Women in the Church

The opening paragraph of Alice McDermott’s “The Wages of Tolerance” (Fall 2005) is one of the finest expressions of faith in the Catholic Church I have ever read. As much as I was pleased with it, though, I was disappointed in the rest. For McDermott to state that the Church is acting in a morally reprehensible fashion because, with a male-only priesthood, half of our Church is being denied “full participation” in the sacraments, defies logic and a number of Church tenets and teachings.

Baptism, not Holy Orders, defines who we are as Catholics. Perhaps those of us raised in the Church in the 1950s in this country put too much emphasis on the role of priests, and the Church’s hierarchy was more than happy with that. Past attitudes, however, don’t change the truth, which is that women, from religious orders or not, in this country in particular, have run the major institutions of the Church—its hospitals, social service agencies, and schools—throughout the last century and into the present. McDermott’s sexist comments about men do not erase the fact that women have done much more than roll their eyes when it comes to doing battle with clerics to get what they want for the sake of others. They were and are often successful. That is a credit to the first sacrament they ever received.

Luigi Del Gaudio, MSW’72
Sacramento, California

Alice McDermott addresses the effective abuse of women in the Church in what unfortunately becomes an argument for religion as tribal identity. Are we still in the thrall of “the one true Church”? What if women were ordained priests? Would they be subject to the same rigid control as the men—enforced celibates under the yoke of orthodoxy?

McDermott notes, “In Christ Jesus, there is neither male nor female.” Perhaps it is also true that in Christ Jesus there is neither Catholic nor non-Catholic.

Catholic women, if so inclined, should begin to say Mass and hear confessions, anoint the sick, baptize the young, witness marriages, and give sermons. The Vatican has no power except what people give it.

Anthony Scully ’66
Camden, South Carolina

Rarely have I had the experience of reading something so riveting, so powerful, so necessary as “The Wages of Tolerance,” by Alice McDermott. I suggest that a copy be sent to the Holy Father in Rome. Unlike St. Benedict, whose name he adopts, the Holy Father cannot hide in a Subiacan grotto. A woman with the God-given grace of placing words in such magnificent sequence cannot be ignored.

Vito F. Tamboli ’56
St. Louis, Missouri

Pope John Paul II declared that neither he nor the Church is free to change the truth that women are not for ordination. This disappointed many, but the fact is Catholics are not free to ignore it. Is it out of bigotry that I cannot bear a child like most women can? Male and female are not identical, but that does not mean they are not equal where it counts—in service to God.

William Jerome, JD’63
St. Simons Island, Georgia

Needed, course correction

VOTF, Boston, July 2002. Photograph: AP Photo/Steven Senne

Re “Sound Check,” by William Bole (Fall 2005): In spring 2002, I attended Voice of the Faithful’s first meeting at St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It was invigorating. Here was a group of faithful Catholics of varying backgrounds willing to devote time and energy to give the Church a helping hand in a dire time of ecclesial scandal.

I attended several subsequent meetings and was dismayed by the recalcitrant rhetoric of the moderator-led discussions. Topics ranged from unbridled papal authority to episcopal malfeasance to laical serfdom. The July 2002 VOTF convocation at the Hynes Auditorium in Boston was confrontational, as invited speakers expounded their opinions dogmatically. There was little focus on the VOTF agendas of supporting victims of clerical abuse and priests of integrity.

Most adherents of VOTF are practicing Catholics who love their Church. Last fall, I attended a VOTF meeting at the church where the organization began and was surprised to find very few vehicles in the parking lot and approximately one-third the number of attendees as had been at meetings in years past. Has loyalty waned? Should VOTF adopt Fr. Robert Imbelli’s slogan, “Spread the faith, change the world”? I would hope so.

Victor Terranova ’56
Holliston, Massachusetts

Primed for Prime time

Screenwriter John Taché ’84. Photograph: Gary Wayne Gilbert

Re “Trade Secrets,” by Cara Feinberg (Summer 2005): I have been a first assistant director for 15 years in film and television (sort of the cattle driver of the set). Every time I’ve talked with others in this industry about Boston College, this is how it has gone:

Them: “Oh my brother/sister/friend who worked on the last film went to Boston College.”
Me: They’re in the film business, and they went to BC? Are you sure it was BC?
Them: “I’m pretty sure.”
Me: Maybe it was Emerson or BU.
Them: “Oh yeah, I think it was BU.”

Well, I am on my third Bruckheimer TV series—it’s called Close to Home. One of the actors (a regular no less) came on the set with a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cup. We talked. His name is Conor Dubin. He went to Boston College. I am glad to see BC is finally establishing itself in film and television and that Dubin and other BC grads are coming up in this industry.

Tommy Burke ’85
Manhattan Beach, California

Editor’s note: Conor Dubin ’99 plays the paralegal investigator Danny Robel on CBS’s legal drama Close to Home.

The Daly effect

I was saddened to read in your last issue of the passing of Professor William Daly. As a freshman, I was fortunate to have Professor Daly for “Europe, 800–1789.” He ignited an interest in medieval Europe that continued to simmer until I eventually returned to BC for a master’s in medieval history. He touched my life and that of many others.

Jean Colpitts Feinschreiber ’82, MA’89
Norton, Massachusetts

Editor’s note: BCM has learned that Meaghan Mulholland ’01 received a Fulbright fellowship last spring to study puppet theater in Sicily, as part of her research for a novel. This brings BC’s Fulbright total for 2005 to 15 (for an account of the other 14, see “Auf Wiedersehen,” Summer 2005). In her senior year at BC, Mulholland assisted this magazine as a work-study student.

Also, Paraclete Press has published English Professor Paul Mariani’s Deaths & Transfigurations: Poems. Two poems contained in the volume appeared first in BCM, “Silt” (Winter 2002) and “High Tea with Miss Julianna” (Winter 2005). The book may be ordered from the BC Bookstore.

BCM welcomes letters from readers. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and must be signed to be published. Our fax number is (617) 552-2441; our e-mail address is bcm@bc.edu.