Tomeo asks: Who is waging war on women?

By Tanya Connor

God and the Catholic Church are for women. It’s the culture that’s waging war against them.
Teresa Tomeo imparted this message in various ways in her keynote talk and workshop at the diocesan women’s conference Saturday at the DCU Center.
Ms. Tomeo’s program “Catholic Connection,” can be heard at 9 each weekday morning on 1230-AM Emmanuel Radio in Worcester and other stations in the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network. She appears frequently on the Eternal Word Television Network television programs, and co-hosts “The Catholic View for Women.”
The author with more than 30 years experience in broadcast and print media offered conference-goers her book “God’s Bucket List,” which had not yet appeared in bookstores, as well as many of her other popular books.
Ms. Tomeo told a little of her journey, near and far from God, and how she came to the conclusion that she was wrong and the Church was right.
She was reared Catholic and got to the top in journalism school and her profession. Her husband made it too. They worked holidays and weekends and their marriage almost ended in divorce.
“I was fired overnight,” she said. “Feminism told me: ‘It’s all about you and your career; forget the kids; forget the husband.’” But this failed her.
“I was so mad at God,” she said, noting the contradiction. “I had no relationship with God. I had stopped going to Church. … I was pro-choice. I was pro-contraception.”
She urged listeners not to form their opinions about the Church from what the world says about it, like she did. Most people who have a problem with Church teaching haven’t read it, she noted.
As she studied, she realized she was wrong and the Church was right.
She cited some startling statistics: In the United States, one in three people have a sexually transmitted disease, and there have been 53-55 million surgical abortions since it was legalized.
She has interviewed many post-abortive women who weren’t told about complications.
There is an increased risk of breast cancer with the pill, she said.
She asks: And the Church is the one waging the war on women?
After she and her husband confessed their sin, “I still wasn’t totally submitting to God,” she said. “I couldn’t let the money go.”
When she finally gave up secular media she was invited to host a talk show on an evangelical radio station. That made her a better Catholic, as she got to know her Church from a biblical perspective and learned from Protestants, she said. Later, she got involved with Ave Maria Radio, which now produces her show “Catholic Connection.”
Ms. Tomeo asked, if the world has it right, what  makes people unhappy?
God created sex and it’s not bad, she said. She talked about problems associated with the misuse of sexuality, including illicit relationships and women dieting to appear attractive.
“The Church is all about equality for women,” she said. “Equality is not sameness. … There are different roles …” Those beautiful differences are to enhance men’s and women’s relationships.
When people say the Church discriminates against women, think about the Blessed Mother and female saints and doctors of the Church, she said.
“God is a big ‘Yes,’” Ms. Tomeo said. The Church equals truth, “because Holy Mother Church knows best. We must do our part … We are all called to evangelize.”
Currently, in the health-care arena, the Catholic Church is standing up for its religious freedom, saying it doesn’t want to pay for what it opposes. Overnight, those people pushing abortion and birth control say there is a “war on women,” she said.
“I’m not a physical mom,” she said. “I’m a spiritual mom. We are by nature nurturers. This gift that we have of giving life is now considered a disease. … And yet we’re the ones – in the Church – waging the war on women?”
Believers are conditioned by a self-centered culture. She said the ego can be equated with Easing God Out. People can be oblivious to what’s happening, like those in the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
“This culture is telling us we’re dressed in freedom, we’re dressed in choice,” she said. “And we’re butt naked!”  Nobody but the Church is saying that, she said.
How do we counter the culture?
“We have to surrender our heart to Christ; it’s not just a one-time prayer,” she said. She told listeners not to ignore daily prayer, but to read Scripture, receive the sacraments and listen to local Catholic radio.
She said each person has a special role, and they will make a difference when they are doing what they are called to do.