The Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P of Providence College checks the wind, loads and blast The Vagina Monologues with both barrels. The both barrels I refer to are Removing the Error and then filling the space with The True Teaching of the Catholic Church.
He removes the error by not allowing it on his campus, but also by pointing out the false assertions of the VM.
The back cover of my paperback edition of The Vagina Monologues asserts (1) that its principal aim is to be “a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery” and (2) that it has been “hailed as a bible for a new generation of women.” I would argue that both of these claims are false. First, far from celebrating the complexity and mystery of female sexuality, The Vagina Monologues simplifies and demystifies it by reducing it to the vagina. In contrast, Roman Catholic teaching sees female sexuality as ordered toward a loving giving of self to another in a union of body, mind, and soul that is ordered to the procreation of new life. The deeper complexity and mystery lies in the capacity of human sexuality, both male and female, to sacramentalize the love of God in marriage. Any depiction of female sexuality that neglects its unitive and procreative dimensions diminishes its complexity, its mystery, and its dignity. Moreover, to explore fully the dignity of woman requires not only a consideration of female sexuality, but also of the capacity of women for intellectual, artistic, moral, and spiritual activity; none of these dimensions are featured in The Vagina Monologues.
Second, the description of the play as a “new bible” is an indication that its depiction of female sexuality is meant to displace the traditional Biblical view that inspires the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. The two positions are deeply and diametrically opposed. Nowhere is this clearer than in a monologue wherein the alcohol-fueled seduction of a sixteen-year-old girl by a twenty-four-year-old woman is described as resulting in “salvation” and “a kind of heaven.” What is thus characterized in traditional religious language is instead abusive, demeaning, exploitative, and morally wrong according to the true Bible. [emphasis added]
This is the sad trait of the radical feminists. They pretend to be about liberaling women from the oppressive men. But by emphasizing sexual liberties and taking on the typical male sins, they lead women into oppression and serve those men who are the greatest enemies of the feminine.
Fr. Shanley also corrects the notions of "artistic freedom" and "academic freedom". His line about "The deeper complexity and mystery lies in the capacity of human sexuality, both male and female, to sacramentalize the love of God in marriage." teaches the beauty about Christian marriage with beautiful simplicity.
He also offers an alternative that seeks to truly combat violence against women and has promised to participate in the events. Even starting the week-long campaign with a MASS!
tip to The Jester
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