mm ran Opinion The Battalion Monday, Oct. 10, 1988 Pope’s view on women priests less than heavenli Being the foremost religious leader in the world, you would expect Pope John Paul II to be a reasonably fair guy. And he would be if he wei'e living in the 15th century. While the rest of the world races closer and closer to the 21st century, the Vatican progresses so sluggishly that if it were moving any slower, it would be going backward. People were shocked last year when the Catholic Church de nounced the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS. (I would think a liv ing Catholic would be a bigger asset to the Church than a dead one.) But last week’s announcement of the reaffirma tion of the pontiffs stand on women’s exclusion from the priesthood was the last straw for many Catholics. Sister Teresa Kane, the American nun who publicly challenged the pope about this issue during his 1979 U.S. visit, said, “We cannot as women have access to desision-making without ordi nation. Women are experiencing an guish . . . suffering over questions on whether they could be part of an institu tion that is sexist.” inconsistencies that the paper is virtually invalid as an argument. Consider these points made by the pontiff: And, clearly, Sister Kane is right. The Vatican’s refusal to allow women to ad vance and progress into leadership posi tions within the Church is a gross exam ple of sexism. In a 1 16-page document titled “On the Dignity and Vocation of Women,” the pope’s reasoning contains so many Mail Call ACLU caters only to Constitution EDITOR: It is apparent from Mark Shipman’s letter in defense of Bush’s ACLU-bashing that both he and Bush have entirely missed the point of this organization. The American Civil Liberties Union does not “support” any policy.lt is an non-partisan organization whose only client is the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU will come to the aid of any group whose constitutional l ights are under attack. It is currently defending the fifth amendment rights of two Reagan sidekicks, Lyn Nofziger and Oliver North, and in 1977 it risked losing a huge percentage of its members when it defended the constitutional right,of the right- wing Nazis to march in Skokie, Ill. Many prominent conservatives, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, have been card-carrying members. (Was Ike “soft on crime”?) Attorney General Richard Thornburgh was a chapter leader who helped set the ACLU’s policy. Bush has missed the point in saying that the ACLU stands left of mainstream. It stands outside the mainstream and defends anyone whose rights are threatened. Even so, Mike Dukakis opposes the ACLU on many items, including church tax exemptions and pornography. In fact, the Massachusetts ACLU went so far as to sue Dukakis for supporting a bill whcih would give criminals longer prison terms. They apparently thought Dukakis was too tough on crime. In any case, the ACLU does not engage in party politics. Its only act is defense of the Constitution. But since many government officials have lately seen fit to ignore the Constitution, let us bring this argument down to the intellectual level of the average Republican by asking the simple and patriotic question, “Would the founding fathers of this nation support the ACLU today?” The answer is yes. Our founding fathers would undoubtedly have been card-carrying members of the ACLU, an organization designed to uphold and protect their own Constitution. And they, like the ACLU, would agree with George Bush on one item — that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Melanie Shouse ’90 SAA stereotyping uncalled for EDITOR: How ironic it seems that the self-appointed Moral Majority should brand Students Against Apartheid a “left-wing fringe group.” I was offended by the blatant narrow-mindedness and stereotyping employed by Scot Kibbe and 1 1 others whose insecurity leads them to imply that SAA threatens baseball. Mom and apple pie. First of all, according to every available reasonably unbiased poll and survey, Chief Buthelezi, while chief of a large group of blacks in South Africa, is not well- respected by South African blacks, who regard him as a tool of the conservative white South Africans. The fact remains that the most respected black leaders, including Nobel-prize winner Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandella, have been pleading for Western sanctions for years. Second, SAA cares deeply for this campus, but our love of A&M transcends brick and mortar. The role of the shanty lies in encouraging students to question apartheid and other worldly matters. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the purpose of a college education to better understand this wonderf ul world the Lord created, and when problems arise to intelligently deal with them? Also, the label of flag burners is way out of line. How dare Kibbe slur every member of SAA with this derogatory characterization. The group is interested in the anti-apartheid cause not out of self-rightousness, but because it remains a blatant system of legalized racism that our country supports economically and militarily. Finally, this type of right-wing extremism threatens us all, because it serves to constantly and incessantly give heat to the fires of apartheid and prejudice in both South Africa and the United States. David Luckenbach ’91 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Lydia Berzsenyi, Editor Becky Weisenfels, Managing Editor Anthony Wilson, Opinion Page Editor Richard Williams, City Editor D A Jensen, Denise Thompson, News Editors Hal Hammons, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac ulty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-11 1 1. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col- lege Station TX 77843-4 111. • The pope pointed out that Christ called only men to be his apostles. Al though the inclusion of women would have been socially taboo, Christ never conformed to social norms, meaning he specifically chose men for a reason. The apostles are definitely central figures in Christianity, but women’s roles in the Bible should never be un derstated. After all, within the Catholic religion, the Virgin Mary is a strong fo cal figure. And she certainly had as much impact on Christ’s human life and influence as anyone. After Christ’s res urrection, he first appeared to a woman, Mary Magdalene. • The pope readily admits that the “achievements of Christian women have had a significant impact on the life of the chuch as well as of society.” In fact, he conferred sainthood on an 18th-century Italian woman Oct. 3. If Pope John Paul II recognizes wom en’s achievements enough to canonize one, why won’t he let them advance, continue to grow in responsibility and make more of an impact within the Church? Anthony Wilson Columnist • Holy Communion was directed to the 12 disciples at the Last Supper. “This is clear and unambiguous when the sacramental ministry of the Eu charist, in which a priest acts in per sona Christi (as Christ), is performed by a man,” the pontiff said. True, not only was it only men who broke the bread and prepared the wine, but it was also only men who received it, because no women were present. So why are women allowed to receive com munion, yet not consecrate it? • John Paul II said that men and women share equal dignity because “both were created in the image and likeness of the personal God.” This statement seems to imply that both sexes share the same Cod-like qual ities without many, if any, differences. And if this is true, then it shoots down his male apostle argument because Christ could just as easily chosen all women to be his disciples. • The pontiff said there is an “es sential richness” in femininity. Certainly, no one would argue this. just as no one would argue that (here is an essential richness in masculinity. But the pope goes on in his article to de scribe the special relationship women share with the people with whom they come in contact because of their femini nity. The papal document mentions a “spiritual motherhood” women are ca pable of having with others. Because the priesthood involves a great deal of personal counseling, these qualities are unquestionably conducive gifts to helping troubled people. Many parishes allow nuns to do counseling, but none allow them to hear confes sions. Personally, if I were confessing, I’d want and prefer the person hearing my confessions to have these qualties. • The pope said women were cor rect to reject the biblical passage “he (man) shall rule over you.” Is not the pope a man? And is he not ruling over women by not allowing them to pursue a career that obviously means a lot to them? This is a huge con tradiction. • Lastly, the Church argued that the exclusion of women from the pries thood is part of the it’s permanent tea chings. Although this is one of the Catholic Church’s permanent teachings, one Cardinal admitted in a Dallas Morning News article that there is no infallible definition regarding the ban of women priests. When I read this, the first thing 1 thought of was when 1 wasyo my parents refused to let met thing with the “Because 1 saidso’esjl nation. Although just as many Catliplicsls the ban as who do not, you have to vj tier about the supporters’ reasoj Religious teachings have always I something most people acceptixhJ tions-asked. But ask those samej whether women should be treatedirj same manner in other areas—busi# politics and education, for exampleJ and you’d probably be greetedwiilij| sounding "NO!” When Gen. Earl Rudder women into Texas A&M in 19oa,iiijj protested with “Because it’s alwaysli that way!” as their only aramuntil 1 hat line of reasoning was as weakl as it is now. Rudder realized then grossing times demanded the di; 1 he Catholic Church should doj same. Women have so much more too the Church. As Sister Mariana! I louston said in a Houston OirorJ account of the issue, “It'saseerninga tradiction to talk about sexuali but to c ontinue to deny full ministnl the church on the basis of sexuality, T| real question is ministry and diet the gifts Cod has given peopleregi less of gender.” Anthony Wilson is a seniorjounJ lism major and opinion page ediloj The Battalion. Conservative collegians with borins behavior ruining old hippies’ fun TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There I stood on stage at the University of Ala bama field house. There were 4,000 in attendance, mostly students. Everybody else has been taking presi dential polls, so I decided to take one for myself. “How many of you support Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen?” I asked. TX Lewis Grizzard Columnist long hair who wore sandals andd bathe. i’hey had rock concerts andfreel) and LSD and vans with peaces painted on the sides. An adult can get thoroughly gusted with somrt+ring like that hours at a time. The Democratic ticket got maybe 10 percent of the crowd. smack through the middle of the 60s, is how obviously conservative college stu dents have become. “And Bush and Quayle?” I went on. Thunderous applause. Wild cheering. Whistles, and somebody got up and yelled “Roll, Tide!”, Alabama’s answer to “How ’Bout them Dawgs!”, “Hook ’em, Horns!” and “Gig ’em, Ag- One Alabama campus leader said to me, “The faculty here, believe it or not, is more liberal than the student body.” gies! And it’s not just happening in the South. Recall the students at the Univer sity of California at Berkeley heckled Walter Mondale when he campaigned there in 1984. Yes, there are still a few punkra around today with orange hairanda rings who dress like there’s beenafij and they grabbed w hatever they aj out of the closet, but I expectitf eventually to be w ijjed out by larged that think they are some new cat. So how can I stir up much res mem for them? I had looked forward to beingabi say, “These young people todayi going to hell in a handbasket.” I should have expected that. I was in a strongly conservative part of the coun try where anybody from Massachusetts is geographically undesirable in the first place. It’s got to be money. Students in the 60’s wanted peace and love and justice. Add to that the fact this individual is said to hold certain liberal views and you’ve got somebody about as popular as a canker sore. Students in the 80’s want a starting salary of $35,000, a personal home com puter and car with initials for name. Where most of today’s young pq are going is to find a good finano planner. What angers me is now that I’m an adult, I don’t have a lot of young people doing things that truly disgust me. Maybe their kids will wear! their hair, support liberal Democij and show up on the evening newsN ing their American Express cards. What is truly amazing to me, how- Think what kind of youth adults of ever, as one whose collegiate years ran the 60’s had. They had hippies with It’s what they deserve for my fun. Copyright 1988, Cowles Syndicate BLOOM COUNTY by Berke Breath M/C# * *#2.5 MfUJON IN A WeBK' NOT 3AP FOR ft PUNCH OF 6FFFN mucotexo.'- FNP15fill?, "YFFH, PUT wp'ze peeN too? rro UNETHICAL ANFlLieOPL PV me 60VFFNMFNT/" J J&JLm 'FtOHT," OHYd MILO. " 6/ym FOLKS (A/HO PKOUOHT YOU NHFY1LM, CIA. AOOAtflN 6QUAPS ANP A KM5 PALPS TO KHOMe/Nfr mm- BLOOM COUNTY by Berke Breath* T. incmi T