What Does the Pope Say About Female Servers?

[kyria]

my daughter loves the mass. ive taught my daughter how blessed she is to be a witness to the consecration. and how we please the Lord by attending mass by covering our heads. this is something a man can not do. it is an outward sign to show our humility to Christ.
there are other ways to encourage your daughter to become a nun if she shows the interest. get her books on saintly nuns, have her talk with some of the nuns about the vocation at a convent, let her do volunteer work with them. there are also camps she can attend. my daughter goes to one in ohio. it is all ran by nuns when the girls are there. and they talk to girls about being a nun.
i worry that people want to be apart of the mass so much that they can lose sight of the importance of witnessing.

I don’t cover my head, nor do I expect my daughter to do so.

She’s no threat to the Catholic Church, but she does have some drive, some interest, a lot of intellegence, and good leadership skills, which I foster.

It was only for a year, she’s done her term, and now that she knows she has something to offer, I can foster her other skills knowing she now has the confidence and interest that alter serving has given her.

 

[kyria]

Out of curiosity, are those who advocate for female servers more inclined to do so only within the context of the Novus Ordo or both forms equally?

Its obviously more of a hypothetical, since I know of no TLM parishes that would allow for such a thing…

I don’t attend a TLM nor does it interest me.

 

[kyria]

Why has the altar girl thing persisted???

Because maybe not enough boys are putting their hand up?

 

[weepixie71]

Because maybe not enough boys are putting their hand up?

funny how in the novus ordo mass you can not get enough boys to serve a mass that they have to attend every sunday anyway
when at the tridentine mass we can have as many as twenty four altar boys serve mass even on a holy day of obligation at the mass i attend in st louis

that in itself tells me, that women in the church taking over male roles in the church, no matter how small, is effecting the way boys are viewing your mass and their responsibilities to keep it going.

like it or not, altar boys were started in the very beginning to try to help encourage boys to become priests. it was not started to encourage holy orders in general. so know that when your daughter is up there that she may very well be taking away from some boy that God is calling to be a priest but is lacking in the desire due to lack of participation.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

funny how in the novus ordo mass you can not get enough boys to serve a mass that they have to attend every sunday anyway
when at the tridentine mass we can have as many as twenty four altar boys serve mass even on a holy day of obligation at the mass i attend in st louis

that in itself tells me, that women in the church taking over male roles in the church, no matter how small, is effecting the way boys are viewing your mass and their responsibilities to keep it going.

like it or not, altar boys were started in the very beginning to try to help encourage boys to become priests. it was not started to encourage holy orders in general. so know that when your daughter is up there that she may very well be taking away from some boy that God is calling to be a priest but is lacking in the desire due to lack of participation.

Anecdote time!

Indeed. I attend the local FSSP parish in Germany. EVERY Sunday there is a train of young boys serving at the altar (ok, so only like, four of them are involved, but the rest are dressed up). Every Sunday, without fail, there’s a good 15-20 young boys. All the girls are prayerfully in the congregation. Also, I should mention and ask that you recall, that Germany/Europe does not have a high birth rate, and Mass attendance is abysmal.

Contrast that to the NO Mass. You will have 1/2 to 3/4 of the altar servers be female. (This is at three different parishes). Never have I seen a boy-majority in altar serving in the NO over here.

 

[jw9495]

like it or not, altar boys were started in the very beginning to try to help encourage boys to become priests. it was not started to encourage holy orders in general. so know that when your daughter is up there that she may very well be taking away from some boy that God is calling to be a priest but is lacking in the desire due to lack of participation.
Reply With Quote

If what you say is true… Than this practice was started by man to promote priest. And if you truly believe that your son or other boys are being called by God himself to be a priest then nothing will stop that, not some girl at the altar! ( that is if you have raised him right… to listen and hear God’s call and answer YES.)

Now just a thought… Mary our mother pointing to Jesus her son, telling us to follow him for salvation. I am not a perfect Catholic but I try to look to my mother Mary to follow her example as a mother and as a woman. Mary’s example of saying yes to God is truly wonderful, and she was a very big part of this beautiful painting of God’s work. Pushing woman out of service to God is like pushing Mary our mother away. I ask you to stop narrowing your eyes, open your eyes wide and see this whole picture. Trust God to send the holy spirit to our priests, bishops, popes so that they will lead us right to him.

 

[toughcritic]

Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both have spoken out on female altar servers. The Pope is our principal teacher and interpreter of Canon Law and liturgical norms at Mass. Bishops can have opposing views on many things contrary to what the Church teaches. Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles is probably the most nortorious flaunter of Catholic tradition and liturgical practice often celebrating Pontifical High Masses for avowed and practicing homosexual and pro abortion Catholic politicians and community leaders. Any number of other Catholic prelates continue to flaunt all kinds of liturgical abuses and nothing seems to be done about it. I belong to two parishes, one ultra conservative who follow Catholic teaching to the letter now celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in Latin every other Sunday. The music is all traditional Catholic hymns, chants etc. The other parish sings Protestant songs, uses rock music, altar girls etc. What is a caring and concerned Catholic to do with the latter of these situations to rectify the disparity in Catholic practice and abuse?

 

[weepixie71]

If what you say is true… Than this practice was started by man to promote priest. And if you truly believe that your son or other boys are being called by God himself to be a priest then nothing will stop that, not some girl at the altar! ( that is if you have raised him right… to listen and hear God’s call and answer YES.)

Now just a thought… Mary our mother pointing to Jesus her son, telling us to follow him for salvation. I am not a perfect Catholic but I try to look to my mother Mary to follow her example as a mother and as a woman. Mary’s example of saying yes to God is truly wonderful, and she was a very big part of this beautiful painting of God’s work. Pushing woman out of service to God is like pushing Mary our mother away. I ask you to stop narrowing your eyes, open your eyes wide and see this whole picture. Trust God to send the holy spirit to our priests, bishops, popes so that they will lead us right to him.

 

[weepixie71]

If what you say is true… Than this practice was started by man to promote priest. And if you truly believe that your son or other boys are being called by God himself to be a priest then nothing will stop that, not some girl at the altar! ( that is if you have raised him right… to listen and hear God’s call and answer YES.)

Now just a thought… Mary our mother pointing to Jesus her son, telling us to follow him for salvation. I am not a perfect Catholic but I try to look to my mother Mary to follow her example as a mother and as a woman. Mary’s example of saying yes to God is truly wonderful, and she was a very big part of this beautiful painting of God’s work. Pushing woman out of service to God is like pushing Mary our mother away. I ask you to stop narrowing your eyes, open your eyes wide and see this whole picture. Trust God to send the holy spirit to our priests, bishops, popes so that they will lead us right to him.

ok well where to even begin with this. yes you can miss your calling from God. if everyone knew their calling from God for sure then their wouldnt be any miserable people because everyone would know they were following Gods plan.

as for Mary the Mother of God, yes she was a very big part of the beauty of Jesus Christ. and yet she managed it humbly as she is always described as being a witness. she was always out in the crowd listening to Jesus’ sermons. never did she stand by Him side by side while he was preaching.
so if you truly want to try to live a life as close as possible as Mary did then you should be a witness from a far.

 

[tulsacubfan]

If what you say is true… Than this practice was started by man to promote priest. And if you truly believe that your son or other boys are being called by God himself to be a priest then nothing will stop that, not some girl at the altar! ( that is if you have raised him right… to listen and hear God’s call and answer YES.)

Now just a thought… Mary our mother pointing to Jesus her son, telling us to follow him for salvation. I am not a perfect Catholic but I try to look to my mother Mary to follow her example as a mother and as a woman. Mary’s example of saying yes to God is truly wonderful, and she was a very big part of this beautiful painting of God’s work. Pushing woman out of service to God is like pushing Mary our mother away. I ask you to stop narrowing your eyes, open your eyes wide and see this whole picture. Trust God to send the holy spirit to our priests, bishops, popes so that they will lead us right to him.

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Now just a thought… Mary our mother pointing to Jesus her son, telling us to follow him for salvation. I am not a perfect Catholic but I try to look to my mother Mary to follow her example as a mother and as a woman. Mary’s example of saying yes to God is truly wonderful, and she was a very big part of this beautiful painting of God’s work. Pushing woman out of service to God is like pushing Mary our mother away. I ask you to stop narrowing your eyes, open your eyes wide and see this whole picture. Trust God to send the holy spirit to our priests, bishops, popes so that they will lead us right to him.

Yes, Mary’s example is wonderful. Especially her zeal in preaching the Gospel alongside the Apostles, in overseeing the charitable distributions of the nascent Church, her high profile role at the Last Supper . . . oh, wait, she isn’t known for any of those good things, just as she is not known for being an altar server. Our Lady’s example is a profoundly rich gift from God, but it has absolutely nothing to exemplify girls’ service at the altar.

 

[savienu]

I don’t attend a TLM nor does it interest me.

If you went to a TLM, you would see where the boys are. Boys are not going to want to do what they think is “girly.” Girls being on the altar will keep boys away, every time. There are plenty of other things your daughter could do to serve the church, without taking on a traditionally male role.

 

[jw9495]

ok well where to even begin with this. yes you can miss your calling from God. if everyone knew their calling from God for sure then their wouldnt be any miserable people because everyone would know they were following Gods plan.

as for Mary the Mother of God, yes she was a very big part of the beauty of Jesus Christ. and yet she managed it humbly as she is always described as being a witness. she was always out in the crowd listening to Jesus’ sermons. never did she stand by Him side by side while he was preaching.
so if you truly want to try to live a life as close as possible as Mary did then you should be a witness from a far.

Give me some verses where it states that she is in the crowd.

Ok then what really shocks me is why you question our Pope on this matter. The Church states its position and yet you don’t believe that the Pope has acted infallible!
Or is this a tradition matter. Tradition has changed many times through the years. Maybe it is change you struggle with.

 

[savienu]

Give me some verses where it states that she is in the crowd.

Ok then what really shocks me is why you question our Pope on this matter. The Church states its position and yet you don’t believe that the Pope has acted infallible!
Or is this a tradition matter. Tradition has changed many times through the years. Maybe it is change you struggle with.

The Pope has ALLOWED it, after widespread abuses. he hasn’t mandated it. I’m wondering if HE has female altar servers. The current Pope is reforming a lot of things; I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the future girls are no longer allowed to serve at the altar.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

Give me some verses where it states that she is in the crowd.

Ok then what really shocks me is why you question our Pope on this matter. The Church states its position and yet you don’t believe that the Pope has acted infallible!
Or is this a tradition matter. Tradition has changed many times through the years. Maybe it is change you struggle with.

The Pope DIDN’T act infallibly in this case. In fact, he can’t possibly act infallibly ON THIS SUBJECT. Infallibility only extends to topics of faith and morals.

Currently, the usage of girls serving at the altar is a PERMISSION given. Much like the PERMISSION/INDULT to receive Communion on the hand. Just because it is spread wide does NOT mean it is the norm, or that it is the preferred way.

Tradition does not change many times. It would cease to be tradition if it changed.

Edit in italics.

 

[savienu]

The Pope DIDN’T act infallibly in this case. In fact, he can’t possibly act infallibly. Infallibility only extends to topics of faith and morals.

Currently, the usage of girls serving at the altar is a PERMISSION given. Much like the PERMISSION/INDULT to receive Communion on the hand. Just because it is spread wide does NOT mean it is the norm, or that it is the preferred way.

Tradition does not change many times. It would cease to be tradition if it changed.

 

[jw9495]

Yes, Mary’s example is wonderful. Especially her zeal in preaching the Gospel alongside the Apostles, in overseeing the charitable distributions of the nascent Church, her high profile role at the Last Supper . . . oh, wait, she isn’t known for any of those good things, just as she is not known for being an altar server. Our Lady’s example is a profoundly rich gift from God, but it has absolutely nothing to exemplify girls’ service at the altar.

Catholics do not believe in sola scriptura. So to say that it is not in the bible and it not allowed is just protestant!

 

[savienu]

Catholics do not believe in sola scriptura. So to say that it is not in the bible and it not allowed is just protestant!

No, but Catholic DO believe in Scripture, and Sacred Tradition will not contradict Sacred Scripture.

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

Just wanted to clarify.

n fact, he can’t possibly act infallibly.

Should read as
n fact, he can’t possibly act infallibly IN THIS CASE.

Mea culpa.

 

[Brendan]

Since, from the beginning, the Church has taught that where the bishop is there is the Church we should follow the lead of the bishop. After all, he is a successor to the apostles and is charged by the Holy Father with the administration of the local Church. Since the appropriate congregation, with the approval of the Holy Father, has said that women may serve as altar servers if the bishop permits it, we should follow the guidance of the bishop.

Deacon Ed

One thing to keep in mind is that the Bishop may PERMIT, but cannot mandate the use of females for altar service.

The Rome has ensured that the celebrant retains the right of refusal.

In accord with the above cited instructions of the Holy See such an authorization may not, in any way, exclude men or, in particular, boys from service at the altar, nor require that priests of the diocese would make use of female altar servers,

adoremus.org/CDW-AltarServers.html