Thursday, September 21, 2017

Call me a Troublemaker

I was raised by an Italian American attorney from New York City, so I am a fighter. That is, I can make a case. From my childhood when staying up for another hour meant giving Dad three good reasons to arguing that Mao's murderous purge of the Chinese people was an atrocity to my communist ninth grade teacher, I had to fight for my beliefs. 
Add forty years in the pro-life movement and you have me, two out of three daughters successfully launched from home education into a wonderful Catholic university. I thought my job was done, and I could rest on my laurels. I should have known better. God still has discussions yet to have. In love, the way we win over mothers heading for abortions at our pregnancy center. We have to win hearts while relentlessly insisting on God's truth. 
This is not just an argumentative nature, its a mission. I made so many mistakes in my youth, after being misled by Catholic school teachers, I vowed to help change the Catholic culture to turn our confused faithful towards God's truth. After all, I had found my way back into the fold. As St Francis said, "I have been all things unholy, if God can work through me, He can work through anyone."
Imagine my dismay when I learned that my daughters' wonderful Catholic university just fired a professor who after 11 years was outed for mocking purity and the pro-life movement. 
I was inclined to ignore it and move on, happy she was no longer there to corrupt young minds with her sneering at tradtional morality, but then I grew concenced that it took nearly a dozen years to realize that a woman who does not hide her disdain for Catholic morality on social media or in public appearances, was an anomaly in a passionattely Catholic university. 
So I asked the administration and got the boilterplate, cut and past answer, they are giving all the angry parents. 
Then I entered into the fray on facebook and faced an unexpected barrage of incensed academics who called me names (my favorite is pearl clutcher!)Woudl that I had pearls to clutch, I just hold on to my mom's Miraculous medal when things get rough as they did today!
The ugliness only spurred me on. I want to make the point over and over that Catholic education if it doesn't get us to heaven is worse than useless, it is dangerous. They are still calling me and those who agree with me names long into the night. 
See the discussion here. 
Catholics founded the university system while monks copied Plato and Aritotle, so calling traditional Catholics afraid of discussing ideas we do not agree with is futile. I simply want it to be a fair fight. No name calling (I think I refrained from that, if not, please forgive me). No rank pulling, no I'm not a PhD but I did do 60 graduate credits and ended up teaching adjunct at a college for nine years. 
So lets continue the discussion but first tell me why two of the world's most prominent academics, St John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI were not afraid to defend Catholic morality and declare the Splendor of Truth. 
'They who, by a generous effort, make up their minds to obey, acquire great merit; for obedience by its sacrifices resembles martyrdom.'--St. Ignatius of Loyola~