According to the literature that I’ve read, Joe arranged for that surgery for Rosemary on his own, in secret. He never told Rose because she would never have permitted it. Rose was furious when she found out what he’d done. That is why he was an SOB, among other reasons.
Rosemary was very pretty and rather slow — but she functioned just fine in a social setting. He was afraid that she was going to be promiscuous and would embarass the family. I think he was Ambassador to King James Court at the time, although I may have my dates mixed up.
Thanks for the info. Obviously Rose would never have let anything be done to Rosemary that was an unnecessary medical procedure. I wonder how she and Joe got along after that.
Now if Rosemary HAD been “promiscuous” - had sex outside of marriage - would Joe have arranged for birth control for her? Or an abortion, if she’d gotten pregnant? Both of those are mortal sins according to the RC Church.
A lobotomy, on the other hand, was not. So though Joe may have been an SOB, was he actually being a good Catholic and a moral man according to the Church’s guidance? Joe and Pacelli (Pius XII) were good friends. I wonder.