What fun will we all have:
The Roman Catholic Church plans to establish its first religious society devoted exclusively to fighting euthanasia and abortion, church leaders said this week.
The male-only Missionaries of the Gospel of Life — founded by Father Frank A. Pavone, an outspoken opponent of abortion rights — will be housed in a vacant Catholic high school and dormitory on the grounds of the Diocese of Amarillo.
The order will have a decidedly political bent, and will be active rather than contemplative, Pavone said.
Its priests will be trained to conduct voter-registration drives, use the media to get out their antiabortion message and lobby lawmakers to restrict abortion rights.
They also will learn to lead demonstrations outside offices where abortions and family-planning services are provided.
"There is a difference between knowing the teachings and knowing how to effectively advance a movement," Pavone said.
There is something very odd about a movement focusing on abortion and yet allowing only celibate men as its members. Or perhaps it's not that odd at all if one puts on the cynic's hat and muses about ways that misogyny might be expressed without any societal condemnation. Then a boys' club* like this one seems just the ticket.
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*There's a girls' club for this stuff within the Catholic Church, too, though the women in it focus on prayer rather than direct acts.
Link via Krupskaya.