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From last year's John Carroll Newspaper:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-religion/1104704/posts

In reaction to the society’s actions, Flannery said, “I think the Cardinal Newman Society is the closest organization in the Catholic Church to the Taliban. [The Cardinal Newman Society] has used harassment and terrorist tactics to shut down the president’s computer system and to do harm to my department’s office,” Flannery said.

Despite concerns, show goes on

Over 1,000 e-mails poured into University President Rev. Edward Glynn’s inbox last weekend, and they weren’t all valentine greetings.

These e-mails came from people all over the nation, expressing fierce opposition to last weekend’s production of “The Vagina Monologues.”

According to Glynn and chair of the Communications Department Sister Mary Ann Flannery, the e-mails detailed opposition to the production’s controversial content being displayed on a Catholic university’s campus.

These e-mails were generated, according to Glynn and Flannery, through efforts made by the Cardinal Newman Society.

This society is an ultra-conservative Catholic group, based in Virginia, said Flannery, who was in charge of the monologues.

The e-mails also contained objections to a portion of the production’s proceeds being given to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, a member of the pro-choice Freedom of Choice Cleveland Coalition.

Since those e-mails were received, the University made the decision to revoke the funds being given to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, and re-direct them to the Missing and Murdered Women of Juarez, Mexico.

The Cardinal Newman Society calls itself “the national organization dedicated to the renewal of Catholic identity in Catholic higher education in the United States.”

The society makes efforts to regulate activity on Catholic campuses, to make sure that the activities and policies coincide with their idea of the true Catholic tradition.

The Cardinal Newman Society is, according to Vice President of Student Affairs Patrick Rombalski, “the Catholic police.”

The Cardinal Newman Society, which called for all of these e-mails to be sent to Glynn, ran an ad in Tuesday’s issue of USA Today, calling attention to all of the Catholic universities in the United States which are producing “The Vagina Monologues” this month or next, asking people to e-mail the presidents of all of the universities listed with their objections to the play.

John Carroll was on that list.

“It’s not the first time,” Glynn said. He has been flooded before with e-mails due to the group’s efforts.

He added, “I do not respect the Cardinal Newman Society’s leadership.”

In reaction to the society’s actions, Flannery said, “I think the Cardinal Newman Society is the closest organization in the Catholic Church to the Taliban. [The Cardinal Newman Society] has used harassment and terrorist tactics to shut down the president’s computer system and to do harm to my department’s office,” Flannery said.

“If they can effectively cripple the president’s office, they will surely feel they’ve won.”

In response to the Cardinal Newman Society’s main objections to “The Vagina Monologues,” Flannery made three main points.

First, she said, “The play is part of an international group whose objective is to raise consciousness and efforts toward eliminating violence against women and children.”

Second, she said, “The play is not pornographic.” Flannery said that the play is a type of “guerilla drama,” which is designed to address an issue.

This type of theater, according to Flannery, is centuries old and has its roots in dramatic literature as far back as the middle ages.

Third, Flannery stated, “The play has nothing to do with abortion. The word is not even mentioned [in the production].”

Flannery has seen “The Vagina Monologues.” Her reactions were that the play contains “a mixture of comedy and a seriousness which borders on tragedy. It is a guerilla theatre—it uses the element of entertainment to get to some very serious and provocative concerns.”

“I am not worried about the ‘Vagina Monologues,’ but I am [concerned] about the Cardinal Newman Society,” Flannery said. “We are a university; we must raise issues of disagreement, related to interpreting the faith and related to free speech—to a level of discourse which respects the various positions on the issues.”

Flannery continued in saying, “The first victims of violence are women and children, and when efforts to address their situations and to raise consciousness about them are stymied by the comfortable and the powerful, the violence continues.”

Finally, she said, “Catholics have to have solidarity and openness to address violence. That is the teaching of my faith.”

“The Vagina Monologues” will continue at John Carroll next year if the students want it to, Flannery said. “[The students of John Carroll University] have academic freedom.”