A well-known anti-Catholic professor has managed
to outrage millions of decent people yet again. In
a
Guardian article for which it is said she received a fee of "approximately
thirty pieces of silver", Tina Beattie contrived to have one of her famous meltdowns,
showing her contempt for the Pope
and the Catholic Church, while rejecting their
teaching on contraception and abortion.
Look at me! Look at me! I'm rude and naughty!
Although her remarks were welcomed by the Guardian, the Tablet, and similar
anti-Catholic organs, criticism came from an unexpected direction.
Professor Richard Dawkins, the distinguished biologist, theologian, psychologist
and poet ("There's not a bonnie bird that sings,
But minds me o' my gene.") was unimpressed.
"This lady is supposed to be a professor," he pointed out. "That is, a person
universally respected for her erudition and dignity. She's just
annoying Catholics in the hope that people will talk about her more. Perhaps she's
got a book to sell; anyway, she's starting to give professors
a bad name."
"I'll send her one of my professorial tee-shirts," says Dawkins.
Although Tina Beattie is "professor of Catholic studies" at Roehampton,
this cannot be taken to imply that she is a Catholic,
or that she supports Catholicism. After all, Professor Malaria, who holds the
chair of Tropical Diseases, is not a supporter of tropical diseases:
on the contrary, he regularly publishes hard-hitting
"Diseases!? Arentchasickofem?!" articles in
the Guardian.
Bishops: help the Justice for Tina campaign by inviting her to your diocese!
For those who gave up reading Tina's piece after five lines, on account of
its clunky and turgid style, we are delighted to reprint the very last sentence,
even if it is total gibberish:
How about a maternal church in which the shepherds smell of bruised, hurting and dirty women dying in childbirth?
Sounds great, eh? Still, this evening Tina Beattie was unrepentant. "Repentance? Isn't that a papist
thing?" she said. "Not my cup of tea at all!"
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