Posted on 04/12/2005 1:48:41 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
WASHINGTON, April 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- At this pivotal time in the Catholic Church, the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), a feminist voice for women in the church, provides the theological, biblical, and historical reasons for ordaining women.
“First and foremost, God calls women to be priests. Women and men are equally created in the image of God; therefore, the church should embrace the gifts of women in all levels of ministry,” stated Joy Barnes, WOC’s executive director. “This is not simply an issue of women’s rights, this is fundamentally about fulfilling Jesus’ gospel message.”
“There is no biblical or theological reason to keep women from the priesthood,” continued Barnes. The Vatican states women cannot be priests because in the gospels Jesus chose only male apostles. However, in 1976 the Vatican’s own Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded that there is no scriptural reason to prohibit women’s ordination.
“Our 2,000 year-old Catholic tradition contains numerous examples of women priests,” stated Barnes. “There are both biblical references and compelling archeological evidence that indicate women were leaders of churches -— even bishops -— in early Christianity. In addition, women were legitimately ordained in the underground Catholic Church of communist Czechoslovakia as recently as 1970.”
A Second Vatican Council document, Gaudium et Spes (No. 29), calls for an end to all discrimination, and a July 2004 Vatican document promotes women’s leadership in all realms of society.
“There is a painful inconsistency between what the church teaches and how the church acts regarding women,” said Aisha Taylor, coordinator of WOC’s Young Feminist Network. “Pope John Paul II spoke at length about women’s dignity, yet the church -— by banning women’s ordination -— systematically denies women participation in its governance.”
“WOC calls for a Pope who will usher in a renewed priestly ministry, which includes women and transforms the structures of the church to be inclusive, participatory and spiritually affirming for all God's people,” Taylor concluded.
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Founded in 1975, WOC promotes the voices of Catholic women excluded from official church structures. WOC can arrange interviews with women called to priesthood, ordained Catholic women, feminist theologians, and church historians to speak about the issue of women priests. For more resources on women’s ordination, the legacy of Pope John Paul II, and selecting a new pope, visit http://www.womensordination.org.
Never gonna happen
Married priests ain't gonna happen either.
These feminists need to start their own church or maybe join the episcopalians. Don't want 'em in mine.
In case the NYTimes doesn't have a complete list of dissidents already!
Amen to that. Leave us alone, would ya!
1 Timothy 2:11-13
11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
No scriptural reason ?..Better look again !
Both Paul VI and John Paul II declared the matter closed.
Honestly, I don't think these people read the Bible.
1st Corinthians Chapter 14 and 1st Timothy both condem the ordination of women.
That's right. Until recently, women were priests in the catholic church, such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
It's just the modern reinterpretation of the Bible by these Johnny-come-lately theologians that created the male-only priesthood. It's time to go back to the biblical model of female priests.
[/end of sarcasm]
Maybe I have a different take on things. I wouldn't have problems if the Church allowed women as priests. What's more important is that the priest (be it a man or a woman) have the orthodox belief in the real presence of the Eucharist. This belief among even the current male priesthood is somewhat in jeopardy and thus among the laity. This is the belief that is at the heart of being a Catholic Christian.
"11A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent."
That sounds like the Islamic point of view.
No historical inquiry has ever uncovered any evidence of a woman claiming to be a priest who was (1) in communion with the Holy See or (2) had her claimed orders recognized by the Holy See.
Period.
Of course. That started the night JPII died.
Why did God not choose a woman to die on the cross?
If women clegry in non Catholic faiths are any example, watch out. Liberalism reigns in those denominations even to the point that many of these women are pro abortion.
This would be real popular with the majority in Africa and South America. /sarcasm
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