LETTERS
False Pope
I am writing in response to
Stephen Crawford's commen
tarv "S«k utar world, religion dif
ferent " (ODE. July 18). sime he
seems to he inviting response
from "religious women As a
member of the Catholic Church,
a 12-year veteran of Catholic
si hook and a feminist. ! feel
obligated to voice my opinion
even though it will not he the
one ( rawford was < minting on.
In the context of Crawford's
opinion, the word 'equality"
!»m i lines'meaningless Me < i.mns
that when we view the priest
hood from a sec ular standpoint,
bringing in the "humanistic"
notion of equiilitv we will never
understand the reverence he
holds for the voc at ion
It seems to me, then, that all
of the church's teachings that 1
have taken to heart "Love
they neighbor;.Treat others as
you would hope to he treated"
are not the lessons the churi h
wanted me to learn Hut where
should the notion of equality lie
more applicable than m the eves
of C.od and. therefore, m reli
gious practice'
Forgive me if 1 fail to re vent a
vocation tfi.it discriminates
against me And for heaven s
sake, don't teai li me from the
tender age of 5 or 0 that God
loves me just as much as He
loves every other human
male or female — and then re let
gate me to the world's second
bests." denying me the opportu
nity to serve God as 1 might
choose, while i burning it has
nothing to do with equality (or
the lack thereof) anti everything
to do with God's will. I don't
buy it
I or the record, 1 am also pro
choice, as are many of the
Catholic women I am dose to
Crawford claims it is not the
intent of the church and other
anti abortion groups to "limit
* ho options of woman, and
thereby even ise a cntain degree
of control over their lives " I
think that Crawford has
summed up exactly what th«>
intent of these groups is, hut I
also feel that it is somewhat
beside the point
Regardless of intent, that is
the reality limited options and
lives controlled by other people
I'he i htirch controls the lives of
thousands of poor and Third
World women with its anti
choice rhetorn a fm t we tend
to lose sight of in middle-class
Amerua Mow the Vatican
wants to tighten its grip on its
employees If you have an abor
t - tit ta got -i phon o you
your Job
Ves. Mr Craw foul. I do think
it is easy for you to pontificate
on the lives of religious and
non-religious women because
you are a man Reside the bene
fits of being a priest (which
mi lude. by the way. the posi
tion to keep an entire parish
hanging on every word you
deliver from the pulpit, the
power to admonish and judge
every t onto sect soul who enters
tin’ i uiilfNsmn.il .mil the jins i
lege of being on*i ol tlu* first
influences for Catholic chi I*
tirun), you also have all of the
status ami power that comes
with being male You'll never
have to contemplate an abortion
or worry about the toll that hfi\ -
ing too many babies is taking on
vour body And you will not tie
turned away from vour chosen
profession on account of your
genitalia. I do not see why this is
so hard for you to understand,
tint apparently it is
So 1 will hold onto the beliefs
1 have as a thinking person, and
I will enjuv my God-given indi
viduality Crawford's descrip
lion of the experieni e of
religious women rings false, as
false as Pope John Paul's claim
of "support" for women's rights
as he simultaneously denies ns
a< i »>vs to contracejgion. abortion
and the priesthood
Stephen)© Frank
Graduate Student
Pope pomp
In response to Stephen Craw
ford's commentary [ODE. July
Ifl} and the separation of < him h
and state. I agree that ttie reii
gtous powers should remain
concerned with religion and
confine their dealings to their
converts Unfortunately, they
want to enfon e ttieir morals anti
beliefs on everybody If you
t»*tieve something is a sin. then
don't do it Hut to pass judgment
and enforce vour views on oth
ers is not ttie A merit an way. for
the most part
if wearing a ruby ring, a red
ro!>e and a conical hot behind n
bullet-proof shield is not a show
of power and pomp, what ts'
The church is about power and
power onlv Salvation was
retired many centuries ago
Kthtcs from a group that caused
the Crusades. the Inquisition,
file coioiiiration, enslavement
and decimation of the indige
nous people of the New World
and the raging ( on flit tS in Ire
land, tin- Middle i ist and
Kurope is doubtful.
The Catholic Church since
the beginning has stated that the
fall from grace was the result of
live s action and it has since
fort ed all women to submit to
rule hy man.
Having hidden or rejected the
work of women in religion, the
generally white male church
leaders enjoy the benefits of free
room and hoard, paid travel
expenses, diplomatic immunity,
and passports, housing, clothes,
curs, staff, etc , supported by tin
gold ripped from Islamic
mosques and Jewish temples
and minos worked hv native
sl.iv I'S
The ( .iiluiln Church believes
in human hft* only when the
humans bow to the rule of its
theocrm v The rhetorii from the
( hurt h is that sex Imp (tens onlv
between a man and his wife,
and only to prodin t> children
so generally. four to five times m
i lifetime is it No discussion of
birth i ontrol, period No iftsi us
sum of sexually transmitted dis
eases. lbe stance against
abortion is not from the point of
view of the sam titv of life but
from the position of t ontrolling
all aspects of everybody s lives
I wonder what pfiilosophv
i nurses allowed Crawford to
maintain the idea that equality
was a one wav street and cov
ered not all freedoms, but just a
few I suggest thill ( raw ford i on
dint a survev He will realize
that dogmas are not for everyone
and that the church needs to
realize that it is not preaching or
prat th ing the teachings of lesus
t 'firist
Religious views should in? a
jiersoit.i! thing end affect the
personal life of an individual
Never should one's own views
he forced upon another You,
Mr ( raw lard, have* the right to
believe and prut tire your reli
gion in your life I require the
freedom to do the same in mine
James Dean Poynor
Eugene
Oregon analogy
I here is another way to look
at Bosnia lasts i all them Orego
nians. not Bosnians Let's say all
the Muslim Oregonians de< ide
to secede from the United States
lag's sav the rest of us Oregoni
arts want to remain U S citizens,
hut the Muslims insist and set
up their government (and army)
anyway U N army units and
non Muslim National Guard
units already in Oregon are loyal
to the United States and refuse
to take onion to disarm and turn
over their weapons to the Must
lim government Beauregard
fires on Sumpter and Lincoln
issues the first tail for volun
leers Have we seen this Before'
At least the Bosnian Serbs are
not insisting that all of Bosnia
return to tfie fold (as Lincoln
required) Although, after a par
tition of Bosnia, I believe it is
likely the Serbian pari of Bosnia
will return to Yugoslavia (or Ser
bin).
Ifte atrtx it\ issues are shared
on both sides The Serb side has
the liest weapons and training
and so are more suc< essful m
the tactics they attempt Thu
Muslim side lias only tieen lim
stud By its opportunities to prac
tn e atrocities When tiles have
had the opportunity they seem
to Be no Better than the other
side
All this begs tin' question of
whether the Muslims with |usii
find in wanting to sei ede from
Yugoslavia in thi' first place
Mav be yes, m,ivIn- no lu tinv
i use, 1 ilo not believe there is
iinv moral justification for the
1 tilted States, the United
Nations or N A I () to take sides
(ft! politics are likely involved
James L Bumpas
f ugeno
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