There there dear...

Cardinal Says New Feminism Must Include God

Underlines Creator's Plan for Human Nature

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Christian women must lead in the discovery and promotion of a new feminism that underlines God's plan for human persons, said the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace president.

Ah yes, the "new feminism". A beloved concept for many in the primary leadership of the Church. The idea, so I am told, is that we must "Christianise" feminism, so that it might ... well, what I don't quite know. I suspect, however, that whatever is said of this dubious project, it is not being undertaken for the motives stated, whatever they may be.

It is to all appearances a belated effort to win back, largely by appeasement, the philosophical and sociological ground lost to the feminist movement. Yet another effort, in other words, to rehabilitate a movement that is at its foundation wholly opposed in all principles to goodness, truth, justice, mercy, and the teaching of the Church. Not to mention biology. Instead we expend our efforts making nice with our enemies out of the usual modernist terror of acknowledging that there can possibly be such a thing as enmity, opposition. We must, you see, all be friends, at any cost. No one dares to say out loud, "feminists are wrong and they have nearly destroyed Western Civilisation in their childish and peculiarly feminine selfishness."

It is the same impulse that is attempting to "Christianise" bioethics. We had something before "bioethics" was invented. It served the medical world well for more than two thousand years. It was called "medical ethics" and was based on the idea "do no harm" from the Hippocratic Oath that "modern" (in other words utilitarian) bioethics utterly rejects and ridicules. But instead of simply offering the Christian/Classical medical ethics as an alternative, and fighting for its supremacy in the medical world, we are running expensive programmes in Roman universities teaching the next generation of neo-Catholics to "dialogue" and find a synthesis.

Instead of a forthright acknowledgement that this new thing that has replaced the Christian viewpoint is flatly opposed to it, and a concerted attempt at presenting and defending the Christian viewpoint as superior, we have this continued kowtowing in every area of life. Always instead of defending Christendom, we have the bowing and scraping, the wheedling apologies to the accusations of the other side ... "Oh yes, of course we must acknowledge that women had much to complain of ... it is natural that they would have wanted to improve their sad lot ... the feminist movement has much to recommend it ..."

Stockholm Syndrome.