Does Catholicism allow a menstruating woman to enter the church and "do" everything they normally do at other times?

[Tis_Bearself]

The OP, who does not appear to be very familiar with Catholicism, could have read your answer as being a special rule applied to menstruating women only. The Church does not have specific rules dealing with menstruating women. Therefore I explained further the concept of “exceptions for illness” and noted that it applied to both men and women and to illnesses other than menstruation.

 

[Agnus-Dei]

No restrictions. (I have not heard the argument either) If she is closer to ill, (cramping/nausea/headache) then illness would excuse. No requirement to attend, and no sin.
Dominus vobiscum

 

[paperwight]

Far as I know, no restrictions.

I’m sure you just meant to be cautious and unwilling to sound like a know-all, but I feel your saying ‘Far as I know’ could imply a doubt to some who are not familiar with the Church’s teaching.

There is no doubt, nor is there a secret rule. The Latin Catholic Church does not say that menstruating women cannot attend Mass, must not receive Holy Communion or not do anything else they normally do in church. They are not unclean.

 

[Agnus-Dei]

You are spot-on. I can change it.
(And there ya’ go.)
Dominus vobiscum
As a side note on being “unclean”, aren’t we all.

 

[paperwight]

Thanks for that.

 

[Jbrady]

So, to put it straight - is it perfectly okay to “touch” “pray” and get involved in prayers like we do when not in our period?

It is now, but, at least on paper, women were forbidden to receive communion while menstruating by custom or canon law from the earliest days until 1917, though it seems that that law was being ignored for some time before then. How long, I can’t determine.

And in about 1200, it seems that women were still forbidden to even enter a church while menstruating or after childbirth in some areas, as there is a letter by Pope Innocent III specifically stating that that custom had fallen out of use by that time in Rome.

Earlier, women, menstruating or not, were not allowed at all to be seen at all in church, but had to be hidden behind screens and curtains or up in balconies where the men couldn’t see them.

And yes, it had to do with biblical ritual purity, which became Christian tradition. And medieval prudishness, which was really extreme at times, even by Victorian standards.

 

[sorrowful1]

@Jbrady Thank you so much for letting me know about this ! I really needed all these info.

 

[John_Martin]

I thought Church teaching are based on the Bible.

Actually, the Bible was put together by the Church and the Bible does not limit the Church, but, rather, the Catholic Church is the only authority that can tell you which understandings of the Bible are the correct understandings, because the Church is the living Christ present in the world who is explaining the Scriptures to all of us who are walking on the road to Emmaus who think we understand the Bible but we do not, and the Church is Philip moved by the Holy Spirit to open the Scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch who is reading the Bible but like all who think they can understand the Bible on their own he has to have it opened to him by God through the Church living Magisterium teaching him.

It is the Living Church who teaches us, not the Bible, and when we read the Bible we can see in the Bible what the Church is teaching us (and we can see all the other possible meanings that those who do not have the mind of Christ are trying to get us to believe it says also, but we follow our teachers and not the world).