You are right. So often the woman in the pulpit is continuing to advocate for women in the pulpit as if it’s about them and not about their service to the church. It becomes about “my rights” rather than responsibilities.
Perhaps Barbara Therese was referring to Anglican or Episcopal female priests? You are correct there are none in the Catholic church and I believe never will be IMO. However maybe the purpose of the thread was to extrapolate the experience of the female priests in the Anglican/Episcopal community into the same phenomenon in Catholicism. I’ve encountered a number of female priests in the Episcopal tradition as well as female ministers in other Protestant faith traditions. For the most part I think they are great social workers and activists but I have yet to feel they have a truly priestly demeanor and attitude.
I thank you for the clarification - and like yourself it was obvious to me that what was being discussed was some specific instance, circumstance or situation regarding the rules/constitutions of a religious order not the church as a whole. How this statement could possibly apply to the entire church much less women priests escapes me totally.
Hi Servant1…I must admit I cannot grasp your concept that in order to speak to this Thread that we need conclude that there are women priests…also, feelings are amoral…it is what we do with our feelings that count. I have no wish to be pedantic…but feelings really are amoral if you really meant feelings per se…Barb
That is a very sweeping statement, but can easily be taken out of context… I would think Protestants would agree with that statement, but take it very lightly and allowed to be used at every turn, making it more “Popularity overrides neccesity”
BarbaraTherese said:
It escapes me, too (and I’m a Secular Discalced Carmelite
!). At face value it could easily be co-opted by just about every dissenter out there (I’m thinking particularly about so-called “Catholics for a Free Choice” 
).
Hi FCEGM…thank you for the info…appreciated. I was aware that my three favourite authors, de Mello, deChardin and also Thomas Merton, are under something of a Roman cloud. With all three t here were things I could not accept…but other things that rang as truthful and indeed inspiring for a radical following of Jesus…I am selective in reading and am well aware that not even the writings of our saints MUST be believed. Now and then I must admit I check myself out against The Apostles Creed to ensure I am still Cat holic. I am still a daughter of The Church…and a lovely signat ure you have from St.
Hello there twiztedseraph … I think it sad that any issue whatsoever within Catholicism at times cannot be discussed calmly and rationally…when dogmatic authority and rank of must be resorted to in order to dispell discussion that some find decidedly uncomfortable for some reason and to an onlooker perhaps out of some sort of fear…fear of what?..As this thread has unfolded there has been a lot of resorting to authoritative heirarchical statements and being told to button up therefore on the subject … and very little explanation of why we cannot have a female priesthood. It’s not that I believe we should…but I would certainly like to know why I believe we do not and also then to be able to explain The Church’s position on the matter…besides:*** The Holy Magisterium of the Catholic Church has been lead by The Holy Spirit to rule against it. End of Story. ***(Quoted from your Post No. 71) This is not going I dont think to win others to Catholicism. Non Catholics may also read Posts, follow Threads.
A little help here ByzCath, I’m trusting you this time to tell me, as I am struggling with an institution implemented since the dawn of the church to be dogma and not law
I think its safe to say that you have posted ten fold what I have
Hi Symeon Peter… your end comments is in all probability quite correct…I started the thread and feel an obligation somewhat to let those posting into it that I remain interested…apart from that…no excuse other than hardly ever short of words. Thanks though for the observation and comment
…
Are you prepared to ask how you feel about the theory that Jesus Christ is not present in the Eucharist? Recall Psalm 131: I have not wandered in matters that are above me (approximate quote). I think the Church has a plague of females already. Just about the whole mass is run by a bevy of gals now. They tell me what God has to say. They stick their fingers in my mouth. They tell me that this is ‘the blood of Christ’. They sing at me in a great gaggle. It is all so tiresome. What I really can’t believe is the female lectoring. Isn’t there something in the Scriptures about women being silent in the church? I really cannot stand to be spouted at by some woman who should be silent, in the pews, with her head covered. I do hope we will recover from this nonsense soon. God came to us as a man, and referred to God as Father. Yes we are all equal but the pastoral effects of having females comprise a huge fraction of events are surely harmful, and cannot be consistent with God’s wishes. We must try to maintain a generally masculine presence or approach to the Mass. Women and girls should be generally removed from the sanctuary. We all know that their activities there are displacing men. But who is ready to tell the women to stop? These are all women we know. It would hurt their feelings, because we have generally lost the understanding of the distinction between male and female. If you recall from Revelations, this occurs nearer the end-times. Not saying we’re there, only that it is self-evident that this is a bad trend.
I would not say that to struggle with a teaching is to be cause for supposing that you do not belong in the Church. We believe in order to understand. To believe is the thing; one can let one’s understanding unfold over time. I pause at your use of “question”, but it seems to me that you don’t mean ‘seriously doubt’ but rather you mean ‘question how this is so’. Mary Our Mother did that, in some sense. If I wonder at how a teaching means or what its roots are, I would not think my faith in jeopardy. If I doubt a teaching I would think so. My issue was masturbation. I struggled with this teaching, but I researched it to see how it meant, what its roots are, and how to apply it. To try to apply it to myself and get through the problem, I was not doubting my faith or a Church teaching. If I were murmuring, that would be a different matter.