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Vatican Douses Insinuations that RC Church will be Electing Women Cardinals Soon
IBtimes ^ | November 4, 2013 | Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Posted on 11/04/2013 6:46:05 AM PST by NYer

The Roman Catholic Church will not be electing women cardinals into its ranks. Not soon. Not ever.

"This is just nonsense . . . It is simply not a realistic possibility that Pope Francis will name women cardinals," Fr Federico Lombardi, senior Vatican spokesman, was quoted by Irish Times.

Pope Francis greet cardinals and bishops during the general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican October 30, 2013.  REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION)
Pope Francis greet cardinals and bishops during the general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican October 30, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

The Vatican official was reacting to reports that wildly insinuated Pope Francis is set to ordain two women as cardinals into the upcoming February conclave or meeting of bishops.

Reports were rife that Linda Hogan, TCD Professor of Ecumenics as well as Vice Provost of the college, has been nominated on a list of contenders by Fr James Keenan SJ, Professor of Moral Theology at Boston College.

Mary McAleese, former president of the college, was also reportedly nominated.

Fr Keenan also listed Maryanne Loughry, the associate director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Australia, and Holy Child Jesus Sr Teresa Okure, a theology professor at the Catholic Institute of West Africa in Nigeria.

Ms Hogan is a theology professor and founding member of the International Association for Catholic Social Thought. She is 49 years old and a married Irish woman.

"Theologically and theoretically, it is possible," Fr Lombardi said. "Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained but to move from there to suggesting the pope will name women cardinals for the next consistory is not remotely realistic."

Pope Francis will name 14 new cardinals in February, his first meeting of the College of Cardinals. Although the Pope is restricted by a Catholic canon law of 1917 to select only ordained men to become cardinals, the supreme pontiff still has the authority to overlook the law and select whoever he wants to rise among the ranks. The conclave is presently composed of 100 elderly males.

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer to celebrate All Saints' Day in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican November 1, 2013.  REUTERS/Tony Gentile (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION)
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer to celebrate All Saints' Day in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican November 1, 2013. REUTERS/Tony Gentile 

"Stay calm, no nomination of women cardinals are due," Fr Lombardi was quoted as saying last week.

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, had earlier insinuated it was possible for a woman cardinal to be appointed by the Pope.

"One time somebody said to Blessed John Paul II, 'You should make Mother Teresa of Calcutta a cardinal.' And the Pope said, 'I asked her. She doesn't want to be one.'"

Apart from Ms Hogan, the other women candidates for cardinal were "two candidates from Brazil, three are African, one is Australian, another German and the ninth is from the Philippines," according to the Daily Mail.

"Were one of these women to be elected to the role by Pope Francis, they would become the most prominent and influential female in the Catholic Church, and could one day be elected to succeed the man who bestowed the honour upon them," the Daily Mail added.


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Religion & Culture
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1 posted on 11/04/2013 6:46:05 AM PST by NYer
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To: Tax-chick; GregB; Berlin_Freeper; SumProVita; narses; bboop; SevenofNine; Ronaldus Magnus; tiki; ...

I never cease to be amazed at how far the msm will go to promote their agenda, ping!


2 posted on 11/04/2013 6:46:48 AM PST by NYer ("The wise man is the one who can save his soul. - St. Nimatullah Al-Hardini)
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To: NYer
"Theologically and theoretically, it is possible," Fr Lombardi said. "Being a cardinal is one of those roles in the church for which, theoretically, you do not have to be ordained but to move from there to suggesting the pope will name women cardinals for the next consistory is not remotely realistic."

Anyone else see a problem with this statement?

3 posted on 11/04/2013 6:52:00 AM PST by verga (I refuse to apologize for being Catholic, I was raised to think for myself.)
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To: NYer
You'd have to have women priests, first.
4 posted on 11/04/2013 6:57:04 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (Who knew that one day professional wrestling would be less fake than professional journalism?)
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To: verga
Dear verga,

"Anyone else see a problem with this statement?"

Yes.

Technically, cardinals are clergy of titular parishes of Rome, whether deacons, priests, or bishops. Naming an unordained male to the cardinalate isn't particularly problematic, as an unordained male is appropriate matter for ordination, and thus can be a cardinal-deacon, cardinal-priest, or cardinal-bishop of one of the parishes of Rome.

Not so for a woman.

It would require re-defining the office of cardinal, which, of course, would re-define the entire system for electing popes, and removing entirely the need to include members of the ordained hierarchy in the process.

As for electing a “woman cardinal” to the pontificate, in that the pope is the Bishop of Rome, and upon electing a non-bishop to the office, the elected must first undergo consecration to the episcopate, once again - you can do that with an unordained male, not with a woman.


sitetest

5 posted on 11/04/2013 6:59:52 AM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
You'd have to have women priests, first.

Not really. Cardinals don't have to be priests.

6 posted on 11/04/2013 7:06:51 AM PST by pgkdan
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To: pgkdan

” Not really. Cardinals don’t have to be priests.”

Can. 351 §1. The Roman Pontiff freely selects men to be promoted as cardinals, who have been ordained at least into the order of the presbyterate and are especially outstanding in doctrine, morals, piety, and prudence in action; those who are not yet bishops must receive episcopal consecration.


7 posted on 11/04/2013 7:09:05 AM PST by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good -- Leo XIII)
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To: NYer

I believe that while it USED to be allowed for a lay person to be a Cardinal it no longer is. I suppose it’s POSSIBLE for them to lift the ban on women as deacons and THEN make one a Cardinal, but that’s simply not going to happen.


8 posted on 11/04/2013 7:10:53 AM PST by Hilda
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To: verga

Of course.

This whole wishy-washy theology is coming from inside the Catholic Church as well as from the MSM. The Catholic Church needs to get back to the Truth (with a sword).

This underhanded “promotion” and normalizing the idea of “woman priests is all radical egalitarianism (Marxism) to erase the Natural roles of man and woman—to destroy the natural instincts in each sex and make males and females interchangeable. All erases Biblical Truths.

It is for the “education” of the children-—to normalize the unnatural-—where there is no Designer in Nature. All sex roles have to be blurred in children for the media to erase the “old” Classical ideas that both men and women are human, but complimentary—not the same (science/Natural Laws)-—and replace it with the regressive pagan ideas where orgies with children were the norm and they worshipped Ba’al with sodomy Rites.

Catholic Theology used to be very clear-—until Vatican II. There will be no change until homosexuality is taken care of inside the Church-—as Fr. Oko’s report on Homoheresy states.

Homosexuality-—men looking at men as sexual objects or anal cavities is not compatible with Christian Theology-—that warped unnatural worldview is learned and evil and is not compatible inside the Catholic Church which is thoroughly based on Natural Law Theory and Reason (with Faith). The Bible is very compatible with Truth and Reason/Science and the Catholic Church always has known that since St. Thomas Aquinas, the Father of Catholic Theology.


9 posted on 11/04/2013 7:15:58 AM PST by savagesusie (Right Reason According to Nature = Just Law)
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To: NYer
"Were one of these women to be elected to the role by Pope Francis, they would become the most prominent and influential female in the Catholic Church, and could one day be elected to succeed the man who bestowed the honour upon them," the Daily Mail added.

Here the Daily Mail shows their ignorance. Even if it were granted that a woman could be named a cardinal it could not lead to the papacy. The pope holds his office in virtue of being the Bishop of Rome. Since it is the infallible teaching of the Church that women are banned from the priesthood they could never exercise the office of bishop and could thus never be pope.

10 posted on 11/04/2013 7:41:20 AM PST by Petrosius
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To: markomalley; pgkdan

Yes but as the article states the Pope “has the authority to overlook the law”.

Now, if that’s true I don’t know as a matter of fact and thus I guess that’s debatable however it also states, “”One time somebody said to Blessed John Paul II, ‘You should make Mother Teresa of Calcutta a cardinal.’ And the Pope said, ‘I asked her. She doesn’t want to be one.’”

If this is true it would seem to indicate Mother Theresa was considered for such but the only reason she was not made a Cardinal was because she didn’t want to be one; not because of Canon Law.

Again, it’s debatable. It depends on whether or not the Times is correct and complete in its reporting. Given the leftist agenda of all MSM everywhere, who knows.


11 posted on 11/04/2013 8:18:45 AM PST by FourtySeven (47)
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To: NYer

This is the result of an unsourced article published in the left-leaning El Pais newspaper ( http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/23/inenglish/1379952868_934748.html)

It’s a completely bogus report.

And Lombardi ought to know better than to give that kind of mealy-mouth response as he did.


12 posted on 11/04/2013 8:52:23 AM PST by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good -- Leo XIII)
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To: NYer

I haven’t hear anything I been trolling UK Telegraph religion news nothing yet NYER I do go on DW German news wire to Al Jazeera English they may have something so far NOTHING YET

So probably MSN getting ahead of themselves


13 posted on 11/04/2013 8:52:45 AM PST by SevenofNine (We are Freepers, all your media bases belong to us ,resistance is futile)
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To: FourtySeven

Maybe the Pope’s point is that any women who would be worth having as Cardinals don’t seem to wish to be one. On the other hand, look at all those woman who declare themselves priestesses or even bishopesses and those who agitate for opening up the clergy to priestesses—is there even one anywhere who has orthodox views about things like birth control within marriage, ‘gay marriage,’ homosexual priests in ‘relationships’ or abortion? I’ve never come across it, at least.

I figure if there are a lot of women who want to be priestesses but have all the other traditional beliefs of the Church they would be on places like FR or other anonymous conservative message boards.

Freegards


14 posted on 11/04/2013 9:10:52 AM PST by Ransomed
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To: markomalley; SevenofNine
This is the result of an unsourced article published in the left-leaning El Pais newspaper

A former Brazilian priest, Juan Arias, was the man who first put forward the prospect of an imminent appointment of a female cardinal, when he wrote the idea was 'not a joke', in the Spanish newspaper El Pais in September.

He quoted an unnamed priest as saying: 'Knowing this Pope, he wouldn't hesitate before appointing a woman cardinal.

Could this married feminist be the Catholic Church's first woman cardinal? Rumours rife that reforming Pope Francis is preparing to break with 900 years of history

Toss a crumb to the msm and they will turn it into a fabrication.

15 posted on 11/04/2013 9:46:33 AM PST by NYer ("The wise man is the one who can save his soul. - St. Nimatullah Al-Hardini)
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To: Ransomed; FourtySeven; Salvation; markomalley; Petrosius; verga; E. Pluribus Unum; sitetest; ...
On the other hand, look at all those woman who declare themselves priestesses or even bishopesses and those who agitate for opening up the clergy to priestesses—is there even one anywhere who has orthodox views about things like birth control within marriage, ‘gay marriage,’ homosexual priests in ‘relationships’ or abortion? I’ve never come across it, at least.

This argument is ancient.

The divine law indeed has excluded women from this ministry, but they endeavour to thrust themselves into it; and since they can effect nothing of themselves, they do all through the agency of others.
St. John Chrysostom (347 - 407)

Lol!

16 posted on 11/04/2013 10:01:47 AM PST by NYer ("The wise man is the one who can save his soul. - St. Nimatullah Al-Hardini)
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To: NYer

What about alleged Pope Joan


17 posted on 11/04/2013 11:22:43 AM PST by SevenofNine (We are Freepers, all your media bases belong to us ,resistance is futile)
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To: SevenofNine

Medieval legend with no basis in fact.


18 posted on 11/04/2013 11:50:04 AM PST by Petrosius
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To: Petrosius; SevenofNine
Medieval legend with no basis in fact.

And even if it wasn't, it would be simulation of a sacrament and be utterly invalid (as well as any decrees that were proclaimed by the imposter).

NB: not to say that I would give this any credence, but even if, hypothetically, it was the case, it would be utterly invalid anyway.

19 posted on 11/04/2013 12:36:30 PM PST by markomalley (Nothing emboldens the wicked so greatly as the lack of courage on the part of the good -- Leo XIII)
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To: NYer; markomalley

But there are female cardinals. I have a couple with their male mates in my back yard all winter long.


20 posted on 11/04/2013 12:52:51 PM PST by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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