All posts tagged New Feminism

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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Pope John Paul II’s 1979 Visit to the U.S. – VOA Video

By tedlipien | July 20, 2009 | Video | Comments Off
President Jimmy Carter with Pope John Paul II, photograph by Bill Fitz-Patrick, October 6, 1979

President Jimmy Carter with Pope John Paul II, photograph by Bill Fitz-Patrick, October 6, 1979

Pope John Paul II’s 1979 Visit to the U.S. – VOA Video

President Jimmy Carter’s notes from his private meeting with Pope John Paul II, October 6, 1979, front

President Jimmy Carter’s notes from his private meeting with Pope John Paul II, October 6, 1979, front

Although his notes are sketchy, they show that the discussion included particular situations in the Philippines, China, Europe, South Korea, and the Middle East. The White House issued a statement that day stating that during the meeting “the Pope and the President agreed that efforts to advance human rights constitute the compelling idea of our times.”

National Archives, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia

President Jimmy Carter’s notes from his private meeting with Pope John Paul II, October 6, 1979, reverse

President Jimmy Carter’s notes from his private meeting with Pope John Paul II, October 6, 1979, reverse

National Archives, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, Georgia

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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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Surrogate Broadcasting 101 — Why BBG and RFE/RL Are Failing in Russia

By FreeMediaOnline | September 7, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments Off

FreeMediaOnline.org Logo.FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog,  Commentary by Ted Lipien, September 8, 2008, San Francisco — A country like Russia either needs surrogate broadcasting or it doesn’t. Many countries, however, need balanced and objective news from the Voice of America that surrogate broadcasters living overseas are not trained to provide.  If a country also needs a genuine surrogate broadcaster – as it is the case now with Russia – surrogate broadcasting should not be hostage to Mr. Putin’s good will and the machinations of his secret police.

Surrogate broadcasters should be totally independent and protected from being intimidated, recruited by foreign intelligence services, or controlled by U.S. diplomats. They should not feel pressured by unreasonable expectations to achieve high audience ratings, or else they are likely to become like the rest of the local media –  intimidated, subject to self-censorship, and reflective of the local prejudices of the worst kind. The policies of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which manages U.S. international broadcasting, have forced the semi-private, U.S.-funded surrogate broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to lose much of its independent surrogate status and become more like yet another domestic Russian broadcaster fearful of the Kremlin.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors and the RFE/RL management will no doubt argue that their broadcasters in Russia are fearless and completely independent. If that is the case, it would be a great achievement, even a miracle, considering that at least 292 journalists have been murdered or have disappeared in Russia since 1990, all other broadcasting entities have been placed under the control of the Kremlin or practice self-censorship, and Mr. Putin’s is using highly effective tactics in dealing with his media critics by unleashing on them his former colleagues in the KGB.

When I worked as a journalist and later as director of VOA Polish Service, we relied on two indicators to measure our effectiveness: how many times the communist government’s spokesman condemned our broadcasts and how many times American diplomats at the Embassy in Warsaw complained in confidential cables that we were too belligerent. (The State Department tried unsuccessfully to censor our telephone interviews with the Solidarity leader Lech Walesa while he was out of prison but still under secret police surveillance. The “belligerent” label was used to describe comments by our interviewees like Walesa. VOA journalists generally avoided expressing their personal views.) We have not heard lately of similar criticism or protests about RFE/RL broadcasts in Russia. It is no accident that RFE/RL is not being condemned or kicked out of Russia, and it is not because Mr. Putin wants to be unusually nice to the American-funded broadcaster while he silences other journalists.

I will give some examples so that readers can judge for themselves whether the Broadcasting Board of Governors has indeed pulled a miracle and managed to create in Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty a super-hero surrogate broadcaster that even an ex-KGB officer like Mr. Putin does not know how to handle. Does RFE/RL still offer fearless criticism of the Kremlin from its studios in Moscow located in close proximity to Lubyanka, the headquarters of Russia’s secret police? Are they so effective in exposing the taking over of the country’s political, economic, and media resources by Mr. Putin and his friends that the Kremlin wants to close them down? We may also want to ask whether Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty can replace the Voice of America – which is safely based in Washington, D.C. — as the only on air radio voice of the American people in Russia?  The BBG would want us to believe that the answer to all of these questions is “yes.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “surrogate” as “to choose in place of another, substitute.” According to my sources, the new Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Jeffrey Gedmin has tried to ignore some of the more questionable directives from the Broadcasting Board of Governors and move the emphasis at RFE/RL from the BBG-driven marketing focus back to program content. But he has been doing this quietly and does not want to admit publicly that because of the BBG actions, RFE/RL is no longer an effective external “surrogate broadcaster.” Nor will he admit publicly that his organization faces serious programming and security problems in Russia. In fact, he insists that RFE/RL continues to be a model surrogate broadcaster in Russia.

The BBG’s preference for overseas-based private broadcasters rather than Washington-based and Congressionally-chartered Voice of America has put American broadcasting resources at risk in a number of countries in Eurasia by exposing them to pressures from the local regimes and local stations rebroadcasting U.S. sponsored programs, which are now almost always under tight regime control. By operating safely from Munich in West Germany during the Cold War, RFE/RL engaged in highly effective ”surrogate broadcasting” to Russia, and was largely protected from reprisals by the KGB. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case with RFE/RL as it operates now in response to directives from the BBG and in pursuing its own bureaucratic interests.

Throughout most of the Cold War, RFE/RL journalists were not allowed by their management to travel behind the Iron Curtain and for good reasons. But as a result of decisions made by the BBG, most of RFE/RL Russian radio programs now originate in Russia. The majority of Radio Liberty Russian broadcasters are Russian citizens who live in Russia with their families. I’m not arguing that RFE/RL journalists should no longer work in Mr. Putin’s Russia under any circumstances, or that it is completely unsafe for them to travel there. I’m merely arguing that it is dangerous for them to work there under the conditions imposed on them by the BBG. Effective surrogate broadcasting to a country whose regime controls domestic program distribution channels and skillfully intimidates the local media cannot depend mostly on the size of the audience and the good will of the local leader. It must depend on the alternative nature of its message, high quality of its program content, and the ability to make the local regime highly uncomfortable. One cannot achieve this if one must worry about protecting local news bureaus and rebroadcasting arrangements worth millions of dollars. 

Despite the murders and disappearances of at least 292 journalists in Russia since 1990, the Broadcasting Board of Governors continued to support the expansion of RFE/RL operations in Russia and its large Moscow bureau while reducing and eventually eliminating all Voice of America Russian radio broadcasts from Washington. This policy continued even as Russian President and later Prime Minister  Vladimir Putin kept closing down Russian media outlets critical of his policies, and more independent journalists were being killed.

Independent Russian Journalist Anna Politkovskaya Who Was Murdered in 2006.Shortly after independent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in Moscow in an execution-style hit in 2006, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty managers made public statements strongly suggesting an attempt on their part to appease Mr. Putin. In an apparent effort to protect their presence in the country, the head of RFE/RL Moscow bureau, Elena Glushkova, said in an on-air discussion in October 2006 that the work of Radio Liberty journalists cannot cause Russia any harm. She insisted that RFE/RL reporters respect and love Russia. She also pointed out that all Radio Liberty reporters who work in Russia are Russian citizens and said that her optimism despite the murder of Ms. Politkovskaya is based in her belief in “the common sense of the current Russian leadership.” Maria Klain, Russian Service director at the RFE/RL home office in Prague, also expressed confidence that the radio’s future in Russia looks good. These comments surprised and offended pro-democracy activists in Russia who were still in mourning after Anna Politovskaya’s murder.

There is no reason to believe that RFE/RL journalists in Russia can be safer from the secret police than any other Russian journalist. If anything, they would be prime targets of the FSB operations. In an interview for the Association for International Broadcasting “Channel “ magazine, Dr. Gedmin said that “In Russia, three years ago we had about 30 affiliates, today we have about 5. The Russians have used much softer, shrewder tactics, they will send a health inspector or a fire inspector.”

Actually there was nothing soft or shrewd about these tactics. What Dr. Gedmin should have said was that the officers of the secret police, the FSB (the new KGB),  called in for questioning station managers who were using RFE/RL and VOA programs and told them to stop their cooperation with U.S. broadcasters or be closed down by health inspectors. Much more serious threats were also used. I know this because I had placed RFE/RL programs on these stations and some of their owners told me in strict confidence about the talks they had with the FSB. (They could be prosecuted for revealing state secrets if they went public with their stories of threats from the secret police, as would any Russian citizens now working for RFE/RL in Russia.)

Owners of these stations also told me that the directives they kept receiving from the RFE/RL Moscow bureau to register their rebroadcasts with the Russian authorities convinced them that it was time to stop their cooperation with RFE/RL and VOA and that the FSB was already on their trail. They did not see these warnings as motivated by a concern for them at all.

RFE/RL management, however, is still committed to preserving their Moscow bureau operation rather than admitting that the BBG strategy for Russia represents a major programming liability and actually prevents RFE/RL from doing  effective surrogate broadcasting. Some might argue that many RFE/RL journalists refused to follow this model, and many did just that. But the overall situation has reached a critical point, and the BBG and the RFE/RL management refuse to admit it.

Here is another example which shows how the BBG started thinking that RFE/RL can somehow operate in Russia differently than all other Russian broadcasters who were being intimidated by the Kremlin and the secret police. BBG member Jeff Hirschberg, a Washington lawyer who is a director of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, negotiated with Russian officials to keep the RFE/RL Moscow bureau operating while other media outlets in Russia were being taken over by Mr. Putin’s associates.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors was also responsible for forcing RFE/RL to change its program content to become more appealing to the audience in the vain hope that local rebroadcasting could increase RFE/RL’s radio ratings. Consultants hired by the BBG conducted surveys and told RFE/RL that their programs appear anti-Russian. RFE/RL managers were told to change their program content and those who resisted were fired. Here is another example of what this strategy has produced.

The Moscow Human Rights Bureau has recently criticized RFE/RL for giving an entire hour of airtime to a former Russian Parliament deputy Andrey Savel’yev. The Russian human rights organization said that Mr. Savel’yev’s “chauvinist and racist views are well-known.”

In criticizing RFE/RL for giving airtime to Mr. Savel’yev, the Russian human rights organization said the station was guilty not only  of enabling such people “to spread their poisonous views,” but also of legitimizing their ideas “in the minds of many impressionable radio listeners.” The appeal, written by the organization’s head Aleksandr Brod, argues that stations, which “in their pursuit of higher ratings” invite such “nationalist radicals,” are giving these enemies of democracy a larger audience and exacerbating ethnic tensions.

The BBG policies in combination with the risks of operating within close reach of the Kremlin’s secret police have made RFE/RL more like a local Russian media outlet than a surrogate broadcaster the American taxpayers would expect it to be. It seems inconceivable that a broadcasting entity that works under the watchful eye of Mr. Putin’s secret police and gives airtime to extreme nationalists who promote racism should from now on be the only on air radio voice of the American people in Russia.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors had shut down all Voice of America radio broadcasts to Russia just 12 days before the Russian troops attacked Georgia. This phenomenal blunder needs to be immediately corrected. But the BBG should also change its policies so that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty can once again become an effective surrogate broadcaster in Russia for as long as Russia needs Western-originated surrogate broadcasting. Russian journalists working at RFE/RL need to be protected from intimidation by the Kremlin’s security services and not dependent on Mr. Putin’s good will.  

 

Ted FreeMediaOnline.org President Ted Lipien.Lipien was formerly acting VOA associate director and helped to place BBG-funded radio and TV programs on stations in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries in the region. 

 

He worked in Washington, D.C. and spent eight years as a regional  media marketing director for the BBG based at the RFE/RL headquarters in Prague. He often travelled to Moscow and met there with RFE/RL Moscow bureau’s local managers and journalists.

 

He is the author of a book about Pope John Paul II and new feminism, in which he discussed the attempts by the Polish communist secret police and the KGB to spy on the Polish pontiff and feed disinformation to Western journalists. He also described how communist agents tried to infiltrate U.S. radio stations broadcasting to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. He points out in his book that the main targets of the communist secret police blackmail and recruitment efforts were journalists, intellectuals, extremists of all types, and priests.

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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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Ted Lipien’s Book Wojtyla’s Women Cited in Obama and Biden News Story

By tedlipien | August 23, 2008 | Religion | Comments Off

obama_benedictxvi07102009Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church was cited in a news story I wrote about the shutting down of the Voice of America radio broadcasts to Russia just days before the Russian troops attacked Georgia. The Senate staff of Barak Obama’s vice-presidential running mate, Senator Joe Biden, was said to be involved in that decision.

 

This particular news story is not about Pope John Paul II or feminism, but in my bookWojtyla’s Women, which is devoted to the role of womenin the life of the late Polish pontiff, I also write about the attempts of the Polish communist secret police and the Soviet KGB to spy on Pope John Paul II and to influence the work of journalists at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. This part of my book has some relevance to how the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is now managing U.S. international broadcasting. You can read more about this topic on:

Blogger News Network and

Free Media Online Blog

Wojtyla’s Women also has information about Senator Biden’s position on abortion and his interpretation of what the Catholic Church teaches on this issue.

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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

Order on Amazon

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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New Liberal Image for Benedict XVI for His Trip to Australia; But Is It Accurate?

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

benedictxvi
Writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian religion editor Barney Zwartz has tried to create a new image for Pope Benedict XVI on the eve of his visit to Australia. According to Mr. Zwartz, Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, is a far more gentle and liberal figure than his immediate predecessor and former boss, Pope John Paul II. “There have been continuities,” Mr. Zwartz writes, “but in many ways he has been a stark contrast – more self-effacing, gentle and intellectual – to the previous Pope, for whom he was chief adviser and doctrinal watchdog.” According to Mr. Zwartz, since Benedict XVI took over the papacy from John Paul II, “there have been no heresy hunts, few confrontations, a much less visible presence and much less travel. His writings, including encyclicals on love and hope, have been optimistic. A profound and subtle theologian, he has sought to engage and to persuade, inside and outside the church.”

 

The masters of papal image making at the Vatican could not promote such comparisons openly, but Mr. Zwartz’s article does the job for them. Whether what he wrote has any element of truth to it is, however, debatable. After all, the “heresy hunts” under Pope John Paul II, to which Zwartz refers to in his article, were conducted by Cardinal Ratzinger.

 

While doing research for my book Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church, (O-Books, June 2008) I saw plenty of evidence that Cartidinal Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II saw eye to eye on nearly all the issues affecting women: such as abortion, birth control, and women priests. They were in total agreement on all principle points. If anything, Cardinal Ratzinger was the one advocating slightly less flexible positions on the role of women in the Church.

 

Benedict XVI has always been a great admirer of Pope John Paul II. As a former close advisor to John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger did not think conservative Polish upbringing and life under fascism and communism made the Polish Pope incapable of understanding Western cultures and Western women. He was convinced John Paul II had a unique ability to combine his vast experience, intellectual analysis, and faith to investigate with unprecedented human empathy “the nature of virginity, marriage, motherhood and fatherhood, the language of the body, and, thus, the essence of love.”

 

I found plenty of evidence of John Paul II’s deep faith, as well as many examples of his unprecedented human empathy on a personal level, but even Cardinal Ratzinger admitted that “when the Pope speaks, he does not speak in his own name.” His personal empathy may not extend to matters that affect the whole Church if he thinks his public statements might encourage unwanted behavior. Cardinal Ratzinger also defended John Paul II from criticism that, being a Pole, he only knew “the sentimental, traditional piety of his country and hence cannot completely understand the complicated issues of the Western world.” Ratzinger concluded that such a criticism is both “foolish” and “shows a complete ignorance of history.” He pointed out that Poland has always been at the intersection of various cultures: Germanic, Romance, Slavic, and Greco-Byzantine.

 

In 1988, Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) took action against American Catholic priest Father Matthew Fox who is a leading exponent of Creation Spirituality. In 1992, Father Fox was expelled from the Dominican Order and subsequently became an Episcopal priest. One of the reasons for the Vatican’s harsh treatment of Dr. Fox may have been his advocacy of equal treatment of women in the Catholic Church. Fox accused John Paul II of taking action against feminist philosophers, preventing girls from serving at the altar and denying priesthood to women. According to Dr. Fox, Cardinal Ratzinger called his work “dangerous and deviant.”

 

U.S. Catholic newspaper, The National Catholic Reporter, published a list of 24 prominent theologians and others who had been silenced or subjected to various forms of papal discipline under Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger. The list includes such names as: Fr. Hans Küng, Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, Fr. Charles Curran, Leonardo Boff, Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, Fr. Karl Rahner, Fr. Matthew Fox, a sister of Mercy Mary Agnes Mansour, the former archbishop of Seattle Raymond Hunthausen, Fr. Robert Nugent and Sr. Jeannine Gramick who ministered to homosexuals, a Brazilian Sister of Notre Dame Ivone Gebara and several others. While Mr. Zwartz makes a big deal of a recent meeting between Benedict XVI and Father Küng, when the Vatican took the initial action against Father Küng, Cardinal Ratzinger strongly supported and carried out John Paul II’s instructions.

 

Cardinal Ratzinger also shared John Paul II’s low opinion of American liberalism, and Western liberalism in general. In a 1984 interview, he 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.”

 

Ordinatio sacerdotalis, the 1994 Apostolic Letter on reserving priestly ordination to men alone, was one of many documents and statements from Pope John Paul II designed to counter radical feminist influences within the Church and to quiet demands for ordination of women-priests. In October 1995, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a letter signed by its then Prefect, Cardinal Ratzinger. In the letter, Cardinal Ratzinger amplified, explained and defended papal arguments against the ordination of women by stressing the constancy of the Church’s tradition and teachings on the subject from the very beginning of Christianity. Cardinal Ratzinger explained that while John Paul II did not invoke papal infallibility, his ban on the ordination of women should nevertheless be considered as infallible because it is based on the infallibility of the “ordinary magisterium” of all the bishops agreeing with a particular Church teaching. At the same time, Cardinal Ratzinger repeated the argument used by John Paul II that the denial of priesthood to women can only be properly understood in the context of what the Church teaches about “the equal personal dignity of men and women”—as exemplified by the role of Virgin Mary, who was not selected by Jesus to be an Apostle or a priest. In Cardinal Ratzinger’s words, “diversity of mission in no way compromises equality of personal dignity.” In an attempt to diffuse the claim of male domination within the Church, Cardinal Ratzinger also argued that the ministerial priesthood is “not a position of privilege or human power over others.”

 

Barney Zwartz describes Benedict XVI as “a profound and subtle theologian” who “has sought to engage and to persuade, inside and outside the church.” Catholic liberals and women demanding ordination to priesthood would have disagreed with this assessment. Cardinal Ratzinger had revoked the ordination of Ludmila Javorova, who had been ordained as priest by a Catholic bishop in communist Czechoslovakia to enable her to hear confessions and serve communion in prisons, to which males priests had no easy access. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, also asserted that it would be incorrect and even absurd to consider the ordination of women to the priesthood as one aspect of the liberation of women. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which through its members and Cardinal Ratzinger invariably reflected the views of the Pope, has implied among other things that allowing women to become priests could undermine the Church’s current position on the complementarity of the sexes and lead to the neutering of society.

 

In 1997, Dr. Jeannine Gramick, a Roman Catholic nun, and Fr. Robert Nugent, a Roman Catholic priest, co-founded New Ways Ministry, an organization providing ministry and support to gay and lesbian Catholics in the United States. In 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under the leadership of Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger disciplined both Gramick and Nugent and ordered them to stop writing and speaking out on issues of homosexuality. Gramick rejected the order and transferred from the School Sisters of Notre Dame to the Sisters of Loretto, which support her in her ministry on behalf of lesbian and gay people. After being silenced, Father Nugent remains a priest in good standing. In 2005, New Ways Ministry raised concerns about the election of Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy: “Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s record at the Vatican has been marked by decisions to end discussion on important questions and issues facing Catholics and the world. His hard-handed tactics of silencing theologians and using language that offends rather than heals have caused much alienation and anger….His record on lesbian/gay issues has been notoriously insensitive. Instead of listening to the voices of the laity, or even of other bishops, he has been the architect of documents and policies that reveal a tremendous lack of understanding of homosexuality and of the experiences of lesbian/gay people.” A conservative Catholic web site, OurLadyWarriors.org describes New Ways Ministry as “militant advocate of homosexuality which also demands ordination and ministry for homosexuals.”

 

In his 2004 Letter to the Bishops on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, Cardinal Ratzinger blamed radical feminism for overemphasizing the subordination of women and forcing them to seek power, although he did not specifically use the words “feminism” or “feminists” in the letter. This tendency, according to Cardinal Ratzinger, leads to competition between sexes with “lethal effects in the structure of the family.” He also blamed radical feminism for minimizing and obscuring the differences between the sexes. In Cardinal Ratzinger’s view, this kind of reasoning makes “homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent” and calls into question the role of “the family in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father.”15 The document was approved by Pope John Paul II.

 

There is strong resistance to radical feminism, homosexual marriages, legalized abortion, contraception and ordination of women-priests among conservative Catholics who applauded Cardinal Ratzinger’s election as pope. At the very beginning of his papacy, John Paul II also put his faith in this group of dedicated religious conservatives. At that time, he was strongly encouraged and supported by Cardinal Ratzinger. Australian religion editor Barney Zwartz’s article in The Sydney Morning Herald was an attempt to change Pope Benedict XVI’s image and make him look more liberal before his trip to Australia, but there is little historical and factual support for Mr. Zwartz’s arguments.

 

Wojtyla's Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic ChurchTed Lipien is a former director of the Polish Service of the Voice of America (VOA) and a journalist with more than 30 years of reporting and writing about politics, society, women’s issues, and the Catholic Church in Poland. His book, Wojtyla’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church, has been published in June 2008 by O-Books in the U.K. There is more information on his website: http://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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