Free Speech, Religion, Society, Things That Tick Me Off

The Vatican Goes to War Against the Nuns over the “M” Word

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

We have discussed the alleged War on Women in past blog articles here on Prof. Turley’s blog, as well as the Roman Catholic Church’s attempts to silence the Nuns over their support of Obamacare.  The Vatican is now battling the good Sisters over the alleged evilness of Masturbation!  The Vatican’s watchdog office called “The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith” has come out against a book written by Sister Margaret Farley’s  in 2006 titled, Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics, because, among other evil statements,  the female author states that masturbation never hurt anyone.  Such heresy!

Let me state up front that I just can’t imagine why one of the world’s largest religions, entirely led by men who are sworn to celibacy would be against masturbation?  Does Pope Benedict really think that his priests do not masturbate?  These are the same men who continue to hide child molesters from civil authorities on an international scale, but they cannot sit back and let any women suggest that masturbation is harmless!

Maybe the Vatican is just upset that this nun is getting the royalties and not the real experts on the subject.  MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell uttered the evil word many times on a recent TV segment during his defense of Sister Farley’s book.

“Coming to the defense of Sister Margaret Farley’s 2006 book “Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics,” O’Donnell displayed an image of a crucifix and the Bible with the word “rewrite” just below them, then thanked the Vatican for bringing Farley’s book to his attention before launching into his tirade.  As it would happen, he said, the church’s office that “spends its time deciding which books to hate” was, until 1908, called “The Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.” O’Donnell was speaking, of course, about “The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith,” which took issue with Farley’s book and singled out her positions on three specific things: masturbation, same-sex relationships and divorce.  And in particular, they called self-pleasuring “an intrinsically and gravely disordered action” that poses “grave harm” to Christians — whereas Farley suggested that no harm has ever come of it.”  Raw Story

Now, I realize that this story isn’t the most important issue that is confronting the nation, but I was struck at the sheer arrogance of the Vatican’s hypocrisy.  Allegedly celibate men wouldn’t think of ever pleasuring themselves, right?  At least not according to the official word of the Vatican.  I would think that if the Vatican was smart that they would take the high road and keep their pie hole shut and worry about the evils that their celibate men have exacted on the world’s youth.  I guess doing the right thing only works in the Bible.  Don’t the Cardinals and Bishops know that masturbation might actually prevent cancer?

Researchers in Australia did a study and asked men with prostate cancer and those without prostate cancer about their sex habits. The results might surprise the Vatican.

“They found those who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to develop the cancer.  The protective effect was greatest while the men were in their 20s.  Men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life.”  BBC

I am not suggesting that all priests should masturbate in order to help save their lives, but when is the last time that you heard of a priest developing prostate cancer?  Hmmmm??   🙂

I will be attending the 48th reunion of my St. Lambert’s Catholic Grade School class this coming weekend and I don’t know if any of our good Benedictine Sisters are still alive or if any will be in attendance, but if they do attend, I will let them know that I appreciate their fellow Sisters taking a stand against the Male dominated Roman Catholic Church and its attacks on Catholic women speaking their minds.  What’s that old saying, “Behind every good Church is a Good Women”?     I think I have that right!?

62 thoughts on “The Vatican Goes to War Against the Nuns over the “M” Word”

  1. rafflaw,

    I thought you’d enjoy reading this piece by Charles P. Pierce:

    Let He Who Is Without Spin
    June 14, 2012
    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/catholic-bishops-conference-day-2-9717371

    The Clan of the Red Beanie, American Division, is in the second day of its annual shindig down in Atlanta, and it seems to have dawned on the bishops that they have something of a public-relations problem. And, stepping up to meet it head on is our own Sean Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, who ascended to his current position when Bernard Cardinal Law was transferred to a post at the Basilica Of Our Lady Of The Clean Getaway in Rome….

    The recent Vatican crackdown on the largest organization of U.S. nuns turned into a public relations “debacle” for the bishops, said Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston. He complained that the Vatican’s decision to put bishops in charge of rooting out “radical feminist” elements within the nuns’ group was linked in the secular media to unrelated events, such as the bishops’ investigation of the Girl Scouts, with negative consequences for the church’s image. The bishops are looking into concerns that the Girl Scouts sometimes work with groups that promote access to contraception. The U.S. church’s image also has been hurt sex abuse scandals.

    What was your first clue on that last part, Sherlock?

    Sean, lad, I know you can’t say it, so I will. The problem is not that the attack on the nuns was a public relations debacle. The problem was that it was a thoroughgoing debacle. The problem is not that the institutional Church has an image problem. The problem is that the institutional Church is openly insane right now, and everybody can see it. The institutional Church, desperately attempting to reassert the authority it squandered during its days as an international conspiracy to obstruct justice, is barging around the landscape, reeling like a crazy person drunk on absinthe, doubling down on policies concerning human sexuality that people stopped following in 1965, and making life difficult for the fking Girl Scouts. This is behavior unsuitable for an authoritarian middle-school principal in Donkey’s Balls, Texas, let alone the Church of the Gospels. And, of course, the new publicity campaign will have rooted within it the same old terror of pee-pees and hoo-hahs and what people will do with them if the Church is not watching. Vamanos!

    Outreach efforts also include a Spanish-language video, now in production, that will take the form of a tasteful soap opera, tracing one family’s interactions over generations. The drama aims to promote traditional marriage and combat rhetoric that frames gay marriage as an issue of equality, civil rights or justice, said Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland.

    Yeah, that’ll work. I think more people still will watch Sabado Gigante, but that’s just me.

    You don’t need better flacks, Sean. You need better Christians. Ask the nuns. They’ll show you how it’s done.

  2. ~~ I would think that if the Vatican was smart that they would take the high road and keep their pie hole shut and worry about the evils that their celibate men have exacted on the world’s youth. ~~

    The power hungry misogynistic Catholic hierarchy spends too much time dictating to others on issues they themselves are still struggling with and not enough time devoting themselves to the poor, widows, and orphans as Christ commanded.

  7. rafflaw, At least they were good on social justice issues back then. Don’t hear much from priests like the Berrigans and Drinans anymore. Now it is all about issues involving sexuality and the republican party.

  8. Of all the people who should not be moralizing, Pope Ratzo is at the top of my list. I was watching one of the documentary channels on the teevee machine the other day. It was about the Hitler Youth. As I watched all those fresh young faces giving the Nazi salute, looking all fierce and stuff, ready to go out and kill Jews, I could not help but wonder if one of them was the future Pope.

  9. Kate,
    I was trying to be sarcastic.
    Swarthmore,
    You are right that in almost 50 years the Church hasn’t progressed. Actually they have regressed.

  10. Good post, rafflaw. Who would have guessed that nearly fifty years after eighth grade graduation that the church would still be saying all this crazy stuff? I remember the white pumps that we were allowed to wear and the first dance. Not clicking on your link, anon. lol

  11. You write, “Let me state up front that I just can’t imagine why one of the world’s largest religions, entirely led by men who are sworn to celibacy would be against masturbation?”

    Then you’re not thinking like the ones in power.

    When you’re playing a power game, you want your pawns to be as tense and fearful and guilty as possible. Forbidding them to perform an act that most males in the world do every day obviously raises their tension level. Threaten them with “the wages of sin” and they’ll fear you (and your god). When (not if) they break the rule, they’ll feel guilty, and will therefore be more easily led and manipulated in other areas.

  12. I don’t belong to any religion and never thought I’d think it but I’ve to say that the nuns rock! It’s time for women priests and bishops and pope.

  15. The priests need to get over their fear of sex. They need to find a willing nun, and just do it. God will not condemn them. God is not condemning of multiple wives either. God is not condemning of any kind of sex. .Humans condemn humans..Humans fixate on names.

  16. The priests need to get over their fear of sex. They need to find a willing nun, and just do it. God will not condemn them. God is not condemning of multiple wives either. God is no0t condemning of any kind of sex. .Humans condemn humans..

  18. I think this is a better excuse than any I have found, just trying to prevent prostate cancer. or as Sgt Sipowitz would say prostrate.

    My all time favorite joke on this subject is the one about the kid who gets caught and is told that if he keeps it up he will go blind. He replies that he will only do it until he needs glasses.

  19. Raff,

    A fine piece of information…… Thanks….. Next they are probably going to excommunicated you for this….. And if you’re not catholic now….. They will baptize you just so they can…. See WWII History…… Of the Mormons……

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