Posted on 03/24/2004 3:45:38 PM PST by Diago
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.”
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http://carrollnewsonline.com/files.php?id=226
JCU Allies celebrate ‘coming out’
Three years ago, one John Carroll organization broke the old-fashioned, conservative Catholic mold to which this campus has grown accustomed.
Allies, the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender (GLBT) and friends of the GLBT community began to falter last year due to declining memebership, but the group is now back in full force for the 2003-2004 school year.
The main goal of this student organization, which is comprised of one-third gay and two-thirds straight members, is to “provide a support network between homo and heterosexual communities” on campus, according to senior Owen Baker, Allies’ vice-president.
He said this network is important to the GLBT community, especially at this small university.
“The problem is, there’s not a huge community,” said Baker. He notes that while security for gay college students is not as big of a concern today as it may have been in the past, it is still something that students have to think about, especially in the residence halls.
Baker added that most of the resistance Allies has encountered from the JCU community has been from faculty members.
Students have been “amazingly accepting,” however, there are some professors at this Jesuit university who are not “men and women for others,” he said.
For example, Baker related an instance that happened to an Allies member in which a professor allegedly made an off-color comment that “all fags are going to burn in Hell anyway.”
It is that kind of stark reminder, however infrequent they may be, that reinforces the need for close friends and a support system that is Allies.
“What’s really exciting about Allies this year, is that they’re making a concerted effort to educate everyone,” said Monica Marcelis-Fochtman, assistant director of Student Activities.
She added that this group is essentially educating students, faculty and staff about the different culture that is constructed by their sexuality.
Part of JCU’s mission is to lead and serve men and women, according to Marcelis-Fochtman. Allies does this by example, and by educating, as well as by addressing pertinent justice issues.
Baker stresses the fact that two-thirds of the club’s members are straight, hence the name of the club, and they are simply friends of the GLBT community.
“People who would be Allies are afraid of that stigma,” Baker says of the once in a while security concerns. “It makes you really enjoy the support of the people who are willing to be there.”
It is also important to remember that the majority of the JCU community, including the administration, is behind Allies, which makes it possible to promote itself positively, such as some of the club’s upcoming events.
After JCU’s first ever drag show two years ago was almost cancelled due to “gossip” and false rumors, Baker said.
The approximately 25 member club is making their presence known this semester by holding weekly meetings Wednesday nights.
These meetings are currently being used to discuss the preliminary stages of planning a Jesuit GLBT conference at JCU. The group also hosts a weekly get together on Tuesday nights.
And their biggest event for the semester is just about to take place. The “Queer Monologues,” a new spin on the famous “Vagina Monologues” will wrap up this year’s “Coming Out Week” for Allies.
This play, written, produced and starring members of the organization, consists of “coming out” stories and other “queer” anecdotes to educate members of the JCU community and stand up against stereotypes, Baker said.
Baker explained that these stories are not all the same and vary according to person and situation.
“You may know one person who is gay,” he said. “But here are all these different people.”
He also added that the stories are for both heterosexuals and homosexuals and are not “overpowering for one group.”
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The key word is "free society." ;)
Am I the only one who caught this in the second article you posted? Or do folks now think, "Oh yeah, a drag show at Carroll. Big news. Yawn."
Yes indeedy. And the Cardinal Newman Society is waging guerilla Christianity. It's war.
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