feminine-genius

Sad but necessary

This just came across my desk. It explains itself better than I could:

WESTLAKE, OH (JULY 1, 2009) - Americans, inspired by a ministry from Sicily, are starting a support community for divorced or separated Catholics who remain faithful to marriage. On June 21, the Italian Bishop's conference' newspaper Avvenire covered a retreat day in Palermo Sicily, for those who reaffirmed their marriage vows with the "Renewal of the I do." The day "is the concluding moment of the year long encounter and healing activities of the Saint Mary of Cana group, founded by the family pastoral arm of the Palermo Archdiocese upon the initiative of Maria Pia Campanella."

"Saint Mary of Cana" in the US is presently a project of Mary's Advocates, a non-profit 501(c)(3). They are seeking to collaborate with diocese in the United States. Director, Bai Macfarlane says, "We reject the divorce culture's indoctrination that our marriage is dead or that we have new lives as single people."

In a June 27th e-mail interview, facilitated with a volunteer translator, Macfarlane asked the founder in Sicily to explain the benefit of this program. Campanella said, "This pastoral work of the Office for the Family is that it supports the separated/divorced person in being faithful to the obligations of the Sacrament of Matrimony. He who is faithful to the sacrament is faithful to God."

Campannella explained, "The baptized choose to be faithful to the obligations of the sacrament at the time of the Matrimony. Matrimony is the state of life that a man and a woman have chosen freely as a way of holiness. Both of the spouses are able by the Grace of the sacrament to be ‘conjugal ministers' for the sanctification of the their spouse and their children, in view of the whole Church (Gaudium et Spes 48, Lumen Gentium 11). This mission ...does not end in the case of separation or divorce of the spouses (CCC 1615)."

The "Saint. Mary of Cana" group serves that Church at large, outside of the participants in the program. "The separated/divorced person gives witness to not only the Church, but also to the world, that Jesus-Spouse remains faithful to the Spousal Covenant with the Church-Spouse even if the church is "adulterous," said Campanella.

The U.S. group is raising money to publish and translate the study manual from Italian to English. Macfarlane says they have found an American translator who graduated with honors from Regina Apostolorum, Rome. Introductory sections are available on their website. Those who want "Saint Mary of Cana" programs launched in their diocese can participate in monthly conference phone calls.

Fr. Timothy Cloutier, pastor of Saint Mary's Catholic Church in Waverly, Minnesota, who is fluent in Italian endorses the study manual:

"The book, ‘The Gift of Self', is long overdue because it addresses a topic for too long neglected: how to live one's marriage vows after divorce. This is not a self-pity book, laying blame or fault. Neither is it simply another book about coping with life after divorce.

"It is an insightful work drawing on faith and love to face the challenge of continuing to live one's "I do" after the conjugal life has broken down. St. Paul says that "love never fails" (1 Cor. 13:8). Maria Campanella, herself divorced, traces out of her own experience for the divorced Catholic how to live in an even deeper manner through the sacramental life of the Church the reality of what the marriage vows are intended to be for each spouse: an enduring path of personal and mutual sanctification through married love, and as a process of true and all-encompassing healing for spirit, mind and soul. She shows how married love not only can, but needs to continue for the spiritual growth of the spouses themselves.

"An entirely new dimension of married life and love is opened up for divorced Catholics in ‘The Gift of Self'. The reality of Christ's love as source and example for a divorced Catholic is revealed with a clarity that can only be called inspired, and truly timely."

Lisa Everett, who along with her husband co-directs the Office of Family Life for the Diocese of Fort Wayne/South Bend in Indiana, also reviewed the "St. Mary of Cana" study manual. She said the book, "contains a beautiful and profound spirituality for spouses who find themselves drawn into the mystery of Christ's passion and death because of separation and divorce." On a practical note, Everett explained that the manual "offers helpful direction to parishes and pastoral ministers in providing concrete material, emotional and spiritual support to those who have been abandoned by a spouse."

Bai Macfarlane
Saint Mary of Cana
A Mary's Advocates Project
Westlake, OH 

Saint Mary of Cana members are divorced and separated Catholics who willingly remain faithful to our marriage, continuing to fulfill our marriage mission - to sanctify ourselves and our spouse. We consider that our marriage as a sacrament is not over. On the contrary, it is "alive." The faithful spouse then, if he/she is advised properly, can make it still effective by the renewal of the "I will", so that God's project can be realized.

 

Kindly keep this apostolate in your prayers and keep the information handy for those you meet who may need the support.

The other shoe drops

The hard-working Anchoress has put all the necessary pieces together to understand the visitation of Women Religious, save one element, perhaps. We must pray. There is the necessary guidance of the Holy Spirit to solicit so that this effort will bear the proper fruit. We cannot just sit on the sidelines as though this is a Catholic spectator sport. All the members of the Mystical Body are built up (or diminished) by these strong and essential communities which exist as eschatological signs for the rest.

Pieter Vree offers some different angles, which explain more of the logistics and administrative details, as well as quotes from Donna Steichen, who knows more than most about the rot that passes for some forms of religious life. As for this being 30 years too late, I agree that those with motherly hearts often see it this way. We don't see "trends" or "outcomes" as much as we see individual souls -- especially loved ones who are hurt by bad theology or broken trust. Successful administrators often operate with patient strategies that serve in the long run, while we want immediate action and accountability for this person now. Both are necessary and the Church thrives on such collaboration.

Ultimately, the visitation will benefit by our prayers and sacrifices, which I know you'll provide.

Fatherless but forgiving

From Mauritania:

 NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) - The family of an American man who was slain by extremists linked to al-Qaida while doing humanitarian work in Mauritania said Monday it has forgiven his killers. Chris Leggett, 39, was shot dead in the Mauritanian capital on June 23, not far from the school he helped run which taught computer skills to local prisoners.

An Arab TV station aired a statement issued by a North African al-Qaida group spokesman who said the group killed Leggett because he was allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

Leggett's family in the U.S. released a statement to reporters in Mauritania on Monday saying in French: "In the spirit of love, we forgive those that took the life of our remarkable son ... and we simply ask that the law is applied to those that killed him."

Leggett is to be buried Tuesday in Cleveland, Tennessee. The Cleveland Daily Banner reports that he had spent seven years in Mauritania and that he is survived by a wife and four children.

Kindly remember the family in your prayers.

Modesty and freedom

A very good discussion here. I think the bottom line in dressing is charity to others. That may mean covering up in some instances (I've decided this year that my upper arms must be removed from sight) or otherwise being more instep with trends (in general, not slavishly). The essence of charity is consideration of the needs of others before yourself, and this may mean going against the grain at times. Imagine, what constituted a hair shirt in days of old might mean taking five minutes to put on lipstick and a little blush today. Covering erogenous zones is a given, but the point Red is making is that we evangelise every time we interact with others -- even a quick stop at that market or swapping kids for play dates.

An example of this evangelisation would be how a snappy dresser sees the faith through the women around her. It is reasonable that if she's not convinced of the Gospel herself, she could legitimately say, "Given what I see, if I take Christ seriously, I surmise that I'll have to burn my existing wardrobe." Now of course that's wrong, but being poorly catechised, it's naturally that she would operate by the visual cues offered to her. Consider the level of expectations and how you can make "love of Christ" attractive, joyful, appealing. Remember, there's plenty of latitude and room for personality.

I usually enjoy What Not to Wear, although there's too much emphasis on being "sexy.." If you can ignore that, the advice is basically good, and the excuses why women get stuck in disaster are fascinating from a psychological perspective.

There is a fundamental freedom both in the faith and contemporary culture. Take advantage of it.

Prayers for Canada

Canada, like all western countries struggling with their Christian identity, could use some prayers, and who better than one of its own saints?

 

Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620 -1700) was beatified by Pope John Paull II in 1982.

MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS was born in Troyes, in the province of Champagne (France), on Good Friday, April 17, 1620. She was baptized on the same day in the church of Saint-Jean, a church that was located near her home. Marguerite was the sixth child in a family of twelve. ...Marguerite was nineteen years of age when she lost her mother. In the following year, 1640, in the course of a procession held on October 7 in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, she had an unforgettable experience. Her eyes rested on a statue of the Blessed Virgin, and at that moment she felt inspired to withdraw from the world and to consecrate herself to the service of God. With that unchanging fidelity to what she believed to be God's will for her, a fidelity that characterized her life thenceforth, she set about to discern her specific vocation.

She registered, at once, as a member of the extern Congregation of Troyes, an association of young girls devoted to the charitable work of teaching children in the poor districts of the
town. While engaged in this apostolate she learned about the foundation of Ville Marie (Montreal) in Canada. The year was 1642, and at that time she sensed a first call to missionary life. This call was rendered concrete in 1652 when she met Monsieur de Maisonneuve, founder and governor of the settlement begun in New France, who was in search of someone who would volunteer her services for the gratuitous instruction of the French and Indian children. Our Lady confirmed the call addressed to her: "Go, I will not forsake you", she said. Thus assured, Marguerite left Troyes in February, 1653, in a spirit of complete detachment. She arrived in Montreal on the following 16th of November, and without delay she set to work to promote the best interests of the colony. She is rightly considered co-foundress of Montreal, with the nurse, Jeanne Mance, and the master designer, Monsieur de Maisonneuve.

In order to encourage the colonists in their faith expression, she arranged for the restoration of the Cross on Mount Royal after it has been destroyed by hostile Indians, and she undertook the construction of a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. Convinced of the importance of the family in the building of this new country, and perceiving the significance of the role to be exercised by women, she devoted herself to the task of preparing those whose vocation it would be to preside in a home. In 1658, in a stable which had been given to her by the governor for her use, she opened the first school in Montreal. She also organized an extern Congregation, patterned after the one which she had known in Troyes but adapted to the actual needs. In this way, she could respond to the needs of the women and young girls on whom much depended as far as the instruction of children was concerned. In 1659, she began receiving girls who were recommended by "les cures" in France, or endowed by the King, to come to establish homes in Montreal, and she became a real mother to them. Thus were initiated a school system and a network of social services which gradually extended through the whole country, and which led people to refer to Marguerite as "Mother of the Colony".

Salt and Light has provided an excellent prayer:

God of Love, by the intercession of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, who contributed so greatly to the human and Christian well-being of families in the New World, watch over our homes today.

Give to all children the daily bread and love they need, help adolescents discover meaning in their lives, help couples grow in love and fidelity. Guide parents in the education of their children. Fill the hearts of grandparents with peace and tenderness toward their grandchildren. Come to the help of those whose happiness is threatened.

Inspire and enlighten all those committed, like Saint Marguerite, to the well-being and happiness of families. Help us discover in the Holy Family of Nazareth, a real model of family life in the spirit of the Gospel. Amen.

Happy Canada Day, and Saint Marguerite intercede for families everywhere!

[Speaking of Salt and Light and saints, while I was there, I got this video of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla which was beyond excellent. Beautifully done, interviews with friends and family members -- most moving, of course, was her husband who attended her canonisation. As the notes recommend, very good for private viewing as well as larger groups. It can be broken into smaller segments for discussion. Highly recommended!]

Wednesday Woes IV

Britain seems to be headed in the wrong directions on human rights, specifically women's rights. Although there is a constitution in the realm that sees men and women as fundamentally equal, there is "sharia creep," meaning that women who are taken to Sharia courts will be denied the justice inherent in that constitution.

There are as many as 85 sharia courts operating in Britain, according to a new report. Academic Denis MacEoin, the report's author, said the existence of the courts practising Islamic law could lead to different legal standards being applied to Muslim and non-Muslim citizens.

He said many of the courts operate out of mosques and their rulings are closed off to non-Muslims.

In previous reports it was claimed there were only five sharia courts in the UK, working in London, Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham and Nuneaton. He said: "This is not a matter of eating halal meat or seeking God's blessing on one's marriage. It is a challenge to what we believe to be the rights and freedoms of the individual, to our concept of a legal system based on what parliament enacts, and to the right of all of us to live in a society as free as possible from ethnic-religious division or communal claims to superiority and a special status that puts them in some respects above the law to which we are all bound."

His report, published by the think-tank Civitas, includes a list of previous sharia judgements which he believes give an indication of the type of ruling being handed down by the courts working in the UK. Among the examples quoted are laws banning a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim unless he converts to Islam and the removal of a wife's property rights in the event of divorce.

Now, do women choose their court, are are they forced into the Islamic court by the men in their lives? It would seem the latter, since they have fewer rights in Islam, and keeping their case "in the mosque" so to speak means that Muslims live apart, rule apart, decide apart and are not subject to the rule of the land.

For an example of how sharia courts work outside of Britain, consider this lopsided (and brutal) verdict:

A widow was whipped 202 times and a man 101 times following a fatwa by a religious leader for their alleged involvement in "anti-social activity" in a village in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting local protests and action by the police. Piara Begum, a widow of 40, and Mamun Miah, 25, were whipped before hundreds of people at Khaiyar in Comilla district Saturday night. The woman fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors said she was critically injured and needed to be given intensive treatment.

To follow up on another story mention in this series, there were two girls in a family abducted and forced to convert and marry  Muslim men. One was recovered, the other cannot be found. The fact that one daughter returned home only exacerbated the family's suffering:

The success of recovering the Coptic girl led to anger, revenge and assaults from the disappointed village Muslims against her family. Nearly 150 Muslims, armed with swords and clubs, physically assaulted five family members of the abducted Coptic teenager, as they drove back to their village after being forced into reconciliation with the abductor's family by State Security, compromising their right to pursue the case any further. "With every blow on us, they chanted 'There is only one Allah' while the Police stood there watching the assault, until we could take no more and three of us were hospitalized," said Nermeen's uncle Sameh Mitry in an aired interview with Coptic News on 6/7/2009. "They dragged us out of the car saying "Get out you followers of the Dog's religion!' They were consumed with anger ever since we got our girl back."

There are more details about the abduction:

Nermeen Mitry, 16, from Toma village near El-Mahalla town, was on her way to sit for an exam on May 21, 2009, when she was lured by a Muslim female friend to go home with her where she offered her spiked tea. She regained conscious hours later to find herself facing a bearded Muslim man trying to convert her to Islam, in a far away town and another governorate in Egypt, which she later knew to be Zagazig. The traumatized girl recounted the events to Osama Eid, correspondent of the Free-Copts Organization.

"The man was very confident and told me that I would be the fourth Coptic girl to 'know the true Allah' and convert to Islam through him. He also said that a member of my family was converted 15 years ago by him. I told him I am engaged to be married when I come of age, and would never convert to Islam as this would be a catastrophe for me. He did his best to make me change my mind, and then left me alone for a while."

When Nermeen did not return home, the Mitry family went to the police. Unable to get the police to register the case as an abduction, the family subsequently went to State Security and reported the incident, but were delayed there for hours with no progress.

"Meanwhile, one of the abductor's family members contacted Nermeen's cousin Romany and told him he knew her whereabouts, and offered to accompany him to bring her back," Sameh told Coptic News. "I am sure the abductor's family knew that we would have implicated them and they were afraid. We freed the girl ourselves; State Security did nothing to help."

So to put the two stories together, we find the inequalties between men and women, between Christianity and Islam -- both to the detriment of women. Consider another element here., which means that these thousands of girls will have no recourse, even when they can make it back to Britain.

As a corollary to this, perhaps you can join your prayers to those of Pope Benedict for his special intention for this month: "That the Christians of the Middle East may live their faith in full freedom and be an instrument of peace and reconciliation."

Great white north

Headed to Toronto to do an interview for Salt and Light.

What a blessing!

Let us pray fervently for priests and vocations. My first column on the topic is here.

Extraordinary woman

Dr Hilda Molina is the leading neurosurgeon in Cuba. Used once by the regime, she balked over two things. One was prioritising foreign patients who could provide cash to the government for their treatment (over Cubans, who certainly could not). The other:

Molina, who once posed for high-profile photos with Fidel Castro, was a well-known physician at a government institution until 1994, when she resigned after questioning the ethics of using human stem cell tissue in studies on treating ailments like Parkinson's disease.

After ten years of harassment by the government, she has finally been given an exit visa to visit her ailing 90-year-old mother in Argentina. Her son and his family also live there. Her thoughts on her treatment:

"I have inside a wound that will never heal," Molina told reporters after meeting with her son for the first time in 15 years. "I say to Mr. Fidel Castro, who has been the scourge of my family, may he have all the peace in the world. May he choose the path that the country needs. I don't need to forgive him for anything."

 

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

The pendulum

While all of us are distracted by the events in Iran, we would do well to pray for the citizens of that great civilisation that have fallen under the thumb of the existing mullahs. Whether or not Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is really in charge or is the puppet of others, the form of Islam to which Iranians are forced to submit is criminal in its human rights abuses. Throwing it off, though, runs the standard risk of allowing the pendulum to swing wildly in another wrong direction, but such is human nature.

Kathleen Parker has an interesting essay in the Washington Post that shines a light on the implications for women and it leaves the door open to this exact possibility (which, unfortunately, she doesn't see as problematic).

Beneath the surface of news blasts covering Iran's tainted elections, riots, protester deaths and government crackdowns, a subtext of women's rights is emerging. It is a subtext only to the extent that women's oppression isn't often acknowledged directly -- not even by the leader of the free world. But human rights are at the core of what is occurring now.

A government that oppresses its people can only sustain itself with violence, as the world is witnessing yet again as thousands take to Iran's streets. And, in Iran as elsewhere in the Muslim world, violence against women -- as well as against homosexuals and others considered inferior according to the mullahs' masculinist standards -- isn't only permitted but justified with religious doctrine.

You see, the standard problem with "masculinist standards" (MS) is that they are fought with "feminist standards" (FS) and neither of these are healthy (using shorthand for brevity). Since MS are grounded on power, mysogyny, bullying tactics and insensitivity to the other, those pushing back with FS employ the same arsenal, but simply exchange a "grrl flag" on the top of the hill for the discarded "boy flag."

[A previous illustration of this was the plea by Pope John Paul II to the communist east. He begged them, in their rush to throw off the yoke of their oppression, not to embrace the hedonism and materialism of the west, which was simply another lie -- and yet they didn't listen.]

The existing morality police are horrific bullies, and the oppression of women under Islam is ubiquitous, but scrambling for free sexual expression and homosexual rights is simply a different misguided path that we would beg these women to avoid. The fundamental lie that we attribute to the prophet Mohammad is founded in the marriage bond -- which makes women the property of the men in their lives. Wrong and bad. Only when men and women embrace each other as equals, in a bond that indicates mutual respect and protects the inherent good of each will society prosper.

We don't need one more corner of the globe that castrates its morality police so that it can run full bore down the path of the sexual revolution. The existing MS has installed the former, but a different MS could just as well love the folly of the latter. Neither honour the dignity of the human person, serve the authentic needs of women or create the fabric necessary to a culture of life. We must pray that the feminists who put their trust in a FS have a change of heart and come to see chastity before marriage, and the mutual and exclusive gift of self within marriage as the bedrock of the new Iran.

 

[No assumptions can be made about this woman's motives. God grant her peace.]

No red flags, girls?

The Playboy himself is still sexually active at age 83, having renewed his menagerie with a set of twins.

Hugh Hefner has been blessed with three new very gorgeous blonde beauties — two of which are twins. But despite his romantic relationship with 19-year-olds Karissa and Kristina Shannon, the men’s magazine mogul admitted at the recent Playmate of the Year party at The Palms in Sin City that he still can’t really tell them apart.

"I have one little trick, one has a little mark," Hef said, motioning to his neck. "Other than that, I don’t know."

Their mother must be so proud. And speaking of mothers, an ex-toy has moved on since she wanted children and Hugh didn't. He's got dreams, though:

"Kendra is going to be a good mommy, she’s growing up and Hank is going to be a very good influence on her. They are an ideal couple," Hef said. "I’m sure the baby will end up at the Mansion. We do have (lots of little bunnies). We have a lot of friends and second generation Playmates, so there are a lot of kids around the Mansion these days."

Fantasising about an unborn child being introduced to Sex Central as future bunny -- and referring to the existing children in-house by such terms should indicate the perversion that Is Playboy. This is what the mass media calls "blessings" -- and Playboy is mainstream by now. Kept women (whose names don't matter); kept children (mere flesh in the making) -- and mass envy.

Hospitals are about life

Father Pavone has chilling anecdote about a woman giving birth in 1973:

After she had given birth and was in the hospital recovering from her caesarian section, she was struck by the fact that even though the maternity ward seemed to be full of women, there were no other newborn babies around except hers. In fact, her infant son was all alone in a room full of empty incubators. It was a strange and almost eerie site.

Please read the piece for the excellent point that he makes. That said, I remember a singular birth, sadly a stillbirth, our fifth child who was delivered in our familiar maternity ward. Not everyone on the floor had received the memo about the tragic outcome, and it was touching to see how various passing nurses scrambled for the baby equipment -- all the paraphanalia they noticed was missing from our room -- only to be told in whispers that it wouldn't be necessary.

They were geared for life. In its own way it was beautiful. To tell you the truth, the whole event was beautiful -- knowing the Author of Life had it all in hand. Tough, surely, but one of those poignant moments that bring so much truth to the surface -- that was the richness of that particular "life-giving" opportunity. God bless good priests for making these truths known in season and out.

A remarkable interview

Jennifer at Conversion Diary offers an interview with a couple who have been entrusted with a very special daughter, Sunni. Honest. Penetrating. A stark and humbling witness to the beauty of life.

Latest column

Posted at Catholic Mom. Snippet:

...Just as Holy Mother Church catechizes the faithful and spiritually nourishes them, each family setting does likewise, providing a “viaticum” of its own – “food for the journey.” It begins with nursery rhymes and bedtime stories, then builds on the universal faith with family anecdotes and personal examples of humor and virtue, and culminates in an abiding sense of personal worth only truly understood through God’s salvific and sacrificial love....

New endeavor

I'd like to draw your attention to a new endeavor by an excellent woman, Marguerite Peeters. Dialogue Dynamics is an effort to save local communities from the global "ethic" that seems to be swamping them. Marguerite has long been doing the yeoman's work of tracking global trends, especially where they undermine the family and dignity of life. Please give it a look.

Serving at the pleasure of ...

Somehow, being appointed to a ministerial post in Saudi Arabia only underscores the fact that all such appointees merely serve at the pleasure of another:

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's first woman cabinet minister cannot appear on television without permission, a newspaper quoted her as saying on Monday.

Noura al-Faiz's appointment in February as deputy minister for women's education was hailed as a big step for the integration of women in conservative Saudi Arabia where a puritanical form of Islam bans women from driving, voting and mixing with unrelated men.

"I don't take my veil off and I will not appear on television unless it is allowed for us to do so," Faiz told the daily Shamss, which published a picture of the deputy minister wearing a headscarf with her face showing.

Well, technically, cabinet posts are assigned for a variety of reasons and each one usually entails a leash of one length or another. This one happens to be rather ... short. (Looks like Saudi girls won't get much exercise for a while either, since the the ban on sports in girls schools isn't going anywhere, despite this "cutting edge" appointment.)

Brief comment on Sonia

There's not much to say about Sonia Sotomayor that is in the realm of the "feminine genius" except for her participation in this group, which is sort of an all-girls club created in reaction to the no-girls tree house known as Bohemian Grove.

The group — which on its website describes itself as “a constellation of influential women who are key decision makers in the profit, nonprofit and social sectors; who build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships in order to both take charge of their own destinies and help others to do the same” — hosts periodic meetings around New York, as well as an annual off-the-record three-day retreat in Central or South America at which its members attend cocktail parties with U.S. diplomats and host-country officials and participate in panel discussions on public policy and business affairs.

Fair enough. I'm actually for such endeavors because there are times when each men and women like to be alone. As secretive as each group is, it's hard to draw a bead on what they do -- giggle over their wine while giving each other pedicures?

The only problem would be when those mutually beneficial relationships use as their premise silliness like this:

They wouldn't stoop to that level, would they?

UPDATE: Well, Ms Sotomayor has quit the club, which may be necessary for being considered a Supreme Court Justice.

[S]he said she didn't want questions about it to "distract anyone from my qualifications and record."

Federal judges are bound by a code that says they shouldn't join any organization that discriminates by race, sex, religion or nationality.

The Belizean Grove bills itself as women's answer to the 130-year-old all-male Bohemian Club in California. The club owns a 2,500-acre camping area in northern California called the Grove. Chief Justice Earl Warren belonged to the Bohemian Club beginning in the 1940s, before he joined the court and long before the federal judiciary adopted a code of conduct.

Interesting that she was a member despite the existing ban on such things. Perhaps judges shouldn't belong (their lives do become crimped in some ways) but there's no reason why such associations shouldn't exist. Freedom of association implies freedom from association as well.

"Living dolls"

Model Sara Ziff used five years of her very successful modeling career to make a sort of film diary of her time on and off camera which she and her ex-boyfriend have since edited into a movie, Picture Me. It sounds very intriguing in some ways, and downright maddening in others.

The industry has always had a predatory side. Anyone approached in the street by a middle-aged man and asked if they'd like to be a model would think twice about giving him their details (which is the reason model scouts are generally women). There is something inherently intimate about the whole business of fashion photography - the all-seeing lens, the exposed subject, the powerful photographer. What's shocking, listening to Ziff, is how prevalent, and how far up the fashion food chain, sexual exploitation goes. "Vulnerable girls are being put into a potentially predatory environment," says Ziff. "What's in the agency's interest is not always best for the girl, and if she's in a compromising situation, she doesn't necessarily have anyone to turn to."

She remarks that there has always been a sexual backdrop to modeling, which is true. Models pout and tease and exhibit "come hither" looks to sell virtually everything, so there shouldn't be any shocks there. What is perplexing is "the look" that is in at present.

The industry has become increasingly sexualised, and the lines between what is acceptable and what isn't have become more blurred. Naked models inside the pages of a magazine or on a billboard are ubiquitous. Add to this the fact that in their bid to find models that have the "ideal" model shape - flat chests, boyish hips - some agencies are hiring younger and younger girls. Ziff recalls one model sitting backstage at the shows playing with a colouring book. "It is an inherently unbalanced and hierarchical relationship when you pair a 15-year-old girl with a 45-year-old man who is trying to create a sexualised image. You are asking for trouble."

Um, who is interested in this "ideal" model? Not most men, but homosexuals. It's no secret that the industry is heavily populated with men who would be far more attracted to adolescent boys than busty women, and they are doing much of the hiring and layouts. And they seem to have a thing for molesting these emaciated wisps -- not for gratification, but for kicks.

A 16-year-old model is on a photo shoot in Paris. She has very little experience of modelling and is unaccompanied by her agency or parents. She leaves the studio to go to the bathroom and meets the photographer - "a very, very famous photographer, probably one of the world's top names", according to Ziff - in the hallway. He starts fiddling with her clothes. "But you're used to this," says Ziff. "People touch you all the time. Your collar, or your breasts. It's not strange to be handled like that." Then suddenly he puts his hands between her legs and sexually assaults her. "She has no experience of boys, she hasn't even been kissed," says Ziff. "She was so shocked she just stood there and didn't say anything. He just looked at her and walked away and they did the rest of the shoot. And she never told anyone."

Wrong and bad -- and worthy of being exposed (although that story didn't make the final cut because the girl was afraid of the consequences). Info at MySpace.

Graduation time...

At an time when so many of our youngsters are graduating from elementary school, they will perhaps spend the summer wondering about middle school. That this child could have such simple challenges:

LAHORE, Pakistan, June 4 (Compass Direct News) – The Christian mother of a 12-year-old girl in Punjab Province who was kidnapped, coerced into converting to Islam and forcibly married to a 37-year-old Muslim hopes to recover her daughter at a court hearing next week.

The reaction of Pakistani law enforcement authorities to Sajida Masih’s complaint so far – ridiculing her and asserting that there is nothing she can do because her daughter is now a Muslim – does not encourage her hopes of recovering her daughter Huma at next Thursday’s (June 11) hearing.

Masih said that Muhammad Imran abducted Huma at gunpoint on Feb. 23 from Hanif Kot village in Gujranwala district, forcibly converted her and then married her. Imran, father of three children, has since disappeared along with his first wife, children and new child-bride. Another land owner, Karamat Ali Saroyya, called Masih saying that Huma was in Muridke, but Masih and her lawyer were unable to find her there. Saroyya later demanded that Masih work his fields for one year to get her daughter back.

Prayers -- and remember that she is not an isolated case.

What's YOUR problem?

This is classic. Those who take issue with campy perversion, irreverence and sexual innuendo are the ones with the problem. In light of the public taking issue with a park decorated with suggestive artwork, we have the enlighted opinions of the art world to set us straight.

[L]ocal artist, John Rankine, says those who are offended by the current paintings need to “lighten up a little bit."

“The art is a little provocative," he said. "It’s nothing you have to shield your children from in horror.”

Besides, says Buchanan, the project's creator, deciding what is appropriate is subjective: “Depending on your emotional background, you could see something offensive in your spaghetti,” she said.

Alice being tempted by a drag Queen of Hearts (in women's underwear) aint exactly pasta swirls. The coyness involves other people's children -- as usual. These folks take great offence when anyone sneezes in the wrong key, and yet our children are supposed to be subject to their visual games without prejudice. As for snickering at the Blessed Mother and perverting Saint Francis, they know we won't decapitate anyone over it. All safe and on someone else's dime.

So here we are [sigh]

It's June. Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The month that harbours Father's Day. The month of my birthday -- and I'm not so pleased with this "gift."

In a presidential proclamation on the White House website, Barack Obama has lauded what he calls "the determination and dedication" of the LGBT movement by proclaiming June as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month."

"The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress," Obama states in the official proclamation, "but there is more to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect."
 
The proclamation, released on Monday, credits the LGBT movement with being a factor in more Americans who ascribe to those groups "living their lives openly today than ever before."

Openly. Evidently we need more openness. I gave a talk in Detroit last week and was given a hotel room with a telly. Rare treat for this tv-less soul (!) I bounced from channel to channel in an [ahem] sociological experiment to see what the masses are imbibing. It. Was. Awful.

I can honestly say that if this special month of LGBT month will be dedicated to more openness and more "respect" for the journey on which those with LGBT moccasins travel, then all the chaste/modest oxygen will be officially sucked off the planet. My children assured me that I was a fool to try VH1 and MTV (I guess Martha Quinn's been long gone). But still, it seemed that every other station was dedicated to mainstreaming promiscuity, same-sex attraction and radical individualism.

Ultimately, it seems odd that the LGBT community needs a special month when they have a lock on the airwaves and the undivided attention of anyone with cable and broadband. Obama has a to-do list that is potent:

Among those measures he lists "hate crimes" laws, civil unions, discrimination in the workplace, adoption rights, and ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy "in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security."

Peter LaBarbera understands what that means for faith communities:

"This proclamation talks about the entire radical homosexual agenda that Obama supports -- including homosexualizing the U.S. military [and] federal so-called 'rights' based on homosexuality, which will impinge on the religious freedoms and freedom of conscience of other Americans."

Obama may redirect the spotlight to youth and seniors, but it would seem that the only way to get the point across is to ramp up the "everyone's doing it" cheers directed towards unbridled lust and ratings. And neither involved kids and the elderly. Typical bait and switch under the guise of "family" values.

Beautiful

Hope Frances Mahon has penned her bittersweet saga of life with an alcoholic father. I can relate to so much -- especially hanging on to the tiniest fragments of feeling loved. Hers involved a gunshot; mine include the smell of diesel and a hockey pin. Grace flows through the darndest things.

The strength behind the smile

My latest column here.

Reminder

I'll be giving a talk in Plymouth Michigan this Friday evening. Information here. To be that close to the real news is exciting -- since the Wings have a chance to clinch it tonight. Talk about a thrill!

Collaboration -- fail

The headline concerning domestic violence caught my eye -- since it noted the large number of male victims. The evidence? Men being asked to do household chores and being denied conjugal rights. This sounds like fall-out from the gender police who hit the African continent with an eye to undoing centuries of mysogynistic damage by empowering women in the classic zero-sum game.

The lobby group released the report on Sunday after an eight-month survey in over 40 Kenyan districts. Progress for Men advocates for men's rights in Kenya. The report said among those who suffer abuse include lawyers, judges and even top politicians. In fact, former and present members of parliament accounted for 39 percent of the number of male victims of domestic violence.

So the source is not traditional men who say that feminists are making their lives hell, but "progressive" men who want the world to know they are suffering in silence. I'm trying to take this seriously, but it's hard, when abuse against women entails violence and rape, and the turnabout is pouting over being asked to wash up after dinner.

There are plenty of men who suffer abuse -- real violence at the hands of aggressive females. They are often uncounted because of the real shame attached to such bullying, but to claim to be progressive and to object to sleeping on the sofa smacks of an odd conglomerate of the neanderthal metrosexual. I don't get it.