Female Altar Servers? How has this 11 year experiment gone?

[oat_soda]

the problem with women in the sanctuary is it appears to be a concession. some see roles allowing greater participation in the liturgy as a source of power. but as been said before, women can participate just as much in the nave. i guess it sounds old fashioned, but to me it just seems wrong to have women up there. traditionaly, they never had these roles, why should they now?

 

[Pug]

MrS:

What opportunity are women denied if they can’t serve as altar boys, or EMHC???

I don’t understand this remark. Are you saying that:

A) being an altar boy or an EMHC is so trivial and indifferent of a thing that no one would miss being able to do it?

B) or are you making a jest, and the person is supposed to say, well, duh, if you don’t give them the opportunity to serve as an EMHC then obviously they are being denied the opportunity to serve as an EMHC?

C) or what exactly do you mean?

Kielbasi:

In addition, banning women from those roles, as you suggest, would require a huge effort to replace them, which would be quite difficult in light of the current sex abuse crisis

I don’t think it would be insurmountably hard, at least with the EMHC. If you told the congregation that only men could do it, well, I think enough men would step up to the plate. You could always train all the ushers to do it. That is a large enough pool, at our parish, anyway. You’d have to replace the ushers then, but that is possible. You could also replace the altar boys with altar men (acolytes) if it is difficult to find boys with parents who will let them.

 

[alih]

at more than one conference of bishops, they lamented about the shortage of priests. many of them attributed this to females in the sanctuary which had a negative affect on the boys.
this may also be something of a moot point in-as-much as a recent article in the adoremus bulletin quoted bishop lynch of st. petersburg, fl. as saying “We now find ourselves in the difficult situation of taking back an indult previously given, and here i speak of the preparation of gifts and the distribution of the Precious Blood. The extraordinary ministers of the Holy Communion must be instructed that what was previously approved is now wrong.” make your own conclusions. i have a feeling that some of these experimental implementations are drawing to a close. alih.

 

[SummaTheo]

alih:

at more than one conference of bishops, they lamented about the shortage of priests. many of them attributed this to females in the sanctuary which had a negative affect on the boys.
this may also be something of a moot point in-as-much as a recent article in the adoremus bulletin quoted bishop lynch of st. petersburg, fl. as saying “We now find ourselves in the difficult situation of taking back an indult previously given, and here i speak of the preparation of gifts and the distribution of the Precious Blood. The extraordinary ministers of the Holy Communion must be instructed that what was previously approved is now wrong.” make your own conclusions. i have a feeling that some of these experimental implementations are drawing to a close. alih.

That is what happens when the Church tries to modernize. St. Pope Pius X saw it coming.

 

[Purificator]

Island Oak:

Given all the alternative activities out there for adolescent girls to engage in, I can think of none that would rival the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the mass in a reverant, poised and attentive manner. Kids at this age are “doers” and the ability to participate is far more influential and engaging than merely attending mass. I agree with other posters who see this as encouraging later participation as lectors, EMCs, and the like. Since women, at present, have absolutely no opportunity to become priests, I hardly see why anyone would object or feel threatened by their participation in altar service any more than they would as lectors.

Women cannot be lectors – they can be readers however.

 

[Purificator]

The Church moves very slowly – like a giant aircraft carrier making a turn. Paragraph #47 of *Redemptionis Sacramentum * is the first concrete sign that the Church will one day disallow altar girls:

[RS 47.] It is altogether laudable to maintain the noble custom by which boys or youths, customarily termed servers, provide service of the altar after the manner of acolytes, and receive catechesis regarding their function in accordance with their power of comprehension.** Nor should it be forgotten that a great number of sacred ministers over the course of the centuries have come from among boys such as these. Associations for them, including also the participation and assistance of their parents, should be established or promoted, and in such a way greater pastoral care will be provided for the ministers.** Whenever such associations are international in nature, it pertains to the competence of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to establish them or to approve and revise their statutes. Girls or women may also be admitted to this service of the altar, at the discretion of the diocesan Bishop and in observance of the established norms.

 

[Cherub]

I think it has been a negative development, because it has given our young women false hope – for the altar server role (formerly known as acolyte) was a minor holy order meant to precede ordination, and the church has decided that ordination can never be licitly or validly celebrated on a female. Thus, it has cheapened this once minor holy order to something more like pageantry.
If the priesthood is only for males, then “altar servers” should only be male.

(…I should add that I think it is ludicrous to exclude females from holy orders.)

 

[Purificator]

Cherub:

I think it has been a negative development, because it has given our young women false hope – for the altar server role (formerly known as acolyte) was a minor holy order meant to precede ordination, and the church has decided that ordination can never be licitly or validly celebrated on a female. Thus, it has cheapened this once minor holy order to something more like pageantry.
If the priesthood is only for males, then “altar servers” should only be male.

(…I should add that I think it is ludicrous to exclude females from holy orders.)

Altar servers were never acolytes (torch bearers.) Acolytes once physically provided the light inside of the church. Today adult males may be instituted as acolytes, typically on their way to ordination.

 

[Pug]

Cherub:

I think it has been a negative development, because it has given our young women false hope – for the altar server role (formerly known as acolyte) was a minor holy order meant to precede ordination

Do you think restoring the “minor orders” as some type of order would be desireable? (not that I think they were part of holy orders)

 

[Iohannes]

Catholic2003:

It’s been a 22 year experiment, since female altar servers were permitted by the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

Citation please?

 

[Catholic2003]

Iohannes:

Citation please?

Canon law:

Canon 230 §2 Lay people can receive a temporary assignment to the role of lector in liturgical actions. Likewise, all lay people can exercise the roles of commentator, cantor or other such, in accordance with the law.

Authentic interpretation:

Lay faithful, men and women, can fulfill certain liturgical functions (c. 230.2)

The doubt: Can service at the altar also be counted among the liturgical functions that the lay faithful, either men or women, can fulfill according to c. 230.2?
The response: Affirmative, in accord with the instruction to be given by the Apostolic See.

July 11, 1992
AAS 86 (1994) 541-542.

The 1985 CLSA Commentary, the 2000 CLSA New Commenary, as well as the CLSGB&I Commentary concur on this point.

 

[misericordie]

Catholic2003:

Canon law:

Authentic interpretation:

The 1985 CLSA Commentary, the 2000 CLSA New Commenary, as well as the CLSGB&I Commentary concur on this point.

To have “altar girls” is one of the most politically correct things the AMERICAN CHURCH has done. I choose to follow the Roman Catholic one. The purpose of “altar boys” is that they will eventually think of entering the priesthood. As of yet=women cannot be priests.
Actually, it is current ROMAN policy that not even a Bishop can force a PASTOR to have altar girls. This is a novelty of the American Church, (as always).

 

[misericordie]

Kielbasi:

It gets young ladies involved in the liturgy.

Some of them may be discerning a calling to be a lector or eucharistic minister of Holy Communion, and service at the altar is a first step.

If they are looking to do something for the parish, they can mend albs and chusables, clean the dust off the statues, and maybe sing in the choir.

 

[misericordie]

David B:

Could you please tell me how you found out that Pope Benedict is going to eliminate girls serving the altar?

Because this is a thing of the American Church, not the Roman Catholic Church, and he wants UNITY: ONE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH.

 

[CatholicCid]

Wouldn’t serving as an altar ‘girl’ possibly prepare a female to say be a nun who serves a Priest or the such?

 

[misericordie]

CatholicCid:

Wouldn’t serving as an altar ‘girl’ possibly prepare a female to say be a nun who serves a Priest or the such?

I am yet to meet a nun who offers/celebrates Mass.

 

[batteddy]

I say we officially institute more men into the offices of Acolyte and Lector and stop having any unofficial “readers” or “altar servers” or “EMCs”. Acolytes can official distribute communion if necessary.

I suppose even boys could be instituted Acolytes to continue an “altar boy” tradition…but people with official liturgical roles should be official instituted…

Otherwise it makes things much too protestant, blurs the distinction between clergy/officially-instituted-offices and “lay participants”, and makes it all seem very inclusive.

 

[misericordie]

batteddy:

I say we officially institute more men into the offices of Acolyte and Lector and stop having any unofficial “readers” or “altar servers” or “EMCs”. Acolytes can official distribute communion if necessary.

I suppose even boys could be instituted Acolytes to continue an “altar boy” tradition…but people with official liturgical roles should be official instituted…

Otherwise it makes things much too protestant, blurs the distinction between clergy/officially-instituted-offices and “lay participants”, and makes it all seem very inclusive.

AMEN!!!

 

[Purificator]

I say we officially institute more men into the offices of Acolyte and Lector and stop having any unofficial “readers” or “altar servers” or “EMCs”. Acolytes can official distribute communion if necessary.

I suppose even boys could be instituted Acolytes to continue an “altar boy” tradition…but people with official liturgical roles should be official instituted…

Otherwise it makes things much too protestant, blurs the distinction between clergy/officially-instituted-offices and “lay participants”, and makes it all seem very inclusive.

A tiny number of bishops do just that – like Bruskewitz of Lincoln NB.

I can just imagine the 50’ long blue flames shooting out of the bottoms of the sexist-feministas here in California if any bishop dared do that.

And I hope mine does, ASAP.

 

[CatholicCid]

misericordie:

I am yet to meet a nun who offers/celebrates Mass.

I did not say that… I was reffering to helping the Priest with tasks in daily life, of course not celebrating at the altar…

Though, I do like the installing Acolytes quote… I’d love to do that