Curtain Down on Pope and the Witch

...at least for tonight.

God has spoken, and in his justice, he has sent a terrible snowstorm which has decimated Iowa and Southern Minnesota, and now the Twin Cities, resulting in the cancellation of tonight's opening night.

Unfortunately, it's set to go on tomorrow. So be it.

This morning the Pioneer Press ran an article written by Paul Tosto with regard to this play which has so rightfully been condemned by Catholics and our leadership.

Cathy at Recovering Dissident has a great analysis of this article, and as I have no desire to be an echo chamber, I will direct you there for her great synopsis.

However, I do have a few statements of my own to share. (Big surprise!)

To quote:

The play's director says it's a political and social farce, not an attack on the faithful.

Written by Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo, the play includes a pro-abortion witch, revelations of evil in the Vatican hierarchy and a paranoid pope who is convinced that thousands of orphans massing in St. Peter's Square are part of a plot by birth-control supporters to embarrass the church.

The play is purposely outrageous but deals with "real things, real tangible issues," director Robert Rosen said. "Sometimes when you do that, take an extreme view of something, you can say, 'Gosh it made me look at that a certain way.' "

Rosen said the play isn't about the Vatican and disagreed with those who don't see the Vatican as a political body.



First of all, again, Dario Fo did not win a Nobel Prize for this play. The fact that this keeps coming up is a red herring to make it appear that he has credibility with regard to his barbs. He does not. He's a hack, and the play is a result of his hacking.

Rosen is dead wrong; the content of the play is about the Catholic Church's teachings, which have been consistent for the last two millenia. The fact that these issues have become politicized in the current day does not change the moral reality and graveness of abortion and contraception. The Church has ALWAYS had an obligation to speak out on moral issues; the current social view of abortion and contraception does not negate the immorality of the acts, or the immorality of the U of M's presentation of this play.

It is, in fact, not an attack on the Vatican, but a direct attack on the Catholic faithful who uphold these teachings, and what's more, UNDERSTAND them.

This is my FAVORITE part:

On Monday, P.Z. Myers, a University of Minnesota-Morris biologist who writes Pharyngula, an internationally known science blog, castigated people who are angry at the U for producing a "blasphemous" play.

"Blasphemy is highly educational, and I hope our university can do more of it, Myers wrote."We are not here to reassure you that "your ignorance and prejudices are alright, we're supposed to shake up our students."

I'm sorry, I have to say this. What a blithering fool, but I have to give him credit for hitting the nail on the head; this is how the larger society sees the teachings of the Church. Unfortunately, I don't think this poor man has any idea what he is saying. He's pretending at being enlightened, but in reality, he's ignorant and suggesting that the propagation of ignorance in U of M students is something to be admired.

He must be a product of the U of M himself. Speaks volumes, doesn't it.

Note that he's attacking moral teachings that he has not bothered to even attempt to understand, finding it more pleasurable to directly attack Catholics in a personal way. Note the use of direct object in his statement: "We are not here to reassure you that "your ignorance and prejudices are alright,.

Catholics are not ignorant and prejudiced; we are not the ones killing children in the womb who have been deemed "imperfect" by flawed medical testing. We are not the ones euthanizing people we find to be "inconvenient" in their disabilities. We are not the ones suggesting that women pump their bodies full of hormones which do nothing to correct medical conditions but rather, cause an entire host of medical problems, emergencies, and actual infertility. We are not suggesting that babies be concieved ala "The Matrix" and used in inhumane, immoral, and unpromising medical experiments.

If this guy and others like him would actually take some time to understand, first of all, what philosophy is, what it is meant to be, and the true meaning of tolerance and prejudice, they would understand the validity of the moral teachings of the Cathlic Church and they would be as outraged at this blatant attack as we are.

I congratulate Mr. Tosto on finding an actual anti-Catholic to display and speak for the ignorance of the U of M in full, truthful glory.