Cardinal Ouellet: Involve more women in seminary formation

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I saw this interesting interview with Cardinal Ouellet on the need for women in the seminary formation process. On a fundamental level, I agree with his concerns. I think it’s important for future priests to have healthy friendships with both men and women, as well as have positive working relationships with women. Some may be skeptical of Ouellet’s comments, but I find them perfectly balanced and reasonable.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ca...minary-formation-urges-vatican-cardinal-49300
 
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I definitely agree with this but also think that how a man relates to women in other roles - such as kitchen and administration staff is also important since these are some of the roles in which he will encounter women in parish life. When it comes to attraction towards women, this is more likely to be experienced in a primary (elementary) school setting in relation to younger teachers and mothers since these will be much closer in age to the seminarians than a professor or formation staff member would be. That’s not to say of course that how a seminarian relates to older women isn’t important: my cousin told me that their parish priest doesn’t get on with her mother (who is a strong personality) because he doesn’t like being told what to do by a woman. As I said to her, that priest is in the wrong job!
 
I also agree with him. It is an interesting article. Thanks for posting. A quote from the article really stood out to me…

“For a priest, for a seminarian, the woman represents danger! While in reality, the true danger is men who do not have a balanced relationship with women,” he said, arguing that “this is what we must radically change.”
Click to expand...

I think there is some truth to this certainly as it relates to Catholic priests and woman, but also in some fields that are heavily dominated by men. This is sad. What the article didn’t seem to address is how do we change this?
 
Women have a particular perspective; Pope St. John Paul II talked about this in Mulieris Dignitatem (1988):

“… Christ speaks to women about the things of God, and they understand them; there is a true resonance of mind and heart, a response of faith. Jesus expresses appreciation and admiration for this distinctly “feminine” response, as in the case of the Canaanite woman (cf. Mt 15:28). Sometimes he presents this lively faith, filled with love, as an example. He teaches, therefore, taking as his starting-point this feminine response of mind and heart.…”
"… From the beginning of Christ’s mission, women show to him and to his mystery a special sensitivity which is characteristic of their femininity. It must also be said that this is especially confirmed in the Paschal Mystery, not only at the Cross but also at the dawn of the Resurrection. The women are the first at the tomb. They are the first to find it empty. They are the first to hear: “He is not here. He has risen, as he said” (Mt 28:6). They are the first to embrace his feet (cf. Mt 28:9). They are also the first to be called to announce this truth to the Apostles (cf. Mt 28:1-10; Lk 24:8-11). The Gospel of John (cf. also Mk 16: 9) emphasizes the special role of Mary Magdalene. She is the first to meet the Risen Christ. At first she thinks he is the gardener; she recognizes him only when he calls her by name: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary’. She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God’. Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her” ( Jn 20:16-18).

Hence she came to be called “the apostle of the Apostles”.[38] Mary Magdalene was the first eyewitness of the Risen Christ, and for this reason she was also the first to bear witness to him before the Apostles. This event, in a sense, crowns all that has been said previously about Christ entrusting divine truths to women as well as men. One can say that this fulfilled the words of the Prophet: "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Jl 3:1). On the fiftieth day after Christ’s Resurrection, these words are confirmed once more in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, at the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (cf. Act 2:17).

Everything that has been said so far about Christ’s attitude to women confirms and clarifies, in the Holy Spirit, the truth about the equality of man and woman. One must speak of an essential “equality”, since both of them - the woman as much as the man - are created in the image and likeness of God. Both of them are equally capable of receiving the outpouring of divine truth and love in the Holy Spirit. Both receive his salvific and sanctifying “visits”…"
 
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