A Woman's Place in the Church

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apriltherese

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In response to points brought up on this thread (but were deemed off-topic): forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=148358

I will now re-post my :twocents: for general discussion (I hope the quote thingy works):
apriltherese said:
This discussion has brought me to an interesting question (at least, IMO): If men and women serve different functions (and they do - I am not debating any of this) within marriage and/or the church, what can a woman do that a man cannot? From my understanding, a monk is basically a male version of a nun - so what function within the church does a woman perform that a man does not?
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Someone responded that motherhood was part of the church, because marriage is part of the church (paraphrased). My response was this:
apriltherese said:
Nope, no eye-rolling here. Good answer… but then, where does that leave women who are married but unable to bear children (such as myself) or unmarried women? Using that line of thought, someone may think women are only considered equal if they are mothers. Remember - I’m not arguing for women priests. I’m simply curious.
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I hope I haven’t lost anybody here. Please refer back to the other thread if my quotes seem out-of-place… Again, let me re-state that I am not for women priests. I love to ask questions and I ask a lot of them. That’s how we learn, after all.

Anyhoo - discussion on this, anyone? 🙂
 
I think women offer a nurturing and sympathetic aspect to pastoral care that men often find difficult.
 
In my experience there is an inherant and quintessential difference. It could be illustrated by the way couples sometimes get into difficulties in discussion. Men, faced with information, i.e. a set of problems, will naturally attempt to provide a resolution to that problem. Women often just want to talk. They are content to listen and offer support. Men tend to be more practical in the way they approach problems.

I feel that God created human beings- not men and women, this is our divisive expression of humanity looking at the divisions instead of what forms us into one. He spilt ‘human being’ into man and woman in order we learn the mutual dependency of communion- God is after all a community; the perfect union we name- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Man and woman become one whole human being in the union of marriage, we become a reflection of the divine union of the Trinity.
 
FightingFat said:
In my experience there is an inherant and quintessential difference. It could be illustrated by the way couples sometimes get into difficulties in discussion. Men, faced with information, i.e. a set of problems, will naturally attempt to provide a resolution to that problem. Women often just want to talk. They are content to listen and offer support. Men tend to be more practical in the way they approach problems.

I feel that God created human beings- not men and women, this is our divisive expression of humanity looking at the divisions instead of what forms us into one. He spilt ‘human being’ into man and woman in order we learn the mutual dependency of communion- God is after all a community; the perfect union we name- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Man and woman become one whole human being in the union of marriage, we become a reflection of the divine union of the Trinity.
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I want to thank you for that answer, because it is wise and very well put. 🙂
 
You honour me April Therese. Many thanks.

God bless you & keep you!
 
apriltherese said:
In response to points brought up on this thread (but were deemed off-topic): forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=148358

I will now re-post my :twocents: for general discussion (I hope the quote thingy works):

Someone responded that motherhood was part of the church, because marriage is part of the church (paraphrased). My response was this:

I hope I haven’t lost anybody here. Please refer back to the other thread if my quotes seem out-of-place… Again, let me re-state that I am not for women priests. I love to ask questions and I ask a lot of them. That’s how we learn, after all.

Anyhoo - discussion on this, anyone? 🙂
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Dear You,
Well they say that what man can do a woman can ,but note that
the bible has the answer if you’re a christian “The farm is wide and more workers are required in diferent fields”,
May God give gaidance to this.
Rgds
Ndirangu
:highprayer:
 
April, does there ‘have’ to be something that women do which men ‘cannot’?

(Oh, I’m a woman BTW–a ‘mid-life’ woman whose earliest memory is of the Latin Mass and who was a teen when Roe v. Wade came out).

Mind you, my older sister still froths about the ‘unfairness’ of the Church (so much so that she is no longer Catholic. 😦 )

I don’t. I am, after these decades, tired of the idea that there ‘has to be’ a strict and total equality, a reciprocation, a split down the line with “you have this, we have this” etc.

Maybe the answer lies not in what we do that men do not. . .but simply in our doing, in humility and obedience, what we should do, as Catholics. Maybe it is our example.

Of course, with the very radical element attempting to push for the above ‘equality’–such that we are presumed either to have no difference whatsoever, or are presumed totally ‘equal’–despite the fact that no two human beings–male/male, female/female, or male/female can possibly be totally equal, not even identical twins!–it is not surprising that many women feel as if they have to have some ‘gift’ or some ‘function’ that is ‘solely for women’, else they feel cheated or second-hand.

But we shouldn’t. . .and we needn’t.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
April, does there ‘have’ to be something that women do which men ‘cannot’?
.
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Very good point Tantum.

Something that people often miss is that “doing” isn’t limited to visible activites or visible offices. When a woman uses her feminine characteristics in a visible task open to both genders (eg. teaching nursery school, CCD, etc), she is doing and providing something that the man is not.

Also, prayer, especially long periods of prayer, seems to be a gift that God has given to more women than men. And this is a really great gift, and necessity for the Church, that seems to go unrecognized and/or unappreciated by so many.

Nita
 
Tantum_ergo said:
April, does there ‘have’ to be something that women do which men ‘cannot’?
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My only point was that, considering the fact that men and women are equal but different in God’s eyes (and the eyes of His church) - and there are so many functions that only men have in that church - logically, there’d be some things that a woman does in her role that a man cannot fulfill. I totally understand what you are saying, and are apt to agree with you.

Again, I’m not so much looking for guidance on this issue. I just want further affirmation as to why I agree with having no women priests. Does that make sense, or did I phrase it wrong? Mostly, I’m just wanting people to look into this subject to find out for themselves why they do/do not agree with having Holy Orders for women. 🙂

I’m somewhat challenging my own point of view for the sake of discussion. With discussion, learning happens.
 
Dear All,
Hi , You belive for your own good .So the chuch should maintain
its culture and standards plus diginity.I concure with you fully but you know that the calling is different.
Rgds
Ndirangu
Catholic since1963:signofcross:
 
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