Your Emminence, You rock!

Some of the feminist Catholics have their lips poked out but about Bishop Yanta's letter on modesty but I don't have a problem with it. In fact, I'm delighted that an American bishop apparently has a spine.

When I was in college I used to go around dressed in the most itty bitty mini skirts and dresses I could find. My mother objected and there were times when I got around her objections by simply leaving house dressed decently but as soon as I was out of sight I would unbutton my blouse a little too low or hike my skirt up as high as I could get it. I did this because I was intoxicated by the way men, even men my father's age behaved when I walked down the street. Probably this has to do with my father dying so young. I needed older male attention but lacked the sense to realize what kind of game I was playing. If any of those men had actually gotten fresh with me I would've panicked and run away. I guess St. Maria Goretti was looking out for me.

Two things changed my outlook on clothes. First, I met Rocky and just wanted to dress in a more ladylike fashion. We got married when I was 21 and he was 23. The love of a good or at least a seriously macho man can change a lot. Have you noticed that Jennifer Lopez is never semi nude in public anymore now that she's married to a Latin man? Second, one day I walked into the Opus Dei chapel in Washington, DC. I'm too much of a lone wolf to join Opus Dei but I do love them. I met a serious, old fashioned Irish priest there. I started going to the chapel for Mass every day and reading classic Catholic books and then my whole attitude on modesty changed.

Now please don’t think that I go around looking like something Jedidiah the polygamist has locked in his barn. I love beautiful clothes and if Rocky isn't attracted by an outfit I don't buy it or I return it to the store. Modest dressing doesn't mean you have to dress like a back country Mormon child bride or a Muslim. For me it's the difference between dressing like my style icon Jackie Kennedy or dressing like Pamela Anderson.