World

Opinion: Pope takes a crack at the ‘stained glass ceiling’ of the Catholic Church – The Henry Club

April 1, 2022
Bharat Times English News

This step is really commendable. But it is time for Francis to develop on another issue: her opposition to employing women.

Francis invokes the Apostolic Epistle of Pope John Paul II, Ordinatio Saccerdotalis Last words against women priests but is door left open In relation to the women’s Upanishads.

The main arguments against appointing more than half of Catholics as deacons, priests or bishops are far from persuasive.

Catholics are asked to belive Jesus’ selection of only male apostles provides clear evidence that he wanted only men to be ordained. Worse yet, we are told that women cannot be anointed because of Jesus. there was a manso women cannot stand as an “image” or a representative of christ,
internationally recognized Catholic theologian Phyllis ZaganoThose who were appointed by Pope Francis in 2016 to the papal commission for the study of women’s diaconates, these claims he considered in his 2020 book.Woman: Symbol of Christ“And said she found that they were not only wanted but were undeniably influenced by anti-female animosity.

In her book, Zagano makes the case for the ordination of female deacons as the next clear step towards full equality for women in the church. Deacons are appointed ministers who can preside over weddings, baptisms and funerals but cannot celebrate Mass.

Zagano explained in an interview that John Paul II’s Ordinatio Saccerdotalis does not apply to the deacon, so it is one less obstacle to overcome. Pope Francis considered the research of his first commission on the subject to be “inconclusive”. He did, however, announce second commission To study the issue again in 2020.
This protest is disappointing because the case of the deaf woman is clear. As Zagano explains in his book, “The only person in Scripture who has a descriptor is ‘deacon’. Moon And Paul did not feminize his title for ‘deafness’.” She also writes that, “[b]Eshops in the past … apparently appointed women as deacons, with almost the same ceremonies as those used for men they appointed as deacons.”

The argument that comes up for the most vehement challenge on Zagano’s part is the idea that women cannot be a symbol of Christ. “Not only is [this] Wrong,” writes Zagano, “it is a statement that conveys the most serious and most dangerous views of women around the world,” including the belief that women are “unclean.”

Zagano called the denial of ordination of women as deaf a “scandal” that “walks on”. [so] So deeply against the teachings of the Catholic Church and Scripture that it is perhaps formally heretical. ,

To suggest that women could not form an “image of Christ” because Jesus lived as a man is to miss the point entirely. It is oddly not registered with the men who developed the theology of the Catholic Church that Jesus could only have been a man. How would a woman in a culture that treats women as inherently inferior, become a spiritual leader of the magnitude of Jesus? this is absurd.

The imaging that the appointed minister is doing is not the anatomy, but the essence. If a person cannot see the image of Christ in an ordained woman, but naturally believes that on an ordained person with male anatomy, then they have some deeper issues to wrestle with. As Zagano notes, “to reject the sacrament for women as deacons is to deny their full humanity as created in the image and likeness of God.”

The Catholic scholar said, “Those who are bound by this ‘iconic’ argument argue that … when people are looking at a woman at the altar, that woman does not point to Jesus as easily as a man. does,” Catholic scholar Natalia Imperitori-Lee told me. “But we do not retire priests at the age of 33 (the age that was considered when Jesus died). Many priests are old and Jesus never looked old.”
To many, this debate may seem like a waste of time. Countless Catholics have fled the church, and those outside – and even inside – may find it archaic, feminist, and outrageous. But neglecting the Catholic Church will not change its massive impact on people’s lives. there are more than an arab catholic Across the world, and in many cultures, separating yourself from your cultural power is not a real option.

“The Catholic Church is a great superpower, and we believe that the Church can restore its moral voice and credibility if it practices gender equality. Equality for women and girls changes the world,” McElwee told me. Told. , “In the West it is easy for some of us to break out of the powers of the Church, but in a lot of communities, the Church runs the only hospital or the only school. The theology that teaches that girls are somehow subordinate to or complement men, filters are, and it is taught around the world.”

Even for those who could walk away, many do not want to give up on their faith, which is a source of solace and support. They want a church that serves its people, behaves ethically, and operates according to the teachings of Jesus rather than the patriarchal norms and boys’ club ethos.

The only hope of achieving this goal is to anoint women.

Correction: An earlier version of this piece misidentified the organization led by Kate McElwee. This is the Women’s Coordination Conference.