News

MANASSAS, Virginia, February 17, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite the vile and aggressively sexual content of the play The Vagina Monologues, it appears that the show will remain a staple at several Catholic institutions of learning across the U.S.

The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) says it has identified fourteen Catholic colleges and universities—ten of them Jesuit—that have indicated they will be hosting productions of the play in 2011.

Since CNS began protesting the Monologues in 2003, performances have dropped from a high of 32. But on some Catholic campuses, the Monologues has become an annual event.

“Catholic colleges that host this play—some of them repeatedly—should be ashamed of the obvious contradiction with their Catholic identity,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of the Society. “Most Catholic colleges have rejected the Monologues and found much better ways of seriously addressing women’s issues.”

The Monologues favorably describes lesbian activity, masturbation, and what CNS describes as “the reduction of sexuality to selfish pleasure.” The play is promoted by the organization V-Day and performed to support the end to violence against women, often as a fundraiser for women’s shelters. However, CNS argues that the good intentions of the performers are undermined by the play’s obscene and demeaning content.

CNS says it has alerted the 14 institutions that appear to plan on offering the play this year about its obscene nature and have asked college leaders to confirm whether or not the Monologues are indeed taking place.

The following Catholic institutions were listed either on the website VDay.org or elsewhere online as hosting The Vagina Monologues in 2011:

Bellarmine University
Boston College
College of Saint Rose
College of the Holy Cross
DePaul University
Fordham University
Georgetown University
John Carroll University
Loyola University Chicago
Marquette University
Saint Mary’s College (IN)
Seattle University
University of Detroit Mercy
University of San Francisco