Why Is the Catholic Church Obsessed With Women and Abortion?

When I was 12 years old, I sang in the choir at Saint Anthony's Catholic Church every Sunday. And despite being the only one in my household who regularly attended mass, I wanted to become a nun. But I grew older, and as other interests chipped away at my devotion to Jesus, a life of celibacy became less appealing. Still, I remained devout, and even after I abandoned that plan in favor of a more conventional lifestyle -- one I hoped would include motherhood -- I've fed my spirituality attending mass regularly.Even as someone who's concerned with women's rights and social justice, I've never had a major problem with the fact the Catholic church is an inflexible patriarchy that's rarely shown compassion toward women in their roles in the church and in society. But after seeing first-hand how the clergy worked during the latest election to influence voters from the pulpit to curtail women's rights, there seems to be more at stake -- both for Catholics and for women. And the end game seems to be to weaken women.Strangely enough, this same attack on women in the churches I've attended in New Jersey and Massachusetts has coincided with the papacy of Francis, one of the most liberal and compassionate popes in history.  Continue reading...