different roles in church

[ToeInTheWater]

I think I should clarify, so so sorry. what the woman said was “men and women are both important to god but they are not equal because god intends that they have different roles” I didn’t get the idea that the teacher was trying to be sexist or anything by saying not equal. sorry!!

Thanks for the clarification. I figured that wasn’t what the teacher meant as I’ve never read any Catholic claim that women were inferior to men. However among some extreme “fundies” some will claim that “God made woman for man, not man for woman” and that therefore, a woman is not fulfilling her God given role unless she is serving some man or other, whether than be a father, husband, or even an elderly widow obeying her oldest son.

There is also a “fundie” idea of women as “perpetual minors” who must always be under the “umbrella of protection” of a man because women were never meant to be independent or make their own decisions, because “that is God’s design”.

Even such fundies will rarely claim “I think men are superior to women” but they seem to think that women are not fully human but were just created to serve men and give birth to additional men and the semi-men called women who are meant to serve men. Because that’s how God designed them, supposedly.

 

[LightBound]

Thanks for the clarification. I figured that wasn’t what the teacher meant as I’ve never read any Catholic claim that women were inferior to men. **However among some extreme “fundies” some will claim that “God made woman for man, not man for woman” and that therefore, a woman is not fulfilling her God given role unless she is serving some man or other, whether than be a father, husband, or even an elderly widow obeying her oldest son.

There is also a “fundie” idea of women as “perpetual minors” who must always be under the “umbrella of protection” of a man because women were never meant to be independent or make their own decisions, because “that is God’s design”.

Even such fundies will rarely claim “I think men are superior to women” but they seem to think that women are not fully human but were just created to serve men and give birth to additional men and the semi-men called women who are meant to serve men. Because that’s how God designed them, supposedly**.

Praise God that is NOT the official teaching of the Catholic Church, even if a few of her misguided members seem to think it is.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

Praise God that is NOT the official teaching of the Catholic Church, even if a few of her misguided members seem to think it is.

Sadly, I do get the feeling that some who are Catholics by “denomination” (I know that the Catholic Church is not actually a “denomination” but I wasn’t sure how else to describe it) actually have been heavily influenced by Protestant fundamentalism when it comes to their cultural viewpoints about the roles of women, or about homosexuals, or attitudes about immigrants, etc.

(I know the Church doesn’t officially teach SSA itself is a sin but many seem to assume that having SSA is itself sinful, or that people who have this cross, are somehow more “depraved” than those who have the temptation to commit heterosexual sins.)

Not sure if this is new, whether many “traditional” Catholics always found they have more in common with the fundamentalists than secular culture, or because of political alliances Catholics are making these days with them.

ETA: For example I found it quite ironic, even before the scandals, that some traditional Catholics were singing the praises of the Duggars, even though the Duggars themselves are quite anti-Catholic and apparently don’t consider Catholics to be true Christians, they actually go on missionary trips to Latin America to convert the “natives”, while I suppose some don’t actually practice any faith for real, I get the feeling they wouldn’t consider the Catholic faith to be count as “Christian”.

 

[Lea101]

Thanks for the clarification. I figured that wasn’t what the teacher meant as I’ve never read any Catholic claim that women were inferior to men. However among some extreme “fundies” some will claim that “God made woman for man, not man for woman” and that therefore, a woman is not fulfilling her God given role unless she is serving some man or other, whether than be a father, husband, or even an elderly widow obeying her oldest son.

There is also a “fundie” idea of women as “perpetual minors” who must always be under the “umbrella of protection” of a man because women were never meant to be independent or make their own decisions, because “that is God’s design”.

Even such fundies will rarely claim “I think men are superior to women” but they seem to think that women are not fully human but were just created to serve men and give birth to additional men and the semi-men called women who are meant to serve men. Because that’s how God designed them, supposedly.

I’ve heard it too, many, many, many, many times. Although I don’t even know what the verse,1 Corinthians 11:9 (neither was man created for woman, but woman for man), even mean. It does sound pretty bad, doesn’t it.

I think Catholics in general are pretty “liberal” compared to a good number of protestant denominations when it comes to their view on women.

I think it’s pretty sad that this is a topic that needs a discussion tbh. You hardly see topics on “what is the church’s/any religion’s view on men” or something similar

 

[Vico]

hi

in my religious ed class/sunday school, we were taught that men and women are not equal and have different roles.

however, they never really told us what these roles and i am wondering what they are and how men cannot do the same and vice versa. Besides priesthood, of course, that’s pretty obvious.

thank you!

Catechism

372 Man and woman were made “for each other” - not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be “helpmate” to the other, for they are equal as persons (“bone of my bones. . .”) and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage God unites them in such a way that, by forming “one flesh”,245 they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth."246 By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator’s work.247

Inter Insigniores (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)

It therefore remains for us to meditate more deeply on the nature of the real equality of the baptized which is one of the great affirmations of Christianity; equality is in no way identity, for the Church is a differentiated body, in which each individual has his or her role. The roles are distinct, and must not be confused; they do not favour the superiority of some vis-a-vis the others, nor do they provide an excuse for jealousy; the only better gift, which can and must be desired, is love (1 Cor 12-13). The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are not the ministers but the saints.

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19761015_inter-insigniores_en.html

 

[Rau]

hi

in my religious ed class/sunday school, we were taught that men and women are not equal and have different roles.

What EXACTLY was said. I suspect “not equal” was not the words used.

 

[Rau]

Church teaching doesn’t need to tell us this; common sense should. I’ve never for example seen any man pregnant unless it involved Schwarzenegger and DeVito. “Equality” is almost always rationally impossible and is little more than a leftover confusion from communism.

Equal is a measure of relative rank in some context. The CEO and the PR manager are not equal (in corporate authority).

 

[Rau]

I think I should clarify, so so sorry. what the woman said was “men and women are both important to god but they are not equal because god intends that they have different roles” I didn’t get the idea that the teacher was trying to be sexist or anything by saying not equal. sorry!!

So the teacher simply failed to express the idea correctly. A poor choice of words?

Apart from motherhood vs fatherhood, what difference in roles (if any) does the teacher contemplate?