Is the Catholic Church Sexist?

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HelenRose said:
Not only that. The Church Herself is feminine. We refer to the Church as the spouse of Christ.

She is beautiful indeed.

(I really try to avoid the “The Church is Sexist” argument but sometimes I get so tired of the clichés that are hurled at Her, that I jump in)
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I don’t want to argue but with no official ecclesial female leadership, it is only a metaphor.
 
Michael_Mayo said:
I don’t want to argue but with no official ecclesial female leadership, it is only a metaphor.
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The leaders of hospitals - nuns
The leaders of schools and - nuns
The teachers - nuns
Saints - women of a kinds
Doctors of the Church -
Saint Catherine of Siena
Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Therese of Lisieux

The purpose of the Church - Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The Queen of Heaven - Mary.

The Church - Feminine

I often think of the men as the bean counters - while women are the soul.
 
Michael_Mayo said:
Please put it in the proper context then.
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forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=413042

Historical context is extremely important. The phrasing and interpretation of many pieces of scripture would sound odd, abrasive, and even downright cruel if we don’t take into account
  1. The translation from Greek and Hebrew to English being imperfect
  2. Language was often more blunt and simple
  3. Historical context changes the meaning of everything
 
HelenRose said:
The leaders of hospitals - nuns
The leaders of schools and - nuns
The teachers - nuns
Saints - women of a kinds
Doctors of the Church -
Saint Catherine of Siena
Saint Teresa of Avila
Saint Therese of Lisieux

The purpose of the Church - Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

The Queen of Heaven - Mary.

The Church - Feminine

I often think of the men as the bean counters - while women are the soul.
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Great Points.

God created men and women to be different. However, those differences compliment each other for the betterment of society and the family.

Calling one superior or inferior to one another is foolish. They are different and equal for a reason.

Any Church who rightfully acknowledges the Virgin Mary as being the greatest human in all of history, the Queen of Heaven, and the most powerful being ever created, can never be thought of as being sexist. Even the Angels bow before Mary.

Anyone who thinks the Church is sexist really doesn’t understand the Church or the way that our world works.
 
Any belief system or organisation that is run by one sex would be seen to be sexist I think.

Patriarchal - run by men.

Matriarchy - run by women.

Our church is Patriarchal, women work within this system and run things etc, but the final decision would always be decided by a man. Most it seems are fine with this, because it’s a very traditional way of living.
 
HelenRose said:
Sexist is believing that feminine is inferior to masculine. This is the greatest mistake our feminists has made. Our radical feminists hate femininity. They are the ones who are stripping women of the strength and glory that belong to womanhood and are only succeeding in making women a form of inferior masculinity.
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Well said !

The beliefs and teachings of the Church are not sexist, they simply believe that men and women are different, that femininity and masculinity are virtues and that the sexes are designed by God with different roles in mind.

It only becomes sexist if you feel as feminists clearly do that feminine means inferior.
 
I suppose the Catholic church is just as ‘sexist’ as the Bible. (Well actually less so but that’s a different topic).
 
GeauxLSU said:
I suppose the Catholic church is just as ‘sexist’ as the Bible. (Well actually less so but that’s a different topic).
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The following is a short list of the strong women - good and bad - from the Hebrew Testament

Eve
Sarah
Hagar
Rebekah
Keturah
Leah
Rachel
Tamar - more righteous than her father in Law (she pretended to be a prostitute and is an ancestor of Christ
Puah and Shiphrah - who defied Pharaoh
Jochebed
Pharaoh’s daughter - defied her father
Zipporah - Moses’ wife
Miriam - leader prophet and poet
Moses’ Cushite wife - verbally attached and defended by God and Moses
Rahab - prostitute - Ancestor of Christ

Deborah - Judge - leader of men
Jael - violent protector of Israel
Delilah - brought down Samson
Hannah
Michal
Abigail - quick thinker saved herself and her stupid drunk husband.
Rizpah
Tamar
Servant girl - spy
Bathsheba - adulterous - queen mother - ancestor of Christ
Queen of Sheba
Naamah - wicked queen
Jezebel -
Widow of Zarephath
Esther
Ruth
Naomi
Code: 
The following is a **short** list of strong women from the Christian Testament
Mary Mother of God

Simon Peter’s mother-in-law
Pilate’s wife warned Pilate
Mary Magdalene
Mary mother of James and Joses
Herodias and her daughter demanded John the Baptist’s head and got it.
Salome - stood at the foot of the cross
Elizabeth
Ann
Joanna
Susanna - supported Jesus out of her own means
Mary of Bethany - praised for not being in the kitchen
Martha - criticized for being in the kitchen
Mary the mother of James
Woman at the well - the Church’s first missionary
Woman caught in adultery. Jesus shamed her accusers
Mary wife of Clopas - follower of Jesus
Dorcas - loved for good deeds
Mary - mother of John Mark
Lydia - a successful business woman
Priscilla - tentmaker - worked with Paul and her husband - the Church met in her home
Penelope
Aquila - fellow worker of Paul
Lydia - a successful business woman trading in purple

Are there any other writings that range from 2,000 to 4,000 years ago that have the life stories and history of so many strong and respected women? Ordinary women who lived extraordinary lives.

Some of these women were good some were bad but each and everyone of them could chew up an spit out our wimpy whining modern day feminists.
 
SusanneT said:
Well said !

The beliefs and teachings of the Church are not sexist, they simply believe that men and women are different, that femininity and masculinity are virtues and that the sexes are designed by God with different roles in mind.

It only becomes sexist if you feel as feminists clearly do that feminine means inferior.
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And the role of women precludes them from being included in the Magisterium.
 
Someone else mentioned this in this thread, but here it is again:

“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”
 
jilly4ski said:
So?
Is that per se evidence of sexism?
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I think so. It is worse than a glass ceiling. They can’t even get in the room. They have no voice in the Magisterium other than an optional invite, from a male, to express opinion.
 
Michael_Mayo said:
1 Corinthians 14:34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

Since the earliest of days in the Church there has been sexism. Let’s not pretend otherwise. For centuries women were considered property. When Jesus chose the 12 men he knew the dangers they would be facing even as men. Choosing to send women to travel and preach was unthinkable for that time and culture. And yet some remarkable women did wield influence in spite of the institutional sexism.
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True, women were and in some parts of the world, still are considered properties. However this is not due to Catholicism in spite of what people would like to believe.
 
Michael_Mayo said:
And the role of women precludes them from being included in the Magisterium.
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So?

We have more important things to do. This is not a problem for me. It is a distraction from the truly valuable and far more important care of God’s Children.
 
The problem women face is the belief that:

1: “Women’s Work” is inferior to men’s work.
2: Femininity is inferior to masculinity.
3: Men are superior to women.
4: That killing is superior to giving birth.
5: Counting beans is superior to caring for people.

Men used to believe this and now women do too.
 
HelenRose said:
The problem women face is the belief that:

1: “Women’s Work” is inferior to men’s work.
2: Femininity is inferior to masculinity.
3: Men are superior to women.
4: That killing is superior to giving birth.
5: Counting beans is superior to caring for people.

Men used to believe this and now women do too.
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As a former bean counter turned full time mother, I cannot agree with this more.
 
roseofshannon said:
Power?

The hand that rocks the cradle…rules the world!

Mary didn’t just feed, Jesus. She educated Him.

She was educated in the temple from a very young age and had memorized the Scriptures which she taught to Jesus.

This is why her lap is referred to as the Seat of Wisdom.

God, the all powerful creator of the universe, put His only Son in her hands.

She could have taught Him to love money, power and warfare. She could have taught Him Satanic rituals. She could have taught Him to hate certain races. She could have taught Him to hate women. She could have beat Him, neglected Him, even sexually abused Him or secretly kill Him.

She was given complete power over God!

Mom’s don’t just birth and feed and scrub floors.

They form consciences. Consciences are what create History. Behind every great man is a great woman.

They create and form souls which last for all eternity.

Doctors can save a life (temporarily) but it will eventually end. Only a Mom can give someone their life. That’s an ETERNAL gift. It never ends.

The whole human race depends on women and their sacrificial love.

There are over 10,000 named Saints, but there are many, many more that are unnamed and never canonized.

A real Saint would prefer to be unnamed. They would never seek glory for themselves. They would only want their story to be shared if it gave greater glory to God and not to themselves.

The good deeds Moms do are hidden in the home, so their rewards won’t be seen until Heaven as Jesus promised.
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If Mary taught him how to worship the devil, it’s not like he would have done it. I mean he is God. She could have taught him all the wrong things, but Jesus, being God, wouldn’t listen. All of the things he knew (scripture) is because he is God, if that makes sense. Maybe Mary taught him skills like housework or cooking or first aid etc. But I doubt Jesus is a good man because of Mary, he’s good because he’s God. So I don’t think it’s a good idea to say “Mary could have taught him to be racist etc”. Mary could be the most evil person but Jesus would still turn out to be the same savior he was because he’s God
 
I don’t think the Church is sexist-in the sense that the Church does not oppress women on purpose. (They provided education for females at a time when it’s odd to do so)

But I also don’t think the Church is pro woman. (You can bring up Mary, but obviously he would choose a woman to GIVE BIRTH) The Church seems rather neutral about gender equality. It says that we are equal and then that’s it. The priest thing has its own reason. The pope could want women to be priests, but he cannot do anything about it. That’s not the Church’s problem! God says so 🤷

I always felt like God loves us all, but prefers men. Sounds ridiculous/contradictory. But like how a mother loves her children equally, but prefers a child more for one reason or the other
 
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