Female acolytes, does Pope approve?

[Mem]

Hi,
I have an eight year old daughter I was going to sign up as an alter server, but since doing a little research I am beginning to think it may not be good idea to encourage girls to be alter servers. I am interested in knowing what the pope thinks, not what the bishops have approved. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Cristiano]

There is a big difference between altar servers and acolytes.

Females are allowed to be altar servers.

Acolytes are instituted by the Bishop. Considering that the instituted acolytes are an extension of the pre-Paul VI minor orders and considering that there are no Church documents mentioning female acolytes I would safely assume that they are not allowed.

 

[snhs]

Hi,
I have an eight year old daughter I was going to sign up as an alter server, but since doing a little research I am beginning to think it may not be good idea to encourage girls to be alter servers. I am interested in knowing what the pope thinks, not what the bishops have approved. Can anyone enlighten me?

Pope John Paul II gave permission to Bishops to give permission to Priests to allow Altar girls to serve in 1992, or thereabouts, prior to that time some Diocese had used Altar girls but until then it was illicit. Neither Pope John Paul II nor Pope Benedict XVI have given permission for Altar girls to serve in the Diocese of Rome.

Just as a side point, girls can not become Acolytes. Acolytes are the proper minister, and are always men who are instituted to that role. For a long time however there haven’t been enough Acolytes so lay people have been allowed to serve in the absence of a sufficient number of Acolytes.

 

[scylla]

The Pope has never encouraged it or endorsed it. In fact it was prohibited and condemned as wrong by Popes, for most of the last 2000 years.
In 1985 the Pope gave permission for it to be done if the Bishop allowed it and the Priest allowed it.

Here is a homily of a Priest reflecting on it, from EWTN.

Generally people who want women priests really push altar girls and they try to influence the regular Catholics to just accept it and help out the girls, which many do not even thinking about the reasons behind the push. Link

Most of those who want to support the Priesthood oppose the use of altar girls. I have two daughters who I would never allow to serve as they do not need to act like boys to be special.
Unfortunately in todays society it is common to teach kids that they get their value by what they do and not who they are.

There are plenty of discussion threads that have popped up on this it is a common topic of discussion.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[Cristiano]

Generally people who want women priests really push altar girls and they try to influence the regular Catholics to just accept it and help out the girls, which many do not even thinking about the reasons behind the push. Link

Probably quite true. It is a reasonable move to reach such a goal and excommunication.

…Most of those who want to support the Priesthood oppose the use of altar girls…

Generalization, you better show evidence for such a statement

 

[1ke]

Hi,
I have an eight year old daughter I was going to sign up as an alter server, but since doing a little research I am beginning to think it may not be good idea to encourage girls to be alter servers.

On what do you base your thoughts on this?

I am interested in knowing what the pope thinks, not what the bishops have approved. Can anyone enlighten me?

Well, I don’t know of any document in which the Pope (JPII or Benedict) express their personal opinion on the matter.

JPII wrote a document specifically allowing it, so I would say that in itself is an opinion. If there were theological or doctrinal grounds on which to limit it to males he would have done so.

If it is allowed in your diocese you are free to let your daughters be altar servers or not.

And, as others have pointed out acolytes and altar servers are not the same thing.

 

[scylla]

Generalization, you better show evidence for such a statement

I base the statement of a logical conclusion, in this way…

Except I should have clarified my statement. Those who support the Male Priesthood generally oppose the use of Altar Girls and desire many Altar Boys.

This is why…

Since an abundance of Altar Boys generally results in more vocations to the Priesthood, (which Rome has stated before) those who want many Priests would want many Altar Boys. These would be the strongest supporters of the Male Priesthood who would be advocating this.

There are those who think that Vocations would come anyways regardless of the obstacles, yet we see in places where Altar Boys are encouraged such as Lincoln, Neb. you see an abundance of vocations.

There are many who do not want vocations to the Priesthood as that would create a state of emergency where they could possibly further their arguement for Married Priests and Female Priests. You would first see a push for female pastoral administrators since vocations to the priesthood would be lacking and Parish Priests would therefore be lacking. This would usher in a situation where people would have to consider alternatives to the standard Mass with a Priest.

God Bless
Scylla

 

[THurifer2]

Hi,
I have an eight year old daughter I was going to sign up as an alter server, but since doing a little research I am beginning to think it may not be good idea to encourage girls to be alter servers. I am interested in knowing what the pope thinks, not what the bishops have approved. Can anyone enlighten me?

Its impossible for your daughter to become an acolyte.

Acolyte and Lector are part of a group of orders called the minor orders of the priesthood. The other two (former) minor orders are porter and exorcist. These were the first for orders of the priesthood. In the past seminarians were “ordained” into the 4 minor orders in sequence, then ordained a subdeacon, then ordained a deacon, then ordained a priest.

Today only Acolyte and Lector exist. They are still steps towards the priesthood (and deaconate) but they are no longer called orders they are called institutions. THese two instituted states are only open to men.

On the other hand your daughter is allowed (I use the world ALLOWED because that is the terminology the vatican uses) to become an altar server.

However in my parish it is MALE only. (most here are happy with that fact). It is up to the priest (NOT THE BISHOP) to determine if females can become altar boys…er I mean servers.

 

[Brendan]

Well, I don’t know of any document in which the Pope (JPII or Benedict) express their personal opinion on the matter.

JPII wrote a document specifically allowing it, so I would say that in itself is an opinion. .

Well, there is also the fact the Vatican itself uses only males for altar service, primarily boys from local schools, but other boys may apply for service during the summer months.

So the fact that both +John Paul II and +Benedict have not chosen to use them in the Vatican, and +Benedict has never chosen to use them at all as Pontiff can also indicate what their personal opinions are.

 

[Mem]

I’m sorry about mixing up acolytes and alter servers. Of course I meant alter servers.

Thank you for all of the replies and information. So alter girls are allowed but not encouraged by the pope. (I prefer to know what the pope thinks - I have a hard time trusting American bishops.) I will not be signing up my daughter up to be an alter boy. I will save that for my son.

 

[THurifer2]

I’m sorry about mixing up acolytes and alter servers. Of course I meant alter servers.

Thank you for all of the replies and information. So alter girls are allowed but not encouraged by the pope. (I prefer to know what the pope thinks - I have a hard time trusting American bishops.) I will not be signing up my daughter up to be an alter boy. I will save that for my son.

God bless you. Perhaps there is a Blessed Imelda Society in your pairsh? If not, perhaps you could start one.

I think you are doing the right thing!

 

[pentecostbaby]

I’m young enough to be one of the first licit female altar servers (at least, I was the first one I knew, and my sister was the second!). We had a lot of problems with getting altar servers - they wouldn’t show up, they weren’t reverent, etc. Often we had Sunday Mass without them, and since I was lector already (they started me early), my mom would tease after Mass that I should ring the bells, since we didn’t have a server and I had seen it done often enough.
Our priest finally allowed it, seeing as how Cardinal Bevilaqua did and the boys wouldn’t show up. My sis and I went on to serve almost EVERY Mass in our parish until we were in college . Funerals, weddings, Wednesday of Holy Week every night until Easter Sunday … I certainly wasn’t the perfect altar server, but I liked doing it.
When I came to college, I drifted from the church for a while. Now that I’ve come back, and I go to a campus church, I miss it (we often have people my age serve). I’m an EMHC, I lector … but nothing is the same as serving. It’s a huge honor to do.
I DON’T think women should ever be priests, either . If JP II agrees with it, that’s good enough for me. I’ll be getting recertified to do it pretty soon, in fact .