I forward this for your consideration.
pax tibi,


Lift Ban on Discussing Women�s Ordination

It is June 29, the feast of St. Peter and Paul. As I write seven Roman Catholic women in
Austria are being ordained to the priesthood.

The Spirit�s call to priesthood in the Roman Church is met with great rejoicing and eager
anticipation when it occurs in male candidates. When it occurs in female candidates it is
perceived as a disaster of only slightly less significance than a recurrence of the bubonic
plague. Such female priestly calls from the Spirit must be isolated, suppressed and
stamped out. One can almost hear the pleas of desperate curial officials: �please just make
them go away.�

But they won�t go away. Certainly Dr. Ida Raming�s call would not. A renowned
European theologian Raming published her 1973 book The Exclusion of Women from the
Priesthood: Diviine Law or Sex Discrimination? after a decades long struggle to reconcile
her call to priesthood with the Church�s refusal to consider female ordination. Neither
would theologian Dr. Iris Muller�s call go away. It led her instead to found the Association
of St. Mary Magdala so women who experience a priestly call could find support. There
was precious little to be found anywhere else.

Unfortunately discussion of this event will likely focus more on the qualifications of the
ordaining bishops than on the obvious gifts of the women presenting themselves to serve.
Though the primary ordaining bishop Romulo Braschi, is identified as having �apostolic
succession� the women�s ordinations will not be recognized by Rome.Their priestly calls however, would be easily and clearly affirmed by any competent spiritual director anywhere.

And this points to what should be a minimum next step on the part of Catholic leaders. At
the very least, the Church must lift its ban on discussing women�s ordination. Catholic
leaders should engage those women who experience a priestly call, in conversation about
what meaning this may have for our church.

I wonder if deliberately avoiding and suppressing this long overdue dialogue does not
come close to that �sin against the Holy Spirit� which scripture tells us cannot be forgiven.

It can�t be forgiven of course, until we allow the Spirit's leading to come to full voice.
Refusal to acknowledge female spiritual experience in this regard seems at least a sin
against charity if not against the Holy Spirit.

In July we celebrate the feast days of two female saints in the Catholic tradition. July 12 is the feast of St. Veronica and July 22nd the feast of St. Mary of Magdala. All four Gospels name Mary of Magdala as the first witness to the resurrection. If the male apostles had refused to listen to her experience, news of the resurrection would
have been at best delayed, or at worst (if such a thing were possible) suppressed completely. Our earliest experience of Christ tells of God�s good news coming through the witness of women.

St. Veronica�s story is not as historically and scripturally well founded. Nonetheless, I think she could become a new patron for women priests. The Vatican bases its opposition to female ordination on lack of �iconic resemblance� to the male person of Jesus. (Of course this has never stopped us from baptizing women into the Body of Christ...a schizophrenic situation for Catholic women if ever there was one).

The story of Veronica comes from an early Christian legend in which a woman from
Jerusalem wipes the face of Jesus with her veil while he struggles under the weight of the
cross to Calvary. Her veil is miraculously imprinted with an image of Christ�s face. The
intriguing part of the story lies in the derivation of the woman�s name. �Veronica� means
literally: �true icon.�

One wonders if this much beloved story does not bear its own mute yet subversive testimony to women�s self understanding through the centuries that we are �true icons� of Christ despite the blindness and lack of spiritual vision of some of
our brothers.

With Christ we now also bear the cross of persecution for witnessing to the deep and wide
mystery of a God in whose image both women and men are made.

We stand under both the shadow and the power of that cross while awaiting a day of justice and the fullness of time when our tears have finally, fully watered the ground of that new creation and new church for which we yearn and labor, groaning in great travail.

St. Mary of Magdala, St. Veronica, pray for us. St. Peter, St. Paul, pray for us.

Christine Schenk csj
Schenk is Director of FutureChurch, a coalition of parish based Catholics calling for full
participation of all Catholics in the life of the Chruch.

Christine Schenk
15800 Montrose Ave
Cleveland, Ohio 44111
216-228-0869

I'm not Catholic so I'm going to ask a question here. Is the Church's stance on not ordaining women based on scripture or based on tradition or based on the idea that it would somehow usurp the power of the male control of the Church? I know in Protestant circles, the Southern Baptists won't even allow women to preach a funeral in their pulpits, however, some independent Baptists will. I'm not sure about Pentecostals. Methodists ordain women and I believe maybe it was Wanda who said that Episcopalians ordain women. The Baptists maintain that Paul's instructions about women being silent in church and not to have authority over men forbid women from being pastors. I don't know what other Protestant denominations who forbid it say....haven't been to those..lol. But, I wondered where the Catholic Church's stance comes from.

The article there brings up some very good points. I personally have always felt that Jesus made it clear that women had an integral role in the "church" or "body". He broke barriers that blew their minds, I'm sure...lol. At any rate, I do think women have a lot to offer...but I can't foresee (from my limited knowledge of it) the Church ordaining them anytime soon.

Hi...
Yes, It was me that said that women are ordained priest in the Episcopal church. Lutherans, United Church of Christ, and Presbyterians also ordain women. As for the others, I'm not sure.

I have heard that the Eastern Orthodox is talking about possibly talking about the possibility as well.

Hope that helps.
Peace,
Wanda

JK asked:

"Is the Church's stance on not ordaining women based on scripture or based on tradition or based on the idea that it would somehow usurp the power of the male control of the Church?"

I think it is some of all three.

The Scripture argument says that "Bishops succeeded to the Apostles" who were male. And that St. Paul had some statements about woment not presiding over men. These 'arguments from Scripture' are not entirely convincing to many.

That has become the 'tradition' - the custom handed down. Primarily that is the argument in force today.

So Canon Law makes entry into the "Clergy" class - who alone can obtain offices and exercise the power of 'orders' or the power of ecclesiastical governance - restricted to celibate males.

To change the Canon Law, the first two 'premises' need to be talked about, and are being talked about.

The 1983 Code does modify somewhat the exclusive clerical prerogative by declaring that lay members of the church can 'cooperate' in the exercise of governance or jurisdiction.

The Commentary on the Code indicates that there is an unresolved theological dispute about the nature and origin of 'power of governance' in the church.

One opinion is that 'sacred power' is transmitted only through the Sacrament of Orders (Ordination); The other maintains that the mission of the Church is carried out through three separate powers - to sanctify, to teach, and to govern. And that 'lay' members of the Church have a capacity to exercise jurisdiction or governance in a subordinate and dependent way. All would remain under the direction of the Bishop.

This is already happening. Some women are 'chancellors' in their Diocese. Some are in effect administrators of 'parishes' where there is no priest.

Likely it is something that will just 'grow.' As women have more roles in our society, become Prime Ministers, Presidents, CEO of major corporations and so on the old attitudes towards womens' competence changes.

As they have more roles in the Church itself it begins to become obvious that there is no real reason why they should not be 'ordained' to the ministry which they are already performing.

Hello Fr. Leo ,

Thank you for your honesty in that reply. Perhaps it is something that will grow. There's another thread around here somewhere where we talked about the pros and cons of female Priests and Pastors.

I think it was in that one that I stated something about how in the Methodist church necessity has played a huge role in that. Men just were not becoming Pastors so women stepped up to the plate.

I'm not completely sure how I feel about all of it, but, it does seem to be the way of things now.

God bless,
Terri