I just overheard a conversation by my cubicle that pissed me off. Maybe I shouldn't have been listening, but when I heard "women" and "church" I couldn't resist. My boss was listening to this other big guy at the company, a really sweet guy that I like a lot, talk about his church. I just learned that this guy was a pastor (Baptist? don't remember) a few months ago; he sent me an email to talk about my article in the newspaper on faith. Anyway, like I said, great guy, but here's how it went down:
"We are now allowing women to teach classes that men are in. We've never done that before. That's seen as fairly liberal. We are allowing women to have leadership roles now... the only thing is that a woman is not allowed to preach from the pulpit, and is not allowed to serve on the core executive committee."
He glanced at me, watching, trying to disguise my horror. This, according to him, is
LIBERAL. This is
PROGRESS. In 2007.
Lord, have mercy.
3 comments:
The Catholic Priesthood and Women: A Guide to the Teaching of the Church by Sr. Sara Butler, MSBT
http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Priesthood-Women-Teaching-Church/dp/1595250166
APOSTOLIC LETTER
ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS
OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE BISHOPS
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON RESERVING PRIESTLY ORDINATION
TO MEN ALONE
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_22051994_ordinatio-sacerdotalis_en.html
"When the question of the ordination of women arose in the Anglican Communion, Pope Paul VI, out of fidelity to his office of safeguarding the Apostolic Tradition, and also with a view to removing a new obstacle placed in the way of Christian unity, reminded Anglicans of the position of the Catholic Church: 'She holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church.'"
"Furthermore, the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can it be construed as discrimination against them. Rather, it is to be seen as the faithful observance of a plan to be ascribed to the wisdom of the Lord of the universe.
The presence and the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, although not linked to the ministerial priesthood, remain absolutely necessary and irreplaceable. As the Declaration Inter Insigniores points out, 'the Church desires that Christian women should become fully aware of the greatness of their mission: today their role is of capital importance both for the renewal and humanization of society and for the rediscovery by believers of the true face of the Church.'" ---Pope John Paul II
I was raised Baptist and, truly, they think that is liberal.
One time in youth group the youth pastor said that anyone who wanted to preach on Sunday night during the summer needed to sign up. I signed up and my youth minister took me aside and told me that I couldn't preach because I'm FEMALE (even though I had more scripture teachings given my Christian home-education).
He did tell me I could organize the snack refreshments after the youth sermons.
apparently the vagina has some god-smarts blocking ability. Who Knew???
"The New Testament and the whole history of the Church give ample evidence of the presence in the Church of women, true disciples, witnesses to Christ in the family and in society, as well as in total consecration to the service of God and of the Gospel. 'By defending the dignity of women and their vocation, the Church has shown honor and gratitude for those women who-faithful to the Gospel-have shared in every age in the apostolic mission of the whole People of God. They are the holy martyrs, virgins and mothers of families, who bravely bore witness to their faith and passed on the Church's faith and tradition by bringing up their children in the spirit of the Gospel.'"
"Moreover, it is to the holiness of the faithful that the hierarchical structure of the Church is totally ordered. For this reason, the Declaration Inter Insigniores recalls: "the only better gift, which can and must be desired, is love (cf. 1 Cor 12 and 13). The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are not the ministers but the saints." ---Pope John Paul II
The saints.
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