V-Monologues are back

[Rach620]

This topic was begun on another thread (“Catholic Universities” under the Family Life section) and I thought I’d re-post here what I was going to post there… then link y’all to some articles about the situation here at ND.
Penny Plain:

No good girl was ever ruined by a book. Or, for that matter, by a play.

Seriously, what do you think is going to happen? Virginal red-haired Mary Margaret O’Malley, who has dreamed all her life of marriage and a football team of strapping Irish sons, is going to be lured to this play by a radical nun and emerge a raving lesbian with a purple crewcut and a Harley? How does this work?

It’s not that this one instance of gross immorality is going to “corrupt” an otherwise innocent college student… it’s that the presentation of the V-Monologues are indicative of an entire trend on campus away from the Catholic Church’s beautiful moral teachings and Theology of the Body towards something completely and disgustingly secular. We college students are in a very formative time of our lives… while we might think we’re set on one vocation, or completely firm in our beliefs… we’re not, especially in the face of such strong challenges to those beliefs as those presented by secularism. A Catholic university has the responsibility to teach the Truth, and nothing but the Truth, to its students. This doesn’t mean that “alternative viewpoints” shouldn’t be addressed at all… it means that they should be presented, but then plainly refuted by the Truth. This isn’t happening at Notre Dame, where I’m a student, where two academic departments are sponsoring the V-Monologues next semester, and where last year Eve Ensler, the Monologues’ author, was welcomed to a panel discussion regarding the play. This kind of "alternative viewpoint which is antithetical to Church teaching does NOT deserve a place at a university whose sole responsibility is educating her students in the Truth.

On a related note, why does the Newman Society find itself unable to use the word “vagina” in its advertisements? Research shows that slightly more than 50 percent of Americans have one, you know.

I believe it probably has something to do with the nature of the V-Monologues… almost the entire play is based on the repeated utterance of the word, in the context of telling a woman that she IS her vagina. Chanting things… the play turns a woman into an organ… it objectifies her and then tells her that this is “liberating” her. It’s disgusting. And it’s not just the Cardinal Newman Society people that won’t repeat it… I interviewed Prof. Ralph McInerny here, and he just referred to it as “that play”… I myself alternate between saying it and not… “v-logs” works just as well as anything. It’s not that it’s a “dirty word” or something… it’s that the whole purpose of the play is to objectify women into that one word, and as I don’t support that, I’m not going to pay it lip service.

I write for the Irish Rover here on campus… orthodox Catholic paper that was started a few years ago. Our last issue had two cover stories on the V-logs… It seemed that they weren’t going to make a reappearance here at ND as they lost the support of the Department of Film, Television and Theater, which had always sponsored them in the past… however, two other departments, English and Sociology (hm… I knew I hated my SOC class for a reason…) jumped on the bandwagon. So here’s some articles from the Rover that I think many of you will find of interest…

First, a general article about the V-logs and why they don’t belong here… beware, it uses examples from the plays to illustrate its points, so it’s really for mature audiences only: Sex, Lies, and the Vagina Monologues

And the most up-to-date story on the ND/V-logs situation: Sponsorship Down, but V-Logs Still Rolling

Just thought I’d keep you all aware of the issue here… Prayers and other indignant orthodox Catholic action would be welcome )

 

[stanley123]

Rach620:

It’s not that this one instance of gross immorality is going to “corrupt” an otherwise innocent college student… it’s that the presentation of the V-Monologues are indicative of an entire trend on campus away from the Catholic Church’s beautiful moral teachings and Theology of the Body towards something completely and disgustingly secular. …
Just thought I’d keep you all aware of the issue here… Prayers and other indignant orthodox Catholic action would be welcome )

Should Catholics send their children to a good Baptist college where family life is emphasized and supported?
Here is an ad that appeared:
cardinalnewmansociety.org/pdf/vmad.pdf

 

[Rach620]

stanley123:

Should Catholics send their children to a good Baptist college where family life is emphasized and supported?

I mean, I guess they could… but I’m not one to say that just because ND has the V-Monologues on campus it should be completely written off as a potential college choice for faithful Catholics. There is so much Catholic theology and philosophy that just cannot be studied at a Baptist college in the same way that it could be, for instance, here. I guess it mainly depends on the degree to which the school is faithful to the Church and what faith life is like on campus… ND is quite different from most other Catholic colleges of national repute in that respect, as faith is visibly alive here. We have plenty of bad eggs on the faculty, but there are still many, many good professors-- orthodox men and women who are very good at bringing together faith and reason in a way I believe can only be fully achieved at a Catholic university, and who genuinely care about the education of their students.

 

[stanley123]

Rach620:

ND is quite different from most other Catholic colleges of national repute in that respect, as faith is visibly alive here. We have plenty of bad eggs on the faculty, but there are still many, many good professors-- orthodox men and women who are very good at bringing together faith and reason in a way I believe can only be fully achieved at a Catholic university, and who genuinely care about the education of their students.

Yes, I hear contrary things about ND. For example, some of the posters here at CA don’t seem to think too highly of the theology department at ND or of Father Richard McBrien. But this is just what I am reading here.
Also, I heard that there is a certain amount of alcohol use on Catholic campuses. This might just be an unfounded rumor, but I know that one of the first things that the former Jesuit seminarian who was governor of California, Jerry Brown did - was to legalise the sale of beer on California public campuses. But I know that they did not sell beer at the Baptist colleges in this area.
Generally, I thought it would be a mortal sin to promote homosexuality, but this is what seems to be happening at some Catholic colleges. Doesn’t this play promote and support lesbian activity? Would this not send you into hell if you went along with that?

 

[Rach620]

stanley123:

Yes, I hear contrary things about ND. For example, some of the posters here at CA don’t seem to think too highly of the theology department at ND or of Father Richard McBrien. But this is just what I am reading here.

Like I said, we have our bad eggs… but you can’t deny that there are also many good orthodox Catholic professors here who you’d never find at a Baptist school. Also, simply the concept of a Catholic university… aspects of education… faith and reason are viewed so differently from a Catholic perspective than a Protestant one. You can’t deny that… I don’t believe it’s worth sacrificing that part of an education that will last a lifetime in order to attend a moral utopia (which I sincerely doubt exists…)

Also, I heard that there is a certain amount of alcohol use on Catholic campuses. This might just be an unfounded rumor, but I know that one of the first things that the former Jesuit seminarian who was governor of California, Jerry Brown did - was to legalise the sale of beer on California public campuses. But I know that they did not sell beer at the Baptist colleges in this area.

There’s alcohol use on EVERY college campus, Catholic, Baptist or not. And it’s not only the Catholic colleges which don’t adhere to Ex Corde and the like that have alcohol… I have friends at University of Dallas and Steubenville, both Mandatum schools, and both acknowledge the use of alcohol there. Granted, alcohol is an enormous part of the college culture at ND… but perhaps not so much more so than at the other previously mentioned Catholic schools. I go to ND and I don’t drink, I never have, and I do not feel pressured to. And I’m much happier I go here–I know I’m getting a much better education here–than I would have at a dry Protestant school.

Generally, I thought it would be a mortal sin to promote homosexuality, but this is what seems to be happening at some Catholic colleges. Doesn’t this play promote and support lesbian activity? Would this not send you into hell if you went along with that?

Yes, it does promote lesbian activity, among other things. But I’m not sure what you mean by “going along with that”… I’m not. I’m protesting it; I do not believe ND should be sponsoring them and I’m calling them to task on it. Do you believe I should leave this university because she is making some mistakes in this area, instead of trying to change the situation? I love my school; I love the traditions here, and I truly believe that there are many people here who are faithful to the Church. I’m not going to give up and settle for a Baptist school simply because it supposedly supports “family values”. Protestant schools started heading down the road towards secularization long before Catholic ones (note the Ivies)… what’s to say the Baptist school won’t soon follow? And why should I not try to stop my beloved Catholic university from following down that path towards secularization?

 

[stanley123]

Rach620:

Yes, it does promote lesbian activity, among other things. But I’m not sure what you mean by “going along with that”… I’m not. I’m protesting it; I do not believe ND should be sponsoring them and I’m calling them to task on it. Do you believe I should leave this university because she is making some mistakes in this area, instead of trying to change the situation? I love my school; I love the traditions here, and I truly believe that there are many people here who are faithful to the Church. I’m not going to give up and settle for a Baptist school simply because it supposedly supports “family values”. Protestant schools started heading down the road towards secularization long before Catholic ones (note the Ivies)… what’s to say the Baptist school won’t soon follow? And why should I not try to stop my beloved Catholic university from following down that path towards secularization?

Right. You have extraordinarily worthy goals in mind so certainly you are doing the right thing as far as your situation is concerned. Unfortunately some Catholic colleges, such as Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, are reported as threatening to sue their alumni who are protesting the play. “The college is now threatening to sue the Holy Cross Cardinal Newman Society (www.holycrosscardinalnewmansociety.org) – not formally affiliated with the national Society – for using its alumni directory to encourage protests from other graduates.” See:
cardinalnewmansociety.org/Publications/News/vagina_monologues_scheduled.htm
I’m only saying that some parents are taking a second look at some of these Catholic colleges, and wondering if it is worth all that money to associate with a college that supports and promotes lesbian activity, and then when you protest, they threaten to turn their lawyers on you and ruin your whole life financially. You work hard to build up a career and to survive economically, and then you are hit with lawyers and their bloodsucking lawsuits which can take everything away from you. All because you protested this play. This doesn’t seem right, since some of us were taught that promoting lesbianism would be a mortal sin.

 

[Domer1997]

I’m an ND grad and I was told that the V-Monologues and “the Queer Film Festival” would no longer be tolerated by the university. And although an academic department w/in the university was sponsoring these bizarre “art forms” (I use the term very loosely), they nevertheless are still not being tolerated by the university this year. I’m a little confused, I guess. Are you sure the V-Monologues are coming back to ND, because I thought for sure that they were not?

 

[Rach620]

I’m positive they’re returning this year. The Film, Television & Theater Department declined sponsorship this year (their stated reason: “there’s no academic benefit in presenting the same play year after year”…hmmm…), but English and Sociology jumped on the bandwagon this year. Auditions were held in late November.

However, I’m a member of ND Right to Life, and we’re hosting a conference this year in response to the V-logs… “The Edith Stein Project: Redefining Feminism”. So the v-logs aren’t going off unanswered.

On a related note, if you’d like to keep up with happenings at ND from a conservative viewpoint, check out www.irishrover.net. It’s our response to the Observer, and there’s a lot you’ll read there that you won’t find elsewhere.

 

[Crow]

I can’t believe the V-play is taken seriously by any intelligent self-thinking woman.

It’s ridiculous outlook on the woman’s body is akin to shear insanity.