Feminist Hijacking of Confirmation

[hopefull]

I’ve looked through the threads on this subject and can’t find it, so I hope someone can help. A friend of mine has a 12 year old daughter who is being instructed for confirmation, unfortunately by a feminist faith formation director with an “agenda.” The woman who is director has been telling the children that when they are confirmed they become adults in the church and that it is their responsibility to work to correct injustices, especially the prohibition on ordaining women. My friend is distraught about this, and is looking for how to handle it. She has explained to her daughter that this is not going to change, that the pope has spoken and that to oppose the pope’s teaching would be a sin. But she is concerned about the other children, past, present and future affected by this woman. Has anyone run into this before? Is it commonly part of sacramental preparation? The pastor is very supportive of this director,and is pretty liberal but I don’t know if he knows about this situation. Thanks for any help, especially if you have details on the material being used to support such a viewpoint.

 

[dylanschrader]

I’m sorry that she is subjected to this.

No one can require that a child go through the “standard preparation program,” no matter what the parish or the pastor says. Canon Law requires that the sacraments not be withheld from those who are adequately prepared to receive them.

For an in-depth explanation of the rights of the faithful in this regard, see: jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/10/unacceptable_co.html

 

[1ke]

Has anyone run into this before? Is it commonly part of sacramental preparation?

Um, no, putting a heretic in charge of Sacramental preparation is not commonly part of the preparation of young children.

If I was the mother, I would set up a meeting with both the director and the pastor and confront this situation head-on. I would demand action on the part of the pastor, and I would also notify the bishop if the pastor refuses to fix this problem immediately.

Deprogramming children should not be necessary-- you should be able to trust your parish education program. Sadly that seems not to be the case here. I would also start looking at other sacramental prep optoins for my younger children.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

Remove the girl from the program, change parishes, get the girl a copy of the Baltimore Catechism, report the whole affair to the bishop, and enroll the girl in a good RCIA program. Oh yes, and punch this religious director in the nose

 

[HollyRose]

I hope you will reevaluate whether or not you like the idea of someone helping your child to think critically. It’s a good thing.
Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers. This is the time to discuss with your child this issue and certainly not the time to punch someone in the nose as was jokingly, but very inappropriately, said by someone here.
It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

 

[Pierre_Jean]

Remove the girl from the program, change parishes, get the girl a copy of the Baltimore Catechism, report the whole affair to the bishop, and enroll the girl in a good RCIA program. Oh yes, and punch this religious director in the nose

Bravo, that’s what I would have said under different names, had I not already been “banned” for saying such things.

For standing up for the Catholic Faith you can be expected to be “banned” from this website. The administrators of this website pretty much hate a Catholic strong in their faith.

 

[Pierre_Jean]

I hope you will reevaluate whether or not you like the idea of someone helping your child to think critically. It’s a good thing.
Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers. This is the time to discuss with your child this issue and certainly not the time to punch someone in the nose as was jokingly, but very inappropriately, said by someone here.
It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

See what I mean?

 

[HollyRose]

Le sigh.
Nothing is worth violence.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

Bravo, that’s what I would have said under different names, had I not already been “banned” for saying such things.

I am hoping that you are applauding my previous statement, and not the punching in the nose comment. That was in jest. But thanks for the support!

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I’ve looked through the threads on this subject and can’t find it, so I hope someone can help. A friend of mine has a 12 year old daughter who is being instructed for confirmation, unfortunately by a feminist faith formation director with an “agenda.” The woman who is director has been telling the children that when they are confirmed they become adults in the church and that it is their responsibility to work to correct injustices, especially the prohibition on ordaining women. My friend is distraught about this, and is looking for how to handle it. She has explained to her daughter that this is not going to change, that the pope has spoken and that to oppose the pope’s teaching would be a sin. But she is concerned about the other children, past, present and future affected by this woman. Has anyone run into this before? Is it commonly part of sacramental preparation? The pastor is very supportive of this director,and is pretty liberal but I don’t know if he knows about this situation. Thanks for any help, especially if you have details on the material being used to support such a viewpoint.

The first thing she needs to do is speak with the pastor, then if necessary the Bishop who is the Ordinary minister of Confirmation.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I hope you will reevaluate whether or not you like the idea of someone helping your child to think critically. It’s a good thing.
Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers. This is the time to discuss with your child this issue and certainly not the time to punch someone in the nose as was jokingly, but very inappropriately, said by someone here.
It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

One may have a “difference of opinion”, but when it involves Doctrine or Dogma it is no longer a difference of opinion but a rejection of Church teaching. A person who holds a position in the Church as Catechist or DRE agrees to teach what Christ and the Church teach, leaving personal opinion at home.

 

[dylanschrader]

I hope you will reevaluate whether or not you like the idea of someone helping your child to think critically. It’s a good thing.
Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers. This is the time to discuss with your child this issue and certainly not the time to punch someone in the nose as was jokingly, but very inappropriately, said by someone here.
It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

Thinking critically means being able to understand the relationships among things that one knows. This can be done by explaining to children why the truth is the truth.

It should definitely not be done by telling them lies and seeing whether they can figure out for themselves that they’re being lied to.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

I hope you will reevaluate whether or not you like the idea of someone helping your child to think critically. It’s a good thing.
Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers.

What does this have to do with critical thinking? The last thing an instructor like this would want is for a student to question their falsehood. I’ve tried this in college, and they usually get very angry, a common reaction when a person’s argument has been quashed.

It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

I’m sorry that you feel this way, but what part of “moot point” do you not understand? This instructor might as well be teaching the children that male pregnancy is just around the corner. This has nothing to do with a differing of opinion. She is foisting her agenda on a captive audience. It is indeed sinful that a person charged with preparing teenagers for Confirmation, most of whom have NOT been instructed in critical thinking, logical fallacies, or even basic Catholic theology, abuses her position to advance a heresy that was rejected consistantly for the last 2,000 years (as if nobody ever thought of women’s ordination until 1965?). We are not Congregationalists, who vote on what is true and what isn’t. A “progressive Catholic” is one who progresses with the Church, not against it. If I were the pastor, that teacher would progress straight out the door.

 

[Cranch]

Thinking critically means being able to understand the relationships among things that one knows. This can be done by explaining to children why the truth is the truth.

It should definitely not be done by telling them lies and seeing whether they can figure out for themselves that they’re being lied to.

 

[Grace_Angel]

I’ve looked through the threads on this subject and can’t find it, so I hope someone can help. A friend of mine has a 12 year old daughter who is being instructed for confirmation, unfortunately by a feminist faith formation director with an “agenda.” The woman who is director has been telling the children that when they are confirmed they become adults in the church and that it is their responsibility to work to correct injustices, especially the prohibition on ordaining women. My friend is distraught about this, and is looking for how to handle it. She has explained to her daughter that this is not going to change, that the pope has spoken and that to oppose the pope’s teaching would be a sin. But she is concerned about the other children, past, present and future affected by this woman. Has anyone run into this before? Is it commonly part of sacramental preparation? The pastor is very supportive of this director,and is pretty liberal but I don’t know if he knows about this situation. Thanks for any help, especially if you have details on the material being used to support such a viewpoint.

First of all, Hopeful, I would give the pastor the benefit of the doubt and go and see him. If he continues to support this behaviour of the instructor and doesnt attend to the damage that this instructor has done, then I would suggest you contact the local Bishop/Archbishop, if nothing continues, ACBC. This is serious matter because once instilled as a learning its difficult to undo later on. Children are taught to be respectful of the educators so its difficult to then go back and not believe what the instructor has taught. This is serious dissent. Please do something about for the sake of those children whose parents dont closely monitor the instructions their children receive.
God Bless your endavours.
Grace Angel.

 

[Aramis]

It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

One isn’t required to believe all the theology nor all the teachings to be a practical catholic… only the dogma must be accepted, a very narrow subset of Doctrine, and an even narrower subset of theology.

However, the standard for religious education volunteers is MUCH higher. It includes a requirement to teach only what is allowed church teaching (which does include, in some areas, some choices, but those are deep into theology, and outside the doctrine, which encompasses the dogma, as well as much more.)

Anyone advocating female ordination to the priesthood in the role of a CCD instructor is making serious errors.

Despite the biblical evidence of Deaconesses, even advocating the ordination of women to the Diaconate is beyond the scope.

 

[THurifer2]

Here is what I have to say to this catechist

“Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God”

 

[fix]

Until your child actually questions, affirms, and then owns a belief for him or herself, it is never going to truly be his or hers. This is the time to discuss with your child this issue

The truth is it is matter of faith and reason. The child needs to be properly catechized. The belief one must “own” is the truth. Would one think it justified to teach a child 2+2=6? It is more than a matter of opinion. It is a matter of objective truth.

It’s sad that every time I come on this board, it makes me quite sick to see that absolutely any differing of opinion is considered sinful. I guess I’m going to have to consider myself a progressive Catholic and just ignore the majority of what the so-called “apologetics” say. It makes me more than a little sad.

Again, it is not like saying I like strawberry and you like vanilla. These matters pertain to what is true and what is false. Truth is not determined by opinion.

 

[Pug]

But she is concerned about the other children, past, present and future affected by this woman. Has anyone run into this before? Is it commonly part of sacramental preparation?

Hopefull, I think the best place to start is with the pastor in your friend’s case. Beforehand, figure out how to best describe her concerns. Figure out if she wants to ask for a specific action from him, that he can say yes to or not. Express her concern for the other children, perhaps. Then see what happens after the meeting. Let us know if your friend meets with success.

It is not appropriate to be telling the candidates to work for ordination of women. No, it is not common.

 

[Seatuck]

It’s also not true that confirmation means becoming an adult in the church.Although it is sometimes referred to as the sacrament of maturity we know infants can be confirmed. We wouldn’t consider them adults would we?

Start with the Catechism. Does it say Confirmation is for the purpose of fighting to change things in the church? Nope.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a2.htm