Womens Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church - Research Paper Example

What Can One person Do? My topic is Women’s Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. You may never have considered this topic before, whether or not you are Catholics or even Christian . It is important though as a matter of justice for those men and women for whom this is an important concern. You may think, ‘I’ve got enough to do right now. I can’t get involved’. This is a matter of social justice, and so you should care. You are young and you have energy and good brains. Don’t waste all this potential on pop music and the newest makeup or sports game, without giving important matters some of your time and consideration too. Justification This topic is important, not just for women who say they feel the call to the priesthood, but to whom the church denies this opportunity, but to all women, who after all make up half the human race, yet who are being denied all sorts of opportunities, just because of their sex. In the particular case of the Catholic church, this means not just that women are being denied the priesthood , but that other women are denied the opportunity to receive help and ministry from another women, rather than having to go to a celibate man, who may have very little understanding of a woman’s life and point of view, especially if she is married, or has children. Despite this, and despite his obvious respect for the many qualities of women, the pope has recently said that the door for women’s ordination is closed (McClory, 2013). It is even forbidden to discuss the topic. Can this be possible in the 21st century? Can it be allowed? What can one person do? The list of what one person can do would be a long one, but here are some examples. Some fit with this particular topic, but other ideas can be used whatever your interest or which cause you wish to promote. They can first of all learn about the topic , so that they can but forward a cogent argument. This can be done by looking at church history, but some Catholic books distort this in order to get their point across. These books should be read however, in order that the arguments they contain can be refuted. They can talk Not everyone sees them self as standing in front of a large crowd in a vast auditorium, or even being interviewed on television as a spokesperson. That doesn’t mean they can’t talk about their topic. They could just invite a neighbour in for coffee and the topic is raised. They can seek out other like-minded people and talk with them, but at the same time they should not be afraid to speak to their opponents. To do this however you need ammunition in the shape of irrefutable facts. Within the Catholic Church women’s voices are hardly ever heard, and even then their arguments are ignored. They simply are unable to have their say. They can read web pages, such as that of Catholic Women’s Ordination, 2014,or ‘FHEDLES’ (2014) in order to learn about the latest news. The page also suggests lots of ways in which people, especially women , can work towards making small changes, such as using inclusive language in prayer, so not ’Pray for us men’, but ‘Pray for us’ or ‘Pray for us all as brothers and sisters. They can gather information and share this with the wider community Many people do not know that for many centuries there were women priests and deacons. Often the argument is put that this is not the tradition of the church, but historically there were women doing these task for a longer period than there haven’t been. The Web site ‘Women can be priests’ gives both sides of the argument. By studying this academic site a person can explore documents not easily available elsewhere, and can see how historically women did operate successfully in this role. They can organise a showing of ‘Pink Smoke Over the Vatican’ (2010) or a similar film. This doesn’t have to be a large public affair, such as the Santa Fe Film Festival, although even that is possible. It could be just a group of people gathered in front of a dvd in someone’s lounge or perhaps a club house. The film likens the situation to the days of Apartheid, where only white people were allowed to do certain things. Others see the churches position as sexist. The women portrayed explain why this is important for them, and for the wider church and the world. It is about the lack of women’s voices in the church. Even if you cannot organise a showing of the film, just listen to the review on the link given. They can ask their librarian to get books on the shelves. This doesn’t have to be very expensive. Books such as Macy et al’s ‘Women Deacons’(2012) are slim, inexpensive and can be read in an evening. They can suggest suitable books for a book group. The books are accessible on the web and easily obtainable. The topic can then be discussed in a small group, so that everyone , pro or against, can put their views, but also hear the views of others. They can learn about the Danube Seven. These were the first of several hundred women ordained in modern times ( Allen, 2002) . The ceremony was conducted by a bishop on a boat in the middle of the river Danube. This was so that it could not be considered to be in the diocese of any particular bishop. These were women who, often from a very early age, that God was calling them to the priesthood and this was something they could no longer refuse. The women went on to lead congregations and act as priests in many different situations and roles, from caring for the poor, to carrying out baptisms and marriages, as well as carrying out weekly services. They can consider the story of St Thérèse of Lisieux, a woman very revered in Catholic circles, and now a doctor of the church. From early childhood Thérèse felt a call to be a priest. Can she really have been mistaken? This seems very unlikely in a women of such spiritual discernment ( Broome, 2000). They can add their story and picture to the web page ‘And I Can Be A Priest (2013). It doesn’t matter whether or not they have a vocation to the priesthood. The point is that women are capable of so many things, that why should this one aspect of life be denied to them. The page has many examples from being an architect to a butcher, from changing a light bulb to caring about people. These are all human attributes, not just male. Often Catholic clergy bring up the point that priests must be ‘in the line of Peter’ , that is ordained by someone , who was ordained by someone , going back down the years, to Peter, whom they claim as the first pope, although there is no written evidence available for this . While in no way trying to denigrate Peter, what about the woman at the well, one of the earliest of evangelists, as described in John 4. What about Mary Magdalene? It was her the risen Christ is described as having appeared to. She is sometimes described as ‘The apostle to the apostles’ as it was she who took the message of the Resurrection to the other disciples ( Bible, Matthew 28) ? On the web page ‘Mary Magdalene: her story’ the point is made that’ Women are valid witnesses to Christ’. In Genesis 1 and 2 is the story of the creation of both men and women. You may not accept this as a literal description, it was after all written down many thousands of years after the first men walked the earth, but take it as a symbolic explanation of God’s care for his creation. Read Genesis 1 v 26 -31, and especially take note of the words of verses 27 and 31 :- God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them……God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. They are equally good, equally blessed by God. If their descendants are now Catholics they share a common faith and a common baptism. In that case how can anyone say ‘Ah but you are a woman, so you can’t do this.’ What they are really saying is that women are second best, unfit, just because they don’t have the right male equipment. But according to the gospels, revered by Catholics, when God sent his son into the world, his Spirit came to a woman, the young girl Mary. No man was involved. The church reveres Mary. Until the early 20th century she was often depicted dressed in priestly robes. There have been many instance of this, a few of these being illustrated on the web site ‘Women can be priests’( 2014) under the heading ‘Gallery of images of Mary in priestly vestments’, but , under the modern day rules of the church, the priesthood is only open to celibate males. Why? Tradition is the usual answer, But compulsory celibacy only came in as a rule in the medieval period under Pope Gregory VII who issued a decree forbidding clerical marriages (Owen , 2001). This was some years after the children of priests were forbidden to inherit their father’s property. Whatever is said today about the good points of celibacy, the matter at the time was one of the church wanting control of property. If priests married and died, then their widows and families needed to be taken care of. A housekeeper would simply carry on caring for the next priest. At the present time there are married priests, those who have transferred from the Anglican /Episcopalian church. If this rule can be changed, why can’t others, equally only a relatively recent tradition. Be Able to Quote Statistics. They should know that in the U.S.A. the number of priests has fallen by 19,000 since 1975 Cara, 2013.Also the number of ordinations each year has halved. Who is caring for all these people now? Any one priest, however good he is, can only be in one place at any one time. Chart 1. CARA, Frequently Requested Church Statistics, 2013 Year 1965 1975 1985 1995 2000 2005 2013 Number of priests 58,632 58,909 57,317 49, 054 45,699 42,839 39, 600 Number of ordinations. 994 771 533 511 442 454 511 Statistics such as these suggest a huge gap between needs and provision, especially when one considers that during the same period the Catholic population has increased from 48.5 million to 78.2 million. Statistics such as these can be repeated in many other countries. Think too about those priests who are in office. What is their average age? According to Georgetown University (2012) their average age has gone up by 20 years since 1970. Soon many of the priests included in these statistics will simply be too old to continue. Because of the falling number of seminarians, they will not, and cannot be replaced, unless the rules change. In the New York Diocese alone there are hundreds of parishes, under the present leadership of Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Any, or all of these parishes, are under threat of closure or merger in what is described "Making All Things New" ( Shillinglaw, 2014). This is not necessarily to do with falling numbers in their congregations. It is priests who are needed. They should consider what Jesus did and said Jesus did call twelve men to follow him, but he ordained no one. He did however call both men and women to follow him and to pass on the message of the gospel. Also the words of St Paul should be considered. In Romans 16 he mentions a number of women as being fellow workers in the gospel, even naming Junia as an apostle, and in his letter to the Galatians (3:28) he uses , an early Christian Baptismal formula:- "There is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female...all are one in Christ Jesus." This means that both men and women can work for Christ. For those who would say that no women can image Christ at the altar, consider that Christ was a young Jewish man from the first century. There is no priest today who can meet that criteria. You might as well say that all male priests should be circumcised. Finally They Should Remember That They Are Not Alone Although the topic is ‘What can one person do?’ all around the world there are people who think as you do, on this topic or others. Do a Google search. Find them out. Join an organisation such as Roman Catholic Women Priests , or at least find out about them. There is a well-known illustration of a stick. Just put it across your knee and you can snap it easily. Collect together a whole bundle of sticks and try to snap them . It is much harder. So unite. Join. Put your name on the bottom line. Stand up for what you believe. Conclusion You may still feel that this topic is not for you. You are perhaps not interested in religion. You don’t see its relevance in the modern world, or at least not in your life. As far as you are concerned this is something for other people to get het up about. But you should be interested in the rights of humans, all humans, whatever their sexual orientation. You after all belong to the human race. It may well be that you care strongly about something else – from sex trafficking to world-wide literacy or GM crops. In this presentation it is to be hoped that you will find some ways of promoting your cause, whatever it is. It doesn’t take hundreds of dollars, or hundreds of people. It just takes one individual to be resolved and to make a start. Whatever you care about , what are you going to do today? What is one thing you could do to make a difference? Not tomorrow. Today! Works Cited Allan, J., Seven women ‘ordained’ priests June 29, 2002, http://www.womenpriests.org/called/allen.asp And I Can Be A Priest 2013, 12th May 2014, Bible, New International Version, 2014, 12th May 2014, Broome, C., The priestly vocation of Theresa of the Child of Jesus, 2000, 12th May 2014, CARA, Frequently Requested Church Statistics, 2013, 12th May 2014 Catholic Women’s Ordination, 2014, FHEDLES, 2014, 12th May 2014, Georgetown University , Average Priest age now nearly 20 years older than in 1970, 2012, 12th May 2014, Macy, G., Ditewig,W. and Zagano , P., Women deacons: Past, present , future, New York, Paulist Press, 2011, print McClory, R., Pope Francis and women's ordination, National Catholic Reporter.2013, 12th May 2014, Owen, H., When Did the Catholic Church Decide Priests Should Be Celibate? George Mason University, 2001, 12th May 2014, Pink Smoke Over the Vatican , 2010, 12th May 2014, Shillinglaw, G., Parish closings, mergers coming as archdiocese retools, lohud,the Journal News, 29th April 2014, 12th May 2014, Women Can Be Priests, 2014, 12th May 2014http://www.womenpriests.org/index.asp Women can be priests, Gallery of images of Mary in priestly vestments, 2014, 12th May 2014, Read More