Posted by Phil on November 23, 1998 at 07:00:00:
In Reply to: Why doesn't the Catholic Church ordain women? posted by Stan on November 22, 1998 at 17:32:22:
: I think my subject line says it all. . .
Dear Stan,
No disrespect detected in your question. And I hope you and others can feel free to use your real e-mail address without fear of recrimination. That's part of the reason for having registered members, rather than just opening this up to the world.
You are correct in saying that the issue comes down to one of gender, but it's kind of complicated. Basically, I see two reasons why the magisterium Catholic Church has decided to not ordain women.
The first reason is based on the example of Christ, who chose only men to be his apostles. St. Paul followed suit, in recommending only men as prebyters and bishops. Critics of this position are quick to point out that neither Jesus nor Paul would have gotten very far if they had put women in positions of spiritual leadership. The culture at that time and place in history gave little status to women. Paul even required that they be silent in community gatherings. So, was Jesus' example based on theological conviction, or making an allowance for the short-comings of his culture?
The second primary reason is more complicated and definitely of a theological, or at least mythological nature. It has to do with a spousal paradigm which views Christ as bridegromm and Church as bride. St. Paul develops this theme in a number of places--especially Ephesians 5. Now, if the Church is bride, then it is feminine before its beloved, Christ, who is male. Interestingly, this suggests that all of us, male and female, are somehow "feminine," or receptive before Christ. When a priest celebrates a Sacrament, he stands for the person of Christ before the community. And so the thinking here is that for the priest to truly represent the person of Christ, he must be of the same gender as Christ with respect to Christ's bride, the Church. Proponents of this position are quick to point out, however, that this does not mean that women are created less in the image of Christ than men. It has only to do with the priest representing Christ in sacramental experiences, where he ministers to the Church, his bride, as her bridegroom.
There are strong critics of the spousal justification, as you might imagine. But the Vatican is so convinced of their rightness in this regard that they view the prohibition of Orders for women as a teaching that has been infallibly taught.
Personally, I wish we could have an open discussion in the Church about this, and let the Holy Spirit lead us to a deeper understanding of the matter. Truly, this question was not taken seriously even at Vatican II. It's a relatively new issue in the life of the Church.
Peace. Phil