feminine-genius

This makes sense

Readers may think I've been overly harsh in Islam, railing at its inconsistencies and false premises. I was perplexed by the Vatican's overtures to Muslim leaders, who cannot and will not discuss matters of faith in a cogent fashion since their "revelation" is at odds with the other "peoples of the Book." Thus, I was gratified to read this, in which the Pope responded to the announcement of a forthcoming book from an Italian, Marcello Pera:

[The pope]  said the book “explained with great clarity” that “an interreligious dialogue in the strict sense of the word is not possible.” In theological terms, added the pope, “a true dialogue is not possible without putting one’s faith in parentheses.”

But Benedict added that “intercultural dialogue which deepens the cultural consequences of basic religious ideas” was important. He called for confronting “in a public forum the cultural consequences of basic religious decisions.”

Now cultural dialogue is different than religious dialogue, and there are various things that people of faith can share in opposition to a doggedly secular culture. In fact, if you think yeast or the organic nature of authentic living, there is no "culture" in a world without the spiritual realm. NYT isn't the mouthpiece of B16, to be sure, but this sheds a little light on what exactly Benedict may be thinking in visiting mosques and exchanging gifts with imams.

This is peace?

A shocking story out of New Guinea:

The Papua New Guinea jungle has given up one of its darkest secrets - the systematic slaughter of every male baby born in two villages to prevent future tribal clashes.

By virtually wiping out the 'male stock', tribal women hope they can avoid deadly bow-and-arrow wars between the villages in the future.

'Babies grow into men and men turn into warriors,' said Rona Luke, a village wife who is attending a special 'peace and reconciliation' meeting in the mountain village of Goroka.

The women now are torn with guilt and mourning. Their effort at "peace" was only war through another means. It's vaguely reminiscent of "every child a wanted child," which didn't lead to an expanded embrace for all children, but simply killed the ones who weren't "wanted." In this way, we will kill those who threaten to be killers, which makes the mothers every bit as heinous as the worst warriers.

Worse, because they killed the newborn innocents, while the men chose to engage each other in battle. Now how they plan to reproduce themselves in the coming decades is not explained. Sorcery, which is blamed for the violence, would indeed explain the complete loss of common sense in this matter.

Interestingly, this same philosophy is fleshed out in women's studies programs across the US. Women routinely teach that war is a product of patriarchy, and if we can just feminise the men, we'll all live happily ever after. The same eventual extinction comes, not as a result of killing the men, but simply castrating the women. And they choose it freely.

Well done, good and faithful servants

Although we look to our eternal reward as the true measure of faithful service, occasionally this world is the setting for excellent acknowledgments of authentic apostolic works, and such is being offered to two fine stewards of God's truth about marital love:

Franciscan University of Steubenville will host its first-ever December commencement ceremony on Saturday, December 13, 2008. 

Immediately following Mass, the graduate and undergraduate commencement will take place in Finnegan Fieldhouse. The December 2008 graduating class of approximately 105 undergraduate and 70 graduate students will represent 30 states as well as Korea, Jamaica, and Canada. Theology, mental health, English, business, and biology are the top five majors of this graduating class.

During the ceremony, John and Sheila Kippley will receive honorary doctorates in Christian ethics for a lifetime of work teaching Natural Family Planning (NFP) and upholding sexual morality in marriage. John Kippley will deliver the commencement address.

Married 45 years, the Kippleys began teaching Natural Family Planning in 1971, devoting much of their early efforts to countering negative stereotypes associated with NFP and becoming among the first lay advocates of Pope Paul VI’s prophetic 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Since then the Kippleys have become some of the leading voices of the Natural Family Planning movement within the Catholic Church, receiving the endorsement of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops along the way.

To date, well over 200,000 couples have attended NFP classes in the U.S. alone, and thousands of books, tapes, and newsletters on NFP have been distributed worldwide. In 2004 the Kippley's established Natural Family Planning International to continue their efforts to educate couples on the problems of birth control and the positive benefits of Natural Family Planning and breastfeeding.

Let me echo the sentiments of Fransciscan University in bestowing this well-deserved honour to the Kippley's and encourage everyone to consider their marvelous apostolate which continues here. I can personally attest to the good of their written work, as my husband and I approach our 25th wedding anniversary, we would not have enjoyed nearly the blessings we have without the wisdom they were called to share.

Congratulations and thank you!

Rejoice, all ye servants of the Lord!

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Cecilia, a virgin of a senatorial family and a Christian from her infancy, was given in marriage by her parents to a noble pagan youth Valerianus. When, after the celebration of the marriage, the couple had retired to the wedding-chamber, Cecilia told Valerianus that she was betrothed to an angel who jealously guarded her body; therefore Valerianus must take care not to violate her virginity. Valerianus wished to see the angel, whereupon Cecilia sent him to the third milestone on the Via Appia where he should meet Bishop (Pope) Urbanus. Valerianus obeyed, was baptized by the pope, and returned a Christian to Cecilia. An angel then appeared to the two and crowned them with roses and lilies.

When Tiburtius, the brother of Valerianus, came to them, he too was won over to Christianity. As zealous children of the Faith both brothers distributed rich alms and buried the bodies of the confessors who had died for Christ. The prefect, Turcius Almachius, condemned them to death; an officer of the prefect, Maximus, appointed to execute this sentence, was himself converted and suffered martyrdom with the two brothers. Their remains were buried in one tomb by Cecilia.

And now Cecilia herself was sought by the officers of the prefect. Before she was taken prisoner, she arranged that her house should be preserved as a place of worship for the Roman Church. After a glorious profession of faith, she was condemned to be suffocated in the bath of her own house. But as she remained unhurt in the overheated room, the prefect had her decapitated in that place. The executioner let his sword fall three times without separating the head from the trunk, and fled, leaving the virgin bathed in her own blood.

She lived three days, made dispositions in favour of the poor, and provided that after her death her house should be dedicated as a church. Urbanus buried her among the bishops and the confessors, i.e. in the Catacomb of Callistus.

Icon found here.

Application of Shari'a

Australia is doing its best to welcome Muslims, but finds that the inner workings of Islam as manifested through Shari'a often undermines the dignity of women and the good will of the taxpayers. 

SOME Muslim religious leaders in Victoria are condoning rape within marriage, domestic violence, polygamy, welfare fraud and exploitation of women, according to an explosive report on the training of imams.

- Rape and violence condoned within marriage
- Study says Islamic law applied to benefit men
- Mufti of Australia denies claims

Women seeking divorces have also been told by imams that they must leave "with only the clothes on their back" and not seek support or a share of property because they can get welfare payments.

And the report says some imams knowingly perform polygamous marriages, also knowing that the second wife, a de facto under Australian law, can claim Centrelink payments. [England facing same challenge.]

For those familiar with the lives of women in the Middle East, this comes as no surprise, but for those who think that diversity is possible with such divergent worldviews, the data is troubling.

Complete report here.

Thoughts on scouting

I've long been dubious about girl scouting, confessing that I'm an avid indoorsman at heart, and but more importantly, because any wannabe efforts to channel girls' energies to mirror boys' are shallow constructs. Boys work naturally well together, for the most part (brawling aside, which eventually mushrooms up amidst most activities). Their brains seem acclimated to team efforts, since men from of old have had to collaborate to slay the woolly mammoth and build barns adequate to surviving periods of want. Women work more independently, sharing skills, learning from mentors, and arranging their lives around the needs of family and the inevitable chores.

 It is no wonder that little girls looked enviously at their brothers who joined the Boy Scouts and frowned upon their own stitching, which is boring compared to slingshots and penknives. But creating a feminine alternative to the boys' group is more difficult than what is surmised at first glance. What is the end of scouting?

For boys, it's to build manly skills that a group of wise older folk found helpful in their own lives. Little feats of engineering are both instructive in the physical application and the satisfaction that a man finds in taking ownership of his piece of turf and turning it to his ends. Is that what girls want? I don't know, but some who lead girls now do surmise what girls need: freedom from patriarchy and oppressive family constructs. From the 51st Girl Scout National Council Session and Convention held recently in Indianapolis:

Patriotism has been replaced with globalism. This year, the traditional flag ceremony was trashed. The girls didn't respectfully carry the U.S. flag into the hall. Instead, it was bunched together with the flags of other countries and pulled in by a golf cart to the nonsensical – some say drug related – '70s Chicago tune "25 or 6 to 4." After the girls recited the promise, the band broke into "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.

Keynote speakers included left-wing political activists actress Geena Davis, who starred in "Commander in Chief," and former Ms. Foundation President Marie Wilson, who founded the White House Project and Take Your Daughter to Work Day.

On the way to these sessions, the Girl Scouts could visit displays that feature the Sophia Dolls collection to help them find their "inner goddess." According to the manufacturer, which donates a percentage of all sales to the Girl Scouts, these dolls "serve as a personal empowerment tool by allowing you or your daughter to connect with inner wisdom to guide in expanding and balancing life roles."

The highlight of the convention was the unveiling of the latest "Journeys" program inspired by the Ashland Institute and created with the help of Brian Bacon of the Oxford Leadership Academy, who is a practitioner and teacher of the Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga and a "senior member" of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. These programs are billed as a "leadership experience." Girls are encouraged to become "agents of change" – ah, there's that word again – for the global good.

These programs are egocentric and devoid of any mention of family. There is a strong anti-boy tone. Instead of mother and father, the books refer to "trusted adults." Gone is the Judeo-Christian tradition on which the Girl Scouts was founded. The emphasis is on moral relativism and "self." The books are salt and peppered with Eastern religious practices. Girls are encouraged to make a Zen garden, use yoga and martial arts as a form of relaxation and use a Japanese tea ceremony to "clear the mind."

Now others [in combox responding to the article above] strongly reject the notion that Juliet Gordon Low ever meant for the Girls Scouts to embody Christian principles, noting that she included Native American folklore and ceremonies from the start. The Girl Scout statement on diversity is solid enough, though it may be doublespeak for a hidden agenda. Time will tell. Fair enough. But it's troubling to see that a search for "motherhood" comes up with ... nothing. ("Parenthood," evidently, is not on the agenda, either.)

Many good things are fostered (nota bene: mainstreaming ssa is among the projects honoured), but overall, one would have to say, caveat emptor.

To serve is to reign

The case of Eluana Englaro has not been followed in this space because the topic hasn't particularly reflected the feminine genius -- until now. The family has finally pressured the court to allow removal of the tubes that provide food and water, essentially allowing her to be starved to death because of her compromised state.

All looked lost -- except that the marvelous women who have cared for her all these years are refusing to comply:

The nuns who run the hospice in which Eluana Englaro has been living for 14 years have refused to carry out the court order to remove her food and hydration tube. On Friday, the highest court of appeals of Italy upheld a previous court’s ruling that Eluana Englaro, the young disabled woman who has been in a state of diminished consciousness since being in a car accident in 1992, may be killed by the removal of her food and hydration tube.

In a letter published in yesterday’s Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian Bishops Conference, the Misericordine nuns of Lecco said, “Our hope, and that of many like us, is that the death by hunger and thirst of Eluana, and others in her condition, will not be carried out.”

“That is why, once again, we maintain our availability, today and into the future, to continue to serve Eluana. If there are those who consider her dead, let Eluana remain with us who feel she is alive. We don’t ask anything but the silence and the liberty to love and to devote ourselves to those who are weak, poor and little in return.”

The story won't end here but, God willing, their witness will take on a life of its own. Bless them for their fidelity to duty, for their dedication to life. Such are the defining conflicts of our time, and the society that refuses to dedicate itself to the weakest in its midst loses its right to be called civilised.

International pressure

Please keep up the prayers, because the attention drawn to the case of this woman, Arzigul Tursun, is making a difference. Even feminists are applying pressure, noting the lack of, ahem, choice. (I'll spare you the links for the profanity therein, but I'm glad they've noticed the worthiness of this cause.)

Sadly, even if the child is allowed to live, the family will face a lifetime of shunning, abuse and the exorbitant fines levied for unsanctioned children. Draconian and diabolical.

UPDATE: Good news.

BEIJING, November 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Arzigul Tursun, the Muslim Uyghur woman who was caught fleeing from authorities while more than six months pregnant was released from China's northwestern Xinjiang region where she was supposed to undergo a forced abortion. One-child policy enforcers had her under guard at the hospital intending to abort her third child against her will.  However international pressure has resulted in her release without having her unborn child killed.
 
US Congressmen Chris Smith and Joe Pitts, both of whom worked to mount international pressure commented, "Today's report that Arzigul Tursun, a Muslim Uyghur woman from China's Xinjiang region, has apparently been released from custody is great news for both her family and women throughout China.  The decision to spare Arzigul and her child from the tragedy of forced abortion is, we hope, a sign that more women in China will be saved from this grave human rights abuse.

We should rejoice in this, but the cynic in me thinks that the family's trials are far from over. For thoughts on China and the disaster that was the Olympics, read Jay Nordlinger.