I’ve been reading this thread and it’s very interesting to find several things that really need to be addressed and everyone seems to be dancing around them.
First, we have Catholics quoting scripture as if they were Protestants. It is very typical of the Protestant mind-set to quote scripture in order to quiet the opposition. The problem with this is that scripture has to be interpreted using reason. One has to understand what the writer was talking about, the target audience, the situation, and the Church’s use of the passage. We don’t apply biblical morality in a vacuum. That’s what the Church is for. She applies the moral teachings of the Scriptures, not individuals. St. Paul and the Fathers of the Church were very clear that Scripture is not a matter of private interpretation, even when it speaks about men and women dressing this way or that way.
Second, the rule of thumb in the Catholic Church is very simple. It’s called common sense. Common sense tells us what is appropriate for the office, for Church, for play and for the ball. Someone quoted a citation about something that Padre Pio allegedly said about clothing. Padre Pio was reacting to people’s lack of common sense, not to a specific fashion statement. The citation failed to say that Padre Pio never wore pants. I know this for a fact, because we belong to the same religious order. Pants are forbidden. The habit is to be worn with a pair of trousers. Trousers are Francis’ of Assisi’s term for boxer shorts. In the 13th century, boxers reached to the knees, like the shorts that many teens wear today. It took a General Chapter in 1898 to pass a ruling that allowed the friars to wear pants only when wearing the black suit and Roman Collar. Again . . . common sense .
Third, the Church understands different cultures and customs and respects them. In fact, she has been a protector of culture. In many cultures, people do not wear European fashions. When the Franciscans first went to China, we traded the European habit for the dress of a Chinese houseboy. The Jesuits wore saffron cassocks. Jesus’ revelations to Mother Teresa insisted that her sisters and brothers not look like European religious, but like Indian men and women. Therefore, the sisters wear a sari and the brothers wear a white linen shirt and khaki pants with sandals. The Sisters of St. Ann, an Indian congregation, wears a saffron Hindu dress, with long hair tied at the back of their heads and no veil.
Fourth, the Semitic fashion at the time when Scripture was written was for men and women to wear tunics, similar to those worn by the Arab people. There was no difference in the tunic. People wore a mantle to keep warm at night and during the day, they threw it over their shoulders. That’s how we get the European images of Jesus wearing white with a red cloak over his shoulder. See pictures of the Sacred Heart. The images that we have of Jesus and Mary and their clothing are confections by artists, not the actual dress of the first-century. So what were they talking about when they said, “Men should not wear women’s clothing and women not wear men’s clothing”? The pagans at the time had a custom of using same-sex partners to satisfy their lust. They often disguised their partners in clothing of the opposite gender.
Fifth, until the birth of the religious congregations in the post Renaissance Church, the only forms of religious life that existed were monastic and mendicant orders. Neither of them wore pants. Men and women wore the same habit. Look at the Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines, Carmelites, Trappists, and Cistercians. The difference was the head covering. From the neck down, the habits are identical, even to this day. We certainly would not accuse St. Francis and St Clare or St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross of cross-dressing (no pun intended). OK, Francis and Clare are not a good example, because they did not have a fixed habit, but the style was similar: a tunic and a chord. But the Dominican nuns and the Dominican friars wear the exact same garments and put them on the same way, as do the Carmelites.
We have to pay attention to the Church’s common sense and stop making rules of our own. If we follow the rules of propriety, modesty, and good taste, we’re OK.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
