Catholic Women's Webinar

The World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO) is starting a webinar series about Synodality in the Catholic Church called “School for Synodality,” February 27-29, 2024. The First Session of the Synodal Assembly 2021-2024 resulted in a synthesis document to which I previously linked (a direct link to the document is HERE). The WUCWO school will focus especially on Section 9 of the document, which concerns the role of Catholic women in the Church. The link to the website for registration is HERE.  

I’m sorry this post is so late but I only noticed this announcement today, Feb. 27, 2024, on the Vatican News site (and as far as I know today is when it first showed up). The first two days of the webinar are in Spanish and French respectively. The February 29 presentation is in English. I hope you can still register and watch if you are interested.

Inclusive Synod

The biological facts of Creationism have been a big part of my blog, along with other subjects as listed in the right column of the original format. I’m grateful that I’ve felt free to write facts and opinions, and even some personal journaling, in the Womanatwell mix. I am still reading some things about the theology of Creationism but would like to get on with some other topics I’ve just touched upon or not addressed at all. 

I also want to keep an eye on the ongoing Catholic Synod on Synodality, as I have done in some of the past few posts. Another major announcement has been made about the Synod, to which I will link below.

First, I would like to point out that the logo for the Synod is changed slightly, from 2021-2023 to 2021-2024. This is because there will now be two Vatican Bishops’ meetings concerning this work in the Catholic Church, one each in 2023 and 2024. I’m putting the new logo here with a link to information about it on the Synod website. Click on the logo for the link.

The latest news is about the participants that will be attending and for the first time able to vote in a Bishops’ Synod.

From the Catholic News Agency article, “Vatican announces laypeople, including women, will vote in Synod on Synodality assembly,” dated April 26, 2023 (link HERE):

The biggest change announced Wednesday was the removal of the “auditor” role. In past synods, auditors included priests, religious, and laypeople, who did not have the right to vote in synod deliberations.

Now, these 70 members, who may be priests, consecrated women, deacons, and laypeople, will be able to vote. They will be chosen by the pope from among a list of 140 people selected by the leadership of this year’s continental synod meetings.

According to the synod leadership, it is requested that “50% of [the selected people] be women and that the presence of young people also be emphasized.”

I am pleased about women becoming more a part of the voice and leadership of the Church.

Women are not just physical companions to men but intellectual and psychological colleagues as well, and that includes single and married women. This is despite the prevailing philosophy, already in Aristotle's time, that said women are incomplete or deficient men. Thomas Aquinas stated that women had little intellect and were only good for generation (reproduction). Supposedly our inferior sexual status was sometimes brought about by moist south winds at the time of our conception (Summa Theologica, Part I, Q. 92, Art. 1). Science has changed, and although Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas were both geniuses, that doesn't mean they were always right. When women are kept from education, they may seem less brilliant than these men, but fortunately we now have that opportunity.

A large part of this Synod is to give voice to all Catholics, not just those who have been in power in the past and present. Many of the faithful have felt marginalized, and that has included women, the disabled, young persons and immigrants. Of course, other groups are important, and, for example, bishops from small countries that were not previously represented will have at least one voting member included in the Synod.

And we must remember the ultimate goal for us all: Catholics need to carry out the real purpose of evangelization, which is telling others about God the Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ, Who suffered atonement for our sins, rose from the dead. and is our only way to Heaven.

Commission for Women

Good news about the "Study Commission of the Women’s Deaconate" that Pope Francis talked about back in May (post in my blog about it HERE). The Pope has instituted it with a 12-member group, half of whom are women, plus the leader of the group, Jesuit Secretary of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer. You can read more about it and see the members at Vatican Radio website HERE.

The good news in my opinion is that Phyllis Zagano is one of the members. She has done much studying and written books on the subject of women deacons in the Catholic Church. Her books include Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church (Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000); and Women Deacons? Essays with Answers (The Liturgical Press, 2016). Her short Amazon biography is HERE.

Deaconesses are mentioned in the Bible. In 1 Timothy 3:11 (NIV), as St. Paul gives instructions to deacons in general, he singles out women deacons:

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.

I won’t add a lot more, since I've written about this before (see Deacons Label at bottom of this post for all links). I’m sure we will hear more as the commission gets going. I hope they don’t take too long until they come to a conclusion—one which Phyllis Zagano has already studied and found: that there were indeed women deacons in the Church in the past and should be now.

Mary Magdalene

In this post I mostly want to give you a link to a story about the change from what is called a "Memorial Day" of Mary Magdalene to a higher honor of "Feast Day" for her in the Catholic Church. Apparently Pope Francis requested this, and it is very fitting. As related by Ines St. Martin, "New feast touts Mary Magdalene as 'paradigm' for women," Crux (June 10, 2016), the Virgin Mary had been the only woman honored by a Feast Day, while the male Apostles and some other men were given this tribute. Since St. Thomas Aquinas (13th Century), Mary Magdalene has been known as the “Apostle to the Apostles” because she had seen the Risen Lord first and was commissioned by Him to tell the Apostles of His Resurrection.

The above article mentions a decree by one of the Vatican's Congregations which said we should treat Mary Magdalene as a paradigm, which in this case means a model. That is what many women have been trying to do: to follow the Lord as completely as they can. Some women feel they are being called by God to service as Deacons, but Church leadership denies that call. It is heavy-handed of these leaders to think they know how God is calling all individuals. Pope Francis said in his Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, Section 37:

We [Church leadership] also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel amid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations. We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.

Though Pope Francis was referring to married couples in his Exhortation, his statement applies to leadership and laypersons in general.

It takes wise leaders and laity to get the right balance and that is about impossible except with God's help. Discernment should be done together, not separately.

Perhaps as Church leaders realize Mary Magdalene is deserving of a Feast Day, they will recognize women are deserving of being heard.

Deaconess

The Pope made world-wide news Thursday by announcing he would set up a commission to study women deacons in the Catholic Church. What a historic move! His decision came about after an international meeting with consecrated women and International Union of Superiors General. An article about the circumstances is HERE at the Crux website.

The women had written questions for the Pope (4 main topics) which more or less asked why women still do not have a say in the Church and why we are barred from being deacons. The questions can be read HERE.

I am excited for a few reasons. I have said before that women should be deacons. They should be ordained as deacons. Married men are ordained as permanent deacons, and if the Church leadership insists on only male priests, women can at least be permanent deacons. It is just not right for the Church to have seven sacraments for men and six for women. Another reason they should be named deacons is that many do the work of deacons anyway. But men can be ordained and women not. It is just plain discrimination. I know many will say there are reasons to keep women out, but there were rationalizations to keep African-Americans out of seminaries at one time. We all know of the terrible prejudice against African-Americans in general, but not so much about how this carried over to Catholics (see the book by Cyprian Davis, The History of Black Catholics in the United States).

Of course, the question of who will be on the commission for women deacons is next. Obviously, if the members are all conservative bishops, women will not have a chance. The pope has been fairly astute about these things. He has been placing more progressive persons in critical roles. However, the current prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time this post is first published, Gerhard Cardinal Muller, is conservative. Perhaps the Pope hides behind him a bit. After a previous commission’s look into the female diaconate, Muller made a statement along the lines that women will feel discriminated against if they are allowed to be deacons but not priests or bishops. Zenit reports this HERE.

Apparently the consecrated women who asked the Pope to become deaconesses do not have that problem. Nor do some others. A link to the organization called Catholic Women Deacons is HERE.

The Internet is buzzing, including the website I follow, Catholic Answers Forums (CAF). I think it is a topic that will not go away. We should all pray for discernment into what is best for the Church and especially for doing the Lord's will.

Year of Mercy

The Zika virus is a threat to anyone bitten by the mosquito that carries it. It is especially worrisome to women (and therefore couples) who are pregnant or may be trying to become pregnant since it may cause birth defects. Doctors have also found that having sex may cause transmission of the virus (CDC Zika virus info page HERE).

Governments, including the US, are warning about the virus and in that vein are suggesting the use of barrier contraceptives.

Of course, this raises the hackles of anyone who thinks that contraception is an intrinsic evil. There can be no exceptions to the rule. But these persons' ideas are formed by Natural Law, in turn formed by celibate males. Look, for example, at St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the major players in the direction of thought on this subject. In his greatest book, Summa Theologica, the question is asked whether women should have even been made in the first generation of things, since she is so inferior. In Part I, Question 92, Article 1, (New Advent website HERE) Aquinas replies:

I answer that, It was necessary for woman to be made, as the Scripture says, as a "helper" to man; not, indeed, as a helpmate in other works, as some say, since man can be more efficiently helped by another man in other works; but as a helper in the work of generation… But man [as opposed to woman] is yet further ordered to a still nobler vital action, and that is intellectual operation. Therefore there was greater reason for the distinction of these two forces in man; so that the female should be produced separately from the male; although they are carnally united for generation. Therefore directly after the formation of woman, it was said: "And they shall be two in one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).

In other words, women are good for reproduction and nothing else. Whereas I find myself thinking that God gave me a brain for the very reason of thinking. And I imagine other women are able to think also. Well, you get my point.

It is certainly appropriate for the Church Leaders to give guidelines in some things and make definitive pronouncements in others, but they need to discern which is which. We all need to learn more discernment. (If we all knew exactly what God wanted we wouldn’t have all these different denominations.)

If the Catholic Church learned to talk with women who take contraceptives instead of hurling the words “intrinsically evil” at them, they may learn a few things. The Church leaders want women to have as many children as possible, while the women may be hearing a different calling from God. And we might all come to an understanding that barrier contraception is a lot more like NFP than abortifacient contraception. Perhaps we could come to more of a resolution than having most Catholic women either hiding their actions or leaving the Church.

Let us remember that Mary, mother of Jesus, was called directly (through an angel) by God. He did not consult with her religious leaders or her parents or even her husband to be. And she answered God directly (through an angel). She did not consult with her religious leaders or her parents or her husband to be. And though the Church insists she was the perfect mother, it also insists she never had sex with her husband nor produced more than one child.

It has been declared the Year of Mercy by Pope Francis. Let the couple seek God's will, which will be what is best for them. To the Church, teach discernment instead of dictating. It is time to be merciful indeed.

Getting Along

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is observed Jan. 18-25 (more info at World Council of Churches HERE). The theme this year was taken from John 4, where Jesus Christ asked a Samaritan woman at a well for a drink of water. The theme was apparently suggested by Brazilians, who have the custom to offer water to strangers when they approach.

Pope Francis commented on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, encouraging personal encounters between Christians that emphasize listening to each other rather than expounding on “subtle theoretical discussions.” It’s an interesting point of view, and highlights the difficulty of religious relationships. Even within denominations we have problems. The Pope followed a similar line of thought with Catholic Bishops at the Synod of the Family last October. Francis told them to think about how to be better pastors and not try to prove to each other how smart they are. And, during a trip to the Philippines, also this past January, the Pope said that the leaders should listen to women, because they see things differently than men.

Reason is given by God, but so is wisdom. Catholic thinking can be hardened and cold when intellect refuses to encounter a variety of living human beings. Imagine the male leadership becoming so humble as to respect the spectrum of women’s feelings and opinions instead of insisting we all conform ourselves to a single mold of an imagined (by men) ideal. And yet didn’t God ask humility of us, including bishops (1 Peter 5:3 NABRE)?

It is the logic of natural law that men learn in universities that says that women can’t even think. This is written by St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1, Question 92, Article 1(New Advent website HERE). It is no wonder women reject teachings particularly aimed at us. These rulings are based on a history of male prejudice against women throughout the ages, and within Christianity starting from the Fathers of the Church shortly after Christ left this Earth for Heaven. With non-abortive, barrier contraception as an example, Catholic leaders have consistently ignored female voices. However, perhaps there is some hope, as the problem of the Church's ostracism of women is being addressed with some insight at a Pontifical Council for Culture meeting, "Women's Cultures: Equality and Difference," about women this month. Among the thoughts expressed is that Church leadership has indeed historically excluded women from decision-making, and perhaps not every complaint from women should be categorized as rampant feminism. Although this assembly has been widely criticized, it is at least a start.

It’s hard to imagine how Christians will unite between denominations when we can’t even get along within them. Then again, humans alone probably are unable to do it. We need to find how to connect with God’s grace when we face each other. Not only would that lead to agreement, it would awaken our spirits to the wonder of becoming a part of the Divine Nature. This promise is related to us (2 Peter 1:3-4 NABRE) . To become spiritually complete is to reject false pride and arrogance. It is to live in community with love, harmony and acceptance.

What a witness of Christianity that would provide to the rest of the world.

Discern More Certainly

I've been talking about discernment the last few months, and I’d like to add a few more comments to the subject.

Many persons believe that they discern through the Holy Spirit. However, some of these people, including current members of the Church, don’t believe Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, but that one religion is as good as another and eventually we’ll all go to heaven. In the opinion of many Christians, this is not what Christ and His disciples taught.

Jesus Christ's mission on Earth included instruction about our sins, His atonement for them, and the clear message that belief in Him alone, as part of the Trinity including God the Father and Holy Spirit, is the only way to living in spiritual freedom with God in heaven. Jesus talked to the disciples about sending His Spirit after He was gone. Then, on the day of Pentecost as told in the Bible, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and they could speak other languages (Acts 2:1-4 NABRE). They came to understand Christ better because of the Holy Spirit.

Later in the Bible, St. Paul writes quite a bit about the Holy Spirit (e.g. Romans 8 NABRE; Ephesians 1 NABRE). He links the Holy Spirit very strongly with belief in Christ.

Women and men who don’t have this faith are logically and spiritually incomplete. God can direct us in times when we are on the wrong path, and He often does so to bring the lost to His kingdom. Yet I believe the best way by far for us to commune with His Spirit is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. If your belief is incorrect, your discernment can be mistaken.

Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit: three persons of one essence. If you do not have proper relationship with one, you do not have proper relationship with the totality of God. If you think any religion is as good as another (the idea is called “indifferentism”), you are susceptible to being wrong about the thoughts you are following. Even true believers may not be perfect in discerning the Holy Spirit, but a false set of mind will muddy an already difficult process.

I’ve talked about women having personal callings from God about what to do with their lives. I wanted to add these further thoughts about discernment, because I’ve read and heard a lot of what I consider wrong thinking about the faith itself from many Catholic women leaders, such as theologians and religious sisters. Much as I want to see progress in the Church for women, it should never happen at the expense of Truth. Women (and men) who are not truly Christian may well be following the wrong voices down the wrong path. Yet all persons who understand Christ’s true message can and should lead others to Him.

I'd like to repeat here an aspect of discernment that is important in many situations. In the Bible, Paul says we should agree with each other (1 Corinthians 1:10 NABRE). This is very difficult for us. It seems we all have an opinion, and it is very natural to think our way is God’s way. So unless we have an open mind that God might want something different, it will be hard to listen for His direction.

Pope Francis has tried to tell those who are rigid in their opinions that we can be “surprised by God.” The hope is that, when we have conflict, God can bring us to fuller understanding and greater clarity. I believe God often uses life’s experiences in this way, and so it can take time. But if we persist with our hearts in the right place, it can be worth every bit of the wait.

And so our prayers for discernment together as Christians should continue whenever there is disagreement. And we must be sure to pray to the True Lord.

Discerning Women

My post for today is on the first Monday of the Month. I had been doing it on First Fridays, the day of devotion for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I’ve been attending mass on that day for a long time, but am planning a shift toward Monday devotion and will try to attend mass at least one Monday a month. Monday is devoted to the Holy Ghost and souls in Purgatory (you can see a list of devotions at Fish Eaters HERE). 

In my last post, I mentioned the Extraordinary Synod of the Family, called by Pope Francis and held in October. Pope Francis has called Catholic Bishops to give input about the family and work on the problems related to it. They are going to have another meeting next year in which there may be some revisions of the current status of teaching. The Pope is looking for input from the general Catholic membership also. Since the Pope and others have used the Holy Family as a model for families, I’d like to comment about that for my December post.

For a long time the Church leadership has insisted that all married couples seek to “develop a mentality of openness to life,” which to them means having a marriage in which every sexual act would potentially lead to children. Concerning the Holy Family, the Catholic Church holds that Mary was a virgin throughout her whole life and Jesus was her only child. In order for that to be true, Mary and Joseph had no sexual relations and apparently felt no compulsion to have more children.

Last month I talked about Christ saying that his true family are those who do God’s will. Ironically the example of the Holy Family, instead of backing the Magisterium's apparent interpretation, more clearly shows that God called Mary directly and personally (through an angel) to do His will. God did not consult first with Mary’s religious leaders, her parents, or even her husband-to-be. And Mary answered directly to God (through an angel) without first consulting with her religious leaders, her parents, or even her husband-to-be. She had to discern (I believe with God’s help) that the angel was a good one, since not all angels are. Mary didn’t know if, in her acceptance, Joseph would still marry her or if her parents would reject her or if the Jewish leaders would try to have her stoned. 

I don't understand how our Church leadership can be sincere in using Mary as an example to promote child-bearing. Of course, Jesus Christ was quite a child, but no amount of child-bearing could make another woman into Mary or another child equal to Christ.

John Paul II, in his Apostolic letter Mulieris dignitatem (August 15, 1988), also extensively cites Mary’s life. He says virginity and motherhood are complimentary, but it is a little hard to understand that in a practical way. He talks about consecrated virgins caring for others, such as the poor, which certainly is often the case. This is a form of mothering though it is not to biological children. However, perhaps a young woman does not feel the call to religious vocation but does discern that God calls her to be, for example, a doctor. Then she spends her youth in becoming educated and starts to practice. If she later falls in love with a man, she will probably discern that she still has that original calling to be a doctor. She then also needs to discern if this man is compatible as a life partner, and by “compatible” I mean someone who respects the woman in all her facets. Women and men both need to realize they first must seek God, then, if so inclined, seek a human partner.

Marriage is present in other religions, so to be married is not necessarily to evangelize for Christianity. Though lasting marriage is very important, it seems to be one aspect of Christ’s larger message. The priority of the Church is evangelization. The central point of Christianity is to believe Jesus Christ is one of the persons of the Trinity of God who came to Earth, lived a sinless life and died in atonement of the sins of humanity. We are also to proclaim such to others in the best way we can. It is vital for each of us to believe in Him and to continue to proclaim His divinity and inform persons that they also need to have this faith for the salvation of their souls and an everlasting life with God in heaven.

Most of us have long lives, and if a married Christian woman truly discerns that God is calling her to motherhood, the Church should support her and her family in every way they can. But if a married Catholic woman discerns that God is calling her to promote His kingdom using gifts other than motherhood, then the Church should also support her and her husband in every way they can. These women with other callings would indeed be wonderful assets to the Church’s mission. Not every career woman is selfishly out for herself in the way she is often portrayed. She might be giving to others in very important physical and spiritual ways. (And this is possible for married women without abortifacients, but NFP is just not sufficient. Women can be irregular and can't always plan for the wedding night.) The Church leadership is a long way off from this ideal of supporting women. I believe this contributes greatly to the fact that American, European, and now Latin American women, and men along with them, have left the Church.

There was another conference on the family in November—this one ecumenical. Vatican News at the time reported comments from Pope Francis about complementarity between spouses in a family:

The Holy Father began his address by dwelling on the word “complementarity”: “a precious word, with multiple meanings.” Although complementarity can refer “situations where one of two things adds to, completes, or fulfills a lack in the other” it also means much more than that. Christians, he said, “find its deepest meaning in the first Letter to the Corinthians where Saint Paul tells us that the Spirit has endowed each of us with different gifts so that-just as the human body's members work together for the good of the whole-everyone's gifts can work together for the benefit of each.”

Complementarity, the Pope said, “is at the root of marriage and family.” Although there are tensions in families, the family also provides the framework in which those tensions can be resolved.” He said that complementarity should not be confused with a simplistic notion that “all the roles and relations of the sexes are fixed in a single, static pattern.” Rather, “complementarity will take many forms as each man and woman brings his or her distinctive contributions to their marriage and to the formation of their children.”

Pope Francis has been encouraging discernment. Of course we all need the right foundation. Then the Church leaders and members should learn when to discern together and when individuals should be trusted to discern God's will for themselves. We need to pray that we can listen to God as well as Mary, the mother of Jesus, did so many years ago.

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May you have a blessed Christmas. I hope you have time (3:44) to play the video at the top of the page. The song is "Joy." Music by Cindy Morgan, Lights by eShepherds of Light. I saw it  HERE at the Vimeo website.

St. Thomas Aquinas

If a Catholic has the unusual combination of interests in women’s dignity and the sister subjects of Creationism and Intelligent Design Theory, she or he would probably view the uproar caused by an op-ed column about Catholics by Jamie Stiehm, "The Catholic Supreme Court's War on Women," US New and World Report, Jan. 7, 2014, with a corner of one eye on St. Thomas Aquinas. Stiehm, was outright hostile toward the decision of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor.  These nuns did not want to sign over the right for an insurance company to pay for contraceptives and abortion for their employees. The problem has been festering ever since Obamacare made its move to include this cost in insurance coverage. The law is for the insurance to pay for contraception, not about whether the employer can force its employees to use or not use contraception. Many Catholics are responding in great anger and indignation to this column, both in comments at the site and at various blogs like the one linked above. The Little Sisters apparently felt that in agreeing to the payment of contraception and abortion even by another party they would still be violating their religious conscience about it.

Unfortunately, the arguments about contraception and abortion are caught up in each other and distinction of types of contraception beyond “natural” and “unnatural” are not made with Catholic leadership. Chemical contraceptives taken internally can cause death of a fertilized egg. However, man-made barriers can keep the sperm from reaching the egg and avoid embryonic death, but they are still deemed wrong by the Church. The reasoning stems from the Natural Law, derived in great part from Thomas Aquinas, the greatly venerated 13th century Doctor of the Church. The thoughts of Aquinas are carried down to this day within Catholic theology and philosophy.

We probably all know by now that the Catholic teaching is that every sexual act, which is allowed only for married persons, should be done with procreation in mind. A recent survey put out to the bishops by the Vatican concerning the deterioration of the traditional family refers to this Natural Law. The questions of the survey are listed in the bottom half a post in Vatican News and Natural Law is mentioned in Question 2 where the bishops are asked if Natural Law is still accepted (2019 Update: this link is no longer accessible). Paul VI, in Humanae Vitae, (Sec. 16) expressed a very limited exception of consideration for the burdens of giving birth continually, but they were only to be interrupted by natural means. These developed into what is known now as Natural Family Planning (NFP). NFP makes use of biological factors to prevent pregnancy and probably works if there is absolutely no human weakness between partners. In my experience of encountering couples who teach it, I’ve found they have had between 6 to 12 children.

Many women active in their field, say medical doctors, do not have time to properly care for 6 to 12 children unless they have superwoman levels of energy (some do but many do not). The Church does not seem to think that God would personally call a married woman to be a doctor instead of a mother. Perhaps this is because of St. Thomas Aquinas.  In Part I, Question 92, Article 1 of Summa Theologica seen at the New Advent website HERE, Thomas gave his opinion of women’s roles.  (His Summa is set up by first posing questions made by others and then he answers them below). The question, bad enough, was whether women should have been made in the production of things. His answer:

It was necessary for woman to be made, as the Scripture says, as a ‘helper’ to man; not, indeed as a helpmate in other works, as some say, since man can be more efficiently helped by another man in other works; but as a helper in the work of generation.  

By generation he means reproduction.  He goes on to describe sex between man and woman, then says:

But man is yet further ordered to a still nobler vital action, and that is intellectual operation.

In other words, Aquinas said women can’t think. But unlike Thomas I assert that all women are intelligent and should be treated as such. Perhaps the existence of female Nobel Prize winners will assure that women have intellect. I am not saying that intelligent married women shouldn’t be mothers.  I am not saying all married career women are in their careers because they believe God called them there.  I am saying that when intelligent married women discern they are called by God to serve Him in specific ways other than motherhood, no one should tell them they must be mothers instead. 

Now what does the Church’s gender problem have to do with Creationism? Let’s go back to Thomas Aquinas. It is a curious thing that his teachings are ignored when so-called experts have other agendas. His name is used to press the idea that science will one day have no gaps, since God supposedly created an ordered world that man will thoroughly understand. This order in the world has taken, as a prominent example, the form of totally materialistic, naturalistic evolution. Evidence of this mindset is found from the exclusion of creationists and intelligent design advocates from a Vatican-endorsed conference concerning evolution.

Though the conference was back in 2009, the Thomists keep the worldview running. Consider a statement from Mark Shea at the National Catholic Register.  I link to a pertinent column HERE and will not quote the whole thing.  But very succinctly, he talks about why Thomists don’t agree with the Argument from Design.  He says there are several problems with this approach: 

The first is this: St. Thomas himself never says “We can’t explain X, so God did it”…

In fact, Aquinas addresses in Article 4 the creation of man and woman in the very same question at the very same link I gave before. Thomas Aquinas says:

Now the matter whence man is naturally begotten is the human semen of man or woman.  Wherefore from any other matter an individual of the human species cannot naturally be generated.  Now God alone, the Author of nature, can produce an effect into existence outside the ordinary course of nature.  Therefore God alone could produce either a man from the slime of the earth, or a woman from the rib of man.

In the next statement, Reply to Objection 1, Aquinas says:

This argument is verified when an individual is begotten, by natural generation, from that which is like it in the same species.

The points here are many, but for now I will emphasize this one:  if the bishops are nervous about whether women can discern wisely, they would be better off teaching discernment than dictating to half a billion people exactly what they should do. How do they know each heart better than God does? The answer is, they don't. When the Church leadership trusts women to discern God's personal calling instead of assuming Thomas Aquinas' opinion of women, a New Evangelization may truly start to take hold.

Conversion for All

On Nov. 12, 2012, Timothy Cardinal Dolan gave a presidential address to the General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (link HERE). This was shortly after the US presidential election, and was uncharacteristically humble for the Cardinal. The link above is worth reading, although it takes him a little while to get to the point. When he does, you find that he talks about conversion and penance. One would not be surprised if he meant for the people who voted for Obama, an action he and his fellow bishops heartily tried to prevent. But he actually meant first and foremost for bishops themselves.

One may cynically wonder if he had a victory speech prepared with entirely different substance if Romney had won. Though we may wish he spoke more plainly about his motivations for the need for conversion and penance, I think we all know what he meant. The half-year since their last meeting had brought court convictions for Msgr. Lynn in Philadelphia and Bishop Finn in St. Louis for the concealment of various forms of child sexual abuse. Along with the trials came media reminders of the failures of many, many other cardinals and bishops, including Popes.

If Dolan doesn’t know of the animosity many people feel against the Church leadership, he doesn’t deserve to be president of the USCCB. It seems this speech shows he gets it, at least in one form. Now if the words actually translate into action, we might all be a little happier. Penance is one thing, but conversion means the courage to change. Our strength is in the Lord  (cf. Psalms 118:14 NABRE), and we all need to pray fervently for it.

Many people have written about the need for accountability for Catholic bishops, such as defrocking and even excommunication. But a deeper question exists: why are there so few consequences? We can’t say there are none, since in the case of the Legionaries of Christ, the leader, Marcial Maciel, was so horrendously guilty he was finally taken from his post by Pope Benedict XVI. An obituary appears here by Adam Bernstein, "Marcial Maciel, 86; Founded Controversial Legionaries of Christ," Washington Post, Feb. 1, 2008. However, even this took a long, long time after years of his accusers being ignored. But most bishops who passed pedophile priests onto unsuspecting parishes and still hide some of their identities go on with their lives and their jobs while other Catholics are excommunicated for things like promoting women priests.

Though Cardinal Dolan may have had certain things in mind when he talked about penance for bishops, he may himself not understand the deeper reasons for this inability to deal with the problem. Well, of course, we would not be wrong to say it is because of their sin. But perhaps a little more analysis would be helpful toward conversion.

Though I usually like to separate different issues to analyze them, there are some things in common with several themes here: the dismal behavior of bishops in the child abuse case; the desire of bishops to stop abortion (I generalize but believe most bishops want to stop abortion); and their rejection of women in true equality (and by true equality I mean not just nominal or “equal but different”).  The commonality is the way we think about these things, whether we listen to other persons problems and ideas, and what we do about them.

In the abortion issue, the bishops want the potentially aborting woman to consider the life within her and not reject it. This woman has her reasons for aborting, which she thinks are valid: she does not think the fetus is yet a human; she can’t afford it; she is afraid of what relatives will do if they find she is pregnant. However, none of these reasons are valid according to the bishops. They would object in some way: the fetus is a real human; help is available; the family may accept her anyway. Furthermore, they expect these potentially aborting women to listen to their answers.

However, in the case of treating women equally, they have all kinds of reasons why ordination and leadership should not be inclusive: the 12 disciples were men; Christ was a man; Christ is the bridegroom. But there are also objections to these arguments: 12 men represented the old ways of the law of the 12 tribes of Israel, and when Christ arose from the dead he showed Himself to women first and told them to proclaim his resurrection to others; Christ was human and so are women; if only men can represent Christ as the bridegroom as priests, then only women (the brides) should be in the pews.

When Cardinal Dolan asks for conversion of bishops, one hopes he refers, at the least, to the child sexual abuse crisis of the Church. It is good to see some sign of acknowledgement, but the bishops should know better than most that there must be changes in action if conversion is true. This is not just about going to the confessional and a fellow bishop telling them their sins are forgiven. If they expect to be satisfied with that, they are not converted.  They need to think about why they are doing these things and what needs to change for good.

These three issues relate to each group having their mindsets for doing things and whether they can listen to others.  There are differences in how we think about issues and how some things may be right and wrong in each group.  If bishops expect Catholic women who plan to undergo abortion to listen to them (and perhaps even influence non-Catholic women), they should think about whether they themselves accept women as equal or reject them and their ideas. They could start by reviewing their reasons why they keep women in the out-group, and evaluate if these ideas are true theology, or man-made rationalizations which sit among the genuine doctrine.

Perhaps the American political election brought the situation home to Dolan. He finally started, however tenuously, what needs to be done. The question is, how far will he and other bishops go? Because their conversion journeys will be very long and painful for them if they are to be done right.  May we all realize that true conversion is worth the pain, and may we have the courage to do it.

New Secretary General

On the Vatican News, there was an announcement about a new Secretary-General for the Southern African Bishop's Conference. Her name is Sister Hermenegild Makoro. She talked about all the work women do for the church and how the bishops there have seen it and recognized it. It is very good to know they have appreciated the work of women in the Church and are showing it in a significant way. (2019 Update: the link to the story is no longer accessible.)

Sister Makoro said she thinks there are two other women Secretary-Generals of Bishop's Conferences: one in the Nordic countries and another in New Zealand. Though three in the world is not a lot, it is a high post and we can only hope there will be more on the way.

Now I'm one of those Catholics who think we should not restrict ordination to men. I know it is supposed to be for theological reasons. But is it possible some theology, like some science, is rationalized? (For the rationalization of multi-universe theory by scientists, see my previous post about Stephen Hawking's birthday.)

I have read that the understanding by some theologians of the choice of 12 men for apostles was that it symbolized the 12 tribes of Israel. Isn't there possible symbolism in that before the grave, the 12 men who stood for the tribes of Israel also represented the Law God gave to Moses?

But after the grave, when Jesus arose from the dead, He showed Himself first to women. Before, there was the Law, and Israel considered itself the only people of God. But after Christ's victory, all humanity could potentially be part of God's kingdom. As the Apostle Paul told us, we could not overcome sin with the Law: 19 Now we know that what the law says is addressed to those under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world stand accountable to God, 20 since no human being will be justified in his sight by observing the law; for through the law comes consciousness of sin. (Romans 3:19-20 NABRE). It is through Christ we are saved. Paul summarizes: 57 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:57 NABRE).

Maybe I rationalize theology too. I can not help but think men want to keep power-making decisions to themselves. But in equality theology, men and women would have equal stature and work together, and in fact be servants of each other, as Christ has said we should. In fact, He has said that if we want to lead, we should serve.

Yet I do think there have been sincere wishes to see the people of Church produce souls for God, meaning, in effect, women stay home and have children. I want to always put Christ first, and to hold evangelization ahead of women issues in the Church. But we must all strive to live as Christ wants us, and we continue to need to sort out what that entails. We must remember that these days, children born to Catholics do not automatically become believers in God. And of course, we want to bring those who were not born in the Church to come to know Jesus. Our popes have called for a New Evangelization and all of us need to work together for the greater cause. Perhaps some women are meant to be full-time evangelists, and not only as nuns. We should have the freedom to follow what we discern as our call. It seems that is between the individual and God.

Paul says, 26 For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:26-28 NABRE).

It took Christians a while to realize persons did not have to be Jewish to be Christian. It took a longer time for them to come to grips with the fact that slavery was wrong. Christ told us to follow Him. How should women be treated?

Sister Hermenegild Makoro was already doing the work of the Church. I'm sure she is a humble and worthy servant, and I am so glad the bishops there have recognized that. May we all recognize each other's worth in our efforts to bring Christ to the world.

Sisters Surveyed

There is a Vatican-ordered review of American Catholic women religious going on now. Catholic News Service reports that a questionnaire has been given to religious orders to describe their activities. One general question concerns the doctrine and teaching of women religious.

One factor in this questioning is the demand of women to be ordained. There are some outspoken nuns who speak about ordination. The clash is inevitable for those women who think it is wrong that there is no ordination of women in the Catholic Church. But clouding this subject is whether women religious are staying on track with other doctrine.

Unfortunately in my experience, in writings and teachings, many religious women are drifting off, often to universalism where it doesn't matter in their opinion what people believe. To them, God loves everyone, and everyone will get to heaven. How we would get along with those who never repented, I don't know. (Though I can't know their hearts at their ends, I give Hitler and Stalin as possible examples.) However, I find this mindset to be true with writings of male religious also. And I'm sure there are many religious women who are deeply committed to orthodox Christianity. I don't want to go into details of this now, but I write of these themes in my book, Unto Others. (My book is a mystery and so I hope entertaining, but takes on themes of today's Catholic Church and life in general.)

In the frustration of being treated as second-hand Church members, some women may get off the track altogether. However, being treated unfairly is not an excuse to leave the Christian faith. For one, we expect hardships in this life.

Even more importantly, we find dignity for women emanating from the Scripture. For example, in Galatians 3:28, NIV (BibleGateway link HERE) we find there is "neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ."

Concerning the issue of "Jew or Gentile," the original Apostles already knew (after some discussion and visions) that Christ's sacrifice was made for all, and that any person can accept the salvation He gives.

(2019 Update: the following Wikipedia information was accessed in August 2009. It is now under "Christian views on slavery" HERE, Text, links and reference numbers have undergone changes.)

The slavery issue took longer to sort out. Even Popes were divided. While some condemned it, others didn't. Among the facts given in Wikipedia under Christianity and Slavery:

The papacy itself increasingly hardened its attitude. The 7th century Pope Martin I condemned unjust slavery, but in doing so implicitly suggested that he believed a just slavery to exist. In the early thirteenth century, official support for slavery and the slave trade was incorporated into Canon Law, by Pope Gregory IX[80][81], who had also introduced the Inquisition, trials for witchcraft, and the judicial presumption of guilt (rather than presumption of innocence). Roughly a century later, Gregory's namesake, Pope Gregory XI, excommunicated the Florentines and ordered them to be enslaved if captured[82].

and,

In 1917, one hundred and ten years after the official abolition of the slave trade in most of the rest of the world, the Papacy finally abolished the Canon Law support for the slave trade.

Today we finally know how wrong slavery is. Why is the "male-female" problem so stubborn?

I have written about prejudice before. Prejudice is subtle and though I think it is a temptation, it is often one we are not even aware we have given into. There are all kinds of reasons not to be fair. A person needs prayer and deep soul-searching to come to the right place.

Yes, Christ chose 12 Apostles, but He also had many women helping him. Women were with Christ at the cross and He first appeared to women when He arose from the dead. Would Jesus deny women the dignity of being ordained Deacons? I really doubt it. Would He ask that any other sacrament of the Church be given to men and not women? No.

Jews learned that Gentiles were to be included in Christianity. Slaves and others fought for the end of slavery. Though it may be a divisive issue with the Church, we must do what is right. Women are speaking out because we must, but we must not stray from the Truth. We pray for all eyes and hearts to be opened.

Sonia Sotomayor

The congressional hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor have just finished. You probably never want to hear the phrase "wise Latina woman" again, but I'm afraid I'm going to hash it one more time.

Sotomayor spoke the phrase a few years ago, apparently to Latino students she was trying to inspire. She said that a Latina woman with her personal experiences may make wiser decisions than a white man without those experiences. This caused apoplexy to certain white men in media and Congress when she was nominated for the Supreme Court. These men cried, "reverse racism," but became the poster boys for the very insensitivity of which she spoke.

Most of them opined that if the statement were reversed, that if they had said white men could do better than Latina women in a job such as a judge, they'd be condemned in the press. They may be now, but they forget that for most of the last 500 years in this hemisphere, the prevailing opinion was that white men were superior not just to Latina women but any minority person. Why should we not expect racial differences when we have treated people of other races differently?

Of course a person's outlook, whether they are conservative or liberal, sways their judgments. Why do we care what president is in office? One reason is because of the judicial nominees. It's obvious that over time, conservatives will make different decisions than liberals that affect government, businesses, and all our lives including right to life.

It is also upsetting the congress should focus on this statement when they themselves refuse to make fair immigration laws. With Sonia Sotomayor, maybe Latino people will receive a little more fairness from this country. It's been a long time coming.

Deacons 2

The picture to the left depicts the Apostle Paul with Phoebe. She is mentioned in the Bible in Romans 16:1-2. (I was pleased to discover this morning that the USCCB website has the full text of the New American Bible, found HERE.) Paul asks that she be received by the Christian community to whom he is writing and given all the help she needs, since she was a Christian minister. Many have said she was a deaconess.

The Roman Catholic Church had permanent deacons in the first millennium, but the practice faded and the diaconate became simply a step along the way for men to become priests. There is evidence that the deacons were both men and women. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 has a section which states: "A woman shall not receive the laying on of hands as a deaconess under 40 years of age, and then only after searching examination" (from: New Advent Church Fathers, Council of Chalcedon, Canon 15, (link HERE).

The second Vatican Council in 1964 spoke of the need for the office to be restored "not for the priesthood but for the ministry" (Lumen Gentium, 29). The tasks of the deacons include administering Baptism and the Eucharist, presiding over worship and prayer, officiating at funeral and burial services, and visiting shut-ins among other activities. Pope Paul VI restored the office in 1967 on this recommendation of Vatican II. The deacon is ordained by the bishop of the diocese. The USCCB has a Diaconate section on its website HERE with access to the PDF file, National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States.

Phyllis Zagano, author and university professor, wrote about the restoration of women to the diaconate of the Catholic Church. This book is Phyllis Zagano, Holy Saturday (Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000). She has a vast knowledge of Church history and law and sets out a very good argument for this restoration. As she says, women are doing the work of the Church but "there is still no way for the bishop of a diocese, on behalf of the local church, to formally call forth women servants of the Church, to recognize and to ratify their service through orders" (p. 69). Wikipedia also has a lot of information on the subject of Deaconess, which I will not re-write here but direct you HERE if you are interested.

In a homily given by Pope Benedict XVI, reported by David Uebbing, "In Jordan, Pope Benedict praises 'prophetic role of women,'" Catholic News Agency, May 10, 2009, the Pope exhorts others to pay attention to the "prophetic role" of women. Well, in the Old Testament lands which the Pope visits, many prophets cried out and no one listened. Women 'prophets' cry out today. They beg, they plead, they pray, but the Church authority does not listen. They are saying: women are to be treated with dignity. Sacraments should not be withheld from women because of their gender. Women should be ordained as deacons!

Bishop Lugo

If you've been following my blog, you know I try to describe biology and show how complex it is. I explain Intelligent Design Theory and how Charles Darwin's descriptions of evolution are showing to be incompatible with the new findings in science. I intend to continue ID once a week, probably Fridays, continuing with the cell membrane. But I've also said that I will eventually talk about other topics, and that time has come.

I am in favor of ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, especially as Deacons. I'll describe some history of Deacons in the Church as time goes by, but first I want to get to the reason I'm ready to pursue this subject.

This week outrageous revelations concerning former Bishop Fernando Lugo of Paraguay has made its way to the headlines. Lugo first made his appearance in international papers when he became a candidate for the presidency of Paraguay. He came into conflict with the Vatican then, as reported by the Catholic News Service. He was a Bishop who supposedly cared for and supported the poor, and was associated with the Liberation Theology movement. He won the presidency, taking it away from the ruling power of many years. He celebrated his victory with Hugo Chavez on the stage with him, singing "Cambio, Todo Cambio," a theme song of the leftist movement of Latin America. It means Change, Everything Changes.

And now he has admitted to being the father of at least one child, with two other women saying he fathered theirs also. If true, at least one would have been born while he was an active bishop. To make things worse, a fellow bishop has admitted that Lugo's actions have been known, but not made public, by Paraguayan Church authority for some time.

I ask you, is truth not stranger than fiction?

I am very distressed by the recent revelations. It is a sham to say you stand for the poor when you oppress them yourself. One woman stated that he took advantage of her through knowledge of her great material need. And then there are those who knew about it and covered-up. Did they not warn other young women of this predator? Did they not inform their fellow citizens who were asked to vote for a man who said he stood for the poor and yet, unknown to them, repeatedly broke his vows?

I try to be careful to avoid false logic. Though many would argue this tragic situation has nothing to do with women’s ordination, I believe in this case and others like it, it does. The lack of equality in this area of the Catholic Church leads to a less respectful attitude on the part of individuals. I believe it contributes to an attitude that pervades all cultures, some more subtle than others. The Church authority calls on others to treat women fairly, but the Church has no equal in its own obligations and potentials in that regard. And yet it continues to insist on interpretations of the Bible which, whether or not sincerely believed by those in Church power, are too comfortable to those same persons to prompt re-examination. That does not say human sin will be stopped. But attitudes do affect behavior.

Many people have spent their time and energy into changing this 2000-year-old problem. I believe we all need to pray to the Lord to ask that we do what He wants us to do.

2019 Update: Previous links I provided to news stories are no longer accessible. Wikipedia biography on Fernando Lugo is HERE.

Woman at Well

The woman at the well is one of my favorite Bible Stories. It's in the Gospel of John, Chapter 4, Verses 4-42. I've added a link to it HERE to take you to the NABRE (New American Bible, Revised Edition) version at the USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) web site.