OK. How did Fordham University’s conference on sexual diversity fail. It had all the makings of a hit. Seriously, how does a sex conference fail? Just say the word “sex” and people pay attention.
And throw in the bonus of saying bad things about the Catholic Church at no extra cost.
So let’s get this straight. The folks at Fordham set up a conference completely dedicated to two of liberals’ favorite things- namely sex and church bashing. And it failed.
Bill Donohue of The Catholic League hilariously wrote:
Just a hundred or so curious souls bothered to show up, and though the event was mostly a bomb, it did have its moments. They heard from someone who confessed how he mutilated his genitals, and others so depressed they made the mutilator sound normal. Indeed, some of the tales would have made Rod Serling’s head spin.
Father John Dufell, ever the helpful priest, was there to give advice: when asked by a homosexual how he is supposed to deal with his inadmissibility to become a priest, Dufell told him to lie. He said it was okay to lie because it is the “system” in the Catholic Church that is broken.
One poor soul who attended sounded absolutely virginal: “I expected it to be a discussion of church teaching, but instead it kind of assumed that church teaching was wrong—and I wasn’t expecting that.” Didn’t he know where he was?
In any event, it was nice to learn that Erma Durkin, who traveled all the way from Maryland, found the sessions “very encouraging.” Erma is 82.
Yup. Fordham University somehow found a way to make SEX boooooring. So boring that hardly anyone showed up. Now that takes some doing.
I guess people don’t want to listen to old hippies talking dirty. Who knew?
September 28, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I don't know, a hundred people is pretty good for a humanities conference.
September 28, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Fr. Dufel is simply making public what is commonly advised in private.
September 29, 2011 at 2:53 pm
One of the many things that trouble me about this "More Than A Monologue" series is its funding. LifeSite reported back in March that the Arcus Foundation was involved. When I received my email notification from Fordham about the "More Than…" event, I replied asking for information about who was paying for it. They have nor yet responded.
This Saturday, Dan Savage is the keynote speaker for the second part of this series (now being held at Riverside Cathedral). He has called the Catholic Church a "malevolent institution" (in his essay "My Republican Journey" reprinted in "Kings of Nonfiction"). Brendan Fey is another speaker whose purpose seems to be normalizing homosexuality to students in Catholic schools.
Fordham does sponsor good programs as well. Earlier in September Fordham hosted a two-part event about the formation of a Catholic conscience and voting. I attended the first panel (which included Robert George) and there were more than 200 people. Most of them, granted, were above 60, but still 200+ people showed up on a Tuesday night.
October 2, 2011 at 2:31 pm
""a hundred people is pretty good for a humanities conference"
it was a SEX conference.