All posts tagged Birth Control

Interview Prior to Benedict XVI’s Visit to the US in 2008

By tedlipien | August 15, 2009 | Religion | Comments Off

benedictxvi
Voice of America (VOA) Interview with Ted Lipien, author of Wojtyla’s Women: How Women, History and Polish Traditions Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church

 

INTRO: The head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI is paying his first visit to the US April 15-20. What message might he bring to American Catholics? Will the conservative pope heed the call of liberal American Catholics, who advocate more freedom, an end to priest celibacy, and women in the priesthood? To shed light on some of these questions, VOA’s Ivana Kuhar recently spoke with Ted Lipien – a Vatican observer and author of an upcoming book on the late pope John Paul II.

 

Kuhar: In a few days, we will witness the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the US. How different is the Catholic Church in the United States now, as compared to the time of the first visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979?

 

Lipien: Indeed, pope Benedict XVI will be coming to a much different and much more conservative American Catholic Church than Pope John Paul II when he made his first historic visit to the US in 1979. The American Catholic Church has become much more conservative, largely due to Pope John Paul II, and, of course Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Ratzinger was Pope John Paul II’s primary advisor and associate. So, he also is responsible for this trend.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: Studies and statistics show that many liberal Catholics have left the Catholic Church in the US. Why are liberal Catholics leaving the church?

 

Ted Lipien : Well, it’s widely assumed that they left because they disagreed with many of the positions that Pope John Paul II took on such issues as abortion, birth control, women priests, gay marriages and a general democracy within the Church. So, about one third of Americans who were raised Catholic had left the Church. This is unique because no other major religion or church has lost such a large proportion of its followers. Now, when I say that the Catholic Church is more conservative in the United States, it is still, I think, more liberal than some of the conservative movements within the Catholic Church in Europe.

 

Ivana Kuhar, VOA: In what respect?

 

Ted Lipien : For example, the conservative wing of the Catholic Church in the US is not highly nationalistic or xenophobic. Conservative Catholics in the US do not express anti-immigrant sentiments, as you will hear from some of the Catholic conservative groups in countries like Poland, or in some of the other countries in Europe.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: Do you think that Americans essentially expect Pope Benedict XVI to continue with the same message as Pope John Paul II?

 

Ted Lipien : Now, I don’t think that American Catholics expect Benedict XVI to offer any major changes within the Church – they simply expect that he will continue the conservative positions on issues that John Paul II took, and in fact he may be even more conservative than John Paul II.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: What is the main difference between the two pontiffs?

 

Ted Lipien : John Paul II, when he assumed his papacy, was much younger. He was a former actor. He communicated with gestures, rather than words. There was an excitement about his election and his papacy. Benedict XVI is in fact in some ways more conservative than John Paul II. He will continue all of the major policies of John Paul II. But, I think John Paul II was more careful, more conciliatory to other religions, more open toward the Third World. He saw the future of the Catholic Church in the Third World. It’s really hard to tell where Benedict XVI sees the future of the Catholic Church – whether he sees it in Western Europe and in the US, or whether he thinks that Catholicism will bloom in the Third World and will continue to decline in Western Europe.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: What about Benedict’s view on priest celibacy and on women priesthood? Is Benedict’s view different than John Paul IIs?

 

Ted Lipien : Not at all. In fact, if anything, I think Cardinal Ratzinger was responsible to some degree for some of John Paul II’s strong pronouncements on these issues. So, don’t expect women priests, do not expect gay marriages, and do not expect changes in the Church’s position on birth control and abortion under Benedict XVI.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: Are American Catholics asking for changes? Are they expecting any changes?

 

Ted Lipien : Well, those who have still remained within the Church, yes. There was a survey done in 1996, in which American Catholics were asked what they expect from a new pope. And anywhere from 65-70 percent said they are in favor of women priests, that they are in favor of more democracy within the Church, and they are in favor of married priests.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: Does the Catholic Church have an answer for declining number of priests and nuns?

 

Ted Lipien : For example, in 1965, there were about 180 thousand nuns in the US. In 2005, there were only about 70 thousand. At the same time, the Catholic Church in the US has grown since then, largely due to immigration. But I don’t think that John Paul II, when he was alive, or Cardinal Ratzinger then and now, really thought that changing positions on these issues was the right answer. They would not change them, certainly not on abortion. Benedict XVI will probably not change the Church’s position on birth control. They would not want the Church to be in favor of abortion, of birth control or of radical feminism. I think they were willing to accept a smaller church, perhaps a church that is more conservative, and is dominated by Catholic churches in the developing world, although these churches are also changing as the result of globalization and media coverage. So, who knows what the future will bring.

 

Ivana Kuhar , VOA: Mr. Lipien, thank you for your time and insight.

 

Ted Lipien : My pleasure, Ivana.

 

Ted Lipien is the author of Wojtyla’s Women: How Women, History and Polish Traditions Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church. It was published by O-Books, UK, in June 2008, http://www.o-books.com/ .

 

Ted Lipien ’s email address is: mail@tedlipien.com. For radio, TV, Internet and print media interviews with the author, please call: 415-793-1642. For more information about Ted Lipien and his book on Pope John Paul II, please visit: www.TedLipien.com

 

This interview is in public domain and can be republished without additional permission.

 

Pope Benedict XVI Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djsacche/185335570/ |Author=eürodäna @ Flickr |Date=2006-06-07 | This photo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License.

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John Paul II’s Close Friend Dr. Wanda Poltawska Defended Against Attacks by His Former Male Associates

By tedlipien | July 20, 2009 | Religion | Comments Off

Wojtylas_Women_PBSome of Pope John Paul II’s male friends and associates, including the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, have attacked Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a Polish psychiatrist and defender of traditional family values, for publicizing her private correspondence with the Pope. They claim that Dr. Poltawska has exaggerated her close personal and professional relationship with Karol Wojtyla. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Whether one agrees or not with her traditional views on gender roles and sexual ethics, as a close friend and his primary medical advisor and collaborator, Dr. Wanda Poltawska had an enormous influence on the development of Karol Wojtyla’s views on artificial contraception, the rhythm method, abortion and other family, marriage, and Church issues.

 

This former Nazi concentration camp inmate and victim of Nazi medical experiments helped Cardinal Wojtyla write a special study for Pope Paul VI, urging him to confirm the Catholic Church ban on artificial birth control, which he did by issuing Humanae vitae in 1968. Cardinal Wojtyla placed Dr. Poltawska in charge of his extensive program of teaching women natural birth control methods in the Krakow Archdiocese. She and her husband visited John Paul II frequently at the Vatican.

 

One could not underestimate the importance of her role as a Polish woman who helped to define and reinforce many of Karol Wojtyla’s views on women. Dr. Poltawska was also behind Pope John Paul II’s campaign to promote New Feminism – a Catholic version of feminism that defends traditional Church values relating to marriage, family, and gender roles while stressing equal dignity of men and women.

 

It’s interesting that some of the Pope’s close male friends were also attacking another Polish woman who also had a close professional relationship with Pope John Paul II. After he was elected pope in 1978, they tried to minimize the extent of his collaboration with Dr. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, a Polish-born phenomenologist living in the United States who had worked with Cardinal Wojtyla on translating into English and promoting his book The Acting Person.

 

In a letter to the Editor of The Universe Catholic newspaper in the UK, Elizabeth Price refers to my book about the role of remarkable Polish women in the life of Pope John Paul II. Despite of what Cardinal Dziwisz and some of the other male friends are now saying, Dr. Wanda Poltawska is one of those remarkable women.

 

Sir,

As a serious student of John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility and The Theology of The Body and Cardinal Wojtyla’s part in persuading Paul VI to reject the findings of the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control, I believe the influence of his friend the psychiatrist Mrs. Wanda Poltawska was vital. It is therefore a pity that Cardinal Dziwisz and Archbishop Zycinski want to prevent her publishing the correspondence between herself and John Paul II. (Article The Universe June 19th).

Little is known about her by Western Catholics, however a superb biography of John Paul II Wojtyla’s Women – How They Shaped the Life of John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church by Ted Lipien (O Books 2008) is crucially informative. Ted Lipien is a journalist and broadcaster brought up in Poland who then migrated to the USA . His analysis of Polish culture and family customs, Nazism and Communism, feminism and the effect of all of these both on John Paul II and Wanda, who was a prisoner in a concentration camp, is mastery and thorough. He also gives frequent website addresses for further study. It is a great pity this superbly written very readable and informative book has not been reviewed in any of the Catholic newspapers in this country.

Yours faithfully,

Elizabeth Price

 

Wojtyla's Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church“Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” a book about Pope John Paul II and feminism by international journalist Ted Lipien who had interviewed Karol Wojtyla, offers a unique perspective on the late Pope’s views on women and American society.

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 24, 2008 — John Paul II warned about the dangers of secular feminism but accepted of some of its ideas. A new book — “Wojtyla’s Women“ — explores the role of remarkable women who shaped the life of Pope John Paul II, supported his concept of “New Feminism,” and changed the Catholic Church.

 

Ted Lipien’s new book, “Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” published by the UK publisher O-Books and available on Amazon, reveals for the first time the role of remarkable women in the life of Karol Wojtyla and their impact on his papacy and the Catholic Church. The book also explores John Paul II’s views on feminism, gender roles, love, sex, abortion, and contraception in the context of unprecedented threats against human dignity during his lifetime, from pre-World War II anti-Semitism to the Holocaust, Nazi medical experiments on women prisoners, and communist dictatorship.

 

The book shows how John Paul II, the most charismatic and influential Pope in centuries, reshaped many facets of Catholic thought. Yet, as Ted Lipien demonstrates, Church policy on women during John Paul II’s papacy remained deeply resistant to popular modern ideas on gender roles. Wojtyla’s Women explores John Paul II’s views on women, marriage, family and sexual ethics from both feminist and conservative Christian perspectives. Previously untapped sources reveal the influence of his upbringing in Poland at the outset of the Twentieth Century, a time when deeply rooted traditions collided with rapid social change and new ideas, against a backdrop of war, genocide, and political oppression.

 

As the book reveals, Polish women were a remarkable and unexpected influence on John Paul’s understanding of gender issues and the Catholic Church’s theology. They were also the main force behind his advancement of New Feminism and Theology of the Body as alternatives to the Sexual Revolution and to radical and Marxist feminism in the West and in the communist world.

 

The future Pope John Paul II told Polish Catholics before becoming pope that “the affairs of the Kingdom of God” cannot be left only to women and that “social advancement of women has in it a little bit of truth but also a great deal of error.” John Paul II was strongly opposed to ordaining women priests.

 

But while he could not reach an understanding with liberal Western women because of vast differences in how he and they were shaped by culture and history, Karol Wojtyla nevertheless supported many ideas embraced by secular feminists and broke with many misogynist Christian traditions.

 

“Wojtyla’s Women” also analyzes the considerable impact of John Paul II’s views and papacy on the abortion debate in the United States and his conflict with the Clinton Administration over U.S. policies on birth control programs and abortion in the Third World. Lipien writes in his book that John Paul II was successful in raising awareness of the moral aspects of abortion through his campaign of “the culture of life versus the culture of death.” The book demonstrates, however, that Wojtyla’s campaign to promote natural birth control methods for women has not succeeded in any country, including his native Poland.

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A fount of revelation of John Paul II’s theories on feminism

By tedlipien | November 6, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

Wojtylas_Women_PBWOJTYLA’S WOMEN

 

by Ted Lipien

 

published by O Books £14.99

 

Reviewed by Elizabeth Price

 

This book is a fount of revelation of John Paul II’s theories on feminism, the ordination of women, the USA and contraception and abortion, not merely this, it brings alive the reality that this man is an ordinary human being driven in his thinking by his own childhood, background, national culture, the fast-held opinions of a few friends etc, rather than some sort of supernatural inspiration of the Holy Spirit given him through Papal office. In other words this book suggests his teaching could/should be considered fallible and human rather than divinely inspired, and ought therefore to be treated as, in some cases, erroneous and in need of reform!

 

The blurb on its back cover describes Ted Lipien as a former director of the Polish Service of the Voice of America, and a journalist with more than thirty years of reporting and writing about politics, society, women’s issues, and the Catholic Church in Poland . He is also an avid researcher of the internet, giving various website references on almost every page, attractively boxed.

 

Every page of this superbly written book is of interest, but particularly informative is Lipien’s analysis headed WW II Genetic Killings – Key to understanding Wojtyla’s Pro-Life Stands. “His acquaintance with women imprisoned in the Nazi camps, sterilization and euthanasia were particularly disturbing to John Paul II.”. He formed a close friendship with one of these ex-prisoners, a doctor/psychiatrist Wanda Póltawska, (Lipien describes her experiences). With her Wojtyla discussed human sexuality, leading to his inclusion in his book Love and Responsibility, mention of the female orgasm, which to my mind (having read that book) has given some commentators on it, a false impression of his degree of understanding of marital love. Both he and Wanda believed contraception leads to abortion. Lipien provides some very convincing statistics to prove the contrary which Wojtyla stubbornly rejected. Together he and Wanda coined the phrases “The Culture of Death” and “The Contraceptive Mentality”. It also emerges from the book that Paul VI consulted Wojtyla before publishing Humanae Vitae; Lipien suggests that some of it was written by Wanda. He also tells us that Wojtyla ordered all his priests to question their penitents about their use of contraception and to withhold absolution and ban from Communion those refusing to reject its use. He set up groups of lay advisors to teach NFP, and gives website references for organizations such as Marriage Encounter which descend directly from these efforts. On p.298 there is this revealing sentence “What made this method (NFP) acceptable in Wojytla’s and Dr. Póltawska’s view was its less than full reliability, thus leaving open the possibility of conception.”

 

Lipien’s research is equally copious on the question of the ordination of women. He reports conservative and liberal arguments about women priests, including too the treatment of Fr.Tissa Balasuriya , stating that it was significant that the first theologian since the Second Vatican Council to be excommunicated for doctrinal disagreement was a Third World priest. He mentions too the existence of We Are Church and its protests in Europe . Feminism and the USA , Lipien shows, were anathema to John Paul II because he never understood or was prepared to listen and discuss their views on issues which clashed with his own firmly entrenched thinking.

 

For me the only flaw in the whole book is Lipien’s omission of the influence on Wojtyla of theology of Augustine (the unnamed source of inspiration for The Theology of the Body) about the effect of original sin on human sexuality (the unruly phallus), although he documents massively Wojtyla’s views on the danger of lust and the need for the intervention of the clergy to control the behaviour of married couples.

 

Since I bought it in October, I have been unable to stop dipping into what is the best, most even handed, thorough analytical biography I have ever read. Admirers, or no, of John Paul II, all thinking Catholics should treat themselves to it as a Christmas present.

 

Elizabeth Price is Chairman of Movement for a Married Clergy, Vice Chairman of Catholics for a Changing Church and is the author of their pamphlet Seeing Sin Where None Is

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Sarah Palin Has Lived Pope John Paul II’s Vision of a Feminist Christian Woman

By tedlipien | September 10, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

Sarah Palin

Ted Lipien, author of “Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” said that Sarah Palin can be described as a new feminist Christian woman who has followed the most important rules for marriage and families set by the Polish Pontiff.

 

 

According to Ted Lipien, Pope John Paul II generally approved of professional careers for women as long as they did not interfere with their duties as wives and mothers. One of the late Pope’s closest collaborators and advisors on the use of contraceptives was a female medical doctor, ex-prisoner of Nazi concentration camps and victim of Nazi medical experiments on women, Dr. Wanda Poltawska. After World War II, she married and raised a family while maintaining an active psychiatric practice in Krakow. She and Cardinal Wojtyla worked together to establish homes for unwed mothers and she trained women in using natural birth control methods. Cardinal Wojtyla, who for many years was a philosophy professor at the Catholic University in Lublin, also promoted academic careers of several nuns.

 

Link to www.tedlipien.com September 10, 2008, San Francisco – Ted Lipien, who wrote a book about the role of remarkable women in the life of Pope John Paul II, said that the late leader of the Catholic Church would have liked Governor Sarah Palin’s positions on abortion, marriage, family life, and motherhood, and would have approved of her accomplishments as a Christian politician and her work outside of the home.

 

Ted Lipien, who interviewed Cardinal Wojtyla shortly before he became pope, noted, however, that the Polish Pontiff was strongly opposed to many Western liberal views on women and did not approve of the use of the pill and other artificial contraceptives. On the use of contraception, Sarah Palin’s position may not be totally in line with the view held of Pope John Paul II.

 

The Polish Pontiff once said that “social advancement of women has in it a little bit of truth but also a great deal of error,” and was strongly opposed to ordaining women priests. But he also held progressive views on issues relating to marriage and sex and in one of his early books wrote approvingly of the role of sex in marriage and even stressed the importance of female orgasm. He incorporated these views into his theology of the body teachings. He promoted his Christian vision of “New Feminism,” which accepted many of the positions of the feminist movement but also rejected many of the views held by secular feminists, particularly those who supported Marxist feminism.

 

 

John Paul II insisted that abortion is not justified even in case of rape, a position which Sarah Palin apparently also shares. He strongly supported legislation banning abortion and did not consider Catholic politicians who are pro choice as truly Christian and Catholic. He would not consider as acceptable a statement from Senator Joe Biden, a Catholic who is a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, that personally he is prepared to accept the Catholic Church teaching that life begins at conception but is still pro choice.

 

 

According to Ted Lipien, John Paul II would have been appalled that the majority of Catholic politicians who competed in the 2008 presidential primaries have been strongly pro-choice, including: Senator Biden (D), Christopher Dodd (D), Rudolph Giuliani (R), Dennis Kucinich (D), and Bill Richardson (D). Only Senator Sam Brownback (R) and Alan Keyes (R), among former candidates who are Catholic, are pro-life.

 

 

Barak Obama (D), Hillary Clinton (D), Sarah Palin (R) and Senator McCain (R) belong to Protestant Christian Churches. Both Obama and Clinton are strongly pro-choice, while both McCain and Palin are pro-life.

 

On other social issues, including health care for the poor, social security, immigration, and the death penalty, Pope John Paul II held strongly liberal views, according to Ted Lipien. John Paul II once said that the United States was “a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption.” In addition to abortion, John Paul II was particularly troubled by the growing support among Americans for ordination of women priests and social and legal acceptance of gay marriages.

 

 

Ted Lipien’s book “Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church” is now available on Amazon. Ted Lipien, who has worked for over 30 years as an international journalist and was director of the Polish Service of the Voice of America (VOA), also describes in his book how the Polish communist secret police fabricated a diary in an attempt to convince Western journalists that Cardinal Wojtyla had an affair with a woman associate. He also describes how communist agents spied on the Pope in Krakow and at the Vatican.

 

Ted Lipien is now president of media freedom nonprofit FreeMediaOnline.org. He lives in San Francisco. For more information about the book, visit Ted Lipien’s website: TedLipien.com.

 

This post may be republished with attribution to TedLipien.com.

 

Sarah Palin at Chambliss Rally. Photo by Bruce Tuten, Savannah, Georgia, United States. This photo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

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A New Book About Pope John Paul II and Feminism Also Deals with Cold War Spying at the Vatican and Attempts to Influence Reporting by RFE/RL and VOA

By tedlipien | August 25, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

Wojtylas_Women_PB
I included here more information about “Wojtyla’s Women,” my book on Pope John Paul II and feminism. In the book, I discuss at some length the attempts of the Polish communist secret police and the KGB to recruit agents among Pope John Paul II’s friends, as well as their attempts to influence the reporting of journalists working at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America. Some of these efforts were successful. Considering what has happened to the independent media under Mr. Putin’s leadership, there is little doubt that his secret police, the FSB, is just as busy now as they were when they were still Mr. Putin’s old employer, the KGB. (Mr. Putin is an ex-KGB operative.)

 

Some of the brave radio station owners in Russia told me in confidence that they had visits from the FSB officers who forced them to stop rebroadcasting VOA and RFE/RL programs. They were courageous to tell me about these visist because they could be prosecuted for revealing state secrets. Still, the Broadcasting Board of Governors cavalierly shuts down Voice of America radio broadcasts to Russia originating from Washington and thinks it is safe to do radio broadcasting from Moscow. RFE/RL journalists, many of whom are Russian citizens living in Russia with their families, are vulnerable to intimidation from the FSB.

 

Certainly, RFE/RL has many courageous journalists. During the Cold War, surrogate broadcasting was done from the West. But many journalists working within the Soviet Bloc became agents of the secret police and the majority were forced to write stories in support of the local regimes. The communist intelligence services even managed to recruit some agents who later worked for U.S. international broadcasters, although their number was very small. Any journalists and U.S. broadcasting resources placed within easy reach of Mr. Putin’s secret police are far more vulnerable than U.S.-based broadcasting and Voice of America journalists working in the U.S.

 

The BBG staff, some of whom know Russia quite well, should have advised the BBG members about these threats before shutting down VOA radio to Russia. It is also amazing that neither the BBG staff nor the Senate staff of Senator Biden did not see the implications of ending VOA Russian radio broadcast in terms of political symbolism and U.S. ability to communicate quickly with the Russian people in any future crisis. It is also amazing that they did not see that such a crisis would come sooner rather than later. It did 12 days after they shut down VOA Russian radio.

 

My guess is that they did know about these risks, while some BBG members may have not, but their desire to take resources from VOA in order to boost RFE/RL was just too great for them to resist.

 

I believe RFE/RL is a great institution and should be supported. RFE/RL broadcasting to Russia has some advantages over VOA broadcasting, just as VOA broadcasting to Russia has some advantages over RFE/RL broadcasting. At this time, however, due to the BBG decisions from the era of Mr. Pattiz and his consultants, RFE/RL has been put in a very dangerous position in Russia. My understanding, based on conversation with various sources, is that the current RFE/RL president, Jeff Gedmin, is trying to repair some of this damage, but he has not yet developed a new concept of safe surrogate broadcasting to countries like Russia, where the secret police is basically in charge of the media.

Wojtyla's Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church“Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” a book about Pope John Paul II and feminism by international journalist Ted Lipien who had interviewed Karol Wojtyla, offers a unique perspective on the late Pope’s views on women and American society.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 24, 2008 — John Paul II warned about the dangers of secular feminism but accepted of some of its ideas. A new book — “Wojtyla’s Women“ — explores the role of remarkable women who shaped the life of Pope John Paul II, supported his concept of “New Feminism,” and changed the Catholic Church.

 

Ted Lipien’s new book, “Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” published by the UK publisher O-Books and available on Amazon, reveals for the first time the role of remarkable women in the life of Karol Wojtyla and their impact on his papacy and the Catholic Church. The book also explores John Paul II’s views on feminism, gender roles, love, sex, abortion, and contraception in the context of unprecedented threats against human dignity during his lifetime, from pre-World War II anti-Semitism to the Holocaust, Nazi medical experiments on women prisoners, and communist dictatorship.

 

The book shows how John Paul II, the most charismatic and influential Pope in centuries, reshaped many facets of Catholic thought. Yet, as Ted Lipien demonstrates, Church policy on women during John Paul II’s papacy remained deeply resistant to popular modern ideas on gender roles. Wojtyla’s Women explores John Paul II’s views on women, marriage, family and sexual ethics from both feminist and conservative Christian perspectives. Previously untapped sources reveal the influence of his upbringing in Poland at the outset of the Twentieth Century, a time when deeply rooted traditions collided with rapid social change and new ideas, against a backdrop of war, genocide, and political oppression.

 

As the book reveals, Polish women were a remarkable and unexpected influence on John Paul’s understanding of gender issues and the Catholic Church’s theology. They were also the main force behind his advancement of New Feminism and Theology of the Body as alternatives to the Sexual Revolution and to radical and Marxist feminism in the West and in the communist world.

 

The future Pope John Paul II told Polish Catholics before becoming pope that “the affairs of the Kingdom of God” cannot be left only to women and that “social advancement of women has in it a little bit of truth but also a great deal of error.” John Paul II was strongly opposed to ordaining women priests.

 

But while he could not reach an understanding with liberal Western women because of vast differences in how he and they were shaped by culture and history, Karol Wojtyla nevertheless supported many ideas embraced by secular feminists and broke with many misogynist Christian traditions.

 

“Wojtyla’s Women” also analyzes the considerable impact of John Paul II’s views and papacy on the abortion debate in the United States and his conflict with the Clinton Administration over U.S. policies on birth control programs and abortion in the Third World. Lipien writes in his book that John Paul II was successful in raising awareness of the moral aspects of abortion through his campaign of “the culture of life versus the culture of death.” The book demonstrates, however, that Wojtyla’s campaign to promote natural birth control methods for women has not succeeded in any country, including his native Poland.

 

The author points out that John Paul II would have been appalled that the majority of U.S. presidential contenders in 2008 have been pro-choice, including the majority of those who are Roman Catholic: Joe Biden (D), Christopher Dodd (D), Rudolph Giuliani (R), Dennis Kucinich (D), Bill Richardson (D); only Senator Sam Brownback (R) and Alan Keyes (R), among former candidates who are Catholic, are pro-life.

 

Barak Obama (D), Hillary Clinton (D), and Senator McCain (R) belong to Protestant Christian Churches. Both Obama and Clinton are strongly pro-choice, while McCain is pro-life.

 

Ted Lipien reports in his book that Senator Joe Biden, who is a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, had said that he is prepared to accept the Catholic Church teaching that life begins at conception. Ted Lipien points out that John Paul II would have been gravely disappointed that abortion has not emerged in the U.S. as a major presidential campaign issue in 2008.

 

Ted Lipien’s book also reveals Pope John Paul II’s deep mistrust of Western liberalism and his condemnation of the United States as “a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption.” In addition to abortion, he was particularly troubled by the growing support among Americans for ordination of women priests and social and legal acceptance of gay marriages.

 

John Paul II doubted that the emergence of the United States at the end of the Cold War as the only superpower was good for the rest of the world and he strongly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

 

Ted Lipien also reveals in his book how the KGB and the Polish communist security service recruited spies among John Paul II closest friends and their attempts to manipulate media coverage of his papacy. This part of Lipien’s book was cited in a recent news story about Senator Biden’s staff and the shutting down of the Voice of America radio broadcasts to Russia by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, BBG, shortly before the Russian attack on Georgia in early August. To see the news story, please visit www.TedLipien.com, Pope John Paul II and Women Blog, http://tedlipien.com/WojtylaWomen/, www.FreeMediaOnline.org, and Free Media Online Blog, http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/.

 

Ted Lipien is a former director of the Polish Service of the Voice of America and a journalist with more than 30 years of reporting and writing about politics, society, women’s issues, and the Catholic Church in Poland. He interviewed Karol Wojtyla shortly before the Polish cardinal became pope. Ted Lipien is also president and founder of FreeMediaOnline.org, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization supporting media freedom worldwide. He lives in San Francisco.

 

For more information, please visit his website: www.TedLipien.com.

 

Wojtyla’s Women is available for purchase on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Wojtylas-Women-Shaped-Changed-Catholic/dp/1846941105/

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Press Release About the Publication of Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church

By tedlipien | June 21, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

Wojtylas_Women_PB

Visit our website www.tedlipien.com

John Paul II Warned About Dangers of Secular Feminism But Accepted of Some of Its Ideas: A New Book — “Wojtyla’s Women” — Explores the Role of Women Who Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II, Supported His Concept of New Feminism, and Changed the Catholic Church

 

The future Pope John Paul II told Polish Catholics before becoming pope that “we cannot leave the affairs of the Kingdom of God to women” and that “social advancement of women has in it a little bit of truth but also a great deal of error.” But he also accepted many ideas embraced by feminists.

 

/24-7PressRelease/ – SAN FRANCISCO, CA, June 17, 2008 – Ted Lipien’s new book, “Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church,” published this month by the UK publisher O-Books and available on Amazon, reveals for the first time the role of remarkable women in the life of Karol Wojtyla and their impact on his papacy and the Catholic Church. The book also explores John Paul II’s views on feminism, gender roles, love, sex, abortion, and contraception in the context of unprecedented threats against human dignity during his lifetime, from pre-World War II anti-Semitism to the Holocaust, Nazi medical experiments on women prisoners, and communist dictatorship.

 

The book shows how John Paul II, the most charismatic and influential Pope in centuries, reshaped many facets of Catholic thought. Yet, as Ted Lipien demonstrates, Church policy on women during John Paul II’s papacy remained deeply resistant to popular modern ideas on gender roles. Wojtyla’s Women explores John Paul II’s views on women, marriage, family and sexual ethics from both feminist and conservative Christian perspectives. Previously untapped sources reveal the influence of his upbringing in Poland at the outset of the Twentieth Century, a time when deeply rooted traditions collided with rapid social change and new ideas, against a backdrop of war, genocide, and political oppression. As the book reveals, Polish women were a remarkable and unexpected influence on John Paul’s understanding of gender issues and the Catholic Church’s theology. They were also the main force behind his advancement of “New Feminism” as an alternative to radical and Marxist feminism in the West and in the communist world.

The future Pope John Paul II told Polish Catholics before becoming pope that “the affairs of the Kingdom of God” cannot be left only to women and that “social advancement of women has in it a little bit of truth but also a great deal of error.” But while he could not reach an understanding with liberal Western women because of vast differences in how he and they were shaped by culture and history, Karol Wojtyla nevertheless supported many ideas embraced by secular feminists and broke with many misogynist Christian traditions.

 

“Wojtyla’s Women” also analyzes the considerable impact of John Paul II’s views and papacy on the abortion debate in the United States and his conflict with the Clinton Administration over U.S. policies on birth control programs and abortion in the Third World. While John Paul II was successful in raising awareness of the moral aspects of abortion through his campaign of “culture of life versus culture of death,” Ted Lipien points out that he would have been appalled that the majority of U.S. presidential contenders in 2008 have been pro-choice, including the majority of those who are Roman Catholic (Joe Biden (D), Christopher Dodd (D), Rudolph Giuliani (R), Dennis Kucinich (D), Bill Richardson (D); only Senator Sam Brownback (R) and Alan Keyes (R) are pro-life). Barak Obama (D), Hillary Clinton (D), and Senator McCain (R) belong to Protestant Christian Churches. Both Obama and Clinton are strongly pro-choice, while McCain is pro-life. John Paul II would have been disappointed that abortion has not emerged in the U.S. as a major presidential campaign issue in 2008. Wojtyla’s campaign to promote natural birth control methods for women has not succeeded in any country, including his native Poland.

 

Ted Lipien’s book also reveals Pope John Paul II’s deep mistrust of Western liberalism and his condemnation of the United States as “a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption.” In addition to abortion, he was particularly troubled by the growing support among Americans for ordination of women priests and social and legal acceptance of gay marriages. John Paul II doubted that the emergence of the United States at the end of the Cold War as the only superpower was good for the rest of the world and he strongly opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Ted Lipien also reveals in his book how the KGB and the Polish communist security service recruited spies among John Paul II closest friends and their attempts to manipulate media coverage of his papacy.

Ted Lipien is a former director of the Polish Service of the Voice of America and a journalist with more than 30 years of reporting and writing about politics, society, women’s issues, and the Catholic Church in Poland. He lives in San Francisco.

 

www.tedlipien.com

 

Reviews of Wojtyla’s Women

 

Extremely detailed research into a heretofore unexamined aspect of the beloved Pope John Paul II’s life. This book is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the personal network of highly influential women who shaped John Paul II’s attitudes, particularly on the debate of women’s roles. Dr. Nancy Snow, author of Information War

 

Ted Lipien has written an incisive and penetrating book on the role remarkable women, such as the Albanian-born nun and Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, played in shaping John Paul II’s outlook on important and controversial issues that defined his papacy. Much of the ground that Lipien covers in his meticulously documented book is not familiar to students of John Paul II’s papacy. He presents new information on the Pope’s enduring relationships with women who had an enormous impact on his life, offers original interpretations, and makes a significant contribution in advancing the theoretical discussion on John Paul II’s papacy. WOJTYLA’s WOMEN’s greatest strength lies in the author’s impassioned analysis of astonishingly complex issues and events. Lipien’s landmark book opens new paths for other scholars and is essential reading for specialists as well as the wider public. Dr. Elez Biberaj, author of Albania in Transition: The Rocky Road to Democracy

 

I read Ted Lipien’s important book with enormous interest. Few persons are as qualified as he is to enlighten readers about Pope John Paul II’s Polish roots — and the impact that they had on his views on women. Lipien provides a stimulating analysis of the Pope’s ideas on gender roles and how John Paul believed the Church should deal with sexual issues. While he does not agree with many of the Pope’s stands on women, Lipien makes a laudatory effort to understand — and explain — them. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship between feminism and Catholicism, a key issue of our times. Dr. John H. Brown, former U.S. diplomat in Poland

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Index for Wojtyla’s Women, A Book About Pope John Paul II and His Views on Women and Feminism

By tedlipien | June 14, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

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Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church

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INDEX

Abortion, 9-10, 15, 20-21, 27-29, 35, 40, 42, 48, 55, 109-111, 113, 117, 120-121, 125-126, 141, 144-145, 147, 151, 159, 162-163, 168, 170-171, 175, 177-178, 184, 191, 195, 198-199, 201, 203-205, 207, 212-213, 238, 240, 242-244, 251-253, 257, 259, 265-266, 268, 272-273, 275, 280, 284-285, 288, 290-291, 297-302, 307-309, 311, 315, 321, 325-330, 332, 335-336, 338-339, 343, 346, 359-366, 368-369, 378, 380-381, 383-385, 389-424, 430, 437-438, 441-445, 448-452, 455, 458-459, 461, 469, 474, 479, 491, 501, 506-507, 510-511, 521, 532-533, 536-538, 542-545, 547-548, 552, 555, 567, 572, 576, 578-579, 583, 609, 616, 622, 639, 647, 651, 655-656, 661-663, 666-667, 673-674
Abramowicz-Stachura, Zofia, 107-108, 606
African Americans, 89, 177, 188, 327, 398-400, 518
African American women, 399, 662
AfterAbortion.org, 457
Alas! A blog, 461
Albert Chmielowski Foundation, 589-590
Albertine Brothers, 81
Albertine Sisters, 81
Albright, Madeleine, 173
AlterNet, 372
American women, 9, 13, 21, 24, 32, 129, 152, 160, 167, 240, 350, 361, 398, 399, 406, 483, 643, 662
Anarcha, 370,
Anarkismo.net, 370
Anglican Communion, The, 480
Angry Black Bitch, 461
Anti-Semitism, 28, 88-89, 197, 258, 283, 313, 318, 320, 322, 324, 352, 417, 581
Anti-street Harassment UK, 457
Applebaum, Anne, 169
Arendt, Hannah, 82-83
Ascherson, Neal, 235, 423-424, 615, 646, 664
Auschwitz, also Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi extermination camp, also Oświęcim
33, 42, 143, 285, 288, 303, 309-310, 316-319, 322, 328, 331, 334-335, 338, 351, 353, 404, 423, 424, 531, 608, 654, 656

Balasuriya, Tissa, 491-492
Bardecki, Andrzej, 434, 597-598
Batka, Marian, 323
Beauvoir, Simone de, 9, 149-150, 155-159, 162, 176, 189, 353, 639, 641, 643
Beer, Regina, 88-89
Benedict XVI, Pope, also see Ratzinger, Joseph, 22, 31, 44, 52, 71, 136, 165, 171, 173-174, 475, 490, 513, 523, 535, 541, 557, 566, 570-571, 574-580, 619, 622, 630-631, 676,
Benedictine Sisters of Erie, The, 179-180
Bennett, William J., 367
Bernstein, Carl, 76, 143, 342, 347-349, 365, 426, 507, 509, 612, 615, 639, 657-659, 664, 668, 670-671, 678-679
Biberaj, Elez, 4
Biden, Joe, 410
Billings LIFE, 447
Birth Control, 12, 17, 21-22, 24, 27, 29, 40-41, 55, 80, 85, 95, 122, 154, 162, 190, 195, 198, 202-203, 226, 247, 252-253, 257, 259, 268, 276, 280, 287, 288, 289, 290, 294-299, 325, 348-349, 359, 362, 364, 373, 387-390, 393-394, 399, 409, 418, 421, 424-425, 427, 429, 431, 433-439, 441-443, 445-448, 451-452, 469, 471-472, 483, 501, 507, 510, 529, 545, 556, 565, 567-568, 576, 578-579, 581-583, 587, 592-593, 600
Birthright International, 455
Bitch Ph.D., 461
Black Genocide, 398-399, 661
Black Madonna, The, 60, 128, 214-216, 261-262, 287-288, 335, 445, 645
BlackGenocide.org, 398-399
Blackwell, Antoinette Brown, 150, 152-153
Bloom, Phil Fr., 452
Boff, Leonardo, 146
Boniecki, Adam, 79, 615, 632
Bortnowska, Halina, 396, 564-565, 676
Bosnia, 172, 226, 369
Bosnian women, rape of, 395-396
Braschi, Antonio, 496
Braun-Gałkowska, Maria, 103
Broadsheet, 372
Brown, John H, 4-5
Brownback, Sam, 410
Browne, Martin, 180
Brunner, Pia, 496
Bruskewitz, Fabian, 196
Brzezinski, Zbigniew, 173, 345, 350, 351
Buchanan, Pat, 367
Bush, George W., 147, 177, 197, 278, 367, 402-403, 474, 537, 566
BushTelegraph, 372
Byrne, Lavinia, 185, 615
California Catholic Women’s Forum, 194
Call to Action, 193, 196, 644
Canticle Magazine, 466
Cardinal Wojtyła SOS, 41, 423, 454
Care Net, 455
CAREConfidential, 455
Cassidy, Edward, 322
Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of “Jesus the King”, 496
Catholic Culture, 158
Catholic Information Network, 511
Catholic Mom, 466
Catholic Moms, 466
Catholic News Service, 511
Catholic Order of the Humility of Mary, The, 142
Catholic Parenting, 466
Catholic University in Lublin (KUL), 2, 39-40, 103-106, 139, 374, 415, 531, 547
Catholic Youth Foundation, The 452
Catholic.net, 511
Catholic-Pages.com, 158
Catholics for a Free Choice, 192, 193, 397-398, 661
Catholics Speak Out, 188
Catholics United for the Faith, 145-146
Celtic Connection, The, 574
Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion, The, 187
Centrum Jana Pawła II in Kraków, 3
Chicago Catholic Women, 179, 192-193
Chittister, Joan, 179-181
Chmielowski, Albert Adam, Saint Albert, 81-82
Chopra, Deepak, 413
Christian Coalition of America, 366
Christian Family Movement, The, 192-193, 433
Christian-Universalism.com, 151
Church of Christ, Scientist, 151
Church of England, The, 480
CIA, 21, 278, 345, 596, 599-600, 602, 628, 678
Ciechomska, Maria, 232-233, 531, 615, 646, 673-674
Ciesielska, Danuta, 1, 100-101, 103, 635
Ciesielski, Jerzy, 1, 68, 78-80, 100
Clinton, Bill, 327, 363-365, 568, 576
Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 361-363, 394, 400, 408-409, 478, 506, 616, 658, 671
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, 457
Coitus interruptus, 298-299, 391, 444
Colin, Margaret, 195
Commonweal, 538
Complementarity, gender, 8, 11, 14, 162, 191, 524-525, 530, 546
Concerned Women for America, 192, 194, 366-367
Consumerism, 16, 19, 28, 47, 171-172, 229, 239, 243, 271, 315, 321, 512
Contraception, 12, 17, 21-22, 24, 27, 29, 40-41, 55, 80, 85, 95, 122, 154, 162, 190, 195, 198, 202-203, 226, 247, 252-253, 257, 259, 268, 276, 280, 287, 288, 289, 290, 294-299, 325, 348-349, 359, 362, 364, 373, 387-390, 393-394, 399, 409, 418, 421, 424-425, 427, 429, 431, 433-439, 441-443, 445-448, 451-452, 469, 471-472, 483, 501, 507, 510, 529, 545, 556, 565, 567-568, 576, 578-579, 581-583, 587, 592-593, 600
Coughlin, Charles E., 28, 315, 629
Couple to Couple League, 447
Courtois, Stéphane, 169
Covenant House, Charleston, WV, 145
Covenant of the Goddess, 574
Creation Spirituality, 71
CreightonModel.com, 447
Culture of death, 191, 321, 389, 400, 402, 511, 573, 579
Culture of life, 191, 389, 400, 411, 554
Curran, Charles, 146, 165, 276, 616, 642, 649
Da Vinci Code, 527-528
Da Vinci Hoax, The, 527
Dads.org, 262
Daly, Mary, 9, 175-177, 186, 189, 342, 616, 643
Danube Seven, The, 496
Davídek, Felix Maria, 494-495, 497
Davies, Stuart, 4
Death Penalty, 27, 42, 165, 191, 195, 230, 272, 326, 365, 368-369, 396, 398, 407-408, 410-412, 419, 435, 536, 581
Defending Holy Matrimony, 466
Deskur, Andrzej Maria, 77
Different but equal, 11, 153, 190-191, 199, 517-518, 530
Dignity Canada, 539
DignityUSA, 539, 541
Dobson, James C., 366-367, 659
Domestic-Church.com, 466
Dworkin, Andrea, 203-205, 616, 644
Dziwisz, Stanisław, 28-29, 76-77, 80, 136, 244-245, 286, 362, 469-470, 590, 599-600, 606, 617, 624, 633, 638, 648, 651, 657-658, 668, 675, 678-679

E5men, 262
Ecofem.org, 459
Ecofeminism.net, 459
Eddy, Mary Baker, 150-152
Effective Fathers Ministries, 262
EMILY’s List, 409
ENDOW, 192, 194
Engel, Barbara, 143
Episcopal Church of the United States of America, The, 480
Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, 480
Episcopal Diocese of Quincy, 480
Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, 480
Episcopal Life Online, 480
Euthanasia, 42, 110, 191, 242, 243, 321, 324-326, 329-330, 369, 378, 383, 400-402, 412, 416, 424, 474, 536, 579
Evangelical Christians, 27, 160, 197, 272, 327, 365-369, 412, 512, 543, 561, 565-566, 569, 584, 677
Evangelium Vitae, 7, 42, 199, 389, 394-395, 536, 579
EVE ONLINE, 459

Falwell, Jerry, 366-367
Familiaris consortio, 42, 202, 462, 668
Family Facts, 466
Family of the Americas, 447
Father Pio, da Pietrelcina, 40, 294-295, 652
FatherDaughterDance.com, 262
Faustina, Saint, 41, 43, 112, 129-132, 620, 637
Fawcett Society, The, 457
Federation of Christian Ministries, 188
Federation of Poles in Great Britain, 174
Felician Sisters, 178
Fellowship of Catholic University Students, 452
Female genius, 11, 113, 191, 226
Female orgasm, 290-291, 428
Femina, 372, Feminist.com, 372
Feminine Mystique, The, 8-9, 207, 617-618, 624
Feminism and Nonviolence Studies Association, The, 192, 194
Feminist Allies, 461
Feminist Blogs, 461
Feminist Majority Foundation, 368
Feminist Theologians Liberation Network, 187
Feminist Women’s health Center, 447
Feministe, 461
Feministing.com, 461
Feminists Choosing Life, 457
Feminists for Animal Rights, 461
Feminists for Life, 192, 194-195, 396, 405,
Ferraro, Barbara, 145-147, 639
Ferraro, Geraldine, 144
Filipowicz, Stefan, SJ, 2, 593-595, 617, 678
Firley, Zofia, 126
Florek, Józefa, 39
Flynn, Ray, 57, 363-364, 617, 631, 637, 658-659
Focus on the Family, 366-367, 659
Forster, Gisela, 496
Fox, Matthew, 71, 146, 633
Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth, 153, 189, 617, 641
FreeMediaOnline.org, 3, 614, 643, 679
French, Marilyn, 169
Friedan, Betty, 8-10, 182, 367, 617-618, 624
Friends General Conference Library, 151
Future Church, 188
F-Word Ezine, The, 372

Galen, Clemens August Graf von, 326, 607-608
Gandhi, Mahatma, 553-556
Gebara, Ivone, 146
Gebert, Konstanty, 322
Genocide, 10, 55, 110, 172, 175, 203-205, 243, 284, 302, 329, 330, 339, 359, 369, 381, 393, 398-400, 403, 405, 408, 474, 561, 568, 583, 590, 604, 651, 661, 679
Germana, Sister, 137-138
German women, 169, 325-326, 356, 642, 655
German women, rape of, 642
Gift Foundation, 466
Girlistic, 461
Giuliani, Rudolph, 410
Glendon, Mary Ann, 42, 138, 537-538, 638, 673
Global Ethic Foundation, The, 563
God of Desire, 164
God Talk, 188
Goldszmit, Henryk, 323
Gorbachev, Mikhail, 346, 560, 675
Gore, Al, 363, 575
Graham, Billy, Rev., 565
Grail, The, 192-193
Gramick, Jeannine, 146, 539
Gravel, Mike, 411
Grażyna, 218-219
Greeley, Andrew M., 196, 433, 459, 483, 557, 617, 628, 644, 667, 669, 675
Gryglowska, Alina, 40, 336, 338, 657
Gutiérrez, Gustavo, 144, 146

Halter, Marek, 319
Hampson, Daphne, 149, 181-184, 618, 639, 643
Harris, Barbara Clementine, 480
Havel, Václav, 553-555, 675
Heartbeat International, 455
Heaton, Patricia, 195
Hodur, Franciszek (Francis), 500-503
Hoffman, Eva, 306, 653
Holocaust, 89, 203-205, 319, 321, 325, 339, 352, 404-405, 515, 604, 611, 619, 634, 655-656, 663, 679
Holy Family Institute, 466
Hoover Institution, 3
Horodyska, Jadwiga, 92
Horowitz, Daniel, 9, 618, 624
Huckabee, Mike, 412
Humanae vitae, 12, 40-41, 162, 287, 296, 433-439, 441-444, 448, 471, 593, 665
Hunt, John 4
Hunt, Mary E., 187
Hunter, Duncan, 412
Hunthausen, Raymond, 146
Hussey, Particia, 145-147, 639

Individualism, 8, 23, 66, 85, 153, 163, 190, 236, 275-276, 355-358, 370-371, 374-375, 380, 580, 585, 587, 609, 617, 641, 658
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The, 185
Institute of Women Today, The, 176-177
Iraq, 21, 27, 146, 168, 177, 197, 278
Isakowicz-Zaleski, T., 76, 96, 589-590, 618, 631, 633, 651
Islam, 29-30, 172, 198, 278-279, 359, 364-365, 513, 517, 535, 575, 633, 677

Jadwiga, (Hedwig), Queen, Saint, 18-20, 42, 226-231,
Jadwiga, Sister, (Wojtyła’s secretary), 135
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, 38-39, 59, 61, 63, 74, 88, 140, 229-230, 297, 316, 342, 429, 501, 627
Javorová, Ludmila, 494-497
Jesus Crowd, 452,
Jesus Decoded, 527
Jesus Youth, 452
Jews, Judaism, 23, 28-29, 33, 47, 58, 88-89, 91, 117, 123, 171-172, 182, 188, 205, 282, 285, 309, 312-328, 330, 351-352, 356, 358, 365, 408, 424, 508, 513-515, 519, 601, 605, 608, 610-611, 620, 633, 654-655, 662
Jodko, Marta, 92
John of the Cross, Saint, 70, 72
John Paul II, Short Biography of, 38-43

Kaczorowska, Emilia, 38, 47-50, 456
Kane, Theresa, Sister, 41, 141-143
Karski, Jan, 610-611
Kasperkiewicz, Karolina, 40, 105
Katyń, 34, 602, 613, 621, 629
KEPHA, 262
Keyes, Alan, 410
KGB, 31, 34, 386, 592, 596, 598-600, 606, 615, 678
Kinaszewska, Irena, 596-597
Kissinger, Henry, 173
Kissling, Frances, 397-398
Kler-Med, 297
Kluger, Jerzy, 88, 322
Kolbe, Maximilian, Saint, 309-318, 321-324, 488, 654
Kolbenschlag, Madonna, 142, 638
Korbońska, Zofia, 4
Korboński, Stefan, 4, 91-92
Korczak, Janusz, 323
Kotlarczyk, Mieczysław, 65, 67-68, 73-74, 86-87, 260
Kotlarczyk, Zofia, 64, 73, 86-87, 260
Kowalska, Faustyna, Sister, Saint, 41, 43, 112, 129-132, 620, 637
Kozłowska, Felicja, 497, 499-500
Krol, John, 196, 572
Królikiewicz, Halina, Kwiatkowska, 38-39, 62, 87, 630
Kucinich, Dennis, 410
Küng, Hans, 146, 563-564, 619, 649, 676
Kwitny, Jonathan, 76, 288, 296, 298-299, 301, 343, 345, 348, 350, 619, 649, 651-653, 657-658, 665, 670, 675
Kydryńska, Aleksandra, 39, 90

Lackorońska, Karolina, 305-306, 332-334, 619, 653, 656
LaHaye, Beverly, 366
Lasota, Marek, 597, 619, 657, 678
Latoś-Kasprzyk, Teofila, 2
Lay Missionaries of Charity, 360
Leadership Conference of Women Religious, The, 141, 192-193
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Religious Archives Network, 187
Leszczyńska, Stanisława, 42, 334-335, 339, 607-608
Lewaj, Jadwiga, 39, 92
Liberalism, 9, 23, 29, 66, 85, 93, 113, 161, 163, 167, 170, 199, 236, 239, 241-243, 246, 248, 280, 282, 284, 315-316, 330, 338, 355-356, 370, 371-372, 378, 383, 386, 388, 429, 484, 535, 559, 561, 585, 587, 609, 625
Liberation Theology, 82, 144, 218, 494
Library of Congress, 3
Life (UK), 455
Life Teen, 452
Likoudis, James, 145-146
Lipien-Rohrer, Leokadia (Lodi), 1
Lipien, Ted, iv
Lipień, Helena Maciaszek, 1
Lipień, John, 605
Lipień, Marek, 2
Lipień, Stanisław Bolesław, 1
Living Rosary, 69, 72-73
Lobcom.org, 370
Lorence-Kot, Bogna, 308
Loreto Sisters, 185
Love and Responsibility Foundation, 164
Love and Responsibility, 7, 40, 79, 93, 98-99, 108, 111, 164, 191, 289, 290-292, 299, 339, 394, 424-426, 428, 432, 436, 623, 634-635, 652, 654, 664
Love One Another Magazine, 452

Maciaszek, Justyna, 2
Maciaszek, Marta, 2
Maliński, Mieczysław, 63-64, 67, 70, 72-77, 80, 86, 91, 100, 128, 135, 202, 238-239, 274, 323, 342-343, 416-418, 434, 453, 589, 590-591-592, 606, 619, 633-635, 637-638, 647, 657, 663, 665-667, 677-678
Mały Dziennik, 312
Mansour, Mary Agnes, 146
Maria Shelter, 176-177
Mariavites, 498-504, 670
Martinus Polonus, 487-488
Marxism, 9, 25, 66, 84, 93, 113, 148, 154, 156, 160, 162-163, 168-169, 218, 236, 240, 246, 314, 346, 353, 370-372, 494, 532, 639
Matylda, Sister, 137
Mayr-Lumetzberger, Christine, 496
McCain, John, 411-412
Media Watch, 457
Michnik, Adam, 533-536, 654, 673
Mickiewicz, Adam, 65, 208-210, 213, 217-220
Militia of the Immaculate, The, 313
Millett, Kate, 156-158
Miłosz, Czesław, 283, 314, 650
Ministry at Pacific School of Religion, 187
Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination, 539
Missionaries of Charity Fathers, 360
Missionaries Under The Sun, 158
Modjeska, Helena, also Helena Modrzejewska, 82-83
Modrzejewska, Helena, also Helena Modjeska, 83-83
Molla, Gianna Beretta, Saint, 396-397
Monfort, Louis Marie Grignion de, 80
Mother Teresa – The Path of Love, 360
Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center, 360
Mother Teresa, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, 5, 10, 43, 55, 284, 359-362, 462, 637, 658
MS Magazine, 368
Mszana Dolna, 107
Mulieris dignitatem, 42, 464, 469, 668
Muller, Iris, 496
Myss, Caroline, 71

Nancy, Snow, 4-5
NARAL Pro-Choice America, 368
National Association of Evangelicals, 366
National Catholic Register, The, 511
National Coalition of American Nuns, The, 176-177
National Fellowship of Catholic Men, 262
National Organization of Men Against Sexism, 372
National Organization of Women (NOW), 368
NET Ministries of Canada, 452
Neu, Diann L., 187
New Age, 71, 181, 413, 574-575
New feminism, 7, 10-11, 26, 42, 153, 162, 187, 189-192, 194, 199, 352-353, 478, 536-538, 577-578, 623, 638, 644, 676
New Ways Ministry, 539-540
No Status Quo, 370
Noonan, Peggy, 573, 620, 676
Nostra Ateate, 320
Nowicka, Wanda, 450-451, 548, 666
Nowojka, 61, 488
Nugent, Robert, 146, 539
Nussbaum, Martha C, 555, 620, 675

O’Brien, Darcy, 117, 322, 620, 633, 654
O’Reilly, Jane, 147
Obama, Barak, 399, 409-410, 413
O-Books, 5
Omegarock.com, 452
One More Soul Canada, 466
Open Embrace, 447
Oprah, Winfrey, 413
OptionLine, 455
Opus Dei, 28, 198, 363, 371, 527, 629
Order of Our Lady of Mercy in Łagiewniki, 3, 133
Ordinatio sacerdotalis, 42, 462, 469, 471-474, 477, 489-491, 496, 522, 668-669
Our Lady’s Warriors, 158

Paetz, Juliusz, 286, 651
Pagan Dawn, 574,
Pagan Federation International, The, 574
Pagan Federation, 574
Paglia, Camille, 148, 639
Paul VI, Pope, 12, 35, 40-41, 257, 276, 287, 295-296, 320, 348, 433-439, 442-443, 464-465, 471-472, 557, 579, 582-583, 591, 597, 648, 665
Paul, Ron, 412
Personalism Library, The, 164
Personalism, 10, 163-164, 191, 375
Piekut, M. Beata, 130, 637
Pietrzyk, Basia, 304
Pigozzi, Caroline, 136-137, 620, 638
Planned Parenthood, 368, 658, 666
Plater, Emilia, 218-219
Poland, Brief Outline of History, 32-37
Polish American Congress, 174
Polish Information & Culture Center in Dublin, 174
Polish National Catholic Church of Canada, 500
Polish National Catholic Church, 17, 500-503, 671
Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, 178-179
Polish women, 7-8, 11-13, 17, 20-21, 24, 32, 35, 48, 53, 68, 91-92, 106, 111-112, 117, 129-130, 171, 216-220, 222-223, 225-226, 232-233, 240-241, 244, 246-251, 253-254, 256, 258-259, 261, 266-267, 284, 298, 302, 304-305, 307, 327, 328, 334-338, 367, 384, 395, 414, 444, 446, 451, 456, 543-544, 546-553, 582, 586, 588, 592-593, 624, 627-629, 642, 663, 674
Politi, Marco, 76, 143, 342, 347-349, 365, 426, 507, 509, 612, 615, 639, 657-659, 664, 668, 670-671, 678-679
Polski Dublin, 174
Poole, Myra, 180
Pope Joan, 487-488, 612, 670
PornNoMore.com, 262
Półtawska, Wanda, 10, 12-13, 40, 55, 80, 215, 285-286-289-303, 305-309, 311-312, 329-330, 339, 344, 348-349, 428, 432, 434, 448, 582-583, 596, 620, 624, 651-653
Positivism, 240-241, 244
Późniakowa, Zofia, 39
Probst, Christoph, 607-608, 679
Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians, 457
Promise Keepers, 366-367
Pure Love Club, 452

Quinn, Donna, 179, 181, 184
Quinn, Sally, 160

Radical Women, 370
Radio Maryja, 28-29, 243, 382-383, 385, 536, 581, 629, 653, 660, 676-677
Rahner, Karl, 146, 202
Raming, Ida, 496
Ranke-Heinemann, Uta, 529, 621, 673
Rape Crisis England and Wales, 457
Ratzinger, Joseph, also see Benedict XVI, 22-23, 44, 52, 71, 146, 165, 171, 188, 198, 418, 475, 489-490, 497, 503, 513-514, 523-524, 539, 557, 571-572, 577, 607-608, 621, 628, 642, 676
Ravensbrück Nazi Concentration Camp, 40, 302, 304-306, 308, 311, 332, 333, 619, 653, 656
Reappropriate, 461
Redstockings, 370
Reed, Cheryl L. 178, 572, 574, 621, 643, 676,
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 368
Remember the Women Institute, 205
Revolution of Love, 452
Rhythm Method, 120, 247, 253, 298, 390, 429, 441, 443, 446-447, 583, 600
Richardson, Bill, 410
Rights of Women, 457
Roberts, Jane Sullivan, 195, 644
Roberts, John G., 195
Robertson, Pat, 366-367, 659
Robinson, V. Gene, 480
Roe v. Wade, 175, 284, 361, 366, 410, 412
Rohrer, Chloe, 1
Rohrer, Douglas, 1
Roitinger, Adelinde Theresia, 496
Roman Catholic Womenpriests, 166-167
Romney, W. Mitt, 411
Rosen, Hannah, 610
Rothschild, Elizabeth S., 610
Rowbotham, Sheila, 149, 621, 639
Ruether, Rosemary Radford, 149, 192, 194, 621, 639, 644
Rybicka, Danuta, 94, 100, 114-115, 458, 634-637
Rydzyk, T., 382, 629
Ryś, Maria, 301, 652

Safir, Enver, 4
Saint Maria Messenger, 452
Sapieha, Stefan, 39, 68, 74-75, 84, 91
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 155, 429
Schillebeeckx, Edward, 146
Scholl, Hans, 607-608, 679
Scholl, Sophie, 607-608, 679
School Sisters of Notre Dame, The, 176-177, 539
Schori, Katharine Jefferts, 480
Schumacher, Michele M., 190, 199, 342, 578, 623, 644, 676
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elizabeth, 154, 157-158, 161, 172, 184, 187-188, 621, 641, 644
Scottish Women’s Aid, 457
Second Sex, The, 9, 24-25, 148-149, 156-159, 175-176, 207, 615-616, 639, 643
Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, 176, 179
Sisters of Mercy, The, 141, 639
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 145
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander, 376-378, 659
Sontag, Susan, 82-83, 633
Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference, 188
Southern Baptist Convention, 366
Spiritus Christi Church, 188
Stabrowska, Halina, 337, 607
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 150-151, 518, 640, 672, 672
State Department, U.S., 34, 278, 373, 602, 613-614, 627
Steichen, Donna, 184, 189, 621, 643
Stein, Edith, Saint, 318, 351-358, 622, 658
Stop Violence Against Women, 457
Stucky-Schaller, Magrit, 143
Styczeń, T., 106, 531-532, 622, 659, 673
Suchocka, Hanna, 380
Suenens, Leo Jozef, 162, 622, 641
Susan B. Anthony List, 192, 194
Szczepańska, Helena, 41, 49-50,
Szkocka, Irena, 39, 90-91
Szulc, Tad, 76, 433, 438, 665

Tarnowska, Maria, 102-103
Teresa of Ávila, Saint, 70, 352-353, 465
The Acting Person, 2, 13, 41, 164, 168, 292, 339-340, 622, 657
The f word, 461
Theology of the Body International Alliance, 164
Theology of the Body Times Square Discussion Group, 164
Theology of the Body, 16, 164, 203
These Last Day Ministries, 158
Thompson, Fred, 412
Tobiana, Sister, 6, 43, 137
Tradition in Action, 99
Traxler, Margaret, 176-177, 181, 184, 643
True Girl Magazine, 452
Turowicz, Jerzy, 388-389, 460, 649
Tygodnik Powszechny, 79, 257, 317, 388, 460, 596, 598, 633, 649, 678
Tymieniecka, Anna-Teresa, 2, 13, 41, 168, 277, 339-344, 347-351, 426, 583, 622, 657, 664
Tyranowski, Jan, 68-74, 78, 632

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, The, 205
Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches, 500
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, 151
University of California at Berkley, 3
University of Fribourg, 342
Utilitarianism, 244, 429

Vanzant, Iyanla, 413
Vatican Council II, 40, 167, 196, 201, 320, 415, 417-418, 464, 467, 492, 503
Vatican Radio, 2, 523-524, 593-595, 598, 601, 614
Vladimiroff, Christine, 180
Voice of America (VOA), 4, 34, 593, 600-602, 604, 611-614

Waldheim, Kurt, 324
Walewska, Maria, 218, 224
Wanda, Princess, 218, 220-222
Wanderer, The, 538
Ward, Mary, 185
Wasser, Hedwig, 143
WATER (Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual), 187, 192
Weber, Anka, 88
Weigel, George, 76, 164, 276, 277, 366, 630-631, 633, 635, 641, 652-653, 657, 665, 678
White, Angela, 496
Wicca, 574
Wikipedia, 3, 608, 660
Williamson, Marianne, 413
Witches’ Voice, 574
Wojtarowicz, Teresa, 106
Wojtyła, Edmund, 38, 48, 52, 55
Wojtyła, Karol (Pope John Paul II), Short Biography of, 38-43
Wojtyła, Karol, Sr., 38, 45-48
Wojtyła, Olga, 38, 48
Wolska, Klawera, 103-104
Wołoszyn, Maria, 3
Woman’s Bible, The, 152, 640
Womankind, 457
Women Affirming Life, 192, 194, 457
Women for Faith and Family, 192, 200, 466
Women of the Third Millennium, 192, 194
Women priests, 16-17, 29-30, 101, 112, 182, 193, 199, 202, 279, 343, 361, 402, 462, 469, 471-472, 479, 481-483, 485, 488-491, 495-497, 499-500, 503, 564, 570-572, 580, 609, 641, 667
Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual, 187, 192
Women’s eNews, 372
Women’s Environmental Network, 459
Women’s Justice Coalition, 188
Women’s Ordination Conference, The, 187-188, 192-193
Women’s Seminary Quarter, The, 192
Women’s Voice for the Earth, 459
Women-Church Convergence, The, 192-193
Women-Church, 155, 184, 192-193
WomenPriests.org, 166
Wyszyński, Stefan, 35, 246-248, 252-256, 267, 438, 443, 520-521, 530, 566-567, 573, 584, 591, 620, 623, 648-649, 665-666

Youth Apostles Online, 452

Zachuta, Feliks, 319
Zanussi, Krzysztof, 278, 281
Zdybicka, Zofia, 2, 40, 106-108, 111, 114, 285, 509, 624, 636
ZENIT, 511
Zirer, Edith, 319-320
Zukav, Gary, 413
Żarnecka, Zofia, 87-88

Życzkowska, Teresa

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Popes get conflicting advice on what to say to Americans and don’t always say what they really think

By tedlipien | April 18, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

benedictxvi
Taking example from John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI will not scold Americans during his first pontifical visit to the United States. Just like John Paul II, he is also concerned about his public image. Vatican diplomats have admitted as much in their pre-trip media interviews when they suggested that the pope will try to present a moderate tone during his American visit. More likely than not, however, what Americans will hear from Benedict XVI and what he really thinks about the American society and liberal American Catholics, are two different things.

 

When doing research for my book on the role of women in Karol Wojtyła’s life, I came across convincing evidence that prior to his historic first visit to the United States in 1979, John Paul actually wanted to be very honest and blunt in telling Americans what he really thought about their liberal views on such issues as abortion, contraception, and feminism.

 

Dr. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, a Polish-American professor of philosophy who had been Wojtyła’s close friend and translated into English his book The Acting Person, shared with me her unique insights about the preparations for his 1979 visit. This philosopher-phenomenologist told me that at the outset of his papacy, John Paul II’s conservative Polish friends fed him a lot of misinformation about America. She claimed, however, that she had been able to get him to modify some of his views.

 

Indeed, some of John Paul II’s first papal speeches did include positive comments about the American society, but in later years I saw a marked decline in the warmth of the pope’s messages to Americans. More and more they began to reflect his exasperation with America, its liberal values and its growing influence around the world.

 

American women in particular, including Catholic nuns, publicly challenged many of John Paul II’s assumptions and expectations. While they were not able to change his views to any significant degree, their challenge prompted him to pay more attention to women’s issues and to develop the theology behind new Catholic feminism.

 

Before John Paul’s first papal trip to the United States in 1979, Dr. Tymieniecka visited him at Castel Gandolfo and discussed with him his proposed speeches. Some of the speeches may have been drafted in part by Dr. Wanda Półtawska, a Polish psychiatrist and a victim of Nazi medical experiments. She had been Wojtyła’s scientific advisor on birth control and had helped him convince Pope Paul VI to issue his 1968 anti-contraception encyclical Humanae vitae. The encyclical, for which Cardinal Wojtyła and Dr. Półtawska provided Pope Paul VI with supportive research, drove millions of women and men away from the church.

 

Dr. Tymieniecka told me in 2007 that she did not review the texts of papal speeches prior to his 1979 visit but held discussions with John Paul II about what kind of messages might resonate well with Americans. She confirmed that his initial ideas, which his conservative Polish friends had suggested, were way off the mark as far as the realities of life in the United States were concerned. But she said that she had managed to talk him into making drastic changes in his speeches to Americans and was gratified to hear that he had taken her advice.

 

Dr. Tymieniecka takes partial credit for some of John Paul II’s first words on the American soil after his arrival in Boston on October 1, 1979. He said that he came “with sentiments of friendship, reverence and esteem” and “as one who already knows you and loves you.” According to her, these words had set the tone for his first apostolic visit to the United States. But the visit could have been much different if he had accepted the advice of his conservative Polish friends.

 

Dr. Tymieniecka told me that while John Paul II’s initial views about America may have been uninformed, she said that this was quite normal at that time for any person living in communist Poland. She also told me that she not only had persuaded him to adopt a more moderate tone in speaking to Americans during his first visit but that in subsequent years his opinions of Americans, American society and the American Catholic Church became drastically more positive.

 

Wojtyla's Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church by Ted LipienHowever, my own analysis of John Paul II’s later speeches to Americans shows a definite trend toward a much more critical attitude. He told American bishops in 1999 that that America was “a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption,” and he saw Americans as being deeply unhappy despite their material wealth, an observation for which there is little support.

 

Although he will try to hide it, Benedict XVI also does not have a very high opinion of the American society and the liberal wing of the American Catholic Church. In a 1984 interview, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI) suggested that being rich is a measure of one’s worth in North America and “the values and style of life proposed by [American] Catholics appear more than ever as a scandal.”

 

Father Charles E. Curran, who was accused of being too liberal and was fired from his teaching position as a Catholic theologian by the Catholic University of America on orders from John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, believes the previous pope took “several major strides backward” on issues of human sexuality and the rights of women.

 

But determined to continue the conservative line established by his immediate predecessor, Benedict XVI believes that giving in to the demands of liberal Catholics on such issues as abortion, contraception, women-priests and gay marriages would ultimately destroy the Catholic Church and fatally undermine the respect for life and basic morality. Benedict XVI prefers the Church to become smaller and more conservative rather than allow liberal American and West European Catholics impose their liberal values on the rest of the world. During his visit to the U.S., however, he is not likely to make any strong critical comments about American liberalism.

 

Ted Lipien is the author of Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church.

 

Ted Lipien ’s email address is: mail@tedlipien.com. For radio, TV, Internet and print media interviews with the author, please call: 415-793-1642. For more information about Ted Lipien and his book on Pope John Paul II, please visit: www.TedLipien.com

 

Pope Benedict XVI Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djsacche/185335570/ |Author=eürodäna @ Flickr |Date=2006-06-07 | This photo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License.

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Wojtyła’s Women: How Women, History and Polish Traditions Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church

By tedlipien | March 11, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off
Wojtylas_Women_PB

I chose this the tile for my book about Pope John Paul II not only to emphasize the role of women in his life but also to show how their role and his attitudes and views about women were influenced by Polish culture, traditions and history. Here is short description I wrote for the cover.

Wojtyla's Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church by Ted LipienJohn Paul II, the most charismatic and influential Pope in centuries, reshaped many facets of Catholic thought. Yet Church policy on women during his papacy remained deeply resistant to popular modern ideas on gender roles. WOJTYŁA’s WOMEN explores John Paul II’s views on women, marriage, family and sexual ethics from both feminist and conservative Christian perspectives. Previously untapped sources reveal the influence of his upbringing in Poland at the outset of the 20th century, a time when deeply rooted traditions collided with rapid social change and new ideas, against a backdrop of war, genocide, and political oppression. As the book reveals, women were a remarkable and unexpected influence on John Paul’s understanding of gender issues and the Catholic Church’s theology.

Wojtyła’s Women was published in June 2008 by O-Books, a publisher of religious and spiritual books in Great Britain. It is availabe in bookstores in the U.K. and the United States and can also be purchased through O-Books and Amazon websites.

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