I was reading our local paper, an act I tend to avoid, and found this article. My first reaction was to ask why the Associated Press always makes the hierarchy of the catholic church seem so tyrannical. I generally don't buy the conservative argument that there is a liberal bias in the media that slants all stories in that direction. And yet, when a woman religious criticizes a review for "misogyny in the church and especially distrust of women who are not directly and submissively under male, ecclesiastical control" while the "inquiry is being directed by Mother Mary Clare Millea, superior general of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" makes me angry.
So, the implication is that the church should encourage and foster congregations of women religious who make every effort to dissent from church teaching. We should tell the screaming child in the restaurant that free expression is a good thing and encourage them to keep screaming. Why? And, isn't the fact that these congregations can't attract young people to join them at least some indication that there is a privation of fecundity? I can't pay my college students to consider joining these congregations. They're all graying and, to be honest, will probably all be gone by the time I'm ready to retire. The ones that are attracting new members are the ones that have maintained fidelity to the church. Why would anyone want to be around a group of people that hate the organization they profess to be a part of? To me, it's like the wife that constantly expects the husband to change. Either you love him as he is or you'll eventually get a divorce. The church is just trying to avoid a divorce. The Ap, on the other hand, seems like the annoying best friend spreading rumors and sowing the seeds of doubt.
