To the editors:
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Despite the anguished protests and weird theories proposed by Ute Ranke-Heineman, Donna Quinn, and others [“A Silenced Woman,” January 3], the fact remains that the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is a private and completely voluntary organization. Like most organizations, the Church maintains a body of rules which one must obey to be considered a member in good standing. The difference between the Church’s rules and the rules of other organizations (be they IBM or SDS) is that devout Catholics believe that the Church, and its rules, were established by God through His Son, Jesus Christ and the Apostles. In our lucky country, people are completely free to practice whatever religion or belief system they choose. Woman-Church and its proponents claim to be Catholics. However, a cursory examination of the ideology proposed by McClory’s heroes, Ruether, Ranke-Heineman, and Weind, reveals that while these women passionately believe in something, that “something” seems to be diametrically at odds with Christianity, as understood by its followers for the past 19 centuries. No one, including Cardinal Bernardin and Father Braxton, seeks to interfere with their constitutional right to freedom of speech or religion. What is objected to, however, is their claim to speak for Catholic women and laity in general.
In recent months, the Reader has demonstrated a great deal of interest in the Catholic Church. While most of the coverage has not been exactly complimentary, by quoting Ruether, Quinn, and Company, the Reader has provided a valuable service to Chicago Catholics. The more they know about Woman-Church and its local affiliate, Chicago Catholic Women, the sooner Chicago Catholics will recognize them as the muddleheaded wackos they really are.
