The Ordination Of Women Priests

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Complaining that women can’t be ordained is like complaining that men can’t have babies. There is really no point. Men don’t have the ‘right’ to have babies and women don’t have the ‘right’ to be ordained. This is by nature and the church has no more authority to say that women can be ordained than it has the authority to say that men can have babies. To say that women should be given the right to be ordained is to be ignorant of the function and role of the priest and the meaning of ordination and the fact that being ordained isn’t a “right” to begin with.
 
Brod337 said:
I never claimed otherwise! 🙂
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Of course not! 😉 Just think it is important to note the “balance” on this subject and to try to make it clear that the Church certainly well recognizes the dignity of women. The gender limitation is often cited as a “discriminatory norm”. As your citation shows, that is really far from the true considerations in the matter.

Peace!
 
What I always find so fascinating about these threads that question the Church about some theological issue or other, is that, it is initiated by a ‘Trial Member.’ Then, once the question is, for all practical intents and purposes, gets definitively answer,* there is no feed back from the OP.:cool:*

Curioser and curiouser…
 
Nimzovik said:
What I always find so fascinating about these threads that question the Church about some theological issue or other, is that, it is initiated by a ‘Trial Member.’ Then, once the question is, for all practical intents and purposes, gets definitively answer,* there is no feed back from the OP.:cool:*

Curioser and curiouser…
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It’s a vast internet forum conspiracy, likely initiated by a large multinational tabloid with anti-Catholic leanings! :eek:

But you are right - it is a little like holding fresh bait over a tank of piranha. Only difference is even “stale bait” gets the same reaction …
 
ByzCathCantor said:
It is one thing to admit one’s own ignorance, yet fully uncharitable to point out another’s … 😦

The OP was respectful and requested guidance on the subject. We can likely do better simply by laying down the Truth as taught by the Church.

The OP is a stated Catholic living in Scotland, where over 40% of the population belong to the Church of Scotland and less than 20% are Catholic (and over 25% profess no faith). We are grateful to God that we have fellow Catholics there, and we need to support them.

To the OP:

I would add that most recently Blessed Pope John Paul II spoke most definitely on this topic in his Apostolic Letter, ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS, “On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men” (with some controversial reception related to reasons you mentioned).

However, it is important to note that throughout his Papacy, he also spoke with great frequency on the dignity of women, most formally in his Apostolic Letter, MULIERIS DIGNITATEM, “On the Dignity and Vocation of Women”. His views on this subject were always centered by his extraordinary devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

These are two relevant writings on both topics - the exclusivity of the priesthood and the Church’s view of the dignity of women - and hopefully will aid in your understanding.

Blessings!
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I must confess that I was somewhat taken aback and not a little offended by the response you quoted, particularly as, as you have identified, I was simply being honest about my position, accepting that it was contrary to Church teaching and potentially ill informed and that my post was intended to better inform and potentially thereby alter my position.

I am very new to this forum and had hoped to use it to deepen my understanding and faith.

Your supportive words and points of reference are very much appreciated and have convinced me that the forum is indeed likely to be a very worthwhile experience. God bless you.
 
370202 said:
I must confess that I was somewhat taken aback and not a little offended by the response you quoted, particularly as, as you have identified, I was simply being honest about my position, accepting that it was contrary to Church teaching and potentially ill informed and that my post was intended to better inform and potentially thereby alter my position.

I am very new to this forum and had hoped to use it to deepen my understanding and faith.

Your supportive words and points of reference are very much appreciated and have convinced me that the forum is indeed likely to be a very worthwhile experience. God bless you.
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Please stick with it! After a while, depending on the subject area, you will come to know and identify the many faithful, knowledgeable and charitable contributors who frequent this forum. It is also very well moderated.

God’s choicest blessings to you and your family!
 
ByzCathCantor said:
With due respect, it is possible (and indeed is a fact of life) that some men are called to both vocations, fatherhood and priesthood. The norm of celibacy is a barrier to that dual calling, one that has been and continues to be embraced in Eastern Christianity, including in the Eastern Catholic Churches. Knowing many married priests (mostly in Orthodoxy) and having been raised in a parish with a married priest and family (a rarity for my generation), I would tell you that the vocation is a family vocation, and it is not an easy life. These priests and their wives normally hold secular jobs and serve their parish communities day in and day out. After witnessing their loving sacrifice on a daily basis, one might rightly argue that the “real men” are those that can and do handle the challenges of both vocations, especially in the modern world.

Nonetheless, we pray fervently for vocations! :gopray:
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I agree that the barrier to married priests is one that is within the power of the Church to lift, unlike the barrier to women “priests”. But I cringe a little when it is proposed as a possible solution to the perceived shortage of priests.

Your post, I think points out some of the reasons that it isn’t a simple as saying “ok, let’s ordain married men too”. If we are in a situation where our priests have to have secular jobs as well as thier parish duties, even with twice as many priests, we would have a worse shortage. Not to mention the problem of priests wives needing to work full time too.
 
If you see that there are so few priests answering the call, is it because Christ is not calling? Or is it that the lure and seduction of the world is stronger in the years of teens and 20’s? Many young people make the choice to be sexually active because birth control is easily available and the worry of pregnancy is mostly gone. We hear from Catholic families that, although the children were brought up in the Church, they lose interest in their teens. It’s not surprising really to see vocations dropping in some parts of the world. Not in all. That should be the ache in the hearts of Catholics, Catholic young people leaving the Church as the prodigal did in the scriptures. Note, all the vocations are suffering, priesthood, religious, married.

When I go to an RC church (not often), I see the one male priest, and the rest of the people serving are women. Well God bless them! But where are the men? Are they filling the pews? Are they there with their families? Yes, some. Are they the spiritual heads of their homes, the little church? So very few are active in their vocations. To say that women should become priests is really over looking the deeper problem of faith and family life from which vocations come.

I hope you stay on the forum and grow in your own love and understanding of the Church, that you and I both can be salt and light to the world as Christ asked us to be.
 
Corki said:
I agree that the barrier to married priests is one that is within the power of the Church to lift, unlike the barrier to women “priests”. But I cringe a little when it is proposed as a possible solution to the perceived shortage of priests.

Your post, I think points out some of the reasons that it isn’t a simple as saying “ok, let’s ordain married men too”. If we are in a situation where our priests have to have secular jobs as well as thier parish duties, even with twice as many priests, we would have a worse shortage. Not to mention the problem of priests wives needing to work full time too.
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Agreed on all points, with special note on the bolded statement. Celibacy must still be embraced. In the Eastern traditions, it is more fully expressed and communally supported in monastic life. That said, vocation in general are falling - many have correctly stated that this is not the definitive solution. Indeed, it introduces many more problems, especially since current Western praxis (e.g. emphasis on daily Mass) and generally larger congregations would put great demands on a married priest.
 
PennyinCanada said:
If you see that there are so few priests answering the call, is it because Christ is not calling? Or is it that the lure and seduction of the world is stronger in the years of teens and 20’s?
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Indeed, and this is why I personally support the Church’s emphasis on combating secularization, relativization and religious indifference.

That said, there is some hope, and I do think those who are answering the call these days are better prepared.
 
ByzCathCantor said:
Agreed on all points, with special note on the bolded statement. Celibacy must still be embraced. In the Eastern traditions, it is more fully expressed and communally supported in monastic life. That said, vocation in general are falling - many have correctly stated that this is not the definitive solution. Indeed, it introduces many more problems, especially since current Western praxis (e.g. emphasis on daily Mass) and generally larger congregations would put great demands on a married priest.
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I actually think it is a solution that needs to be explored and expanded but NOT as a solution to a priest shortage but rather as a way to help more men find thier vocation in an increasingly complex world. These are two different problems the Church is facing. (It’s a problem for women too but that’s a totally different topic)
 
Adam had a grant of power and authority as steward of life on Earth before Woman was created from his tissue. Adam brought sin and death into the world when he ate of the forbidden fruit because that was his duty he betrayed; to it is called the SIN OF ADAM. One may say it’s called the “Sin of Adam” and not the “Sin of Adam & Eve” so woman cannot atone for the SIN OF ADAM as priestess.

Woman, and through her, her Seed, were given their own separate grant of power and authority, war upon Lucifer and his seed. This is per God’s cursing of Lucifer and his minions with the Woman and her Seed in Genesis 3:15.

Complying with God’s request through Our Lady of the Rosary to: show devotion to and emulate her Immaculate Heart; pray the daily Rosary for peace; make the five First Saturdays of reparation to her Immaculate Heart; and urge the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart by Peter in union and at the same time as all bishops in their respective cathedrals in one solemn, public ceremony for the conversion of that nation–also given as the “only” means to a period of peace–exalts the Woman & Seed in their separate role and unites us as the Blessed Virgin’s “other children” of Apocalpyse 12.

Apart from that, a woman on the altar offering Jesus Christ has such grisly abortion-esque cannibal human sacrifice overtones versus the Alter Christus offering Himself really it is too ugly to contemplate and such gender-bending women will be gently guided to the nearest exit just as any fan jumping on the field to catch a football and make a touchdown simply because they could physically lift the ball.
 
Take a look at the sacrament of confession. We all know how we males are, things go in one ear and out the other.

Now with all due respect to women imagine them listening to peoples confessions it would drive them mad. Tell a woman something and it stays with her forever.

God did not want women to hear confessions.
 
370202 said:
I must confess that I was somewhat taken aback and not a little offended by the response you quoted, particularly as, as you have identified, I was simply being honest about my position, accepting that it was contrary to Church teaching and potentially ill informed and that my post was intended to better inform and potentially thereby alter my position.

I am very new to this forum and had hoped to use it to deepen my understanding and faith.

Your supportive words and points of reference are very much appreciated and have convinced me that the forum is indeed likely to be a very worthwhile experience. God bless you.
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Please be a little patient and stick with the boards. Some posters (and sometimes myself) get a little short of temper sometimes because the boards get hit by spammers or people who are disengenous in their questioning. Keep the questions coming!
 
Petersmate said:
Take a look at the sacrament of confession. We all know how we males are, things go in one ear and out the other.

Now with all due respect to women imagine them listening to peoples confessions it would drive them mad. Tell a woman something and it stays with her forever.

God did not want women to hear confessions.
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This is embarrassing 😊

Respectfully, are you simply trying to be provocative, or do you really believe this?
 
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