Bishop Would Like To Ordain Women

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Bishop Matthew Clark of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester.

As the priest shortage continues, so does the push by activists to allow women and married men into the priesthood.

The bishop can imagine a day when married men become priests.

”There’s no inherent contradiction,” he said, pointing out that some married clergy from other denominations are permitted to remain married and become Catholic priests.

But it’s hard for him to see the ordination of women in the church’s future because it hasn’t been part of its tradition or its understanding of scripture.

”Were it possible, I’d be pleased to ordain women.”

Those kinds of statements and ideas don’t sit well with some parishioners.

”His leadership has watered down Christianity to a ‘politically correct’ agenda,” said Michael F. Brennan of Rochester, a member of the Coalition in Defense of Church Teaching and a critic of Clark. “Core Christian-Catholic beliefs continue to be downplayed or ignored to create social institutional meeting halls instead of parishes and churches.

”The heresies of the Spiritus Christi congregation are quietly taught and encouraged,” Brennan said, referring to the church that split from the diocese in 1998 and ordained a female priest.Bishop Clark reaches mandatory retirement age on July 25, 2012. Bishop Keeler: March 4, 2006.

My heart goes out to all of you in Rochester.
 
Just another reason why I praise God daily that I am a Byzantine Catholic… :bowdown:

So even though I live in the Latin Diocese of Rochester, My Bishop is Bishop Andrew of the Eparchy of Passiac…

but… There is no Byzantine Catholic Church here so I attend the Melkite Greek Catholic Church which is under Bishop John of the Eparchy of Newton…

Anyone in Rochester who is interested in attending the Divine Liturgy at St Nicholas Melkite Greek Catholic Church or the Divine Liturgy at St Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church, feel free to send me an email or private messge here and I will gladly accompany you and help you though it!
 
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ByzCath:
Just another reason why I praise God daily that I am a Byzantine Catholic… :bowdown:
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I didn’t realize that Byzantine Catholics were immune to dissent. 😉
 
Women’s ordination will never happen. The more I read these articles I am becoming more convinced that the “priest shortage” is being promoted and sometimes accomplished by those who have a hidden agenda. I predict that this issue and a few others will ultimately cause a schism in the American Roman Catholic Church when they find out that the next pope will not be open to their agenda-
 
didn’t realize that Byzantine Catholics were immune to dissent
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I think it had more to do with not having Bishop Clark as one’s shepherd. 😉
”Were it possible, I’d be pleased to ordain women.”
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“Were it possible”; well too bad your Excellency, it isn’t possible. The Pope will give on that OK the same day he has the authority to declare that I can bear children instead of my wife.
 
The Barrister said:
”Were it possible, I’d be pleased to ordain women.”
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In fairness, there is nothing wrong with what the bishop is quoted as saying. It’s as if someone pre-1920 said: “Were it possible, I’d be pleased to see women vote in federal elections.”

NB the article also says:
The Barrister:
But it’s hard for him to see the ordination of women in the church’s future because it hasn’t been part of its tradition or its understanding of scripture.
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So it doesn’t sound like he’s going to turn around and attempt to ordain a woman any time soon nor at all.

Were it possible, I’d be pleased to see Bishop Clark flap his arms and fly like a bird. But I have a hard time seeing it in his future because it hasn’t been part of the history of his aerodynamics.
 
Things to think about…
  1. Jesus (God Incarnate) kept many of the older
    traditions…and created many new traditions.
    One of the older traditions that he kept
    was the ordination of men. If Jesus wanted
    women in the priesthood…he would have
    ordained women. There were
    no women Bishops. Women have a different role
    within the Church. The highest place of honour
    in the Church belongs to a woman…Our Lady -
    the Mother of the Church. One fallacious argument
    made in the past is that Jesus didn’t want
    to violate the social conventions of the time.
    Does anyone actually believe any individual
    of this period would find it harder to accept
    female ministry…than would be accepting that
    Jesus was the Son of God? Absolutely, not.
    He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes.
    He also ate on the Sabbath. He publicly
    disagreed with the Pharisees. If you’re
    going to challenge this tradition…you will
    have to challenge numerous other Church
    traditions.
  2. Apostolic Fathers, etc.:
“When a widow is to be appointed, she is
not to be ordained, but is designated by being
named [a widow]. . . . A widow is appointed by
words alone, and is then associated with the
other widows. Hands are not imposed on her,
because she does not offer the oblation and
she does not conduct the liturgy. Ordination is
for the clergy because of the liturgy; but a widow
is appointed for prayer, and prayer is the duty of
all” (Hippolytus - The Apostolic Tradition 11 [A.D. 215]).

“The so called ‘presbyteresses’ or ‘presidentesses’
are not to be ordained.” (Council of Laodicea 360 AD)

“For it is not to teach that you women . . . are appointed. . . . For he, God the Lord, Jesus Christ our Teacher, sent us, the twelve [apostles], out to teach the [chosen] people and the pagans. But there were female disciples among us: Mary of Magdala, Mary the daughter of Jacob, and the other Mary; he did not, however, send them out with us to teach the people. For, if it had been necessary that women should teach, then our Teacher would have directed them to instruct along with us” (The Didascalia, Didascalia 3:6:1–2 [A.D. 225]).
  1. In 1994 Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
    restated that this teaching is not just a matter
    of discipline, neither is it a matter open to debate,
    when he stated “I declare that the Church has no authority
    whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and
    that this judgment is to be definitively held by all
    the Church’s faithful.”
  2. "The Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith released
    a statement ~ November 1996 saying the Church’s
    traditional ban on women priest “requires definitive assent…
    (and) has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and
    universal Magisterium.”
The letter, signed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger,
Prefect of the Congregation, was accompanied by a
cover letter insisting that bishops “will do everything
possible to ensure its distribution and favourable
reception, taking particular care that, above all on
the part of theologians, pastors of souls, and religious,
ambiguous and contrary positions will not again be proposed.”
 
I live in the Diocese of Rochester. There is so much liturgical abuse here it isn’t funny. Redemptionis Sacramentum seems to have fallen on deaf ears around here. Thanks be to God, there are a few good parishes though. I have some ideas spinning in my mind about how we can get more Eucharistic Adoration around here, which I think is key. I’ve also been praying to Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton Sheen to help our diocese and pray for our Bishop. Fulton Sheen was bishop here for about 4 years, you would think we would hear more about him and his great teachings on Jesus Chirst, but no.

They are also renovating the Cathedral here… for better or worse, we shall see. I ask for anyone reading this for their prayers and to ask for the intercession of Archbishop Sheen.

Thanks and God bless!
:banghead:
 
The Barrister:
Bishop Clark reaches mandatory retirement age on July 25, 2012. Bishop Keeler: March 4, 2006.
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Barrister, it’s *Cardinal * Keeler, but thanks for the info - I’ll be starting my own personal Retirement Countdown Calendar now. We have a little less than two years to beseech God to send us a good, strong, holy leader.

Betsy in Baltimore
 
I think that it is important to pay attention to the words… here like anywhere else they mean something… he would be pleased to do it… but it isn’t possible. If God asked him to wear green shorts and nikes for Mass he would be pleased to do it, but it isn’t possible. Whatever God requires of us is what we are pleased to do. We cannot ordain women to the priesthood because God requires otherwise. Married men is something different, that’s discipline so he’s not speaking out of turn. We pray every day “Thy will be done” and the Bishop was merely reiterating that, so let’s not be too hard on him.
 
Agname, your reply is right on the money. Excellent expostulation! Unfortunately, Bishop Clark typifies many of the priests who were ordained in the 60s and 70s. They succumbed to the “spirit of the age” and the onslaught of militant feminism, which is all about acquiring power rather than giving humble service. Until this generation of poorly instructed and narcissistic priests has shuffled off this mortal coil, the Church will not be set firmly on the right course in accordance with the true spirit of Vatican II. We should all pray for Bishop Clark and other like-minded clerics.
 
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tee_eff_em:
Were it possible, I’d be pleased to see Bishop Clark flap his arms and fly like a bird. But I have a hard time seeing it in his future because it hasn’t been part of the history of his aerodynamics.
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Gee, I thought it would be safe to drink a Slurpee and scan the board. I never imagined that I would spew my drink all over the screen! 😛

All lightness aside, the only real problem I’ve had with JPII is that he has not dealt with renegades like this. We have one of those in our diocese - Bp. Gumbleton. This is a man who goes to Iraq & apologizes for the actions of the US, he makes it a point to be a demonstrator in labor disputes - going so far as to be arrested. He’s celebrated DIGNITY masses, and will distribute the Body and Blood of Christ to anyone, regardless of their faith. The National Catholic Reporter adores him. 😦
 
Our Holy Father has said CASED CLOSED_THE CHURCH DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY OR POWER TO ORDAIN WOMEN–LTES GET RID OF THESE BISHOPS AND MOVE ON—

PAX CHRISTI
 
maybe my last post was a bit rash-but they need a expense paid plane ride to Rome to meet with the Holy Father.
 
“Were it possible, I’d be pleased to ordain women.”

This is a GREAT quote. Look at what he is actually saying. The statement indirectly states that it is IMPOSSIBLE to ordain women. By saying it this way, he is emphasizing the fact that ordaining women is just simply impossible to do.

This is perfectly true. I think the statement is quite correct and quite witty. In fact, it is exactly the type of statement I would expect to hear from some of the most orthodox and politically astute bishops.

Perhaps there are other things the Bishop has done which are upsetting, but this statement shouldn’t be one of them.
 
didn’t realize that Byzantine Catholics were immune to dissent thats why I am a Byzantine Catholic too. I have never heard any of our priests, or lay people for that matter, dissent from the Holy Father, want to be priests, or say that the Church as to change this or that. Maybe its because our Liturgy hasn’t changed for 1700 years, many of us still abstain from meat on Friday’s, (and other days of the year as well). We appreciate our faith, and know it too!
 
After rereading the article, Bishop Clark does not really say that he wants to ordain woman.

He is saying that if the Church allowed the ordaination of women, he would then ordain them.

This is different than saying he is for it.

I would add that Bishop Clark forbid all clergy and employees of his Diocese from attending the ordaination of a woman that happened with in his diocese. This ordaination was done by an Old Catholic bishop from the West Coast.
 
Fast_ed75 said:
Women’s ordination will never happen. The more I read these articles I am becoming more convinced that the “priest shortage” is being promoted and sometimes accomplished by those who have a hidden agenda. I predict that this issue and a few others will ultimately cause a schism in the American Roman Catholic Church when they find out that the next pope will not be open to their agenda-
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You are on to something. You are able to see through the smokescreen. I believe as you that there are some in positions of authority that have negative (name removed by moderator)ut that causes the priest shortages. 👍
 
”Were it possible, I’d be pleased to ordain women.”

**Note the opening words, “Were it possible.”

In other words, he’s saying it’s NOT possible.**
 
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