I know I’m no longer Catholic, and as a former Catholic, i really have no right to complain about the Catholic church anymore, but bear with me.

It is so aggravating when bishops write about “the feminine genius” or women in general and talk about how the virtues of women. Every time, they talk about how women are either great because they can have children or because they are made for men—never because they are simply women.

God damn it, women are great because we are women. In the history of Christianity, it was women who got shit done. Here are some examples:

Mary, mother of God: teenager who angel appears to, angel says “Mary, you are to have the Son of God,” and Mary replies “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” She raises the son of God, she prods Jesus into his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, she watches her son die on a cross, she is the only woman present at Pentecost, etc.

Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles. First one to see Jesus when he rises from the dead. She’s the one who goes and tells the Apostles that Jesus is still around. None of the men stayed, because they were too scared.  Note it wasn’t a man. It wasn’t John. it wasn’t even Peter the first Pope. It was Mary Magdalene who was later called a prostitute by a pope.

Saint Quiteria: basically she and her sisters (blood sisters) formed a warrior gang and would break Christians out of prison, i kid you not. They would also smash roman idols. They then waged guerrilla warfare against the Roman Empire. 

Saint Catherine of Siena: So the papacy was in Avignon and she basically told the pope to get his shit together, move the papacy back to Rome and reform the clergy. She was also ambassador to Florence for the Papal States. Did I mention she did this all before the age of 33?

Sainte Jeanne D’Arc: Told by St. Michael the Archangel and other saints that she was to lead the French army and save France…and she was naught but a young peasant girl. She was captured by the Burgundians and was put on trial by the Bishop of Beauvais (yes by a BISHOP good lord if someone argues with me about this again I will flip tables) and was burned at the stake as a heretic as she was found guilty of heresy all at the age of 19. 

Saint Hildegard von Bingen: Obv one of my favorites (come on she is my icon and I post about her a lot and I have an icon of her hanging in my room in the US). She wrote the first known opera in the West, she composed over 60 pieces of music—the first known composer in the west, broke away from the co-ed monastery even though her prior told her she would go to hell (he was mad because she was taking away the sisters and therefore sources of money) , had visions from God (the prior was also mad about this too—he didn’t have visions but Hildegard did oh my!). She also was well known for her Physica, her book of healing. Basically she was amazing. 

And these are only a few. All women who were amazing NOT because they can procreate, NOT because they are “made for the other” (aka man), but because they are women and women are awesome. I am so tired of men talking about women like they are special because we can cook or make babies (which is great btw). But we are special because God made us and that should be the end of the discussion.