Female Altar Servers

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Honestly, no, I can’t. But…don’t you think it becomes kind of a natural question? Keep in mind, I said it wasn’t such a huge deal…until “the” question came up.
Women (feminists) have been thinking they could be priests, long before girls could ever become Altar servers. This question is as old as the Church itself, and the answer has always been “no.” Women can do any lay function, but they cannot be ordained in any capacity.
 
Well, they didn’t get it from the Vatican, of that I am absolutely certain.

The Vatican has said that girls can be Altar servers - that this fits in with the role of the laity, which is all baptized Catholics. Baptized Catholic women and girls are members of the laity.

The Vatican has also said that there is no way for the Church ever to be able to ordain women as priests.

In both cases, I thnk my best policy is to believe the Vatican.

Of course they did not get it from the Vatican. Rome did not intend for girl alter servers to mean that it is a step to priesthood.

We humans can and do many things that the Church does not intend. We can take a situation and expand and run with it.

Yes—the Church has stated that She has to authority to ordain women priest----but that has not stop those misguided women from seeking “ordination”.
 
Of course they did not get it from the Vatican. Rome did not intend for girl alter servers to mean that it is a step to priesthood.
We agree on this.
We humans can and do many things that the Church does not intend. We can take a situation and expand and run with it.
Which is not a good reason to forbid any baptized person from legitimate areas of service to God. Otherwise we end up becoming ridiculous, forbidding women even to be seen in public, just in case the very sight of them walking upright like human beings is “distracting” or “discouraging” to some prideful, weak-minded male, who will then become discouraged from walking upright like a human being because it’s a “girl” thing. :rolleyes:
Yes—the Church has stated that She has to authority to ordain women priest----but that has not stop those misguided women from seeking “ordination”.
I suspect that nothing would. They answer to their own conscience: we didn’t do anything to “make them” do this. They already knew that they were going to be outside of the Church when they did this.
 
I am not one to be blasphemous but I too have always wondered why it was proper for two women to not only serve at the last supper/first mass but also to share in the event.
I am not aware of any women being at the Last Supper. I know that there has been speculation but that is all it has been no women are mentioned at all either serving or sharing:rolleyes:

Not only that but they also were there to not only witness Jesus being taken down from the cross but also to bath and swaddle Him in clean cloth for burial.
They had not performed the burial ritual because there wasn’t time. I doubt if women could have done it on their own. They had the help of men.
Where were the men who shared in the last supper when that was being done I might ask?
And it matter because:confused:
Then who might I ask were the first witness’ to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead?
:confused:
Now the discussion is relegated to a woman’s place on the altar when instead I think it should be why are women now denied the joy of saying mass as are men?Because that is the way Jesus said to do it and His Church has no authority to do otherwise. Just as men are denied the joy of giving birth. What right do we have to tell God He is unjust:rolleyes:
My simple feeling is that women have ascended to heaven as saints but are not permitted to walk up two or three steps to the communion chalice in the celebration of mass.
The only one who has ascended to heaven is Jesus and the reason again is Jesus. We are all part of the Body of Jesus and if we have been made a hand we shouldn’t complain because we are not an arm
 
Women (feminists) have been thinking they could be priests, long before girls could ever become Altar servers. This question is as old as the Church itself, and the answer has always been “no.” Women can do any lay function, but they cannot be ordained in any capacity.
As long as we can keep everyone on the same page, then.
 
Well, they didn’t get it from the Vatican, of that I am absolutely certain.

The Vatican has said that girls can be Altar servers - that this fits in with the role of the laity, which is all baptized Catholics. Baptized Catholic women and girls are members of the laity.

The Vatican has also said that there is no way for the Church ever to be able to ordain women as priests.

In both cases, I thnk my best policy is to believe the Vatican.
Women will never be Catholic Priests. The reason most religions have split from the Catholic Church has been a mix of Selfishness, and convenience. Can you imagine Catholic Priests going on T.V. asking for donations, and then building multi-million dollar houses? If you wanted to be the “star” of the service, and married, start you’re own church. Many religions now have women leading services. Many welcome the homosexual lifestyle, birthcontrol, premarital sex, etc. As society changes, change the rules.

The strength of the Catholic Church is the consistency of its teachings. Our basic beliefs have not changed, and will not just to make people happy. The Vatican is very accepting of others beliefs, but will not make them our own.
 
My personal opinion is that if girls weren’t allowed to be servers, the priests would be holding their own books when reading prayers, etc.
That’s kind of funny.
We have 200 Altar servers. Not a single one is female. Blows that theory.

Altar boys, choir girls.

Our girls choir recently sang for Cardinal Arinze, just to brag a little.
 
When Fr. Bombay takes the cassock, there won’t be any girls allowed on his altar or anywhere near his sanctuary for that matter. 👍
Where are you going to find all these altar-linen-washing men, then? 😉

Seriously - I respect your right to ask whomever you want to help you - all men would be a great thing, since so many men have so few opportunities to work hard for the simple joy of working for the Lord, instead of always for a pay cheque, day in and day out.

I retain the right to say “Yes” to my priest, when he asks me to help him out in ways that are permitted by the Vatican.
 
We agree on this.

Which is not a good reason to forbid any baptized person from legitimate areas of service to God. Otherwise we end up becoming ridiculous, forbidding women even to be seen in public, just in case the very sight of them walking upright like human beings is “distracting” or “discouraging” to some prideful, weak-minded male, who will then become discouraged from walking upright like a human being because it’s a “girl” thing. :rolleyes:

I suspect that nothing would. They answer to their own conscience: we didn’t do anything to “make them” do this. They already knew that they were going to be outside of the Church when they did this.

Women did not come out of the cave with the introduction of girl altar servers. They have been productive members of society before that time. How you can even come up with all this stuff about forbidding them to be seen in public and the other stuff is way of base.
 
Women did not come out of the cave with the introduction of girl altar servers. They have been productive members of society before that time. How you can even come up with all this stuff about forbidding them to be seen in public and the other stuff is way of base.
The reasons given for not having girl Altar servers include: that the boys will become discouraged from serving if they see girls doing it; that the very sight of girls at Mass is “disgusting” to them; that it is a blow to their male pride to see that a girl is capable of doing what they do; or that they might fear that the girls are better at it than they are, and become intimidated from trying it.

If these are stupid reasons for girls not to be allowed to go to school, or not be allowed to play on the play ground, then they’re equally stupid reasons for girls not to serve at the Altar.
 
The reasons given for not having girl Altar servers include: that the boys will become discouraged from serving if they see girls doing it; that the very sight of girls at Mass is “disgusting” to them; that it is a blow to their male pride to see that a girl is capable of doing what they do; or that they might fear that the girls are better at it than they are, and become intimidated from trying it.

If these are stupid reasons for girls not to be allowed to go to school, or not be allowed to play on the play ground, then they’re equally stupid reasons for girls not to serve at the Altar.
The question is
But, I would simply like to know why girls serve at the altar when apparently women never will
I haven’t seen an answer to this yet.😦
 
Where are you going to find all these altar-linen-washing men, then? 😉

Seriously - I respect your right to ask whomever you want to help you - all men would be a great thing, since so many men have so few opportunities to work hard for the simple joy of working for the Lord, instead of always for a pay cheque, day in and day out.

I retain the right to say “Yes” to my priest, when he asks me to help him out in ways that are permitted by the Vatican.
Well, of course I’ll allow the ladies to do women’s work. It would be quite appalling for me to ask a man to launder linens. :bigyikes:
 
Well, of course I’ll allow the ladies to do women’s work. It would be quite appalling for me to ask a man to launder linens. :bigyikes:
Even if it means they will violate your Sanctuary with their “girl cooties,” in so doing? 😉
 
The question is
I haven’t seen an answer to this yet.😦
Being an Altar server is not the same thing as being a priest.

Being an Altar server is no longer a step on the journey toward the priesthood - it is now (since 1983) a lay role.

Lay roles are open to women. From the beginning of the Church, they always have been.

A priest is now free, should he so choose, to ask a woman or girl to assist him as an Altar server at Mass, in addition to still being able to ask boys and men to do this, as well, because the role of Altar server is now officially classified as a lay role; it is no longer the first step towards Ordination to the priesthood.
 
The reasons given for not having girl Altar servers include: that the boys will become discouraged from serving if they see girls doing it; that the very sight of girls at Mass is “disgusting” to them; that it is a blow to their male pride to see that a girl is capable of doing what they do; or that they might fear that the girls are better at it than they are, and become intimidated from trying it.

If these are stupid reasons for girls not to be allowed to go to school, or not be allowed to play on the play ground, then they’re equally stupid reasons for girls not to serve at the Altar./QUOTE]​

One thing that is becoming more evident— females seem to be replacing males as alter servers in many places—for whatever reason.

Again—girls have been educated, and they were at liberty to play on the playground ----way before they were allowed on the Altar—so what you are stating has no bearing on this discussion.
 
One thing that is becoming more evident— females seem to be replacing males as alter servers in many places—for whatever reason.

Again—girls have been educated, and they were at liberty to play on the playground ----way before they were allowed on the Altar—so what you are stating has no bearing on this discussion.
But the excuses for not permitting them to do so were the same, in the past.

(I grew up in the era of sex-segregated playgrounds, and I remember being told that my very existence as a girl was a source of intense discomfort and horror to the boys that I wanted to play with, and that therefore, I was not allowed to play on “their” playground, so please go home like a good little girl. The reasons given for not allowing girls to serve at the Altar, despite there being no prohibition against it, sound exactly the same to me, and they bring back all the same feelings I had back then.)
 
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