Women in Catholicism - Coursework Example

CATHOLIC CHURCH’S TRADITIONAL VIEW OF WOMEN AND THEIR ORDINATION Introduction Evidence abounds in the New Testament that women in early Christianity appeared to have held some power in the spread of the Catholic faith (Kilgo 2006). Paul the apostle, in his Epistles, greets and calls them co-workers, which translates into “deaconess.” One such woman is Thecla, a wealthy young woman who renounces her prerogatives and becomes a follower, despite strong opposition. Another was Olympia, a close friend of Constantine the Emperor. Early Christians also often met in houses owned by women who most likely had essential participation in the men’s activities. The Gospels give account of the presence and importance of women in the company of Jesus and His interactions with them. Prominent among them are Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, the friends of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. The Gospels also mention Mary Magdalene as among the witnesses of the resurrection. But Paul, the founder of Christianity, does not mention any woman witness at the event and women could not become priests or bishops like the men (Kilgo). Whatever roles women traditionally played in early Christianity, the leaders of the evolving Catholic church clarified that women could not have official positions in the orthodox Church (Kilgo 2006). Paul refers to women, as well as to men, as his fellow evangelists. Sources, like the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, also show that her Christian community regarded her as a disciple, a leader and a major teacher. This same Gospel relates how her brother Peter opposed her activity and suggested that the newly established Orthodox Church, based in Rome, did not approve of it. Another orthodox leader in Africa, Tertullian, denounced similar activities by another woman who was baptizing, preaching and performing other acts, which were not allowed women. As early as in the first centuries, there was a great deal of objection and prejudice towards the role of women in the church (Kilgo). Sexist Attitude in the Catholic Church A study found that the higher one’s educational level goes, the less is his sexist attitude and gender prejudice towards women and that religiosity in a dominantly Catholic country displays benevolent, though not hostile, attitudes towards the genders (Glick 2002). Established religions, like orthodox Catholicism, have consistently practiced and exhibited these sexist attitudes, which justify and reinforce structural inequality between men and women. Responses to interviews and results of the study provided evidence that increasing the level of education could reduce or solve conventional gender inequalities. Furthermore, public or improved education can help disadvantaged groups acquire greater structural power and depend less on conventionally sexist views and prejudices. Islam and Judaism are among the major religions that share and impose texts and traditions on rigid gender roles and attitudes, which they claim are ordained by God. This study was conducted in Spain, a predominantly Catholic country, which strictly observes the belief that women are prohibited from becoming priests, bishops or popes. The Catholic hierarchy has consistently and strongly advocated traditional gender distinctions and roles in its official doctrines, which state that men and women are inherently different and possess different divinely inspired traits and roles. These doctrines are deeply entrenched and strictly observed in the family lives of religious Catholics. The division of labor in the home typically exemplifies this, whereby girls and women perform more work than boys and men and are less likely to get paid employment outside the home (Glick). The study also revealed that sexism is either benevolent or hostile – hostile and resentful when women reject conventional gender roles and try to “usurp” men’s power and inherent prerogatives and benevolent and affectionate when they conform to these expected or imposed roles (Glick 2002). It viewed even benevolent sexism as a prejudice in that it perpetuates the belief that women are the “weaker” sex and need the protection of men and possess the precise traits and conditions suiting them to their conventional gender roles. According to these preconceived roles, women are to “complete” men in their heterosexual relationship and these roles correspond to protective paternalism, complementary gender differentiation, and heterosexual intimacy (Glick). Veiled Hostility and Chaunivism and Contemporary Upheavals This veiled but hostile hatred of women has been the running theme of the Catholic Church for centuries. The late John Paul II, in his 1988 and 1995 letters, rejected hostile sexist intonations by stating that women should not be treated as objects or be subjected to the domination of men. Yet he reaffirmed the Church’s prohibition of women from the priesthood and reinforced the position that men and women have different, though complementary, traits and roles. He epitomized womanhood in the Virgin Mary and women’s roles as mothers, wives and “servants of the Church (1988 and 1995 as qtd in Glick).” The study suggested that the Church could be using benevolent sexist attitudes and treatment on women as an effective promotion and protection of traditional gender roles. In the meantime, women in contemporary Western cultures have come to view either form of sexism as incorrect and unjust, as they have been able to obtain employment outside the home (Glick) and thrived and succeeded independently of men. The 1993 Gallup survey showed that both Catholic men and women, with women slightly higher in percentage, are now more open to change as compared with the results of the 1987 survey (Wallace 1993). Half of all the women respondents and 44% of the men said that they would never leave the Catholic Church and more women than men said that the church is the most important part, or among the most important parts, of their lives. The survey also revealed that almost half of all the women respondents at 49% said they attended Mass daily or at least weekly and only 32% of the men respondents. Findings indicated that Catholic women continued to be more committed to the church then the men, yet the women said that they were not finding the teachings of the church relevant to them and their lives. According to the 1987 survey, both the men and women respondents said that they believed one could be a good Catholic without obeying the Church’s teaching on birth control. They also questioned the official position of the church on abortion. Compared to the 1987 results, the 1993 findings showed that more than half of both men and women respondents, especially the women, said that they could be good Catholics without obeying the church’s teaching on abortion. There was an increase in the number of women respondents at 22% who made this position. This opposed the stereotyped media image that Catholic women were overwhelmingly obedient to the teaching of the church against abortion. The Gallup survey also produced evidence that the unquestioned acceptance of the church position restricting ordination to men was declining. The 1987 survey showed that about half of both men and women respondents said that the laity should have the right to decide on the ordination of women into priesthood and this trend increased, according to the 1993 Gallup. The increase in the number of women agreeing to the ordination of women was also greater in the women respondents themselves, indicating a gender shift from 46 to 65%, or twice the figure of men. In the year of the Gallup, huge numbers of women got elected to Congress under the administration of former President Bill Clinton (Wallace). Fidelity to the Catholic Church has been sorted out and modified by the six elements of “cultural upheaval,” i.e., the sexual revolution of the 60s, the TV and media explosion, the effects of pedophilia scandals, powerful women’s movements, and the gay and lesbian movements, shaped by America’s material prosperity (Johnson 2004). Political, scientific, social and cultural changes have, among other things, produced liberties for women, which accrued to the full recognition of their humanity and place in the world. This cultural upheaval coincided with the greatest cultural upheaval with the Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council from 1962-65, the first since the 16th century. At first, it seemed that Vatican II would symbolize or reinforce confidence in American Catholicism but it failed to address the sexual revolution. It mentioned nothing about the role of women or the existence of homosexuals. It did not change anything about its position and rule of priestly celibacy and harped strongly against artificial birth control. However, change appeared possible because the authority structure of the church was changing. Left with little moral guidance, American Catholics began choosing teachers and rules or beliefs for themselves. More and more American Catholic women realize the confused and inconsistent stand of the church and demand reform. The cry for reform must occur in the hierarchical structure itself and the expansion of participation in that structure by all the baptized faithful, which necessarily include women, on whom the church has depended vastly through the centuries. At a time when this starkly disordered world needs the word of prophecy concerning sexual creatures, the church’s ability and responsibility to speak out and embody that prophetic word will be disastrously compromised (Johnson). Breaking the Canon Law Discouraged by the Catholic Church’s stubborn stand on issues that affect them, realizing the pastoral need for priests and strengthened by the inspiration on what God really wants for them, many Catholic women moved on and intentionally broke canon 1024, which restricts the priesthood to men (Catholic News Reporter 2004). They defied this and Pope John Paul’s 11 exhortations and ordained seven women on a boat on the Danube River on June 29, 2002, two of them as bishops. They were immediately excommunicated (Catholic News Reporter). The movement for women’s ordination is more than three decades, starting in Dublin in 2001 with the first Women’s Ordination Worldwide Conference (Catholic News Reporter 2004). It went along with Vatican II’s important document, “Gaudium et Spes,” which recognizes the lawful freedom of inquiry, freedom of thought and freedom of expression of both clerical and lay, but takes an exception on the ban on women priests, which it insists is an unchangeable teaching and position of the church. Most Catholic theologians, however, contend that authorities in Rome are not only wrong on the matter but have caused great damage by holding back on a critical pastoral development of the time. Just 10 days after the ordination in Danube, then Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, now the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, wrote a warning that the church has no authority to ordain women and that the event was a null and invalid simulation of a sacrament, a grave offense against the divine constitution of the church. It issued the threat of excommunication, which the church carried out on August 14, 2002 against the women involved (Catholic News Reporter). # REFERENCES 1. Callahan, Sidney. The Nuptial Body: One Metaphor Among Many. #5 vol 123, Commonweal: Commonweal Foundation. March 8 1996. 2. Catholic New Times. Towards the Ordination of Women. Catholic New Times, Inc., 2004. 3. Egan, Kerry. Treatment of Women by Catholic Church in Spain. National Catholic Reporter, Jan 26, 2001 4. Glick, Peter. Education and Catholic Religiosity as Predictors of Hostile and Benevolent Sexism Toward Men and Women. Sex Roles- Journal of Research: Plenum Publishing Corporation, 2002 5. Hooever, Rose. Consider Tradition. Commonweal: Commonweal Foundation, 1999. 6. Johnson, Luke Timothy. Sex, Women and the Church: the Need for Prophetic Change. Catholic New Times: Catholic New Times, Inc., 2004. 7. Kilgo, John C. The Role of Women. Public Broadcasting Service: WGBH Educational Foundation, 2006. 8. Wallace, Ruth A. Catholic Women More Open to Change Than Catholic Men. # 43, Vol 29 .National Catholic Reporter, Oct 8, 1993 Read More