Must read article "Mitt's Mormon Women Problem"

[DemsUnited]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/02/jim-lehrer-ask-mitt-romney-if-he-stands-by-mormonism-s-views-of-women.html

Jim Lehrer: Ask Mitt Romney If He Stands By Mormonism’s Views Of Women
by Stacey Solie Oct 2, 2012 4:45 AM EDT

Why hasn’t Romney been asked if he agrees with his church’s treatment of women? Stacey Solie on the weird silence.

There is a question that Mitt Romney has yet to be asked, one that has serious implications for his suitability for the office of president of the United States.

It’s a question Mike Wallace asked president of the Mormon church (and Prophet, Seer and Revelator) Gordon B. Hinckley in 1996, and Larry King asked him again in 2004. Barbara Walters even thought it was important enough to ask 19-year-old Marie Osmond in 1978—and moderator Jim Lehrer should ask it to Mitt Romney Wednesday, at the year’s first presidential debate:
Why do Mormons continue to treat women of the faith as second-class citizens? 

The indictment in brief: women are not allowed to serve in the priesthood, which includes virtually all Mormon males aged 12 and up, giving them the right to act and speak with God’s authority. Women are thus forbidden from administering blessings, performing baptisms, or presiding over men in meetings or at home. And women are also excluded from the church’s upper leadership positions. Even those women who rise to positions of authority within the all-female Relief Society and Young Women organization, or as teachers, still answer to priesthood-holding men.

Given the church’s history of political activism, and Romney’s prominent role in the church, it seems bizarre that he’s yet to address the issue at all—a perverse instance of religious tolerance leaving questions about gender discrimination unasked and unexamined.

On edit: posted this because it is the first article I have read from a reputable site that brings the topic up. Still deciding how to take it & thought the DU community would have an opinion ...

[leftynyc]

1. They could ask the same

of both Paul Ryan and Joe Biden as Catholics. I'm not comfortable using a person's religion as a talking point.

[DemsUnited]

2. FWIW, article author addresses your excellent point by saying

"That dynamic, of course, should be familiar to Catholics, and Baptists, Muslims, Orthodox Jews and even Zen Buddhists have also wrestled with ordaining women. But none of those faiths ordain every adult and adolescent male, so that the sacred authority extends so powerfully and thoroughly into the household."

When asked, JFK said that he and the Catholic church do not speak for each other which was a spot on answer.

[TeamPooka]

3. except JFK wasn't a "Bishop" in his church. Romney is.