The Vatican, International Women's Day & the washing machine

International Women's Day has been celebrated for over a century around the world. Festivities occurred in hundreds of countries yesterday in honor of women and you can read all about it here.

Now the Roman Catholic Church has never much liked women, except in their proper place, which is to serve males. Much of the Vatican's misogyny is based on the fact that Jesus' 12 disciples were all of the male persuasion.

That's why the Vatican refuses to allow women to be ordained to the priesthood. Which is really quite funny when you think about it. As Dan Barker mentions in his book, Godless, the disciples were not only all males, but were also all Jews. "How can there be an Italian, Polish or German pope, an Irish bishop or a Mexican priest?"

Marinda Bryant, writing at The Independent, says that on International Women's Day, "the Vatican had a novel message for the women of the world: give thanks for the washing machine. This humble domestic appliance had done more for the women's liberation movement than the contraceptive pill or working outside the home, said the official Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano."

Bryant notes this newspaper article is entitled: "'The washing macine and the emancipation of women: put in the powder, close the lid and relax.'"

Heh. Heh.

What a bunch of morans!

The Vatican and Darwin - evolving nicely

[Image from Planetware]

The Roman Catholic Church did not always think much of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. That is not surprising because the Roman church has almost without exception fought scientific insight.

With regard to Darwin, at least, things have changed in Vatican City. In fact, the Vatican is holding a conference on evolution next month, designed to let the world know God thinks that religion and science are compatible, and in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's book, On the Origin of the Species.

What's really funny is that Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, after declaring that the theory of evolution was compatible with Christian faith, said the notion of evolution goes all the way back to St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

Sure it does. Heh. Heh.

I guess he thought such an idea would give more authority to Darwin's theory. You would think, however, that he could find something Jesus said as reported in the Gospels to show that Darwin was doing the work of God in the world.


What I like about the Vatican position is that it more or less gives a bloody nose to the creationist bunch at the Discovery Institute, and also to the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, a devout "creationist" Catholic!