February 26,2020 | The Clarion
Opinion
Page 9
Remembering Amie Harwick
By Julie Carter
Opinion Editor
For many, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful time
to celebrate intimate romantic relationships on
an utterly happy day. Flowever, this year’s
Valentine’s celebrations turned tragic for
numerous people as they faced violence
perpetrated by the very people they might have
traditionally observed the holiday with.
On Feb. 14, actress Ftayden Panettiere, known
for her roles in shows such as “Nashville” and
“Heroes,” was allegedly punched in the face
by her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson. Hickerson
was arrested on charges of domestic battery
after Panettiere called police where she stated
“He beat the fuck out of me.”
Hickerson was released under the condition
that he does not consume alcohol, willingly
submit to searches of his vehicle for alcohol if
pulled over by the police and not have direct
or indirect contact with Panettiere.
This is far from the first time Hickerson
was arrested for allegedly causing Panettiere
physical harm. In May 2019, he was arrested
for felony domestic violence. Hickerson pled
not guilty to the charge.
In the same month, a judge issued a protective
order that Hickerson not come within 100 yards
of Panettiere.
In September 2019, the case against
Hickerson was dismissed under joint decision
by the prosecution and judge. The protective
order for Panettiere was thereby dismissed as
well.
On Feb. 15, Amie Harwick, a former Playboy
model and well-known sex therapist, died after
she was thrown from her third-floor balcony,
allegedly by ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse.
Harwick had filed restraining orders against
Pursehouse twice with one expiring just weeks
ago. In her statements for the restraining orders,
Harwick stated that Pursehouse “choked me,
suffocated me, pushed me against walls, kicked
me, dropped me to the ground with force,
force-restrained me, slammed my head into
the ground and punched me with a closed fist.”
Harwick also noted in court documents that
Pursehouse broke into her apartment multiple
times and told her “things would get worse.”
Pursehouse was originally arrested on
suspicion of murder, being released on a $2
million bond. However, Pursehouse was re
arrested on an official murder charge in which
he is slated to face the death penalty as he had
the special circumstance of lying in wait for
Harwick.
Panettiere and Harwick are only 2 devastating
cases of violence against women in recent
memory. Countless other women go through
this every minute of every day, unable to speak
up about what is happening to them.
Panettiere and Harwick did speak out.
However, it wasn’t enough to protect them from
those who hurt them.
There must be more we can do to protect
women in obvious or unobvoiusly threatening
situations. As the world currently stands, the
options for women to do anything to get out
of these scenarios is slim to none unless it
goes too far.
Thankfully, Panettiere didn’t face the same
fate as Harwick, but she is far from in the clear.
Can married men be priests?
By Mickayla Smith
staff Writer
Pope Francis will not allow married male
deacons to become priests and he will not allow
women to become deacons, according to NPR.
Currently, there is a shortage of clergy members
in the South American Amazon, and the shortage
has had a significant impact on the Catholics in
the region.
Some people aren’t happy with Pope Francis’s
plans for the Amazon. Some of his conservative
critics within the church have accused Francis of
heresy because of his views on homosexuality
and divorce. “Ultra-conservatives in the church
in Europe and the US have warned allowing
married priests in the Amazon could trigger total
abolition of the clerical celibacy requirement,”
NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli wrote.
Last October, Pope Francis responded to the
requests with a three week Synod of Bishops
that included countries from the Amazon region,
from Brazil to Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela.
Deacons are allowed to oversee weddings and
baptisms, but they’re not allowed consecrate
Communion wafer and wine.
This shortage of priests has made it difficult
for Catholics to celebrate sacraments. “They
can’t have a priest for weeks or months, which,
if they can’t have a priest, that means they
can’t have Mass,” Rocco Palmo, editor of the
website Whispers in the Loggia, told NPR last
year. “If they can’t have Mass, they can’t have
the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the thing that
Catholics consider to be the bread of life, the
thing that keeps us alive spiritually.”
Pope Francis’s response came in a document
called “Querida Amazonia” - or “Dear Amazon.”
In this document, he talks about the issues he
had with ordaining married men as priests and
women as deacons.
“Priests are necessary, but this does not mean
that permanent deacons (of whom there should
be many more in the Amazon region), religious
women and laypersons cannot regularly assume
important responsibilities for the growth of
communities,” Francis wrote, “and perform
those functions ever more effectively with the
aid of a suitable accompaniment.”
The role of women in the Amazon has kept
the church alive through their devotion and deep
faith. Pope Francis stated that women, “should
have access to positions, including ecclesial
services, that do not entail Holy Orders and that
can better signify the role that is theirs.”
Not only did Francis talk about the role of
women in the church, but he also addressed the
impact of climate change and the struggle to
preserve the Amazon’s culture and their natural
environment.
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis
laid out his four “dreams” for the Amazon. He
proposed “an Amazon region that ‘fights for the
rights of the poor,’ that preserves its distinctive
cultural riches,’ that ‘jealously preserves its
overwhelming natural beauty’ and lastly, that
the Christian communities might be ‘capable
of generous commitment’, incarnate in the
Amazon region.”
With everything said and done, I think there
are good intentions with this proposal, however,
I still believe married men should be ordained
as priests.
If the Catholic Church is so worried about
people not being able to celebrate sacraments
and mass, then why wouldn’t the Church make
it more accessible for its followers? It seems
as though the church is in limbo regarding
this issue, and it’s about time that there is a
permanent decision made.