Saturday, May 05, 2007

Reason #3,987,240 Why Women Cannot Be Priests

I had to take time out from my studying to comment on this article (instead of commenting out loud to my cats). My comments will be in bold.

City woman to be 'ordained' a Catholic priest; Crusader for change in the church defies Vatican rules

It starts with the same tired headline. When will they learn that women cannot be ordained priests in the Catholic Church? So no, this city woman will not be ordained a Catholic priest. Putting quotation marks around the word ordained doesn't change the reality. The quotation marks would be better suited around the words "Catholic priest."

A Sudbury woman will take her struggle for what she calls equality for women in the Catholic Church to a new level May 27.

Someone should tell her that there is already equality for women in the Catholic Church. Just because women cannot be priests and because women are not the same as men (that's right!) doesn't mean that they are not equal. Both men and women are equal in dignity. This does not mean that men and women are the same! Oh, how I wish people would stop distorting the meaning of words!
After all, you don't hear men complaining about equality for men because they cannot be consecrated virgins. It is a matter of metaphysics. Men and women are different!

Marie Bouclin says she will be one of three women who will be ordained Roman Catholic priests in Toronto in a ceremony that will not be recognized by the church.

Here we go again. They may be ordained something, but it won't be as "Roman Catholic priests."

"My gesture is a justice issue. I am passionate about my faith and I want it to survive," Bouclin said. "I see a wide gap between the teachings of the Gospel and the legalism of the current church leadership. I want to help renew the church from within."

She admits that her motive is about justice. Social justice. Then she throws in some nonesense about being passionate about her faith. If she were passionate about her faith, she would not want to be a priest because the faith that she is supposedly passionate about has affirmed again and again that it will not go against the teachings of Christ who did not ordain women.
As for the "wide gap" she supposedly sees, I'd like her to show me where in the Gospel she sees Christ ordaining women or saying that women could be priests. I could show her where Christ does this with men.
....Maybe she has a different Gospel than me.

Bishop Patricia Fresen from Germany will ordain Bouclin and the others, who are from the United States. "I am doing this because the Roman Catholic Church needs priests and the Vatican thinks it is more important to have only unmarried men - rather than fulfilling its pastoral needs," Bouclin said.

I don't want to assume anything, but it seems as though Patricia is a woman. If this is the case, then she is not a bishop. If Patricia is a man, he still doesn't have the authority to ordain women. He can go through the motions, but it still won't make her a priest.

She may be right that the Catholic Church needs priests. So, lets have men be ordained. Pretending to ordain women is not going to solve the problem.

She said the Eucharist (receiving communion) is the most important aspect of church life. However, "we are losing the Eucharist for lack of priests."

True. So lets get more priests. Why waste time pretending women can be priests. Her social justice movement isn't solving anything.

Bouclin said she hopes her ordination will send a message that God calls men and women from all states of life to minister to people.

Now, Bouclin, is God calling you, or are you calling you. I'm 100 percent it's the latter. Actually, I may not be 100 percent sure. It could be Satan calling her.

"I want to reach the people where they are at on their faith journey."

That's nice. And why can't you do that now?

Bouclin said she also believes the image of women at the altar may help end violence against women.

Is she insinuating that there is violence against women in the Catholic Church?

Women at the altar ending violence against women.....has she heard about the Episcopal/ Anglican Church? According to her logic, violence against women should have been wiped out in the 70's.

"I hope it will also send a message that oppression and discrimination against women is not the will of God."

No, it's not. And no, pretending to be a priest will not send that message.

Oh, and the Catholic Church neither oppresses or discriminates against women. See above comments and do a google search for "Catholic Church and the Blessed Virgin Mary".

Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, said he respects Bouclin's passion for her faith.

Passion for her faith or passion for social justice? Women priests are against the faith, so it must be social justice.

But he said ordaining women breaks from church teachings.

"I know Marie and have known her to be involved in her parish and it is difficult for me to understand why she would exclude herself from the church," Plouffe said.

"I cannot consider this as a valid ordination since it goes against the teachings of the church, which is that only lay men can be ordained."

The May 27 event is the first ordination ceremony of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement in Canada to take place on land and in a church. Officials with Roman Catholic Womenpriests would not say exactly where the ceremony will be held.

Except it's not an ordination ceremony, since no one will be ordained at it. Or at least they won't be ordained as priests. It doesn't matter where it happens, it still won't make them priests.....even if they pretend to be so in the title of their movement. Also, if they are supposedly doing this "event" in a church, then it must not be a Catholic Church (if it is, then that would be another whole issue). And if it is not at a Catholic Church, how do they reconcile their pretending that they are "Roman Catholic"?

Its previous public ceremonies have taken place on boats, usually in international waters, to avoid jurisdictional conflict with diocesan bishops.

What about jurisdictional conflict with God?

Also, for the first time, a married man will be ordained in a public ceremony by the movement.

Uh, oh. Now they have to change their name to "Roman Catholic Womenpriests (and sometimes Marriedpriests).

I wonder if the "married man" is aware that he will not be a priest either if it is being done by a woman who claims to be a bishop. Repeat after me: "If the person is not a man, they are not a bishop."

"The movement is making history in the Roman Catholic Church," said Francois Brassard, a media representative for the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement in Canada.

Actually, it's not since the "movement" isn't changing anything.

Brassard said the group started in 2002 and since then, 14 women priests in the United States and one in Canada have been ordained and more are on the way.

Ordained to what? Not the Catholic Church.

"There are over 100 candidates in training worldwide," he said.

During the Toronto ceremony, two women from Canada and one from the United States will be ordained deacons, in addition to the three female priests. Brassard said none of the women will seek a parish. "We do not want to cause conflict with members of the hierarchy; therefore, they will minister in another way - by going to the people instead of having the people come to them," he said.

If they did not want to cause conflict with members of the hierarchy, they wouldn't be doing this and there would be no "movement."
I often wonder if people listen to the absurd contradictions they utter?

For more reasons why a woman cannot be a priest see:
Reason #3,987,239, Reason #3,987,238, Reason #3,987,237, Reason #3,987,236, Reason #3,987,235, Reason #3,987,234, Reason #3, 987, 233.

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