Men need to start really listening to women

The uproar over the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion was to be expected, but too many male voices have pushed themselves into the discussion.

Well here’s another one. Long ago, I realized that women’s issues are not just about women’s lives, but also for women to decide.

Just as nobody has ever instructed me to account for every sperm cell, so I have no right to interfere in women’s reproductive decisions.

I’ve been a Roman Catholic since my baptism in 1942, and my general acceptance of the Code of Conduct has wavered from time to time, but never been abandoned. I have often puzzled over directives emanating from the Vatican, but Pope Francis, like Pope John XXIII, has never caused me to question his judgment. I find myself less bound by obedience than convinced by Reason. And Francis is a wise man.

The primacy of love, empathy, understanding and forgiveness, in my reading of Scripture, must take precedence over condemnation and exclusion. Jesus of Nazareth maintained a close relationship with the women in His life, never once failing in His deep respect for them.

I think a Christlike acceptance and trust in women’s autonomy where sexuality is concerned would better suit the Christian view of life.

The patriarchal history of the church illustrates the danger of excluding women from decision-making roles, and records innumerable injustices inflicted on women by masculine policy-makers. We have a chance now, after centuries of neglect, to offer to every woman the respect we show to the Mother of Jesus.

And if anybody thinks I should be excommunicated, they’ll have to drag me, kicking and screaming, from my pew. Ed Healy Marystown