The Vatican Weighs in on Feminism

Just got this e-mail from Thomas J. Reese, S.J., the editor of America.

He's giving journalists a heads-up on a Vatican document to be released tomorrow.

He wrote:
"On Saturday, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is going to release a document on feminism. In order to put this in context, there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

"While most people in the US think in psychological and sociological terms, the Vatican thinks and talks in philosophical and theological terms which most Americans find difficult to understand. What is interesting is that although most American feminist would express their ideology differently than the Vatican, on the practical level they are on the same page (in terms of equality in education, politics, workplace) except on abortion and women priests.

"If there are differences it is probably on the relationship between men and women in the family not in society. Here the Vatican is much more positive on the role of women as mothers and wives and believes that men and women have different but complimentary roles in the family. I don't think the Vatican is saying that men should not change diapers and do the dishes, but they believe that women have a special role in raising children. For the Vatican, the ideal is that a father be paid well enough so that a mother can stay home and raise the kids.

"Another way of looking at this is that when a Vatican official is talking about women, he has his mother in mind. When an American feminist is talking about women, she has herself and her peers in mind and some would be rejecting their mothers as a model. When the Vatican express doubts about mothers working, they are thinking of Polish women shoveling snow and Hispanic women cleaning toilets. When feminist promote women in the workplace, they are thinking of women lawyers, CEO's and politicians. The Vatican sees daycare as a necessary evil for mothers who have to work, not as an institution of feminine liberation."