As a Catholic-to-be in RCIA, I’ve been reading these boards a bit and seeing threads against girls and women serving in the mass, as altar servers and now threads like this about women lectors. Even as cantors!
I can’t seem to make any of the arguments against these things make sense to me.
The issue is that, until the Second Vatican Council (V II), the minor orders were “ordained”, and only men were “ordained”. That major orders were ordained with the laying on of hands, and minor orders by acclimation, vesting, and instrumenting (being given their tools).
At one point, in the history of the church, to read the epistle in public, one had to have been ordained a lector. Since every subdeacon was also a lector, subdeacons also could read the epistle in public, and further, it was normal for them to do so during mass. Likewise, only subdeacons were permitted to read the Gospels publicly, and by virtue of having been ordained a subdeacon first, all deacons could read both the epistle and the gospel. Likewise, every priest was ordained a lector, subdeacon and deacon, as well as priest, and might do either.
(In fact, subdeacons were “ordained” into 4 orders: Porter, Exorcist, Lector, Acolyte. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, most still ordain lectors, acolytes and subdeacons. Rome retained only lector and acolyte, and in roman use, the subdeacon had no roles not permitted to either lector nor acolyte.)
But women are not valid subjects for priestly ordination; that is Dogma. Tradition, even with the Capital T, can be wrong, but defined dogma is not, as it may not change, ever. Women were ordained to the order of the deaconess; we do not know if they also were ordained to the lector or acolyte orders minor.
Any church that has women as priests is no longer catholic, having rejected defined dogma.
Women as deacons, that’s iffy… we do not know which form of ordination was used with certainty, but it appears that either form might have been used.
Since V II, only the form with the laying on of hands is called Ordination; the former minor orders no longer make one a cleric, and no longer are referred to as entry by being ordained, but instead by being installed. It is a return to the greek and latin terms, which are different, but both are translated into English as Ordination…
I, personally, see no issue with women being installed into the order of Lector. It will be controversial, however, as it would appear to be an appeasement to the Womenpriests movement (heretics that they are). Acolyte, traditionally the last of the Roman minor orders prior to Subdeacon (considered a major order in the Roman Church until V II) also was almost always conferred on men aiming for the deaconate or priesthood. And that is the issue… it appears to put them on the road to the priesthood, and females as priests is against dogma, and thus is heresy.
I wonder why?
Thanks! I have learned something today.
Since most dioceses don’t institute lectors now, it means that in most parishes men and women readers are perfectly equal. .
