Bishop criticizes production of 'Vagina Monologues' at Notre Dame

Published: 2004-02-16

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (CNS) -- The bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend said the University of Notre Dame should not have allowed the production of "The Vagina Monologues" to take place on campus because the play is "offensive to women" and "antithetical to Catholic teaching on the beautiful gift of human sexuality." "The play violates the truth about women, the truth about sexuality, the truth about male and female and the truth about the human body. It is in opposition to the highest understanding of academic freedom," Bishop John M. D'Arcy said. He made the comments in a column he wrote for the Feb. 15 issue of his diocesan newspaper, Today's Catholic. "The Vagina Monologues," which the bishop said he read, is based on more than 200 interviews by playwright Eve Ensler with single and married women and lesbians who represented a variety of ages and ethnic groups. The play, described as "a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery," features female characters as vaginas that speak out in a series of monologues. For the sixth year in a row, college campuses across the country were sponsoring limited productions of "The Vagina Monologues," with students reading the script. The shows are put on to benefit a campaign called V-Day, which raises money for organizations working to stop violence against women and girls. The Notre Dame production Feb. 14 was part of a daylong fair on campus organized under the theme "Stop the Violence" and sponsored by the university's program in gender studies. Bishop D'Arcy praised the university for often taking positions on a number of issues including "several related to Catholic teaching on sexuality" that have gone against "the dominant university culture." He said Notre Dame should have applied the same conviction to the "Vagina Monologues" issue.

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