Ritualistic Priest. "There, my Child, observe that Example of Humility and Devotion. How sweet to change the Vanities of the World for a Lot so Humble!"
Fashionable Convert. "Oh, but that is not at all what I expected!--and wear such Awful Shoes? and--oh, really, on second thoughts, I shall stick to Fifth Avenue."
This unsigned Harper’s Weekly cartoon criticizes the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and women.
The primary message of this cartoon, as well as other sections of the newspaper issue in which it appears, is how the Roman Catholic Church mistreats its female members. The cartoon is based mainly on what the paper labels as the "Hull Convent Scandal," in which a young English nun, Sister Scholastica (nee Saurin), had become disillusioned with convent life and sued at the Queen’s Bench for her release. A related news story explains that Sister Scholastica is a sincere Catholic who supports the convent system, which she had entered full of idealistic visions of serving God. Instead of a life of religious devotion, though, the newspaper claims that she "was condemned to the most menial toil."
The article excerpts the young nun’s letter, vouching for its authenticity, in which Sister Scholastica complains to her superior about having to clean the convent floors on her knees with a worn-out brush (as does the sister in this cartoon). The reporter asserts that rarely is the evil of convent life, "its infinite pettiness, brought before the public as it has been by … [this] case." The article continues by discussing similar cases in Ireland and Belgium, where young women from well-to-do families entered nunneries only to become disenchanted and seek leave from resistant convent authorities. In conclusion, the journalist inquires, "In a free country can these cruelties be perpetrated beyond the control of the law?"
The maliciously deceptive contrast conveyed by the article’s title, "The Theory and Practice of Convent Life," is replicated in the corresponding, full-page illustration of the same issue, "Convent Life—The Romance" and "The Reality (As Shown in the Hull Convent Scandal)." The left side pictures a nun rapturously praying before an altar, while the right side depicts a nun in ragged clothing sweeping the floor of a tiny, cell-like bedroom (with bars on the window).
On the same page as the "Convent Life" article is a news item about papal views on women’s education. "The Pope appears to deplore the movement for the education of girls … The ignorance of women is still the strong-hold of the Papacy …" The message of the page is completed by a poem, "Convent Life," which asks why a young woman would give up friends, family, and happiness for "the shadow." Is it boredom with society balls and foolish, flirtatious men? The poem warns female readers that the convent is "a sell" (scam) and a "Papist trick" which lures young women to a "sad, sordid prison" where they will "kneel, and kiss the floor."
One of the March 20 editorials denies a priest’s prediction that the United States "will be Roman Catholicized by the end of the century …" Editor George William Curtis argues that the Roman Catholic Church will, instead, undergo radical change in this country and become Americanized, if it is to continue growing. As evidence, he cites a recent incident in Auburn, New York, where a Catholic congregation refused to hear a priest sent by the bishop to replace the parish’s current priest, and drove the new priest and the bishop away, threatening appeal to the pope. Curtis, a Unitarian, interprets their action as emblematic of a "spirit of independence, of inquiry, of self-reliance, of open defiance of the spiritual superior, [which] is very good Americanism; but it is very poor Roman Catholicism." In it, the editor perceives the same motivation as that of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. To the staff of Harper’s Weekly traditional Roman Catholicism was essentially un-American.
The editorial then addresses what is the second point of the cartoon: how a few frivolous, wealthy women convert to Catholicism because it has become popular among their high-society peers. After claiming that second- and third-generation immigrants are less beholden to the Catholic Church hierarchy, the editor asserts that "conversions are among the fashionable and sentimental classes of the cities," not among the majority of ordinary Americans. When the "Fashionable Convert" of this cartoon sees that the humble devotion of a Catholic woman translates into scrubbing floors on her knees, the debutante opts for Fifth Avenue.
The readers of Harper’s Weekly, like most Americans, would have been well prepared for revelations about the evils of convent life. While anti-Catholic sentiments were standard among Protestants, who were still the overwhelming majority in nineteenth-century America, there existed narratives which specifically condemned convent life as lurid, brutal, and degrading. Most of the tales were exaggerated or simply untrue, but they constituted a popular literary genre in nineteenth-century America. Maria Monk’s alleged account of her wretched life inside a nunnery in 1836, for example, sold 300,000 copies by 1860. She was later revealed to be a prostitute, and her story a hoax. Another narrative, Six Months In A Convent by Rebecca Reed, led to an anti-Catholic riot in 1832 and the burning of an Ursuline convent outside of Boston.
Pope Benedict XVI (2nd R) is greeted by Cardinal Maria Rouco Varela (2nd L), archbishop of Madrid, as he leads a Holy Mass with seminarians at the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena as part of the World Youth Day festivities in central Madrid August 20, 2011. REUTERS/Tony Gentile
By Sonya Dowsett and Judy MacInnes MADRID | Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:43am EDT
MADRID (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said Saturday Roman Catholic priests must live saintly lives and men should only enter the priesthood if they were convinced they could live by all the Church's rules, including celibacy.
On the third day of a visit that has been marked by protests, the pope celebrated Mass for some 4,500 seminarians training for the priesthood in Madrid's La Almudena cathedral.
"We have to be saints so as not to create a contradiction between the sign that we are and the reality that we wish to signify," he said in a sermon as part of activities of the Church's World Youth Day.
He said priests must understand their "decision to live in celibacy for the kingdom of heaven," adding that men should approach the priesthood only "if you are completely determined to exercise it in obedience to the Church's precepts."
The Catholic Church has been mired in scandal in recent years over disclosures that priests sexually abused children in many countries and that Church officials covered up the abuse.
On several of his trips Benedict has met abuse victims and apologized for priests' abuse, but victims' groups say he and the Vatican have not done enough to bring the guilty to justice.
The cost of the trip to the capital has angered some Spaniards struggling with recession and high unemployment. Heavy security has surrounded the pontiff, with roads cut off to traffic and thousands of police on the streets.
"The street belongs to everyone, not to one church ... I'm against the public cost of the Pope's visit," said Santiago Bonaire, a 54-year old engineer.
Demonstrations over the visit have resulted in clashes between police and protesters and there is now a large police presence in the center of Madrid.
"There have been protests in the center every night over the Pope's visit, with people chanting 'the Pope's a Nazi' and such like. But since Wednesday when pilgrims were met with angry protests and there were injuries, the police have been out in droves," said 60-year-old Englishman Richard Hunter who lives in city center.
"The center is now a mixture of prostitutes and police."
Benedict's trip has also reignited criticism by Los Indignados (The Indignants), a group whose mainly young members occupied Madrid's Puerta del Sol square in May to protest against high unemployment and government spending cuts.
Gay activists in Madrid plan to stage an anti-Pope protest to defend same sex partnerships later Saturday while Benedict attends a prayer vigil with thousands of young people from around 190 countries in an aerodrome outside Madrid.
In 2005, Spain became the third country in the world to legalize gay marriage, a move the Church opposed.
(Reporting by Judy MacInnes and Sonya Dowsett; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
Karen Kissane - Date August 9, 2012 - 7 reading now
Arrested ... Robert Hughes. Photo: Supplied
After a two-year investigation and a three-month global hunt by police, former TV star Robert ''Hey Dad!'' Hughes was last night behind bars in London, accused of molesting five girls more than 25 years ago.
His arrest prompted tears from one of Hughes's former co-stars on the hit show.
"I knew he was a dirty old man. I knew it, but I was paying the rent essentially, so there wasn't much you could do ... and it was always, 'Keep it hushed, because this is the most successful show on television"
She tweeted: ''I am literally crying with happiness right now.''
Police allege the charges relate to crimes against five girls between 1985 and 1990 in a number of northern Sydney suburbs.
In May this year, police applied for an arrest warrant on 11 alleged offences, including sexual and indecent assault.
But Hughes, who had been living in Singapore when the claims were first aired, could not be located.
Strike Force Ruskin police said detectives had ''conducted extensive inquiries internationally to locate the man'', eventually finding Hughes in London.
About 4pm Canberra time yesterday, officers from the London Metropolitan Police arrested Hughes in an upmarket area of central London.
He was taken to Belgravia Police Station and appeared in the dock of Westminster Magistrates Court.
He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth. His matter was adjourned to be heard later. Australian authorities would apply for the man's extradition to NSW, with investigators from Strike Force Ruskin planning to travel to Britain to secure his return to Sydney.
The strike force was set up after the actress alleged Hughes touched her inappropriately while on the set of the show, which aired on Channel Seven from 1987 to 1994.
Robert Hughes' Daughter Jessica Comes to His Defence
Updated 16/03/2011 - 10:08 AM · Posted 15/03/2011 - 02:25 PM by
PopSugar Australia · 3 comments [multi links if interested, hope no one is]
On Sunday night, Channel Nine screened a special episode of A Current Affair in which Melinda O’Donnell, niece of former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes, came out and accused her uncle of molesting her multiple times before the age of ten. This follows on from when his Hey Dad! child co-star Sarah Monahan made the same allegations against him in March last year. Melinda also gave an interview to Today Tonight which aired last night, where she made the allegations again. (She says he “grabbed me, tickled me and touched me inappropriately.”)
Now Robert’s daughter, Jessica, has released a statement defending her father. She said, “I am appalled and outraged about claims made on national television regarding my father and my childhood. To imply I have ever been involved in, or was aware of, these sordid allegations is offensive and completely untrue.” Jessica also believes that the media have been using her father for the sake of ratings, and thinks money is the reason Melinda is only speaking out now. Robert now lives in Singapore. NSW police are still in the middle of their investigation.
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