The Place of Women in the Catholic
Church Gerry
OShea
Every student in a Catholic seminary learns a
core principle governing all levels of authority in the church. It is
enunciated in Latin to copper fasten its importance: Roma locuta est;
causa finita est. When Rome pronounces on any topic touching religion or
morality, the case is closed.
Still, on
October 7th, 1979, during Pope John Paul 11's papal visit to the
United States, Sr. Theresa Kane, daughter of a Galway couple residing in the
Bronx, welcomed the pope to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington and then pleaded that the church find ways
to fully include women in all its power structures.
Sr. Theresa,
a Mercy Sister, was speaking as president of the Leadership Conference of
Catholic Women, a consequential group with members from nearly all the church
orders of nuns in America. She urged the pope, known for his strict adherence
to the status quo regarding women’s place in the church, to include females as
equal participants at every level of ecclesiastical authority.
Sr. Theresa,
who died last August, made her case in unambiguous language, recommending that
the papal visitor and the assembled dignitaries change course and allow women access
to all church ministries: “I urge your Holiness to open your mind to these
changes.”
Nobody doubted that she was talking about breaking
with the old patriarchal arrangements which consign females to playing auxiliary
administrative roles far from where the major governing decisions are made.
Her words
received a mixed reception within the church community. Some, especially among
the hierarchy, felt she was stirring a troublesome pot, while others hailed her
bravery for speaking truth to power.
A year later, she received a major U.S.
Catholic magazine award for furthering the cause of altering the status of
women in the church. The magazine's editor, Fr. Mark Brummel, told the gathering
while pointing to the Bronx honoree, “Women long to serve the church in roles
now denied them.”
The glaring
issue that has highlighted the need for major institutional change in the
church centers on the abysmal leadership of successive prelates and popes in
dealing with the curse of clerical sex abuse, which has poisoned the whole
organization. To put it bluntly, all these top church leaders lost credibility
in failing to protect children from harm.
Many commentators
point out that if parents had the authority, they would have insisted that
corrupt clerics be shown the door and barred from any contact with vulnerable
children. This would not be difficult for mothers or fathers who insist that their
kids' safety must always be the top priority.
Parents and
especially mothers would demand decisive action against any priest or Brother
using his clerical status as cover for engaging in despicable acts of sexual molestation
against a child. They certainly would reject the inchoate logic that permitted
moving such predators to another parish where they would likely continue their
depraved behavior. Unfortunately, parishioners were not consulted, and the
situation got worse every year.
The results
are evident in all church communities, especially in Western nations. Mass
attendance is down dramatically not only in the United States but also in
traditionally strong Catholic countries like Italy, Spain, and Ireland.
Serving clergy have to deal with an air of
cynicism, conveying a moral unsureness in every parish. Priests are still respected but are
viewed with a jaundiced eye until they establish credibility with the parish
families.
Some
theologians and many Catholics argue that the limitations placed on women in the
ecclesiastical power structure should be viewed from a sociological perspective.
In earlier times, in societies worldwide, only males were deemed suitable
and qualified for the top positions in government and business.
This situation has changed dramatically in
most countries, and it is now common for women to play leadership roles at all levels
of work and authority. Many Protestant denominations include female ministers
and bishops in their power structure, but the Catholic Church still insists on
abiding by outmoded traditions, maintaining a patriarchal obedience set-up.
Only men can
lead in the celebration of the Eucharist or forgive sins in the confessional or
perform the last rites for those about to depart this world. Formal decision-making
in all important areas of morality or dogma is confined to men.
Pope John
Paul 11 asserted in 1994 in a formal doctrinal declaration reminiscent of papal
declarations from a hundred years ago “that all doubt may be removed regarding
a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine
constitution -------- I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to
confer priestly ordination on women.”
Cardinal
Suenens, the respected Belgian bishop, counseled John Paul against issuing such
a strong, binding mandate, warning him that he could be making what he called
the Galileo mistake. He was referring to the papal condemnation in the 17th
century of heliocentrism, propounded by Galileo, placing
the sun and not the earth at the center of the universe. The official apology
to Galileo for his alleged obstinacy in standing over his scientific research came
from the pope in the early 1990s – 350 years late!
John Paul’s dubious
exposition about women’s place in the church was made thirty years ago. A few
studies have shown that his categorical statement on this issue is widely disputed
among Catholics, including by some theologians. In fact, polls reveal that a
majority of believers affirm a woman’s right to the central place at the altar
as well as a preaching spot on the pulpit.
Change is
notoriously slow in the church in the area of dogmatic teaching. However, past
solemn papal pronouncements condemning the use of contraceptives by married
couples or proclaiming the existence of a limbo for unbaptized babies have long
been scrapped by the people in the pews using their common sense and knowledge
of the magnanimous spirit guiding the New Testament.
In his 60
Minutes interview a few months ago, Pope Francis ruled out opening the
diaconate to women. This unfortunate pronouncement was widely understood as the
final word on the matter.
However, the
recent concluding report from the Synod in Rome leaves the door wide open for
change. “The question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open. This
discernment needs to continue.”
Gerry
OShea blogs at wemustbetalking.com
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