A one-time doctrinaire feminist
whose dramatic return to faith incorporates a strong respect for right-to-life
values, believes her personal struggle may provide insight into pro-abortion
thinking.
Christine Majta has
made a remarkable about-face from her days as a front-line advocate of
militant feminism, pro-abortion activism and a deep-seated belief in women
as victims of an oppressive patriarchy.
Today, the 36-year-old
administrative assistant takes her Catholic faith most seriously, and is
not shy about distributing religious literature to friend and stranger
alike. Her work station at a downtown Toronto occupational therapy clinic
is littered with Catholic Insight, the Canadian Messenger of the Sacred
Heart and various publications dealing with the Blessed Virgin and Divine
Mercy devotions.
When asked what brought
her around from her feminist mindset, Majta replied, "God." Implied in
that one-word response is Majta's firm belief that faith is a necessary
ingredient in overcoming suffering and in striving for the forgiveness
and reconciliation that can heal even the most grievous wounds.
Harrowing childhood
As a young woman, Majta
took to feminism with the best of intentions. A harrowing childhood marked
by violence, helplessness and uncertainty convinced her that many women
not only lacked control of their own lives, but were denied basic comfort
and security by unthinking, often abusive, male authority.
"It seemed as though
men were always the ones in control and that they often used violence to
maintain that control," she said.
As a result of this
upbringing, Majta looked with more than mild curiosity at an assaulted-women
advocacy program at a Toronto community college. She enrolled in the two-year
diploma program in 1990 and was soon exposed to a raft of feminist and
lesbian instructors who translated support for women into anti-male diatribes
and the cultivation of a lasting mistrust of traditional values.
On graduation, Majta
found work as a counsellor at a Scarborough-based battered women's shelter.
There, her exposure to the effects of male mistreatment of women was greatly
magnified.
"Abortion wasn't my
primary focus while I was in my feminist period," Majta said. "But I would
readily have advised any pregnant women coming to the shelter to go ahead
with an abortion, especially if she came from an abusive environment. The
unborn child wasn't seen by these feminists as a life from God. Abortion
was more a way for these women to gain control over what was happening
to them."
If abortion wasn't
an overriding concern to Majta at that time, she felt an obligation to
support it as one of the chief planks of women's rights. She recalls making
banners for pro-abortion rallies and marching in women's day parades.
One incident during
a feminist demonstration had a lasting impression on Majta. "We marched
past a small group of pro-life supporters who held up respect-for-life
signs. The verbal abuse and invective we hurled at the group was just awesome.
One of the pro-life women was crying silently as a result."
Majta recognizes that
much of this hostility on the part of feminists is the result of years
of pain and anger. She says many of the most passionate feminists have
likely been touched by violence and intimidation and that they were sincere
in their intentions to help others in similar situations. "Some of the
committed feminists I met in those days were genuinely concerned with helping
others. In fact, some of the first shelters for battered and abused women
were established by feminists."
While Majta can appreciate
their original motivations, she soon noted a major flaw in the secular-feminist
mentality. Movements based on anger and mistrust readily lead to hatred
and a violence of their own. She saw division and in-fighting among feminists
and in many cases, an attempt to substitute domination by men with a less
subtle but equally intolerant thought control.
"Feminists are determined
to control their lives as much as possible, and in doing so they replicate
the abusers' way of acting to some degree," Majta told The Interim. "Abusers
are known for being possessive and extremely controlling."
Majta also saw no
room for forgiveness and reconciliation among most feminists. She chafed
at the movement's rejection of faith and spirituality, a rejection based
primarily on the mistaken view that traditional religious belief keeps
women in subjugation.
In search of her own
sense of healing, Majta came upon a book of pronouncements by Our Lady
of Fatima. "Ironically, I found the book in the occult section of a women's
bookstore," she said. She soon found herself inspired by Our Lady as a
role model for today's women, especially those seeking comfort and a sense
of belonging.
"It was difficult at
first to return to the traditional forms of prayer," Majta said. "All of
my images of men were negative, so it was difficult for me when praying
to use the word ‘Father' or to relate to Jesus Christ as a male."
With the Blessed Virgin
as her mediator of sorts, Majta eventually found her way back to her Catholic
faith. She discovered the Blessed Virgin's announcements respecting the
unborn child to be in direct opposition to the feminist view.
"As a feminist, I was
told that the life in the womb was not a human life, but merely tissue,"
she said. "There was no focus on God's handiwork or His giving the gift
of life through pregnancy."
Despite the movement's
failures and its tendency to create further division and mistrust, Majta
believes there are lessons to be learned from the feminist experience.
She says the movement was inspired by a willingness to assist abused women,
and that in many cases the same conditions prevail today. She suggested
society has not fully addressed problems such as abuse and intimidation
of women, a lack of opportunity and economic deprivation.
Men's responsibility
As well, society still
tends to promote a disrespect for women and girls by making females the
objects of sexual gratification. Majta suggests men can unconsciously contribute
to the "making of a feminist" by exhibiting degrading or domineering attitudes.
Even something as seemingly harmless as ogling an attractive woman on the
street can have negative consequences.
"In my view, girls
who observe men's poor example often become feminists," Majta said, adding
that Christ's life on earth still provides a perfect example for men to
emulate.
Although she has rejected
feminism, Majta urges pro-lifers to try to understand feminist motivations.
In addition to sympathy and understanding, she recommends humility as an
effective way of disarming feminist aggression. "When you see a bunch of
feminists cursing you, know there is great pain and suffering there that
God wishes to heal.
"If you want to change
a feminist, be like that woman I saw at the demonstration who was crying
on the sidelines."
