On Thu, 13 Apr 1995, Adelaide Chichorro Ferreira wrote:
> I agree with most of what you said about choice and the Pope, Jayne.
> You do have a point there. And in this context I would like to suggest a
> book by a catholic priest who is to some extent considered a new Luther
> because of his very critical views about the Catholic Church, women and
> sexuality. His name is Eugen Drewermann and the title of one of his books
I have not read him. But, one of the things that made me finally leave
the Catholic Church was the realization that *every* theologian I admired
had been called to Rome and silenced. All the liberation theologians,
Charles Curran at Catholic University here, everyone. That doesn't even
deal with the *women* theologians who were basically marginalized and
silenced from the start.
> But lets continue to discuss the problem of choice. Most people
> (and perhaps to some extent you too, Jayne?) think having kids or not
> should always be a choice. In my case, it was a choice in what concerns my
> too elder sons. The third one was not quite a choice... rather a pleasant
> surprise.....
Actually, while I think that abortion should be available to women, I
don't think that I could ever have one myself. So, who knows, I might
get "surprised" myself.... :-) Three of my closest friends have had
such surprises and every single one of them has said that their youngest
(surprise) child was one of the best things that ever happened to them.
> As for the consequences of my "unchosen choice": in fact I now
> think my career benefited quite a lot from the fact that I have kids (hope
> Ill still think this way when (if?) I finish my PhD!). Im not reading so
> much as I used to, but im thinking a lot, which then again makes me read
> somewhat faster. I also learn a lot from my children, which is especially
> interesting in my research field,language use.
Absolutely! I find that children make me *think* about the world
*differently*. That is why I still volunteer at my son's school even
though I am also trying to finish a PhD. Also, I was still doing day
care at home when I started taking courses in conflict resolution -- I
had a wealth of daily experience to which I could bring the theory I was
reading and a wealth of real experience from which to critique the
theories. It was a grounding in a "real" life that balanced my academic
work.
> So the only thing I find really hard isnt really having to compete
> with other people at work, but rather having to compete in society with the
> increasing number of those that dont have kids, work too much, have lots of
> money to spend and developed this dangerous
>
> *who-cares-Ill-not-be-here-anyway-when-the-whole-thing-blows up* mentality.
>
> Now that *is* hard, I tell you!
No kidding!
Jayne
