LAWS PROMOTING VIOLENCE
Anna Cichobłazińska talks with professor of the University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, dr. hab. Maria Ryś, the chair of the University Society Fides et Ratio
ANNA CICHOBŁAZIŃSKA: – Media published a letter of the University Society Fides et Ratio to the apostolic nuncio in Poland, archbishop Celestino Migliore, about civilizational dangers which are brought by the gender ideology. What was at the base of the letter?
PROF. MARIA RYŚ: – The genesis of problems discussed in this letter reaches back to the time when radical feminists from Women’s Congress, promoting the Convention of Europe Council ‘About preventing and fighting violence towards women and domestic violence’ wrote to the Holy Father Francis a letter in which they informed Pope that they are persecuted by the Church in Poland. It happened after Polish bishops wrote a letter in which they expressed their explicit attitude of the Church towards the dangerous gender ideology. The feminists’ letter to the Holy Father included many false facts and untrue information. For example, it is not true that women in Poland are discriminated by the Church!
In reply to this letter of the Women’s Congress, the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland met with their representatives on 4 March 2014. That meeting was used by the feminists to spread the information pointing out to the compatibility of their point of view with the attitude of the Holy Father expressed by the Nuncio. Today we are often witnesses of the fact that words of pastors of the Church are subject to manipulation of mass media. Our letter was written just as a result of this real danger.
– Should we be afraid of the gender ideology? What values are endangered by this ideology?
– The phenomenon which is today understood as the gender ideology, in its history and development has undergone many metamorphosis – postulating both righteous social changes and suggesting many dangerous, even destructive – in the individual and social dimension – postulates.
This trend deriving from the times of a fight for equal rights of women was developing thanks to investigations and works of representatives of various scientific spheres, among the others, Freud’s, it was developing thanks to false results, as it turned out later, of investigations of Kinsey concerning the human sexuality. During the development of this trend there were many bad events, which today – especially via promoters of the gender ideology – are not discussed or are concealed (among the others, the fight for eugenic rights carried out by Margaret Sanger, called ‘a death angel’, without whom this phenomenon would not exist which is today called the gender ideology).
So, explanation of this gender phenomenon is not easy because it is not easy to present and evaluate many trends, various theories and concepts. Moreover, it is not easy to separate what concerns works within the investigations of sexes, concerning cultural conditions of women and men, or defining what we understand through stereotypes and to what extent particular roles serve to some discrimination today.
Today the range of the gender phenomenon includes feminisms which are both mild and radical, scientific investigations and pseudo-scientific investigations. People who promote the gender ideology, are those whose purpose is counteracting discriminations and social inequality, as well as people promoting reproductive rights (to abortion, contraception, in vitro), the same sex couples, permissive sexual education, homosexuals’ rights to bring up children. In the actions of gender ideologists what is more dominating, however, are the attempts of implementing reproductive rights and liberal sexual education, dismantling the natural family and marriage of a woman and a man. These actions are undertaken to much extent, without the awareness of the society, and therefore they are so dangerous.
The teaching of the Church in the recent years (especially teaching of John Paul II and Benedict XVI) created the basis for a definite message that the gender ideology must be understood as a bigger danger than communism, attacking the truth about the human being, the essence of marriage vocation, the family, and, first of all, the most innocent and defenceless children…
People implementing the gender ideology negate natural tasks accepted in all civilizations which result from sexual difference of women and men as spouses and parents, and serving to the good of the family and the society. There are attempts to present these tasks as harmful stereotypes. Hence there are postulates to withdraw the previous textbooks of pro-family education which allegedly strengthen the negative stereotypes and suggest teaching children roles according to the gender ideology, instead.
More and more frequently we perceive dangerous attempts of introducing the gender ideology in many areas of our life. Their consequence will be not only the attack on the development of the psyche in children and the youth, but also destabilization of marriage and family life. Therefore, it is our duty to oppose to it and protest against it! There are attempts to introduce the gender ideology into the Polish education, health service centres. These actions do not defend us from sexualization of children and the youth, but lead to sexualization of children and the youth. There are attempts undertaken which violate biological conditions of sexual differences of the human being resulting from his/her nature, actions promoting sexual behaviours contradictory with the human nature.
Should we be afraid of the gender ideology? Definitely, we shouldn’t! Christ’s disciple is a witness of the Truth, a man of courage, not fear. However, in this situation we need a consistent and courageous defence of these values which are attacked by the gender ideology – love, marriage, family, human dignity, families’ rights to bring up children according to their values.
A particular danger of the gender ideology is an attempt of ratifying the Convention of Europe Council ‘About preventing and fighting the violence towards women and domestic violence’.
– How does this Convention of Europe Council manipulate the social awareness?
– A very exact and thorough analysis of dangers resulting from this Convention was done by a team of specialists – lawyers associated in the Institute for the sake of the Legal Culture ‘Ordo Iuris’. Its title is misleading – counteracting violence – and its content is destructive. It imposes a duty of understanding the sexes according to the gender ideology and creates legal possibilities of a fight against tradition and habits strengthening parental roles of women and men. They are presented as negative stereotypes which ‘should be destroyed’. The Convention deprives parents of the right to bring up children according to their worldview. the consequence of its implementation will be depriving parents of a possibility to oppose to the imposed gender ideology. So, it will concern also the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Great anxiety of the ratification of the Convention was expressed by many groups in Poland, among the others, many politicians, scientists, Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements gathering over 130 organizations defending life and pr—family organizations, university societies (among the others, the University Society Fides et Ratio), Forum of Polish Women gathering 56 women’s organizations, Polish Families Society.
The Church in Poland is still expressing a definite opposition to attempts of legalizing abortion, contraception, in vitro, or liberal sexual education introduced into schools. The Catholic Church stands on the guard of God’s plan towards the human being, marriage and family.
We are a country which has always been historically a bastion of Christianity defence in Europe, a country which is expected to give a testimony today, a testimony of faithfulness to Christ, a country to which everyone resorts who feel persecuted in their homelands.
Many nations of the world are looking at Poland and its attitude. It is a great expectation of the world which concerns the defence of our Christian roots from which we grow. We will stand in their defence in the name of memory of our great compatriots – John Paul II, the Primate of the Millennium, Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko.
On behalf of these groups which serve to building love civilization, in the letter to the Apostolic Nuncio, we assured that, respecting dignity of every person and right of everyone to being treated equally and develop integrally, we will defend love, marriage and family dignity, we will defend right to life of every human being from conception to natural death. Because, as cardinal Wyszyński used to say – we are from the generation of eagles.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 13/2014