What if your pastor announced that from now on all new altar servers will be boys?

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What if your pastor announced that from now on all new altar servers will be boys? (I understand that this is his canonical right.)

Given these provisos:
  • Existing altar girls will be “grandmothered” in and allowed to serve as long as they wanted.
  • A new organization just for girls would be formed to offer a way for girls to serve the parish.
  • The bishop is indifferent on this issue.
How do you think the average person in your parish would react, bearing in mind that they are not likely to be CA forumites?
 
It’s his call and I would follow it. That said, the announcement itself would likely polarize, antagonize and offend far more people than the actual action. A pastor would be clueless if he did what you are suggesting.

Tact and subtly would be everything in this case. Very quietly and sensitively only males could be recruited and scheduled to serve Mass – by the pastor himself. Hands-on involvement by the pastor would also be very important. This would also be the ideal time to update/upgrade the training regime for servers. In a short enough time all the servers (or at least those scheduled) would be male.

THEN a very heartfelt communication (maybe through a homily and a follow-up letter in the bulletin) could be given by the pastor – that everything possible is going to be done to increase vocations at this parish and that includes following the verbiage in RS about all-male servers, etc. etc. Even then though, I would only make the announcement if people didn’t intrinsically understand what was going on based on my actions, rather than my words.

Finally, the pastor would need to make sure he has the FULL support of the bishop on this one. Suggesting the bishop was “indifferent” would be ludicrous, even if it was true.
 
lepanto said:
What if your pastor announced that from now on all new altar servers will be boys? (I understand that this is his canonical right.)

Given these provisos:
  • Existing altar girls will be “grandmothered” in and allowed to serve as long as they wanted.
  • A new organization just for girls would be formed to offer a way for girls to serve the parish.
  • The bishop is indifferent on this issue.
How do you think the average person in your parish would react, bearing in mind that they are not likely to be CA forumites?
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My pastor already denies girls permission to serve at the altar. Women, too. Then again, it’s forbidden by Ruthenian Particular Law, and I have no idea the Bishop’s mind on the matter, since his opinion literally doesn’t matter in this case. And I am enrolled in a byzantine parish.

Now, at the Roman parish I used to go to, the reaction would be “Where did all the servers go?” since about 3/4 are girls. Now, if the ban was on EMHC’s… well, that would be a major issue. Mostly because about 40% are women, and it would really slow down mass…

but I do know a couple of families would jump for joy, and several more who would drive the extra 12 miles to another parish where girls were still allowed to serve, given a ban on femal altar servers. Pretty much the same reaction for female EMHC’s, by pretty much the same people.
 
lepanto said:
What if your pastor announced that from now on all new altar servers will be boys? (I understand that this is his canonical right.)

Given these provisos:
  • Existing altar girls will be “grandmothered” in and allowed to serve as long as they wanted.
  • A new organization just for girls would be formed to offer a way for girls to serve the parish.
  • The bishop is indifferent on this issue.
How do you think the average person in your parish would react, bearing in mind that they are not likely to be CA forumites?
Click to expand...
usccb.org/liturgy/current/servers.shtml

The following guidelines were prepared by the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy and presented to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops for discussion at the June 1994 Special Assembly on Thursday, June 16, 1994. The suggested guidelines have been slightly revised according to the third typical edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. They may be used as a basis for developing diocesan guidelines.

Although institution into the ministry of acolyte is reserved to lay men, the diocesan bishop may permit the liturgical functions of the instituted acolyte to be carried out by altar servers, men and women, boys and girls. Such persons may carry out all the functions listed in no. 100 (with the exception of the distribution of Holy Communion) and nos. 187 - 190 and no. 193 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

The determination that women and girls may function as servers in the liturgy should be made by the bishop on the diocesan level so that there might be a uniform diocesan policy.

No distinction should be made between the functions carried out in the sanctuary by men and boys and those carried out by women and girls. The term “altar boys” should be replaced by “servers”. The term “server” should be used for those who carry out the functions of the instituted acolyte.

Servers should be mature enough to understand their responsibilities and to carry them out well and with appropriate reverence. They should have already received holy communion for the first time and normally receive the eucharist whenever they participate in the liturgy.
 
Eastern Catholics don’t have altar boy girls. It’s inconceivable.

CDL
 
We do not have a pastor, we have a lady who is in charge of our Church, so it wouldn’t happen.

They started doing the altar girl thing years ago here and we haven’t had a vocation since. But of course that has nothing to do with it at all, it is just because we are still not united as a community and we need to keep changing more so that somehow women will become priests and then we will have vocations. 🙂

It is interesting that back about 25 or so years ago we had 2 priests and now we have no resident priest. We had altar boys and even someone in seminary from our parish, but of course altar girls do nothing negative to affect vocations to the priesthood.

Even though it was prohibited and then even while it was prohibited people disobeyed, it now could be a good thing? So if was wrong then, I do it anyways so they give me permission then it is good now? How can any Catholic think it is a good thing? It is permissible the girls are not doing wrong, but the people promoting it are wrong in doing so.

It is interesting that the committee on the liturgy of the USCCB has somehow gotten the idea that the Church is a democracy.
The mindset has changed from one of obedience to pushing agendas until the leadership gives a little permission then abusing that leeway.

We should seek to be the obedient, not seek to do the most we can get away with.

Scylla
 
We already only have altar boys. I have no idea what our pastor says to families who ask to have their girls be servers.

I agree with Daprato that there is a more ‘pastoral’ way of approaching the issue. Especially since the decision would be brought up to the bishop if he handled it as the OP suggested. The most important step is of course the direct invitation by the priest/pastor. A general call for altar servers will bring out both boys and girls. But if the priests can begin to fill the ranks with more and more boys, and THEN begin another organization for girls (that doesn’t just involve ironing altar cloths) the transition would be much smoother. Since at this point girl altar servers are allowed, it seems like this wouldn’t be the issue to alienate half the congregation over. Come to think of it, the best first step would likely be to start including a prayer for vocations in the Prayers of the Faithful and at minimum a weekly Holy Hour.
 
Our pastor would not be popular and I doubt the Bishop would be very pleased since altar girls are allowed here.
 
Would not matter in my parish. That is the way it is already 😃
 
Well if you are talking the “average” parishioner, I would have to say The average parishioner couldn’t care less. I am in a parish of several thousand. So first narrow down to families who go to Mass, then to families who have children (lots of seniors), then to families who don’t let the sports gods rule their Sunday schedule, and you end up with a crew of about 45 kids. So you might have a small outcry from parents of girls who would like to serve, about 15 or so. The way things work in this parish, I think parents of daughters would like an excuse that their daughters were not allowed to serve so would not have their Mass time pre-scheduled.
The girls here who serve want to serve as part of their faith life. Taking away that privilege might hurt their feelings, but certainly not their faith, so long as the reason was explained to them and there were other opportunities to serve God and their parish.
By the way, our priests couldn’t care less either, but that wasn’t a category.
 
Joab_Anias said:
The determination that women and girls may function as servers in the liturgy should be made by the bishop on the diocesan level so that there might be a uniform diocesan policy.
.
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That Vatican differs with you. Cardinal Arinze has ruled that no celebrant can be obligated to accept females in altar service.

The Vatican has thus set out that if girls are to act as altar servers, BOTH the bishop and the priest celebrating Mass must concur on allowing them.

If the Vatican has desired such uniformity, it would not either not permitted girls in the first place, or placed that decision exclusively with the bishop.

I voted “parishoners would strongly support it” mostly because our parish has never had altar girls, in addition, most every boy 61-8 is an altar boy, we have about 200 on the list. In addition, we don’t have a schedule, all altar servers who are present serve Mass (we have about 20-60 altar boys at a given Sunday Mass).
 
We have no girl servers. but what I hear from parishes that do is that girls are half or more of the group. So among say 45 servers, 20 to 30 might be girls. That’s a lot of servers to recruit and train.

Also, consider families that have both boys and girls serving. What might their thoughts be? Would they pull Joey and Sam from altar service also?

This fictional Pastor had better think through those issues ahead of time. Start the recruitment of boys and be sure to expect the questions from families of girls. A meeting with the parents would be an excellent idea.
 
My parish is very conservative, so I think the average parishioner would support it. We currently only have altar boys. Our pastor doesn’t prohibit girls from serving, but he said he hasn’t had a girl ask to serve in over 4 years.
 
WanderAimlessly said:
Would not matter in my parish. That is the way it is already 😃
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Ditto. And it (altarboys only) has broad support. You have a few agitators who keep bringing up ‘why can’t girls serve, too?’ Pastor’s response has been the same: “No need. We’ve got over 40 boys available.”

Pastor also very actively recruits every boy as soon as he has made his First Holy Communion, rather than waiting for people to volunteer. That may well be the difference as to why we have plenty of altarboys.
 
After reading this poll title I wondered what the reaction would be if the questions was:

What if your pastor announced that from now on all new altar servers will be GIRLS?

Now the poll results of that would really interest me.
 
Well all of our current (around 150) altar servers are boys so it would be a rather odd anouncement.😃
 
rayne89 said:
Well all of our current (around 150) altar servers are boys so it would be a rather odd anouncement.😃
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If you are in the Detroit area, that can only be one of 2 parishes and it cannot be mine since it is not that big. So it sounds like you at the other 😛
 
WanderAimlessly said:
If you are in the Detroit area, that can only be one of 2 parishes and it cannot be mine since it is not that big. So it sounds like you at the other 😛
Click to expand...
Neither of the two parishes to which you refer are “normal.” (I’m familiar with them and I mean that in a good way.) 🙂

Unfortunately, this thread really isn’t meant for conservative parishes, since they are in the minority (in kind of like a “conservative ghetto”) and since they would skew everything.

I have the typical white-suburban Latin Rite parish in mind. Maybe I should’ve said so in the opening post.
 
I put “other” because our pastor did exactly that. Our bishop just allowed pastors to make the call earlier this spring – until now ALL servers were to be boys. Many pastors included girls in this service (some had already been doing it, although they were not supposed to do so).

Our pastor wrote a thoughtful, reasoned letter to the parish as to why he made his decision. Some liked it, some hated it, life has gone on . . .
 
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