Two Catholic Churches – I’m Staying With One

Last updated on: October 11, 2018 at 11:03 am By guest writer

by guest contributor H. Lillian Vogl I’ve been noticing lately that there are two deeply different belief systems found among people who call themselves “practicing Catholic.” I’m going to avoid typical labels with all their baggage and call the two groups “Open Catholics” and “Roman Exclusionists.” (At first I thought to use the term “exclusionary Catholics,” but that would be far too oxymoronic, given that “catholic” means universal.) There isn’t a single litmus test of belief, practice, or state of... Read more

What Does Wonder Know? The 2018 Festival of Friendship

Last updated on: October 10, 2018 at 10:07 pm By guest writer

This was my third year of being involved in Revolution of Tenderness’s cultural event, the Festival of Friendship, which has now found its home in Pittsburgh PA (aka, the Rust Belt Paris). Last year I organized a mini literary conference in conjunction with the Festival, and this year I was there representing our literary journal Convivium, doing a free informal workshop, and best of all listening to the concerts and panel discussions. There’s a lot to love about this event,... Read more

“But He’s A Good Person!”

Last updated on: October 6, 2018 at 3:36 pm By Guest Contributor

That is how most sexual predators are able to go undetected for decades. If someone treats you well, you are less likely to think he or she is capable of harming another human being. Read more

What Is The Dispute Over Kavanaugh And His Accusers Really About?

Last updated on: September 27, 2018 at 12:06 am By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

The idea that the dispute is about abortion is undercut both by the fact that Kavanaugh is not really pro-life - and by the fact that abortion isn't really what's being discussed. Read more

Victims Can’t Always Speak Out – And This Can Compound Trauma

Last updated on: September 23, 2018 at 9:54 pm By Guest Contributor

It is necessary for the Church and other religious institutions, as well as our legal systems, cultures and communities, to make it safe for victims to speak out and find the help we need in a timely fashion. Read more

Bad Ethics, Bad Logic, and Sexual Assault Apologetics

Last updated on: September 22, 2018 at 11:51 am By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Approaching sexual ethics this way is profoundly de-personalizing. It takes away agency and responsibility from males, reduces women to sexual objects (except for when it magically becomes a woman's fault for being drunk or scantily clad, of course), and removes sexuality from the sphere of personal action, choice, consent, and mutuality into the realm of instinct. Read more

Off My Knees: A Victim Remembers

Last updated on: September 18, 2018 at 11:38 pm By Guest Contributor

My response? “Well, at least he was on only one knee.” From that position, he could leap up and run, if he needed to. Read more

It’s Not Puritanical To Object To Sexual Assault

Last updated on: September 17, 2018 at 12:28 am By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

It’s not puritanical for us to stick by the single sine qua non for a sex act to be considered morally acceptable in a society that values personal dignity. Read more

How Do You Respond When The Perpetrator Is One Of Your Own?

Last updated on: September 13, 2018 at 11:49 pm By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

No matter how hard it is for us to accept that the men we viewed as heroes were in fact guilty of terrible and disgusting acts, it will never be as hard for us to live with the readjustment of our beliefs as it has been for victims to suffer in silence Read more

Abuse, Clericalism, and the Culture Of Obedience

Last updated on: September 10, 2018 at 11:48 pm By Rebecca Bratten Weiss

Obedience to God is one thing. But how do we know when it’s God? Why should we believe those who say “I speak for God” - when they compel our assent with threats, standing between us and the sacraments we have been taught that we need, for salvation? Read more