Half the world’s population is female. Most congregations are composed of a high percentage of women, yet if you look at any photograph of the top hierarchy of the Church gathered for a meeting, synod or to bury a Pope, you would be hard pressed to find one woman. They are allowed to arrange the flowers, launder the linen and scrub and polish. What other group of people would welcome this discrimination? This is rejection on a major scale. Is there any man in the Church who realises just how extremely hurtful this rejection is?
The People Speak Out
Local voices connecting globally
This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good. (Pope Francis) |
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Canon Law 212 calls upon the laity to speak up:2 - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.§3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons. |
With Mary Magdalene leading the Apostles to the tomb and being the first witness to the resurrection, why have women been pushed to the sidelines? They have proved themselves perfectly capable of being theologians, doctors, philosophers, lawyers and are often outstanding in their fields. I can remember when women weren’t even allowed on the altar during Mass, weren’t allowed to be Ministers of the Word, weren’t allowed to be Ministers of Communion, and still they are not being considered for ordination, not even as deacons.
We have come a long way since Vatican II, but there is still a very long way to go.
St Paul in Galatians 3:28 (New International Version (NIV)) says: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Why has the Church always ignored this?
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