mediawatchwatch.org.uk

It’s funny how things come in twos. First we had the Bishop of South Sydney complaining about Terence McNally’s Corpus Christi (see 9 February story); now it’s The Vagina Monologues in the good ol’ US of A.

There was going to be a theological seminar at the university of Notre Dame, Indiana, this week, but it will now be moved off campus.

The Catholic bishops just can’t stand the fact that this play, a play about, you know, girl stuff, will be held at the university a month and a half after the seminar would have been held. This logic-defying move suggests the men in frocks will never use the university again, since it will for ever be contaminated. Or perhaps only in a February that’s followed by a March or has an r in its name.

“Because of the likelihood of the presentation of the play The Vagina Monologues at Notre Dame this year, the bishops made a collective decision to move the seminar off campus,” the “Most Reverend” John M D’Arcy, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne, South Bend, Indiana, said in a written statement, refusing to give an interview.

Notre Dame students are planning a production of The Vagina Monologues in a campus classroom from 26 to 28 March. It’s by the playwright Eve Ensler, and deals with women’s views of their bodies and their sexuality.

Bodies and sexuality are things Catholic priests don’t get involved with. Er . . .

While the Catholic university has refused to ban the performances outright, those who put art above religious sensitivities have not exactly won the day: performances must be in a classroom setting (not a theatre); the production can’t be used to raise money for community groups; and each show much include an academic panel discussion.