Bishop, priests defend Catholic League, criticize bloggers

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By Matt C. Abbott
Op/Ed
Catholic Online

By now, many Internet readers are likely aware of the controversy surrounding two female bloggers - Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan -- who recently resigned from the John Edwards campaign. They came under fire from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights for their disparaging comments regarding Christians and the Catholic Faith.

One Catholic bishop and two Catholic priests have graciously provided me with their comments in response to the matter.

Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi:

"L'affaire Marcotte illustrates yet again the moral imperative of the necessity of loving the sinner while hating the sin. In this case, it is a matter of loving the Neofeminist while hating Neofeminism, regardless of how difficult that may be.

"The American Life League, in its Encyclopedia of Neofeminism, has provided us with a definition:

'There is a vast difference between a feminist and a Neofeminist, just as there is a huge philosophical gulf between an old-style liberal and a Neoliberal. Like pornography, a Neo(New)feminist is difficult to define but you'll know one when you see one. She's the one wearing the 'CHRISTIANS ARE [deleted] T-shirt while screaming that you're judgmental. She's the one calling you a woman-hater yet she has a bumper sticker on her car that reads 'IF WE CAN SEND A MAN TO THE MOON, WHY CAN'T WE SEND THEM ALL THERE?' While she snivels about 'gender discrimination' and 'misogyny,' a Neofeminist refuses to use the word 'woman' because it is derived from the word 'man.' She uses instead the words 'wimmin,' 'wymyn,' or 'womyn.' Some Neofeminists despise men so much that they dehumanize them with such descriptions as 'pentapods.' Anyone who personally knows a Neofeminist realizes why she is so desperately unhappy and bitter. She is struggling pointlessly to become the very person she loathes so passionately: A man.

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'For her there can be no rest or peace. Neofeminis Hystericus is a driven creature. It seems that much of the pointless and fruitless anger and unrest in this society is caused by women who want to be men (and, to be fair, men who want to be women). In summary, a Neofeminist is an illogical, emotional creature bursting with contradictions, double-standards, and demands, all of which cause an unbearable tension within her (or, occasionally, him). 'For a true feminist, injustice means that women and men are treated unequally. By contrast, the injustice for the Neofeminist is being a woman (in a world dominated by men).'"

Father J. Patrick Serna, of the Diocese of Corpus Christi:

"In a recent blog entry by a Neofeminist, a blog which advertises 'Babel' as its sponsor (any connection with the Babel which God punished in Genesis ch.11?), it is asserted that the far right and 'Catholic bully Bill Donohue' are responsible, yet again, for the oppression of a woman, and women in general. True to the Neofeminist ideology, another poor female is a 'victim.'

"Amanda Marcotte cries tears of victimization because of her femaleness (notice I did not use the word 'femininity'... I have yet to meet a feminine Neofeminist). It is too bad that Marcotte was 'forced' (her personal word preference) to leave John Edward's campaign, it really is. Marcotte could have made his defeat all the more decisive! But I'm digressing. There is an old saying, one we've all heard: 'If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!'

"Well, I'm sure glad she got out of the kitchen. Oops, please forgive me. I doubt that a good Neofeminist like Marcotte would ever be caught in the kitchen -- how presumptuous of me. No one forced this Neofeminist out of anything. Even the most liberal of liberals know that there is such a thing as tact and propriety. It was not Donohue or any other right- wing ogre that forced Marcotte out of her blog position for the Edwards campaign. The only culprit for her removal, or, 'decision to leave,' is her feministic lack of decency and respect for others, especially her lack of respecting the God and religion of others.

"How can a woman (correct, I did not choose to use the word 'lady') who writes the following disrespectful blasphemy expect anything but scorn and rejection? In her blog entry, she quotes herself as having said and/or written:

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'Q: What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit?

'A: You'd have to justify your misogyny with another ancient mythology.'

"I have come across some respectful feminists with gracious demeanor and manners which even a few atheists possess, but this Neofeminist, Marcotte, is the kind who ruins it for even the best of Neofeminists. It was not Donohue, nor the Catholic Church, nor a right-wing conspiracy which ousted her from a job or inspired her to leave her job. Marcotte's very own blasphemous and disrespectful tongue took care of that with no problem.

"In Marcotte's recent blog entry, she states:

'To my mind, however, it would be a terrible thing if bloggers did heed the advice to mind our manners and ape our betters if we want in....'

"What does one say to a person who sees not the value in minding manners, or trying to emulate those who are 'better' than us? How can one prove to a person that minding manners and not using blasphemous language about a God who millions believe in, or God's mother for that matter, is totally out of place and worthy of ostracism? Such a proof is impossible, according to the great Aristotle. About two-thousand-four-hundred years ago, the philosopher Aristotle said that 'it is impossible that there should be a demonstration of absolutely everything, for then there would be infinite regress, and there would still be no demonstration' (Metaphysica IV:4).

"Aristotle later goes on to say that people who need proofs for self evident principles are either ignorant, fools, or both. Aristotle said it, not me. But I agree with him!

"Marcotte also wrote up a review on the movie, Children of Men. In part of her review, Marcotte states:

'The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal, where god is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels. But this movie offers an alternative interpretation of the virgin birth--one where 'virginity' is irrelevant and one where a woman's stake in motherhood is fully respected for the sacrifice and hard work that it is.'

"Marcotte accuses misogynists and chauvinists of victimizing her and forcing her to shy away from her work as a Neofeminist blogger. I am reminded of the words of Jesus: 'One reaps what one sows.' Marcotte dug the ditch she now finds herself in. She accuses Christianity of demeaning the value of motherhood and not respecting the role of motherhood. In this comment of hers, Marcotte insinuates that Christianity views women as something dirty, and for this reason, God chose the route of a virgin birth, so as not to 'befoul Himself by touching a woman.'

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"Right-wingers and Donohue are responsible for depicting Marcotte as anti-Christian or anti-Catholic? Excuse me -- anyone who blasphemes in winner-like fashion, the way Marcotte does, needs no help in earning the badge of 'anti-Catholic.'

"Back to the subject of self-evident truths and first principles, the ones of which Aristotle wrote. Just to show, once again, the quagmire which Marcotte wallows in, suffer yourself to read her understanding of human babies (from her review of the movie Children of Men):

'Babies are nothing but a symbol of hope, really.'

"A person who sees human babies as only symbols, and not real humans, not real creatures created in God's image, needs lots of help, and lots of prayer. No proof or argumentation can help this woman, so please, let us pray for this Neofeminist, and all Neofeminists in general."

Father Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International:

"Now that Marcotte and McEwan have stepped down from their posts at the Edwards campaign, their self-pity knows no bounds. They are actually claiming they were persecuted by the Catholic League for being young feminists! Please. No, they were rebuked by real Catholic men and women for their shameless and ugly bigotry. The Catholic League is supposed to renounce its right to free speech because of a couple of immature bloggers? The only one who deserves a bigger rebuke is John Edwards, who did not fire them instantly."

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(Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a B.A. degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an A.A.S. degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He is the former executive director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee and the former director of public affairs for the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.)