Accents
Fearless forecast: women priests
This is one more hurrah for womankind this March, Women's Month.
Two weekends ago when we went to Georgia, in the U.S. of A. where the hubby and I are temporarily ensconced, I picked up a newspaper with a very interesting catch line: A Publication for Women with Sass, Soul & Spirit! The paper is named Daisy Belle's. On the cover of its March 2008 issue is a woman pastor, Julie Stanley. Indeed, the featured article, Pastor Julie Stanley: A Woman After God Own's Heart by Genevieve Rogers showed a woman living up to the sass, soul and spirit that Daisy Belle's upholds in a woman. Feisty, forthright, full of life — to express in another way Daisy Belle's rich alliteration.
The story goes that it wasn't always easy for Pastor Stanley to spread the word of God. "The fact that she was a woman hasn't always been met with approval and something she's had to struggle with over the years." Pastor Stanley pointed out Galatians 3:27-28 that says, "'In Christ, there's neither male or female, Greek nor Jew.' It's in the Bible, that in God, I'm neither male or female, I'm just a mouthpiece for the Lord." She strongly believes that more women should be in the ministry. When asked about women preachers, her stock reply is, "Listen to the word of God and you won't concentrate on my gender."
The article made me realize how Protestants outweigh us Catholics insofar as gender tolerance is concerned. They have women ministers. We don't have women priests. And their threshold of tolerance is higher than ours because their minister, whether male or female, can marry. Our religion prohibits a priest from marrying—one who could be a good family man or an exemplary husband and father for all we know (but I'll have that for another column.)
I heard once a female principal of a Catholic school in a speech that elucidated things biblical. Soundly and simply, she enlightened the students with her paraphrasing and explanations. How I would love that school head to deliver the homilies in the Mass, yes, take over the role of the priest. I do believe many more like her should be in the priesthood rather than the males of the species who bore the faithful with their trite homilies and uninspiring shepherding of the flock.
Gradually, women have triumphed in fields of endeavor once considered male territory. There have been outstanding policewomen, firewomen, be-medalled female soldiers. Somebody (probably a male of the species) said something like, "What a man can do, a woman can do better." Man enough to recognize his inadequacies.
This writer's fearless forecast is to find fellow Catholics one day hearing Mass with womankind officiating at the altar. Does the idea jolt the Catholic mind? The picture of women in cassocks ministering to the growing number of the laity may not be far behind.
As science and technology unrelentingly advance, centuries-old tenets are dispensed with. Iron-clad beliefs and practices loosen and yield to the bidding of the times. The feminine gender of priest will no longer be a priestess of pagan rites popularized in filmdom and storybooks but woman with all the habiliments, rights and privileges of priesthood. Women religious would rise to the position of cardinals and, grandly and hugely, they would gather beside their male counterparts and—hold your breath—vote for a woman Pope. Do I see Mother Mary smiling?
On a lighter vein, we got some fancy musings from the Internet about the Three Wise Women:
"Do you know what would have happened if there had been three wise WOMEN instead of three wise MEN? They would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the Baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole and given practical gifts."
Finally, brethren, as to why women should be accepted into the priesthood, I give the "floor" to exceptionally gifted Dean Jorge Bocobo (Women own half of Galileo's sky, Inquirer, March 30, 2000). This comes from a floppy I labeled Quotable Quotes: "When one examines the Church's position against the ordination of women, which it holds to be an infallible teaching, one finds nothing more than tradition, which is the same stuff that justified Galileo's imprisonment against the evidence of his own eyes. Is not the self-evident piety of women, and the falling away of a sexist worldview, enough to overthrow such tradition? Infallibility falls when the truth of the opposite view becomes undeniable. Will it take another half-millennium for the Church to recognize the worthiness for priestly service of half of humanity?"
Anything more I would add is anti-climactic. (Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)