Raised by an Hispanic-Catholic mother and a French Canadian-Catholic father in Irish-Catholic Boston, I attended private Catholic schools, sat through many a Catholic Mass and had all the fledgling makings of a little Catholic nun.
But other than my daily dose of catechism, my parents and teachers also dispensed words of secular wisdom: "You are the prettiest and smartest girl in the world, and you can grow up to be anything that you want because girls can do absolutely everything that boys can do."
So, all that nunnish preparation notwithstanding, the advice I ultimately internalized was that if I was smart enough (or pretty enough), I could do whatever I pleased.
But then once a week, I'd be hauled off to a church where I was habitually reminded that though my all-girls Catholic education hinted that "anything you can do, I can do better; I can do anything better than you," the Catholic Mass-despite its many snazzy hymns-was a far cry from a musical about female empowerment.
So after two decades of going to Mass and listening to clergymen subtly remind me about a woman's rightful place in society, I began to realize that even with all that cookie-cutter Catholic prep, the Church had failed to embrace who I am and what I stand for. And what I've found is that the secular aspirations of women like me are sadly incompatible with the sacred mission of the Catholic Church.
As a Catholic woman, I've gotten used to the fact that the Catholic Church is just another Good Ol' Boys Club. Its creeds, codes and languages are tailored to men. Its homilies are just as often inapplicable as they are uninspiring. And, more saliently, the Church's most public and prominent religious vocations are completely closed to women.
The male-dominated Church hierarchy is resolutely disposed to be more dictatorial than democratic, and my total disaffection with the Church increases every time I remember that the majority of the institution's lay body is comprised of women.
And of course, acting upon the assertion that they're behaving directly in accordance with divine authority, the Catholic clergy can justify being utterly unresponsive to the concerns of its laity.
Amid its unrelenting unresponsiveness to women, its staunch adherence to archaic religious Tradition (with a capital "T") and its deplorable reaction to the national clerical sex abuse scandal, the Catholic Church of recent years has accomplished little else save for a successful and widespread alienation of its American adherents.
And this is the church I belong to? An institution that ostensibly cares more about saving face than saving people? Bah.
In their latest move, the American bishops have launched a new recruitment initiative called "Fishers of Men" to compensate for the dwindling number of priests. But as usual, only men need apply.
Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, American bishops might as well start erecting chapels in tree branches and dangling signs outside little trap doors that read: "No Girls Allowed."
Well, fine then, boys. I don't wanna be in your stupid "Boys Only" club anyway. I'll just build myself my own fort. Or start my own religion. AND YOU WON'T BE INVITED.
Boston Cote is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every Friday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.