The Vatican is probably the oldest and biggest men’s club in the world.  The problem started in Genesis but got much, much worse with Augustine – after he had had his fill.  To an outsider, the refusal of the church to allow equal standing to half of its adherents or humanity is a prime driver of its decline to the status of a relic.

A piece in the press recently told of the disappointment of women to a decision adverse to them being taken by a plenary council in the church.  A lot of delegates left the meeting in a silent protest.  Many were obviously distressed.  How would you be if those in control of your church said because of your sex, you were not equal in the eyes of God?

Greg Craven, a former vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, said this was ‘a carefully managed political exercise.’  A spokesman for the ladies appeared to think this was a rebuke.

Why?  This was an intensely ‘political event’.  There were different views about how people should deal with each other in a community.  Doubtless people collected in groups according to their opinions.  They took sides – and saw what we call factions.  That is what politics are all about.  Nothing comes out of the Vatican that is not the result of a ‘carefully managed political exercise.’  We see too much of this.  People being put down by a label.

Speaking of which – what does the word ‘Catholic’ add to ‘University’?  What does a Catholic university do or offer to do that other universities don’t?  More importantly, what sane person would want to study medicine or law in a university where the teaching is influenced by the teaching of the religion of those running the faculty?

Finally, Greg Craven was wont to call himself a lawyer.  There is a big difference between one who practises in a profession and one who teaches those who wish to enter it.

Passing Bull 321 – The Craven Men’s Club

The Vatican is probably the oldest and biggest men’s club in the world.  The problem started in Genesis but got much, much worse with Augustine – after he had had his fill.  To an outsider, the refusal of the church to allow equal standing to half of its adherents or humanity is a prime driver of its decline to the status of a relic.

A piece in the press recently told of the disappointment of women to a decision adverse to them being taken by a plenary council in the church.  A lot of delegates left the meeting in a silent protest.  Many were obviously distressed.  How would you be if those in control of your church said because of your sex, you were not equal in the eyes of God?

Greg Craven, a former vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, said this was ‘a carefully managed political exercise.’  A spokesman for the ladies appeared to think this was a rebuke.

Why?  This was an intensely ‘political event’.  There were different views about how people should deal with each other in a community.  Doubtless people collected in groups according to their opinions.  They took sides – and saw what we call factions.  That is what politics are all about.  Nothing comes out of the Vatican that is not the result of a ‘carefully managed political exercise.’  We see too much of this.  People being put down by a label.

Speaking of which – what does the word ‘Catholic’ add to ‘University’?  What does a Catholic university do or offer to do that other universities don’t?  More importantly, what sane person would want to study medicine or law in a university where the teaching is influenced by the teaching of the religion of those running the faculty?

Finally, Greg Craven was wont to call himself a lawyer.  There is a big difference between one who practises in a profession and one who teaches those who wish to enter it.

Politics – Vatican – Gender – Greg Craven