Vatican: Director of the Office of Women’s Issues – Feminist Appointed
Marta Rodriguez got a new job in May of 2017, perhaps a job she never expected to have, in a place she never expected to work.
Marta, a consecrated women in Regnum Christi, is the new (actually, the first) director of the office of women’s issues in the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. It is a new dicastery, created by Pope Francis in 2016, and its prefect is Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
And all Marta has to do is help the Church understand women and their appropriate contribution to the world, what it means to be a woman in the world today, and where women are going in the future…
“This assignment indicates a call from the Church, which for me is a call from God,” Marta said. “I feel very small for this mission, but I sense an interior certainty that God has prepared my heart for this new service he has called me to. Since 2000, I’ve worked continually on women’s issues, both in studies and in action on various projects, one of the most important of which was to help in the founding of the Institute for Higher Women’s Studies in 2003. This institute was born in order to promote the feminine genius, which John Paul II asked for.
“I believe that one of the great challenges for modern women is to discover what it means to be a woman. Once a woman discovers who she is, she ends up discovering the feminine richness; she can contribute to the cultural world and the ecclesial world with much more dedication, much more bravery, much more freedom.”
Click here to read entire interview…
Comment:
Is this another example of the Church being led by the world? What is meant by “women’s issues”? Notice the mention of women contributing to the “cultural” and “ecclesial” world – what about the “home”?
Comments (42)
Do you really think that women have been neglected by the Church?
The Authorities of the Church follow the decadent, “ideologically correct” movement of civil society, which is essentially secular…
Lionel,
No, I don’t believe that women have been neglected by the Church. This entire women’s movement is divisive to the point of being diabolical.
The problem wasn’t the neglect of women, it was the lack of priestly zeal.
For some time now, the error of clericalism has infected the Church, whereby priests have (incredibly) discouraged the laity (both men and women) from exercising our baptismal and confirmation duty to work as lay apostles in the world; I remember being particularly amazed at the way priests in our parish discouraged the Legion of Mary, despite it being centred on the priest with the lay members as “extensions” of the priest. Going out into the parish, seeking new members and in doing so, often encountering the lapsed and non-Catholics. All sorts of good things came from that, and yet the clergy too often discouraged such work, mistakenly thinking it was their sole domain and the laity should pay, pray and obey (and – as an added bonus – shut up!)
That is how the feminists got a foothold. They saw and seized their chance, mistaking the lack of priestly zeal for a power-mentality and wishing to take that power to themselves. In every heresy, remember, there is a grain of truth.
That is why I was not surprised when, at a meeting in my then parish down south, featuring a leading feminist from the Bishops Conference of England & Wales, the speaker began her talk by revealing that she had been a member of the Legion of Mary in her youth. “All is explained”, I thought, sadly.
I knew then what was coming. Priests had discouraged her group, she’d been frustrated and now, voila! She and her fellow feminists (so to speak!) were effectively the puppeteers exercising undue influence over the Bishops – or running the show, to put it in simple parlance.
Now, having failed in their duty to encourage the basic apostolic duty of the faithful to spread the Faith, whether individually or in lay associations,, the Church authorities are, as you say, following the secular ideology of the daft feminist movement. Irony of ironies.
I am a man and I know what a Woman is . I watched my Mother raise 5 of us and she wasn’t the only one in our Street . When on the rarest of occasions I put the TV news on and there is some spokesperson on some issue it’s nearly always a Woman talking Garbage instead of the man . What I pray is the Religious Connection to this Woman’s Appointment apparently absolutely none except of course expect a special collection to be thought up something along the lines of Woman’s Day which could coincide nicely with Mothering Sunday so watch because I for one will not be contributing to this . The perfect role Model we have of course is Our Blessed Lady . No one need look any further than her for a real female role . This Wummin should be at home making her man and her kids Dinner . And you are 100 % correct ED how have Women been neglected by the Catholic Church. We know in this day and age where the biggest Persecution for Women in the World comes from and it certainly isn’t Catholicism.
FOOF, It is indeed true that Our Lady is the true role model; women don’t have to steal male roles in order to fulfil God’s plan and to have true dignity.
But we ought to be careful not to caricature the Church’s tradition on women by confining them to the kitchen. Cooking meals for the family is indeed a noble task, but it’s not the only way of being a saintly woman. Many saintly queens tended the poor, others, being celibate, studied, sang or superintended monasteries and estates. Many a married lady, canonised or praised by the church, would have had servants to cook while she superintended the household or tended to the needs of the wider community. One famous Catholic saint even wrote letters to the Pope and was the centre of a religious circle. I would imagine she did not have much time for cooking!
Marta does not have a husband or children, so it’s entirely legitimate, and not a sign of feminism, that she undertake a full time apostolate, which need not necessarily involve cooking!
The bloggers here are just interested in the KIND of apostolate being promoted, which seems, on the surface of it, to be a windy-worded piece of uselessness. Had the lady been going on the foreign missions, though, or serving the Church by study, prayer, or other service, none of us would have objected.
I’m afraid the “woman belongs only to the kitchen” argument rather strengthens the arguments of the feminists than otherwise.
Mary,
As far as I could see from the report about Marta’s appointment, she is keen to promote the secular view of women, which is decidedly to keep them OUT of the kitchen and away from raising her children. That way, the State can raise them, brainwashing them into accepting LGBT rights, contraception, abortion, etc. THAT is the problem.
Of course there are single women like Marta – I’m one myself, although the chances of me being given a Vatican post is about the same as any airline you care to name putting me behind the wheel of a Jumbo Jet. I know. I’ve offered to fly the Pope to any of his future destinations. Won’t happen 😀
The issue is not really about whether women can or should be out in the workplace pushing bits of paper around an office while strangers imbue their children with “British values” in the name of “child care”, but whether mothers should be encouraged to stay at home to make a home for their families and take responsibility for their Catholic education.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the report about this new appointment which makes me think positively about it. The clue is there is Marta’s comment about “feminine richness” being found “in [her contribution] to the cultural world and the ecclesial world with much more dedication, much more bravery, much more freedom.”
In short, women need to discover that they can hold power in the secular world and in the Church. Same old, same old.
Real Catholic women, sometimes surviving on a very small budget, who stay at home to care for children and even home-school them to protect their faith and morals, don’t get a mention. Shameful.
Mary, to save you postage, why not email the link to this thread to Marta – her response would be revealing.
Dear Editor, I wish I had her email …. or any way of contacting her!
Lionel,
The glorious titles bestowed on Our Lady by the Church, gives the lie to this claim about the Church neglecting women.
Women have always been esteemed in the Church, even in the middle ages when the secular world did not treat women that well, the Church had women running religious communities, being in charge of them, independent of rule by men, such as bishops. Once they had permission to set up a convent, they were left to make their own living and run their own affairs.
Women have never been so badly treated by society, IMHO, when you look at the amount of sexual abuse and threats they claim to have received over social media. The Church’s record is much better, so I am disappointed that the Pope felt the need to set up this new department. It plays into the hands of the Church’s enemies who accuse her of not valuing women.
These feminist activists are going to wreak havoc, believe me!…
Lionel,
I do believe you! Honest!
Lionel the so called Feminist Activists are already causing Havoc now Francis has opened the door for more Chaos within Our Church. I just wonder how long it will be before Marta brings up the real Worldly Feminist which of course no one need tell us what they are . Also why does the Catholic Church need such a role as Director of Woman’s Issues. God Forgive me but maybe Francis will bring in Jim Martin to be head of Male Issues. Sorry for going a bit off topic there ED but what new Department will this man be setting up next .
It will be interesting to see what comes from the Dicastery. On the plus side, Marta is dressed femininely and modestly, and her words are without a trace of feminist rebellion ; on the negative side, the Regnum Christi (lay branch of Legionaries of Christ) have a double dose of the “New Springtime”illusion going on. That’s what I read in her speech.
I’m interested because I used to know a group of Regnum Christi women before I was traditional. They were good, pious, devoted women but as an incipient Trad (as I was then) questioning the reason for the rot in the Church, they never had any answers. Their “Kids for Jesus” catechism club put me right off the group- at one stage we were doing a baseball cheer in honour of the Trinity. That’s right, you read it correctly!
So, I’d expect lots of cheerleading for Vatican 2, lots of genuine piety and mentions of Pope John Paul II….and sadly no progress on the real problems facing real women. Like Catholic priests for their souls and Catholic schools for their kids.
But it’s not Marta’s fault, bless her.
Mary J Murphy,
Exactly! and the “New Springtime” illusion going on – More like a “Nuclear Winter” following on from Vatican II, New liturgy etc.
Mary J
I would hardly think wearing a man’s jacket is dressing femininely and modestly.
Are you sure you don’t mean feministly?
Frankier,
I think, to be fair to the girl, she’s not setting out to be a feminist at all. I think she is blinded by the sun of the “new Springtime”. If you look closely, she has pretty earrings and a nice top.
The issue is with the clergy who are not doing their job. Marta is probably a total victim of a poor catechesis.
Mary,
Well, it WILL be Marta’s fault if she becomes complicit in the tolerating and thus spreading of the rot. Unless she lacks average intelligence, she will be held accountable for NOT knowing the (dire) state of the Church right now.
We each have a duty to keep ourselves educated in the Faith and our Confirmation duty to be Soldiers of Christ means we must fight to defend it when it is under attack.
Unless Marta gets herself on to the right side of this battle, she definitely WILL be at fault, even if her ignorance is some excuse at present.
I suggest you send her the link to this thread and let her see that we’re not all “feminists”, and we don’t all welcome this appointment. Far from it. It’s just one more piece of evidence that the Church is in crisis. Does she really want that on her CV at her judgment?
Dear Editor, I have no contact with this lady or her group; they are total strangers to me. You are right that we all have a duty to keep up with the learning of our faith. God will demand an account of all of us of the graces we have received, that’s true. Reading this interview, my conviction is she’s in ignorance, As someone who found her way to Tradition, by the grace of God, though, I know it’s not that simple for people to find their way. God will only hold her accountable for what she could have done; and, in all seriousness, if the highest levels in the hierarchy are astray, is it a surprise that laywomen are?
Actually I think I’ll write to this Dicastery and detail all my experiences as a Catholic woman trying to live out her lay vocation, and being stymied at every turn. I’m not bitter about it- honestly, 😀. I know God’s Providence uses all things to make us holy, so He has helped me beyond anything I deserved. But, seriously, let’s get real here. Women’s issues? Ok. Firstly, their right to live, so can all bishops remind Catholics that aborting babies is a mortal sin? Second issue, their strict right in justice after Baptism to a thorough catechesis.
Mary J Murphy,
Yes, plus the key issue of encouraging mothers to stay at home to raise their children. It’s become impossible for many, if not most, mothers to do so, due to the fact that home-buyers require two salaries these days, so women are forced into the workplace, and have to hand their children over to “child-carers” until they return home from the office by which time they’re too tired to do much about family life and so the cycle continues.
To encourage real family life, the Church authorities ought to be speaking out about such matters and if they want to follow the world by focusing on “women’s issues”, let them be real issues, as you say, and not just femufactored* issues such as how to get more women into “power positions” in the Church and world.
*”fem-u-factored” – get it? Opposite of “man-u-factured”… Get it now? I made that up my very own little self. Clever Clogs they call me….
Femufactured…😆. I love it. Quite right about the “childcare”,Editor. Did you know our Irish Constitution had (presumably still has) a clause that women should never, by reason of economic necessity, be forced to work outside the home (can’t remember if it was just married women or even all women, but it doesn’t really matter- it’s a dead letter now. It’s a real struggle and even an impossibility for many women to stay at home raising their children.
Mary,
What you describe is exactly what is happening everywhere – the State taking over the parenting role, quite deliberately in order to kill off whatever is left of Catholic faith and morals. It’s just a pity that Pope Francis is one of their major helpers in the process. From “don’t obsess about abortion” to “don’t breed like rabbits” to appointing a feminist for mysterious “women’s issues”, he is a secularist to his finger-tips. Why on earth every alleged concerned bishop in the world isn’t lining up to confront him next time he steps off a plane, beats me.
Ed
I remember a young priest once saying that a mortgage was the best form of contraception. That was before abortion took over that position.
I don’t believe you made that up on your own . Have you a direct Line to Justin Trudeau.📲
FOOF,
Not Justin Trudeau, but I do have a direct line to Justin Thyme 😀
Ladies, are you up for it? Shall we let Marta know what’s really going on in the world of Catholic women? I vote we each send her a veritable epistle telling her our priorities and issues!
Mary,
Yes, I’m up for it. If you can supply a postal address (or, better still, an email address for Marta, I’ll let my fingers do the talking, so to speak…)*
*that’s me turning around the old advertisement for Yellow Pages – do you remember? “Let your fingers do the walking…” So “let my fingers do the talking” is my very own variation on that. Clever clogs they call me, did I mention that? 😀
Vatican: Director of the Office of Women’s Issues – Feminist Appointed
Ah Splendid. Say it with flowers – give her a Triffid
Gerontius,
Well, a Triffid’s a bit cruel; I say, if she’s like most women, chocolate will win her round…
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/6d/a9/8a6da90a3ec35785d9953183963f6b43.jpg
IMHO it would be a total waste of time writing to this feminist. She’s pushing the feminist agenda and that doesn’t include promoting Catholic family life, that’s for sure. The Vatican is obviously on the side of the career mothers, not the home-building mothers – otherwise they would know that “women’s issues” is a euphemism for promotion contraception, abortion etc.
This is a shocking appointment, revealing the worldliness of the Vatican and the Pope yet again. There seems to be no end to it.
Possibly it would be a waste of time, but who knows? I’m going to do it, anyway. I’m determined to have some real voices say something.
Brethren, I give you Marta Cardinal Rodríguez … Just you watch.
Sarto
Then Pope Frances? Would she be the first or second?
I notice this new “Dicastery” created by no less than Pope Francis is headed by Cardinal Kevin Farrell who states ” Amoris Laetitia is ‘the Holy Spirit speaking”
https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/new-cardinal-farrell-amoris-laetitia-holy-spirit-speaking
In this article he speaks about the need to need “to accompany people in difficult circumstances — the priest, the pastor needs to accompany people in difficult situations.” (usual double-speaking woolly language).
This new post was set up with a end goal to further destroy/change anything left standing of the church. We know for two thousand years we did not need “women to know who they are” as Margaret Mary rightly points out there is nothing about home-building or catechising their children as our Teachers and priests have failed to do in their role.
Poor children of this generation as Our Lady of Good Success speaks about.
https://onepeterfive.com/400-years-ago-our-lady-sent-us-a-message-from-ecuador/
Chloe,
Cardinal Kevin Farrell
I have little time for Cardinal Farrell, who is a “suck up” to Pope Francis, as you highlight.
However, he did manage to get something right in banning former Irish president Mary McAleese (and 2 others) from addressing a event called “Why Women matter” which is to take place on International Women’s day in March.
The event is part of the 2018 “Voices of Faith” conference, which seems to be a feminist vehicle of executive director Chantal Goetz. She manages the Fidel Goetz Foundation, where her bio notes that she has a “small family”. (Why would she not just say “family”?).
It is the first time the Vatican has objected to any speakers at the annual conference.
McAleese is one of those arrogant people who expects the truth to accommodate her own circumstances and opinions. Her son is a homosexual and she supports women’s ordination – hence why she was banned.
Dublin-born Farrell would not change his mind, despite various complaints.
And so the Conference has taken the huff and moved from the Vatican to, yes, a Jesuit venue in Rome.
Gabriel
She has a ” small family”. So had Snow White and yet she had seven.
Maybe Chantal is the same.
Chloe,
I came across a letter last year from one of Cdl. Farrell’s former parishioners (in Texas, I believe), who was trying to bring an abuse situation to his attention and get it addressed. Needless to say, she got the run around, and as a result, stated that he was a “snake.”
It’s depressing that the Vatican is caught up in this feminist madness. I’ve been reading this report about a school in the USA which has cancelled a father/daughter dance because of gender policies.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/26827/nyc-school-cancels-father-daughter-dance-over-paul-bois
The world has gone mad and instead of helping, the Church is going the same way.
Joyeuse fête, Joséphine!
“I believe that one of the great challenges for modern women is to discover what it means to be a woman. Once a woman discovers who she is, she ends up discovering the feminine richness; she can contribute to the cultural world and the ecclesial world with much more dedication, much more bravery, much more freedom.”
I had no idea that modern women have lost the God-given knowledge of what it means to be a woman and now have to search to find meaning in their lives. What a tragic revelation! Or is it just that Marta Rodriguez is another cultural Marxist disguised as a Catholic? I think the latter is much more likely.
Yet another indicator that Pope Francis has very powerful Communist leanings and very little time for Traditional Catholic moral teaching and family life. Never thought I’d be saying that about a Successor of St. Peter. Frightening!
Athanasius,
I missed that quote, good catch! I’m tempted to observe, somewhat cynically, that this could be the real reason for all this transgender insanity: women don’t know what it means to be a woman, and men don’t know what it means to be a man!
RCA Victor
I think it more likely that men and women of this ilk know exactly who and what they are, but have been convinced by modern (atheistic) psychology that they must despise this instinctive knowledge together with any notion of God or nature that prevents them from living out their illicit fantasies. In other words, to paraphrase St. Paul, they exchange the truth for a lie in order “to work that which is filthy”.
One thing that these Modern Women can now talk is absolute Garbage. Sorry for going off Topic again ED . Nancy Pelosi spoke for over 8 Hours the other day. God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason which obviously she doesn’t Understand. Going back to the Challenges this Woman faces as a Woman discovering that she’s a Woman just outlines all of this Garbage Leftist Talk . Now am no Brain Surgeon but no Dummy either ( Honest Ed ) but I worked in Engineering Maintenance for years until one day they decided to take away all of the Machinery of course without anything to maintain it was obvious I was going to be made redundant. Here is a Woman in a hypothetical situation who has been employed in a Job where there is even no Machinery but al bet she has more than a few Helpers before the years out doing what she’s doing absolutely Nothing. Have to tell u a joke on that and it’s clean .
This Guy got a Fatctory Job as an Engineer by his Brother who was Factory Floor Boss . Now he wasn’t an Engineer and his Brother said you’ll be on £500 a week . But what if someone finds out am not really an Engineer . O don’t let that bother you . Just walk around the Factory with a Spanner and Kiddon that your tightening bolts . 2 weeks later he goes to his Brother and says al have to leave the Job . Why said his Brother if it’s more money you want al get you more . No it’s not that he said av been found out . What do you mean said the Boss his Brother. Well for the last 4 days there’s been a guy following me about so I gues they’ve found out am not an Engineer. O don’t let that Bother you said Factory Boss . I forgot to tell you . That’s your Assistant. 🔧
Marta Rodriguez is obviously a typical feminist, adding on the “Catholic” bit, just by mentioning the Church. Women need to rediscover themselves so they can see that they can have power in the Church as well as the world, is what she is basically saying. I didn’t see anything to make me think this will help Catholic women at all, except the power-hungry feminists, and who needs them?!
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