Catholic theology on gender complementarity

[angell1]

does equal but different mean that men and women can’t have the same careers or hobbies?

or does it mean that they are approached in different ways?

why were women barred from so many things in the past?

authentic catholic teaching please

 

[pianistclare]

vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a3.htm

Women were barred from thing in previous centuries and cultures, yes.
Water under the bridge.

 

[edarlitrix]

I think you might like to read MULIERIS DIGNITATEM:

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_15081988_mulieris-dignitatem_en.html

and this: christianthinktank.com/femalex.html

 

[angell1]

good to know. why was it so hard to see that in previous centuries though? even in catholic parts of the world?

 

[pianistclare]

good to know. why was it so hard to see that in previous centuries though? even in catholic parts of the world?

Ancient cultures were largely male dominated. It’s just history.

 

[phil19034]

does equal but different mean that men and women can’t have the same careers or hobbies?

***No. It means that a man cannot have a child, a woman can. There are biological differences. It also means that on average men and women differ hormonally, chemically, socially and psychologically from one another too. But individually, these differences should NOT be a reason to keep a man or woman from careers and/or hobbies. ***

or does it mean that they are approached in different ways? Yes and no. It really depends on the individual. But I would think they are approached in different ways when looking at the average man vs. average woman.

why were women barred from so many things in the past?

***Not because of the Church. But because of society was VASTLY different. We have to keep in mind that everything was different in the past. The economy was built on farming. If a family didn’t farm, then they may have run a small family business. There were no grocery stores, no precut chickens, no refrigerators, no mass produced/raised food, no vacuum cleaners, no cleaning chemicals, no day cares, no baby sitters, etc…

Prepping 3 meals a day and taking care of the house was a real FULL time job and required more work than stay at home moms deal with today. Children helped the mother run the house. If they had money, they also had hired help. When the boys were old enough they either helped dad, or got their own apprenticeship.***

authentic catholic teaching please

Church teaching regarding careers is simply this: the only reasons a person should consider or not consider a career are:

(a) can they actually perform the duties of the job/career?
(b) is the job/career moral?
(c) does the job/career correspond to their vocation in life? This last one is subjective and up to the individual and his/her spouse if married to determine. As long as they are doing what THEY FEEL is best for their family, given their individual situation, then they are doing what is best for their vocation. We run into problems here when PRIDE, GREED and/or SELFISHNESS become part of the decision (for either the man or woman). For example, if a woman is working because she selfishly wants to buy expensive cloths and her kids are suffering at day care. OR the husband is working because his PRIDE keeps him from staying home while his more successful wife is at work.

In today’s economy, no one will argue that it’s not hard to live on one salary. It is very hard to do it. It’s not impossible, but it requires sacrifice and a lot of blessings from God. In some areas it’s very hard to live in a safe neighborhood, even on $100,000 per year.

So each of us (man and woman) must always be looking ourselves in the mirror and asking ourselves if we are being truthful to our individual vocations. As long as we are doing that, then we are good.

I hope this is helpful.

God Bless.

 

[phil19034]

good to know. why was it so hard to see that in previous centuries though? even in catholic parts of the world?

Because technology now allows both spouses to leave the home. Our technology makes it possible for the “home making” function to be a part time job.

In the past, it was more than a full time job. So one had to out and work, the other had to work at home. Since mothers needed to breast feed babies (baby formula wasn’t invented until the 20th century), woman need to be home our of necessity. Also, since there was no birth control, infant/child death rates were much higher, and because older children were often seen as a way to make money (or as free labor); women often spent a significant part of their young - middle adulthood pregnant and/or breastfeeding.

This was not because of some male dominated society… it was due to nature and doing what was best for the family and what made sense.

But technology changed everything. Moms don’t have to breastfeed (though breastfeeding is better), children typically are no longer a source of revenue, death rates are way down, it doesn’t take 16 hours a day to keep a house together, we are a farming based society, etc.

So now, thanks to technology, societal roles can/have changed.