Friday, February 04, 2011

Blaming the victim - a long Catholic history...



That miserable woman...
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It's all about Eve really, isn't it.  Even Teresa of Avila suggested as much:
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9. I began, then, by going to confession to that priest of whom I spoke before. He took an extreme liking to me, because I had then but little to confess in comparison with what I had afterwards; and I had never much to say since I became a nun. There was no harm in the liking he had for me, but it ceased to be good, because it was in excess. He clearly understood that I was determined on no account whatever to do anything whereby God might be seriously offended. He, too, gave me a like assurance about himself, and accordingly our conferences were many. But at that time, through the knowledge and fear of God which filled my soul, what gave me most pleasure in all my conversations with others was to speak of God; and, as I was so young, this made him ashamed; and then, out of that great goodwill he bore me, he began to tell me of his wretched state. It was very sad, for he had been nearly seven years in a most perilous condition, because of his affection for, and conversation with, a woman of that place; and yet he used to say Mass.
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The matter was so public, that his honour and good name were lost, and no one ventured to speak to him about it. I was extremely sorry for him, because I liked him much. I was then so imprudent and so blind as to think it a virtue to be grateful and loyal to one who liked me. Cursed be that loyalty which reaches so far as to go against the law of God. It is a madness common in the world, and it makes me mad to see it. We are indebted to God for all the good that men do to us, and yet we hold it to be an act of virtue not to break a friendship of this kind, though it lead us to go against Him. Oh, blindness of the world! Let me, O Lord, be most ungrateful to the world; never at all unto Thee. But I have been altogether otherwise through my sins.
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10. I procured further information about the matter from members of his household; I learned more of his ruinous state, and saw that the poor man's fault was not so grave, because the miserable woman had had recourse to enchantments, by giving him a little image made of copper, which she had begged him to wear for love of her around his neck; and this no one had influence enough to persuade him to throw away.
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As to this matter of enchantments, I do not believe it to be altogether true; but I will relate what I saw, by way of warning to men to be on their guard against women who will do things of this kind. And let them be assured of this, that women—for they are more bound to purity than men—if once they have lost all shame before God, are in nothing whatever to be trusted; and that in exchange for the gratification of their will, and of that affection which the devil suggests, they will hesitate at nothing. - Teresa of Jesus, Life, Chapter 5
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"The devil made me do it."
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St. Teresa was successful in getting the priest to stop wearing the amulet, and after surrending it to la Madre,  he soon quit the affair and returned to a devout life.  The priest died a holy death about a year later.  We do not know what happened to the 'miserable woman' - the slut who seduced the poor priest, evidently no one cared either, not even Teresa of Jesus. 
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Women!  As my mother always said, "Women are no damn good."
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Well.  Now you know.

19 comments:

  1. "women are more bound to purity than men..."

    Oh dear, I hope you know exactly what kind of comments you opened this one up to. Of course you do :). I don't think I'm gonna check this box again ...

    What is it you always say - "can women ever make it to heaven?" I know it's sarcastic, but so many believe it. "The woman made me do it" - as old as Adam. Muhammad even built a system of morality around it. Of course, lest we forget the Jews ...

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  2. Are women always victims? Some women target priests because they are untouchable and a challenge. That doesn't excuse the failure of the priest, but it takes two to commit sexual sins.

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  3. Billy Graham made it a practice to never be completely alone with any woman but his wife and kin. It's a good idea. Some women lie. Some are sick in the head. Others get a kick out of flirting with a man who can't or shouldn't take them up on the offer. Don't think women are always the victims. In certain situations the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

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  4. And sometimes it is not predatory, like a woman going after what she cannot have, fully cognizant of her wrong-doing.

    Sometimes, it is a bruised soul, to whom goodness and a sympathetic ear are attractive. The priest, the minister, the neighbor who is a good husband and good father, even the shrink - they listen, they comfort, they make soothing noises, they negate the men who were not good to her.

    From spiritual comfort to physical - a hug, or holding someone while they cry - is an easy step. And it can go so quickly downward from there.

    Pray for them all - the priests, the ministers, the good husbands, the sympathetic friends. Pray for the bruised souls who easily fall into the spiral of needing more and more.

    And yes, pray for those who lie and are sick in the head, and especially for those who spend their time tracking down and capturing a dog collar to add to their trophies.

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  5. logismoi attack9:30 AM

    ...i thought i was mildly depressed before, now i'm really depressed

    ...Sorrowful Mother pray for us, obtain for us some peace of heart.

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  6. "...especially for those who spend their time tracking down and capturing a dog collar to add to their trophies..."

    Yikes!

    Senora, a Roman Collar is a yoke worn by Priests, Bishops, and Popes.

    It is a symbol of their obedience to our Divine Master.

    Dog collar?

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  7. Adam was not Catholic.

    The tradition of blaming women for the entry of sin into this world began with a non-Catholic woman enticing a non-Catholic man.

    "women are more bound to purity than men..."

    I heard that from a traditional Priest once, but could not ask him how that is so, because he was also throwing me out of his office at the same time.

    Does anyone know why a womans sexual sin is graver?

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  8. “…I learned more of his ruinous state, and saw that the poor man's fault was not so grave, because the miserable woman had had recourse to enchantments, by giving him a little image made of copper, which she had begged him to wear for love of her around his neck; and this no one had influence enough to persuade him to throw away…”
    Santa Teresita de Avila.

    A great majority of satanic happenings in the families and homes of the Faithful comes from ‘enchantments’ as Santa Teresita said.

    Harry Potter, New Age, Wicca, and so on, teach the enemies of Christ how to do these evil things. They do them with full intent of sending forth demons to harm innocent souls.

    Secret Societies traffic in Demons sending them forth to destroy souls that would otherwise reach Heaven.

    Holy Water, the real Holy Water, not Blessed Water, is formulated to keep these things from our homes.

    Translated from the Latin (part of the prayer):

    "O water, creature of God, I exorcise you in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. I exorcise you so that you may put to flight all the power of the Enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that Enemy with his apostate angels: through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by lire. Amen. Let us pray.

    O God, Who for the salvation of mankind has built Thy greatest mysteries on this substance, water, in Thy kindness hear our prayers and pour down the power of Thy blessing + into this element, made ready for many kinds of purifications. May this, Thy creature, become an agent of divine grace in the service of Thy mysteries, to drive away evil spirits and dispel sickness, so that every- thing in the homes and other buildings of the faithful that is sprinkled with this water may be rid of all uncleanness and freed from every harm. Let no breath of infection, no disease-bearing air, remain in these places. May the wiles of the lurking Enemy prove of no avail. Let whatever might menace the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by the sprinkling of this water, so that the healthfulness, obtained by calling upon Thy holy name, may be made secure against all attack. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. R. Amen."**

    Do not buy religious objects from outside the Church.

    Need to buy religious objects? Crucifixes, Rosaries, statues?

    www.ourladyofguadalupemonastery.com

    You may ask that they be blessed by the Father Prior.

    You can’t beat a deal like that. Confidence that your religious objects come from a Monastery.

    *

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  9. I have always subscribed that women are bound to more purity than men. Men get turned on by sight and flesh where a woman's libido are matters of the heart and soul.

    Mary Ann,

    I was sorry to see you have keywords up with Fr. E's statement like 'calumny' and 'detraction'. A woman who has approached a priest with such malady that the rite of exorcism was used has zero culpability for the sex that took place. He has admitted he took advantage of a woman in a bad state once and there are other allegations out he did it numerous times.

    I am crushed by the attitudes of women in this matter!

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  10. Carol, I do not deny what you say - I think what you're saying is that a woman's violation of chastity is often more thought out and deliberate than a man's. A woman also has a more instinctual understanding of the reality of sexuality, I think.

    But both men and women are called to chastity - women are not called "more" to chastity. I reject the idea that an adulterous woman is any worse than an adulterous man, per se.

    But as another commenter pointed out, women can be easily led astray by an attraction to emotional stability, just as much as a man can to sensuality. It's a bit silly to try to figure out who is more guilty, and we'd better be careful, lest we end up like certain Catholics who blame a woman's natural beauty for their sins against chastity, much like the Muslims.

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  11. The quote from my mother was meant to be funny - my mom was kind of nuts.

    Anyway, interesting comments.

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  12. I saw the humor!

    There are most definitively circumstances when one party is baiting or taking advantage of another and in those circumstances, there is a guilty party. In others, both share blame equally.

    These different situations get all jumbled up when we don't want to face the truth.

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  13. ...not even Teresa of Jesus.

    Why do you think that is so?

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  14. @ Saint Michael, etc.

    (Off-topic). Indeed yes. When the term, 'Roman collar' is used, one immediately thinks of - as you say - "priests, bishops, and popes".

    A similar collar is worn by Protestant ministers of several denominations. Protestant ministers are not immune to being targeted by trophy hunters. I used the Anglican nickname 'dog collar' to be - ah - inclusive.

    Senora Rudd

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  15. I refise to apologize for my self or my feminine beauty..I am what I am.. if I turn a guy on by just standing in the hallway sipping a cup of coffee..that is HIS problem not mine..

    I vividly recall years ago a group of us went on a two week packpackingtrip int he High Sierras...no shower (other than spit baths), no washing hair, no makeup etc for two weeks.. we straggled into the main campground at the end of the trip and was greated by other campers...one guy try to seduce me, say that the "Earth Mother" part of me was so irrestible...oh yeeesh...I can hardly stand myself, and this guy wants to get into my pants??!! I about passed out laughing and then went to find a hot shower..

    Women know what's real...men are just hound dogs :)

    Sara

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  16. Anonymous6:02 PM

    Oh my!

    Veronica

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  17. Sara - I remember reading a story about how in Somalia the guys all stand around to look at the fat girls in burqas, because then they can see a hint of feminine shape.

    The moral of the story is that men determined to lust will always find a way to do it.

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  18. Anonymous11:13 AM

    Men are no damn good either -- and I speak from personal experience. We're all sinners, and I see no excess of culpability in either gender. All due respect to La Madre, I think she spoke as a woman of her time - and, as we know, the 16th century wasn't very enlightened about women. All too often, we were treated as diplomatic assets (as in the case of royal and state marriages). And that great advocate of religious freedom,(sarcasm) Martin Luther, once said about women, "Let them bear children until they die of it; that is what they are for"... Madre Teresa, I am sure, did not agree with this, but as a woman of her time, she couldn't help but be aware, and perhaps unintenionally absorb, what we now call sexual sterotypes. Anyway, that's my .02 cents (CDN) worth.

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  19. "...Men are no damn good either -- and I speak from personal experience...."

    Girls, if you want a man, don't troll in the gutters then complain about him. It is actually your poor decision to try to make a silk purse of a sow's ear that leaves you used and abused. For life..

    Claiming you were righteous because of your poor choice is sick.

    A woman should be so lost in God that in order for him to find her, he must first seek God.

    There is a major difference in being lost in God, and lost in your pity pot.

    I recommend a good Gouda cheese for all that whine you girls are drinking.

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