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'Monologues' Divide Catholic Universities
The Washington Post ^ | 02.09.06 | TOM COYNE

Posted on 02/11/2006 2:07:25 PM PST by Coleus

Kerry Walsh knew there'd be talk when a group of students proposed putting on "The Vagina Monologues" at the University of Notre Dame.

The Eve Ensler play, based on discussions with 200 girls and women about their feelings for their anatomy, includes sections about homosexuality, orgasms and rape.

"I knew from the get-go there was going to be some point where the university or someone would put their foot down and say, 'We really need to talk about this,'" said Walsh, who was a senior English major when she directed the play.

Four years later, that time has come.

The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, announced last month he was scaling back the play this year _ limiting it to a classroom setting and barring ticket sales. He is seeking input from students, faculty and alumni on whether it and another controversial event, previously called The Queer Film Festival, should be allowed at all.

It's a discussion more Catholic universities are having as "The Vagina Monologues" becomes a kind of unsolvable riddle for the schools. Allow the performance and they are criticized for going against church teachings. Ban the play and they're accused of stifling academic freedom.

"When you put Catholic university in your title and your Web site looks like the 'Bells of St. Mary's,' you set up an image that students expect," said Malcolm A. Kline, executive director of Accuracy in Academia, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. "What I get from parents and students is, 'I thought I was going to a Catholic school and they're showing the 'V Monologues.'"

The play, usually performed around Valentine's Day, is being put on by students from about 20 Roman Catholic schools this year, including DePaul and Georgetown universities and Boston College. But several

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: catholiccolleges; homosexualagenda; monologues; moralabsolutes; notredam; vday; vmonologues
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Catholic Higher Education Alert - 2/10/06
Catholic Higher Education Alert - 1/31/06

1 posted on 02/11/2006 2:07:25 PM PST by Coleus
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To: Coleus

If the kids going to Catholic Colleges dont want their acedemic freedom stifled they should pick another school.

If the Catholics running these schools dont have the guts to do what their religious teaching tell them to do they should quit and find another job.

Its just that simple.


2 posted on 02/11/2006 2:15:32 PM PST by sgtbono2002
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To: Coleus

Yeah. This is the WaPo's idea of the perfect story: catch those homosexual hating, women hating, Catholics out in a situation where they can't win.

Wonder if the Post is gonna run any stories about Harry Reid's $68,000 anywhere except the back of the paper?


3 posted on 02/11/2006 2:17:18 PM PST by kjo
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To: Coleus
Jenkins is a coward. If he needs input from faculty, students and alumni to determine that this crap has no place at Notre Dame then he has no business running the University

john.i.jenkins.1@nd.edu

4 posted on 02/11/2006 2:17:46 PM PST by A.A. Cunningham
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To: Coleus

My daughter will only go to a Catholic school that is true to the faith. If not, there is no point.


5 posted on 02/11/2006 2:17:58 PM PST by conservative cat
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To: 2ndMostConservativeBrdMember; afraidfortherepublic; Alas; al_c; american colleen; annalex; ...


6 posted on 02/11/2006 2:22:33 PM PST by Coleus (IMHO, The IVF procedure is immoral & kills many embryos/children and should be outlawed)
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To: Coleus



Let the freak show begin

http://www.vaginalady.com/


7 posted on 02/11/2006 2:46:00 PM PST by Para-Ord.45
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To: sgtbono2002; Coleus
The play, usually performed around Valentine's Day, is being put on by students from about 20 Roman Catholic schools this year, including DePaul and Georgetown universities and Boston College.

There is no excuse for this being performed at ANY Catholic school. If the kids are dying to see it, there are certainly abundant opportunities to see it elsewhere. Why does any Church institution facilitate this poison?

Particularly since the homosexually-seduced young lady in the play is 16 - and in initial performances was described as being 12, until legal considerations forced a change. Valentine's Day indeed.

8 posted on 02/11/2006 2:56:03 PM PST by livius
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To: Coleus
Personally, I'm waiting for a production of "The Penis Diaries".

Not.

9 posted on 02/11/2006 2:58:00 PM PST by Lizavetta
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To: Coleus

Three Words:

"Ex Corde Ecclesia"

If more Catholic schools lived it, there would be no "riddle" regarding such a play.


10 posted on 02/11/2006 2:58:16 PM PST by rjp2005
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To: rjp2005

What part of the phrase 'Ex Cordae Ecclesiae' don't they understand?


11 posted on 02/11/2006 3:06:17 PM PST by Phil Connors
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To: Lizavetta


Too late

The Penis Monologues

http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/penis1.htm


12 posted on 02/11/2006 3:25:07 PM PST by Para-Ord.45
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To: Coleus

Why would you choose a catholic university if you didn't want a catholic environment and catholic standards?

Why would you bill yourself as a catholic university if you aren't willing to enforce catholic standards?

There are some things a Christian simply can't be a party to. We live in a muddy world; but we wipe our feet at the door. We don't track the mud inside. We don't celebrate the mud.


13 posted on 02/11/2006 4:01:41 PM PST by marron
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To: marron

Way to go Fr. Jenkins! Now, let's cancel it next year. While Malloy's years at the helm of ND may have been marked by more new buildings than any previous president, I think it's safe to say that ND hit its all time spiritual and gridiron lows under his leadership.

As an alum, I'm glad to see that he's gone.


14 posted on 02/11/2006 4:12:26 PM PST by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.org - Forging a Rebirth of Freedom.)
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To: DirtyHarryY2K; DBeers; MillerCreek; wagglebee

Looks like both lists, if interested!


15 posted on 02/11/2006 5:17:06 PM PST by little jeremiah
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To: little jeremiah; MillerCreek

Let MC Ping both lists at the same time. I'll be back later, its dinner time here.


16 posted on 02/11/2006 5:37:02 PM PST by DirtyHarryY2K ("Ye shall know them by their fruits" ;-))
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To: Coleus

Headline should be:

"Monologues Expose Non-Catholic Universities"


17 posted on 02/11/2006 11:07:11 PM PST by Notwithstanding (I love my German shepherd - Benedict XVI reigns!)
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To: sgtbono2002
If the kids going to Catholic Colleges dont want their acedemic freedom stifled they should pick another school.

The V monologues isn't about academics; it's about propaganda. Refusing it a venue actually enhances freedom, since young minds are not being troubled by tendentious sloganeering that's a substitute for genuine thought.

18 posted on 02/13/2006 7:49:17 AM PST by Romulus (Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo.)
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To: Phil Connors

I dont know. It's a battle, but the tide is turning. Many campus ministry departments of Catholic universities have finally gotten on board with peer to peer evangelization programs that are working.


19 posted on 02/13/2006 8:55:11 AM PST by rjp2005
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To: Coleus
He is seeking input from students, faculty and alumni on whether it and another controversial event, previously called The Queer Film Festival, should be allowed at all.

If this guy needs guidance from students, faculty, and alumni to decide whether The Queer Film Festival is appropriate for a Catholic institution, forget it. The Culture War is over.
20 posted on 02/14/2006 4:57:22 PM PST by Bush2000 (Linux -- You Get What You Pay For ... (tm)
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