Tag Archives: holy orders

Priestesses in the Church?

The aforementioned comments discussion at GetReligion is becoming a battle between those for and against women priests, or at least allowing them as a solution to the priest scandal. *rolls eyes*

I'm with this guy:

Perhaps I'm obtuse, but I'm having trouble seeing a connection between priests who participate in deviant sexual practices and the need for women priests. The latter is unproven as a corrective and lumping the two together under the increasingly meaningless rubric of "justice" does violence to common sense and church tradition….Wooderson

PRIESTESSES IN THE CHURCH?
by C. S. Lewis

"I SHOULD LIKE BALLS INFINITELY BETTER', SAID CAROLINE Bingley, 'if they were carried on in a different manner . . It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing made the order of the day.' 'Much more rational, I dare say,' replied her brother, 'but it would not be near so much like a Ball.' (1) We are told that the lady was silenced: yet it could be maintained that Jane Austen has not allowed Bingley to put forward the full strength of his position. He ought to have replied with a distinguo. In one sense conversation is more rational for conversation may exercise the reason alone, dancing does not. But there is nothing irrational in exercising other powers than our reason. On certain occasions and for certain purposes the real irrationality is with those who will not do so. The man who would try to break a horse or write a poem or beget a child by pure syllogizing would be an irrational man; though at the same time syllogizing is in itself a more rational activity than the activities demanded by these achievements. It is rational not to reason, or not to limit oneself to reason, in the wrong place; and the more rational a man is the better he knows this."

"These remarks are not intended as a contribution to the criticism of Pride and Prejudice. They came into my head when I heard that the Church of England (2) was being advised to declare women capable of Priests' Orders…"

Women, Ordination, and Angels
Michael Novak

"When Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, visited Pope John Paul II in May 1992, the two church leaders discussed the probable future ordination of women priests in the Anglican Church. That, the Pope said, 'touched on the very nature of the sacrament of holy orders.' A Vatican spokesman said later that 'the Catholic Church, for fundamental theological reasons, does not believe it has the right to authorize such ordination.'

Catholicity or female priests? Must the choice be made?
Al Kimel

"Is it possible to oppose the pansexual morality of the Episcopal Church and still support the decision of the Episcopal Church to ordain women to the presbyterate and episcopate? Clearly most of those who have committed themselves to the Network and American Anglican Council believe that it is possible. But this has become now a real question for me."

Still Learning

As bloggers go, I’m still basically an infant. I haven’t been doing this very long
and I don’t really associate with the blogging crowd outside of a few sites on my
blogroll. In other words, I’m still learning a lot about this crazy little thing
called blog.

For instance, I’m just now discovering just how important comments are. I don’t
get many, so I suppose it’s understandable that I missed their full worth. Anyhow,
it seems clear that a blog without a comments system is only half a blog.

There is, IMHO, a fascinating discussion going on at GetReligion
about the impact, or lack thereof, of stories about the global priest scandal in
the Dallas Morning News.
There a few folks on my blogroll who I’d love to see weigh in on the issue, including
(but not limited to) Narwen,
Pontificator,
Fr. Mike, and
Jeff Miller,

The
Catholic gun didn’t go off: Silence greets Dallas News series

Once there was a man who lived in a lighthouse on the foggy Atlantic.

That’s the start of a very, very old sermon illustration. I thought of it this past
weekend as I read the first chunks of the sprawling Dallas Morning News reports
on the globalization of the clergy sex-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.

Women in the Church

I generally find that women don't appreciate being instructed about their proper roles from men. That's understandable. I'd imagine most men don't like being told their roles by women, either (though my gut tells me women hate hearing about womanhood from men more than the reverse). The author of the following defense of the all-male priesthood is a women. Even cooler, she's an ex-Lutheran minister (I'm an ex-Lutheran as well).

Former Lutheran Pastor Debunks Women's Ordination (Part 1)
Jennifer Ferrara Was Won Over by the Pope's Theology of the Body

SPRING CITY, Pennsylvania, JUNE 21, 2004 (Zenit.org).- When she was younger, Jennifer Ferrara never would have foreseen the day when she became a sort of apologist for the all-male Catholic priesthood.

Former Lutheran Pastor Defends All-Male Priesthood (Part 2)
Jennifer Ferrara on Proper Roles in the Church

SPRING CITY, Pennsylvania, JUNE 22, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Women can find innumerable opportunities for service in the Church if only they embrace their proper role, says a former Lutheran minister who now extols the all-male Catholic priesthood.

Also regarding women in the Church:

Scholars rethink image of biblical figure
By Mary Kaye Ritz, The Honolulu Advertiser

How did Mary Magdalene, who has inspired legions of the faithful, gnostics and scholars, and even affected pop culture, come to be so popular — and so misunderstood?

Horror Knows No Bounds

The sick and sinful behavior of non-Catholics does not give me joy (though I can't help but think "Whew. I'm glad the Church doesn't produce all the world's scandals."), but this story, seemingly ignored by most, shows that other venerable institutions have cracks in their armor. Sure, we knew that American public schools don't educate children as well as they should. Classrooms are overcrowded, money is distributed unfairly, and teachers are forced to teach to the "middle". I'd imagine, though, that few know about this hidden scandal.

Report: Up to 10 percent of students sexual targets
By Maggi Newhouse, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 14, 2004

"While the Catholic Church continues to wrestle with the ramifications of decades of sexual misconduct by some priests, another institution responsible for even more children has its own shameful record of protecting child molesters — public school systems."

The Narrow Gate

It seems many of the world’s Anglican nations have their heads screwed on straighter
than America’s. Since it seems the bad guys are unlikely to shape up or ship ship
out, I’ll just pray the good guys join either the Catholic Church or the Eastern
Orthodox Church.

Anglican Leaders Applaud Primates for Bold Stand Against ECUSA
By Jim Brown
June 1, 2004

(AgapePress) – Overseas Anglican leaders are being praised for issuing a statement that calls on the leadership of the Episcopal Church USA to repent within three months or face expulsion from the worldwide Anglican Communion.