their positions and not demonize those who decide to continue the pregnancy.

Offensive Target Ad

An ad from Target Stores has appeared in NYC's Times Square, outside their Minneapolis headquarters, among other places. It features a woman allegedly doing a "snow angel" with an odd placement of their trademark target.

• See the picture and further information on the controversy here.

Target claims they've received less than a dozen complaints. Judging by the attention in the last day, I'd guess that will go up. You can be the judge. I personally can't believe the "subliminal" image is anything but intentional. In any case, it's distasteful. Tell me what you think.

Column of the day: The witch ain't dead

My favorite piece today is written by Salon.com's Rebecca Traister. She eloquently mirrors some of my thoughts the past couple of months. I'm not a Clinton fan. I hope she is not the nominee. I don't have a lot of trust for her. But I have been amazed at how poorly she has been treated by the talking heads. There has been a definite double-standard, and I suspect it is gender-based.

Traister opens with the following:

"I'm not a Hillary supporter, but ... " has been an oft-heard preamble in the five days since the New York senator's Iowa defeat, usually followed by a description of how aghast the speaker is at the treatment Clinton received from a media anxious to throw a hoe-down on her political coffin. To my surprise, it's a phrase I've heard myself uttering, before launching a tirade about the premature death certificate signed by pundits for a candidate I have never really wanted to win.

• The witch ain't dead, and Chris Matthews is a ding-dong, Salon.com, Jan 9, 2007