What role for women will the RCC accept?

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balshan

Well-known member
There seems to be a move among certain sections of the RCC to elevate the status of women in the church. This is from the Sydney Morning Herald:

After the motions were slightly redrafted, the plenary council voted overwhelmingly that each Catholic diocese in Australia should commit to creating “new opportunities for women to participate in ministries that engage with the most important aspects of diocesan and parish life”.

The participants – including 37 of 43 bishops – supported a motion saying the Church would examine how to best allow women to serve as deacons if such a move is approved by the Vatican.
Pope Francis has launched a commission examining whether Catholic women should be able to serve as deacons.

I am curious to know where RCs see this commission taking the status of women in the RCC?
 
R

romishpopishorganist

Well-known member
balshan said:
There seems to be a move among certain sections of the RCC to elevate the status of women in the church. This is from the Sydney Morning Herald:

After the motions were slightly redrafted, the plenary council voted overwhelmingly that each Catholic diocese in Australia should commit to creating “new opportunities for women to participate in ministries that engage with the most important aspects of diocesan and parish life”.

The participants – including 37 of 43 bishops – supported a motion saying the Church would examine how to best allow women to serve as deacons if such a move is approved by the Vatican.
Pope Francis has launched a commission examining whether Catholic women should be able to serve as deacons.

I am curious to know where RCs see this commission taking the status of women in the RCC?
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Whether women can be ordained to the Diaconate is--at least in theory---an open question. In practice, however, it would seem the trend of the magisterium has been that they cannot be ordained to the Diaconate. However, theologians are currently free to defend women's ordination to the Diaconate.

Whether women can be ordained bishop or priest is a closed question. John Paul II spoke definitively to this issue when he was pope. Now, it is true that people who dissent on this issue claim the question is not settled and is still open. Well, of course they claim this--they dissent! They do not like the teaching, so---they do not want the issue to be closed.

What people do not understand is that ordination to bishop, priest, or deacon is not about "power" or "authority" but service. Whatever "authority" or "power" is given in those roles---is for the purposes of fulfilling the role and serving the people in some capacity. A lot of people think you need to be a deacon, priest, or bishop to count for something in the Church. This is false.

On paper, an assistant pastor (who is always a priest) is the second in command. In practice, I have seen situations where the woman business manager is, in practice, the second in command. In dioceses, a key position is the chancellor. I have seen dioceses where the female chancellor has more influence over diocesan running and policy than other priests (second in command to the bishop. So paper theory and practice are two very different things.

One need not be "ordained" in order to have influence in the Church.
 
R

romishpopishorganist

Well-known member
Southsider071 said:
If the RCC allows Catholic women to become priests and deacons, will men be permitted to become nuns?
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Men can become brothers.

A sister/nun is the term for a female who has joined a religious order and taken solemn vows. A brother is a male who has joined a religious order and taken solemn vows.

Males and females can join religious orders. This has never been in dispute.
 
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