CATHOLIC CHURCH VIEWS OF ORDAINING WOMEN
Sexism in the Catholic Church
Abstract
The purpose of this brief is to provide you with an overview of how the Catholic Church view women being ordained in the church. The views are based on the traditional and doctrinal references that the Catholic religion is based on. The views are from various resources such as the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, Pope John Paul II, and the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI. The views described in this brief are based on the traditions of old and their refusal to change the traditions to fit for the twentieth century.
SEXISM IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH Sexism in the Catholic Church can be described in various ways. Sexism in the Catholic Church can
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The hatred and slander of women continued over this period of time. Women were considered to be unclean, created by defect, only to service men, witches, and whores. They were not allowed in the sanctuaries because they were considered unclean especially during there monthly cycle. Even today women receive less pay for jobs that are not suited for their skills, they are not always the first choice in any areas of political or social positions. The bases of keeping women out of the ministry in most religions are more or less tradition. A Bible scripture such as (Mat. 10:2) as Jesus was searching for His disciples he only chose men. Even when he had to replace them, He only chose men. In most of the passages in the bible, Jesus never chose a woman nor did He address the public by speaking to the woman specifically. Some would believe that Jesus was a sexist, but during the times it was only tradition for a man to be the head of everything and the role of a woman during the biblical times were to listen to the man, nurture her family and husband. During the biblical times when Jesus walked this earth, Christianity was a very warous event. People were not accepting of the Christ therefore it leads to wars and battles. (Mat. 24: 6). During those days women did not do battle. As of today the tradition still holds and it plays a significant part in our everyday lives as well as our religious worship. We
However there are arguments that not all religions treat women unequally. Reform Judaism allows women to become Rabbis since 1972 and in Sikhism women are allowed to hold office and recently female vicars have been allowed into the Church of England. Women largely
The scripture that surrounds the controversial topic of female preachers not being worthy enough to carry the mantle to preach or teach is 1 Timothy 2:12, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Schreiner professes his agreement with John Piper who feels as though women are
Many people today have misconceptions about how women were viewed during the Medieval Catholic time period (15th century) and the Protestant Reformation (16th century). To be honest, women have always made significant contributions to their culture and life several times in the past and even still today. All throughout history there is evidence that women have been regarded highly of. In “Woman In Catholic Tradition” by Edgar Schmiedeler, St. Jerome quoted
It is difficult to address the topic of women in the early church because culturally, Women were not accepted. Generally, it has not been acceptable for women to have a teaching role within the church. More conservative denominations may even limit that more. Aside from a general lack of woman’s rights throughout time within many cultures, Christians cite the idea that women cannot have positions of authority within the Church from passages like 1 Corinthians 14:34 where Paul says, “The women should keep silent in the
Why are genitalia more important than those characteristics in establishing ‘natural resemblance’” (Anderson and Young 198)? Also, Father Damian Ference states that women and men are “equal in dignity, but there is a difference between the two” (“Women and Catholicism”). While it is true that men and women are different, the qualities that each sex are associated with allow for the marginalization of women. I cannot find how the Catholic church believes that the exclusion of women embraces the notion that men and women are “equal in dignity”. In “EXCLUSIVE: Pink Smoke Over the Vatican (2010-12-03)”, Dr. Kathleen Kunster was denied from the priesthood because she could not be a “Father to the people”, which she immediately responded with, “I could be a Mother to the people”. I think that she words it quite well, even though she was still a child. Why can’t females be a Mother? Father Roy Bourgeios sees that women can bring many things with them into the priesthood. He acknowledges that there is no reason why women should be excluded from the
Religion is powerful in that it controls followers’ behaviours and beliefs throughout their entire lives; it is a form of social control. Catholicism is one of the most widely known religions influencing more than 2 billion people around the world (Ross). Within Catholicism not everyone are seen as equals; men have greater privilege than women. The bible and church are from a male’s point of view (Christ 86) and passages within the bible are used to enforce a sexual hierarchy. In fact, the oppression of women begins with the first story in Genesis about creation, which portrays females as being inferior to men and even of an evil nature. This one passage is the main source of justification of oppression of woman in the church (Daly 13).
The only thing a woman could do to escape this harsh judgment was to either enter a nunnery or marry and serve a man. By doing this, she was serving two lords: God and her husband. To not serve a husband through consummation and not serve God by entering a nunnery, would be viewed as a complete rejection of God. Thus, women were not only restrained by the political standards enforced men, but also the consciousness of the Church that
Women are still not allowed to be priests, despite the fact that there are many examples in the Bible of Jesus telling people through parables and other means that everyone is equal. Some Catholics just accept the fact that women cannot be priests in the Catholic Church, as this is the Pope's orders and he is infallible. Nobody seems to dispute that the Pope must be male, firstly because 'Pope' means father and maybe because they know that the idea of a woman becoming Pope is just too unlikely. However there are Catholics that exist who believe in the authority of the Pope but, 'are convinced that the Pope and his advisors in Romeare making a serious mistake by dismissing women as priests. '[3]
THESIS: Should women be permitted to lead religious worship, such as music; should women be permitted to be a pastor; should women be allowed to hold a high administrative office; should women be allowed to serve and care for others? Women are human beings, and all humans were created to serve each other; however, mankind may have culturally set barriers and limitations on women which would not benefit women to serve in certain roles.
According to Pope Francis, the question had already been answered by St. John Paul II in 1994. During that time, the latter taught that the Catholic Church will not ordain women because Jesus’ chosen apostles were only men.
In today’s society the controversial subject of what positions in the church a woman can hold; has become incredibly debatable among the nation. Some people believe that women have equal rights with men and can uphold any position that a man can. Today’s society also believes that because a woman can be in political and business power, then a woman can also be in authority in the church. However, that could not be farther from the truth a women’s positions in the church are defined by God.
As the society continues to strive for gender equality within the work force, there is neglect in one specific component of culture: religion. Female marginality is very much prominent in the Catholic Church. As women around the world strive to create a greater voice in corporation, there should also be goals toward a greater feminine voice in Catholicism. Understanding female role in Catholicism and analyzing prominent females in Catholicism enables women of the future to develop a greater influence in the church. Women should seek for female advocacy in the Catholic Church by examining female roles in Catholicism, exceptional women in Catholicism, and traditions of Catholicism.
The current situation of women in religion is an intriguing yet controversial topic as they tend to hold rather unfavorable positions based off religious teachings.
Women have been involved in Christian ministry since the very beginning of Christianity. It has declined and risen according to the acceptance of the environment. The two papers addressed in this essay document the rise of women ministers in the Holiness movement as well as the decline of women in the modern Pentecostal movement. In response to this decline in women in ministry, Courtney Stewart gave points which the UPCI should tackle to rectify the situation.
Another protestant denomination that considers the current cultural setting when debating female ordination is the United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church has a rich history of female leadership, and allowed females full clergy rights in 1956 according to the United Methodist Church’s website on Higher Education and Ministry. The United Methodist Church’s official statement in the “Book of Resolutions,” Every Barrier Down: Towards Full Embrace of All Women in Church and Society, explains that God calls females to participate in all church roles: “preachers, teachers, administrators, mission workers, treasurers, lay leaders, trustees, peace-with-justice advocates, voting rights' workers, Christian educators, and evangelists.” The official statement begs the questions of why the United Methodist Church permits female ordination. One commentary on female ordination explains, “One reference from Paul may appear to rule out the ordination of women, but United Methodists also take into account other scriptural references