Girl Altar Serviers

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tafan

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How many of you see any usefulness in having girl altar servers? Do you like it or not?
 
The Church allows it. That is all that is important to me.
 
I do not like polls asking for my personal opinion on the usefulness of girl altar servers. 🙂
 
I don’t understand the question. If altar servers aren’t serving a purpose during Mass, aren’t “useful,” why are they there?

And what does their usefulness have to do with whether or not I like them?

Luna
 
PerfectTiming said:
The Church allows it. That is all that is important to me.
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No question about that, so I certainly am not casting any judgement on any girls who are altar servers. But the church also explicitly allows for a Bishop or a Paster to restrict it to males only (and I do not think the Church allows for it to be restricted to females only). So there does seem to be room for discussion.

My point of view is rather simple. The only reason the Church ever allowed juveniles to be altar servers in the first place is for vocational development. Since girls cannot become priests, what is the point? And, in practicality, it goes a step further. Anyone who has ever dealt a lot with boys knows that they loose interest when an activity is predominantly done by females. Hence, at a lot of parishes, it appears to me the majority of the altar servers are not girls.
 
I think that spirituality informed by female experience has an important place at the altar. At the altar we are participating again in the sacrifice of Our Lord and it seems to me that women were the last to leave the cross when Jesus was actually sacrificed. This church has far too long oppressed women with respect to playing a co-leadership role in the liturgy. So, I feel strongly that the acceptance of alter girls is a small step in the right direction.

Bruce
 
trickster said:
I think that spirituality informed by female experience has an important place at the altar. At the altar we are participating again in the sacrifice of Our Lord and it seems to me that women were the last to leave the cross when Jesus was actually sacrificed. This church has far too long oppressed women with respect to playing a co-leadership role in the liturgy. So, I feel strongly that the acceptance of alter girls is a small step in the right direction.

Bruce
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Whatever!:rolleyes:
 
hudson said:
Whatever!:rolleyes:
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“Well what’s it going to be boy” yes or no 🙂 Hudson…what’s your arguement for or against what I am saying? I don’t pretend to be an expert but I do think that the church is a male institution and we ought to change that to reflect the entire community.

Bruce
 
Uh oh! I’m already ducking to avoid what will surely be flying contentious words! :blackeye: Holy controversial topic, Batman!
 
grasscutter said:
Uh oh! I’m already ducking to avoid what will surely be flying contentious words! :blackeye: Holy controversial topic, Batman!
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If by contentious, you mean uncharitable arguments, I hope not. I did not want that when I started it. I hope that an open discussion can be had without either side being uncharitable.
 
tafan said:
If by contentious, you mean uncharitable arguments, I hope not. I did not want that when I started it. I hope that an open discussion can be had without either side being uncharitable.
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No worries about me tafan…I was just teasing…if you read all of my postings elsewhere you will know that I am diplomatic in my thinking. I value Catholic Answers cause it is the mecca of conservative Catholic thinking of which I am not…! I enjoy dialoging with those who see things different than me…cause that is how we all challenge ourselves to grow and change our thinking…

So I look forward to the conversation.

Bruce
 
tafan said:
How many of you see any usefulness in having girl altar servers? Do you like it or not?
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My answer is that my daughter will be an altar server at Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Atlanta on March 31.

-Tim-
 
trickster said:
I think that spirituality informed by female experience has an important place at the altar. At the altar we are participating again in the sacrifice of Our Lord and it seems to me that women were the last to leave the cross when Jesus was actually sacrificed. This church has far too long oppressed women with respect to playing a co-leadership role in the liturgy. So, I feel strongly that the acceptance of alter girls is a small step in the right direction.

Bruce
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A small step in the right direction, as in Women Priests?

God Forbid:signofcross:

Jesus didn’t have any women be apostles. If He wanted to, than He would’ve done so. No, women had a place to play in the Church, and it was a very different one than the role men had to play. What are you gonna say Jesus was sexist, behind the times, and oppressive?
“Well if only Jesus knew society wouldn’t always be a male-dominated one”

UM, HE DID KNOW. And He did what He did. No getting around it. I choose this line of argumentation, because this is the reason the Pope says, even if He wanted women to be ordained, he couldn’t do it without violating the teachings of Jesus. (not that he wants to).

Anyways, a priest has to be in Persona Christi. Christ was a man. God is a man. Denominations that allow women priests start calling God unisex or even female :confused:
Is no bueno. No bueno. :nope:
 
grasscutter said:
Uh oh! I’m already ducking to avoid what will surely be flying contentious words! :blackeye: Holy controversial topic, Batman!
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It’s only contentious for those who make the concious decision to disagree with the wishes of their local Bishop.

-Tim-
 
Well, I say Altar Servers should mainly be for boys because it can inspire in them a Vocation to the Priesthood. I don’t have any problem with girl Altar Servers since the Church allows them, but girls should understand what they’re doing. They’re asssisting at the Sacrifice of the Cross.
 
tafan said:
If by contentious, you mean uncharitable arguments, I hope not. I did not want that when I started it. I hope that an open discussion can be had without either side being uncharitable.
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I hope so too! That hasn’t been the case in the past when this topic was brought up. By the way, I voted in favour of female alter servers.
 
trickster said:
I think that spirituality informed by female experience has an important place at the altar. At the altar we are participating again in the sacrifice of Our Lord and it seems to me that women were the last to leave the cross when Jesus was actually sacrificed. This church has far too long oppressed women with respect to playing a co-leadership role in the liturgy. So, I feel strongly that the acceptance of alter girls is a small step in the right direction.

Bruce
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More like a step in the wrong direction because as another poster have said, it can’t lead to priesthood so what is the point? according to Gospels there wasn’t any sort of female co-leadership(using your phrase) in the church
 
Bev17243 said:
More like a step in the wrong direction because as another poster have said, it can’t lead to priesthood so what is the point? according to Gospels there wasn’t any sort of female co-leadership(using your phrase) in the church
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Thats exactly what i was thinking. Their can never be women priests so It could’nt lead to a vocation for women. It should only belong to boys because they are the only ones that can have a vocation and we do need many more priests in this day. Just my personal opinion.
 
Bev17243 said:
More like a step in the wrong direction because as another poster have said, it can’t lead to priesthood so what is the point? according to Gospels there wasn’t any sort of female co-leadership(using your phrase) in the church
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You know I think that all of us guys were altar boys at some point in time. I don’t ever remember any hints or suggestions that I become a priest just because I was an altar boy…what is the source of this position? Is it a Vatican thing or is it an individual parish or diocesan thing?

We are also not stuck in the past! Just because there may have been a time when the altar boy role was a prepatory role for the priesthood doesn’t mean “it always has to be for that purpose”…! It is 2012 now…not 1963! We are free as a Catholic community to re-invent the role and responsibiltiy of alter servers and towards that progressive state I support the participation of half of our Catholic community at the alter in the form of alter girls.

Bruce
 
LittleHannah said:
Thats exactly what i was thinking. Their can never be women priests so It could’nt lead to a vocation for women. It should only belong to boys because they are the only ones that can have a vocation and we do need many more priests in this day. Just my personal opinion.
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I would never say that women priests are not within the Catholic Church…who knows what will happen in 500 years 🙂

How do you explain to a little girl who feels called to serve mass with the priest? In all cultures, humans have special or unique “counter” callings (i.e Joan of Arc) outside of the gender role the times and space have allowed that girl or boy?

Bruce
 
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