New Vatican women's initiative runs into immediate storm of criticism over video starring 'sexy blon

[Eugene]

Source: Daily Mail

New Vatican women's initiative runs into immediate storm of criticism over video starring 'sexy blonde'

By JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE and AP
PUBLISHED: 17:07 GMT, 31 January 2015 | UPDATED: 08:25 GMT, 1 February 2015

A new Catholic women's initiative rolled out by the Vatican is at the centre of a storm of criticism over a video starring a 'sexy blonde'.

The Internet promotional video, featuring blonde Italian actress Nancy Brilli, came under such ridicule that it was quickly taken down, it has been reported.

In the clip, the 50-year-old, dressed in a blue top, asks her viewers how often they ask themselves 'Who are you? What do you do? What do you think about yourself as a woman?'

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'What were they thinking at the Vatican?' wrote Phyllis Zagano of Hofstra University in the National Catholic Reporter.

'Aside from the obvious - sexy sell has long gone by the boards in developed nations and is totally unacceptable in predominantly Muslim countries - the fact of the matter is that highlighting a stereotypical spokeswoman is not the way to ask for women's input.'

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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2934415/New-Vatican-women-s-initiative-runs-immediate-storm-criticism-video-starring-sexy-blonde.html

[cbayer]

1. Did you watch the video?

I can't stream it, but I can see the pictures at the link. She's pretty, but not particularly sexy, imo. Does she behave in a way in the video that is inappropriate or something?

It sounds like a reasonable initiative, but I am obviously missing something about he protests.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Try this:

I can't see any problem. As her 'Merry Christmas' indicates, it's over a month old, and so was the NCR article criticising it that the Mirror, and other newspapers, are quoting. And they wanted the stuff sent in by 4th January. Though that writer says it was pulled by the time they wrote that, on Dec 31st. However, it's on the Vatican site: http://www.cultura.va/content/cultura/en/plenarie/2015-women/prep.html

The 'criticism' seems to lead back to ridiculous blogs like this - and I wonder if it's a spoof:

The behavior of the woman in the Pope's video introduces and uses the gift of sexual seduction, a gift intended to be preserved for the pleasure of her husband, behind closed doors in their bedroom.
...
I think you will see that what is offensive is the Pope's use of a woman's sensuality and gifts of sexual seduction meant for her husband to brand his openness to the sinful misuse of that gift as simply another vocation of woman.

If you watch the Pope's video on women carefully, you will see the poor creature has been enticed to wet and purse her lips and throw her head and hair around like we do when we want to get men away from watching the Patriot's game. She uses the bedroom eyes and voice we use right before we crawl between the sheets.
...
For the record, the pursuit of being a woman in my spiritual life is about finding the vision of Christ and refining my gifts to it. For as far back as I can remember, I wanted to serve God in the vocation of motherhood. I need the Church to help me pursue THAT, not the nuns on the bus or women selling sexual seduction so the Pope can create his culture at the Pontifical Council. And I will do everything I can as a mother and a woman to stop him from executing it.

http://throwthebumsoutin2010.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/pontifical-council-on-culture-releases.html

[cbayer]

6. I can't watch due to limited bandwidth, but I love the linked blogpost.

I am also thinking that this whole thing might be a spoof.

[jollyreaper2112]

2. wrong scandal

The brightness on that video is insane. She's completely washed out.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. It did leave me wondering if YouTube had brightness controls (nt)

[Promethean]

3. Seems to me the scandal is

that the video is empowering a woman. She speaks confidently and informatively. Can't have a christian institution being represented like that. There wasn't even one instance of her on her knees begging!

[Small Accumulates]

7. The men of the vatican seem to have a tin ear about this entire initiative

Here is the image the Plenary Assembly chose to publish above the links to a working document on "Women's Culture" on the Assembly's own web site:
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The image seems to represent very well the content of the document, which starts out by erroneously declaring:

At the dawn of human history, societies divided roles and functions between men and women rigorously. To the men belonged responsibility, authority, and presence in the public sphere: the law, politics, war, power. To women belonged reproduction, education, and care of the family in the domestic sphere. In ancient Europe, in the communities of Africa, in the most ancient civilisations of Asia,
women exercised their talents in the family environment and personal relationships, while avoiding the public sphere or being positively excluded. The queens and empresses recalled in history books were notable exceptions to the norm.

It takes either a stunning ignorance or twisting of human history to present that paragraph as truth. Max Dashu provides a great historical survey of all the societies of humanity in which that has not been true.

There is so much more that is false in this document, including a statement that men are less capable of "tenderness and forgiveness" than are women; "the feminine identity is the point of convergence of daily fragility, of vulnerability, mutability, and multiplicity between emotive interior life and exterior physicality; and "There is no discussion here of women priests, which according to statistics is not something that women want."

Perhaps the image is a perfect depiction of the document's view of women: a powerless body wrapped in a harness of deception and control.

[cbayer]

8. That image is a really disturbing message on this topic.

I had no idea that they were this far out of step.

Thanks for the info and welcome to the religion group.

[Small Accumulates]

9. You are quite welcome, and thank you n/t