Ordain Women In The Catholic Church

Women played a diverse role during early Christianity. At some points during history they were celebrated for assisting in the spread of the religion and at other times they were silenced by society and their male counterparts. Disciples of both sexes traveled with Jesus to Galilee but it was the women followers that provided financial assistance along the way. Although many of his female followers left their homes and chores behind this was a right that Jesus felt women should have. In the book of Luke Jesus says of Mary sister of Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (New International Version, Luke 10:42). Clearly Jesus felt that what women contributed to the spread of the Gospel was significant enough to

All throughout history, women have been perceived as the lesser, gentler, more emotional, and the inferior gender. This thinking, of course, has been a brainwashed ideology by men. During the Renaissance and Reformation throughout Europe, the lives of women were and subject to limitations and change for various different classes, locations, and religious basis. Catholicism was the core of every European during this period. The Pope had everyone under his control, and the doctrines were knitted tightly in their everyday lives.

There is nothing inherent in the character of Christian ministry as it is presented in the writings of the New Testament which would give reason for the exclusion of women. On the contrary, the New Testament portrays Jesus treating women as equal human beings. It also portrays women and men serving side by side in the various ministries of the early church . . . According to the evidence, the exclusion of women from ecclesiastical ministry is neither in accord with the teaching or practice of Jesus with that of the first century church” (Bacchiocchi, 1987).

In today’s society the controversial subject of what positions in the church a woman can hold; has become incredibly debatable among the nation. Some people believe that women have equal rights with men and can uphold any position that a man can. Today’s society also believes that because a woman can be in political and business power, then a woman can also be in authority in the church. However, that could not be farther from the truth a women’s positions in the church are defined by God.

Why are genitalia more important than those characteristics in establishing ‘natural resemblance’” (Anderson and Young 198)? Also, Father Damian Ference states that women and men are “equal in dignity, but there is a difference between the two” (“Women and Catholicism”). While it is true that men and women are different, the qualities that each sex are associated with allow for the marginalization of women. I cannot find how the Catholic church believes that the exclusion of women embraces the notion that men and women are “equal in dignity”. In “EXCLUSIVE: Pink Smoke Over the Vatican (2010-12-03)”, Dr. Kathleen Kunster was denied from the priesthood because she could not be a “Father to the people”, which she immediately responded with, “I could be a Mother to the people”. I think that she words it quite well, even though she was still a child. Why can’t females be a Mother? Father Roy Bourgeios sees that women can bring many things with them into the priesthood. He acknowledges that there is no reason why women should be excluded from the

In some of these, most particularly the Church of England, there is still on-going debate as to whether or not women should occupy the highest positions – that of bishop and beyond. The 18-20 November 2013 session of the general synod backed revised proposals, allowing the issue of whether to allow women bishops to be considered again at the synod’s February 2014 session in London. Some church members however still hold what they see as traditional opinions of gender roles, based on their understanding of St. Paul’s teaching in the New

In the same way we see another corrupt pope having the same problem when pope John XXIII quoted: “Italians come to ruin most generally in three ways, women, gambling, and farming. My family chose the slowest one.” Just in saying that shows you how easily persuade and corruptible he was. Woman weren't his only downfall being pope, but other corrupted sins such as: Simony. It started when Pope John wanted a third occupation after advancing in his military position and then getting his doctorate being a lawyer. His interest in a religion based career was curious and when beginning he was put to work under Pope Boniface who was the pope of the west when the catholic church split apart making two popes: one in rome and one in Avignon. In the year

In the history of the United States of America, women have always been treated as lesser than men. Until recently, women have had very few freedoms. Some people still have a “traditional” way of thinking and find it wrong for women to become leaders in the community and especially in the church. Verses in the Bible, when studied thoroughly, have proven that the apostle Paul does not tell women to relinquish their God given gift, but to lead and be an active member of the church body. He even includes many women in his own outreach of his ministry that spread Christianity across the globe. Women are capable of being great leaders, although seen as unconventional and not accepted by many, women are called to make a stand in the church body.

The reason that women can not be ordained to the priesthood, according to the Roman Catholic Church, is because, Jesus Christ did not choose any woman to be one of his twelve disciples. Many people critical of this explanation, have said that Jesus was simply conforming to the traditions of his time, but had Jesus been alive today, he definitely would have chosen female disciples. It appears that Roman Catholicism does not want to exclude women, Pope Francis has stated many times, but that long held religious beliefs and traditions make it hard to change. Regardless of the reason, many religions do limit women's rights both personally and religiously and make it hard for them to express themselves or take part in the religion that they follow.

Christianity from the start placed men in positions of authority in marriage, government, community, family, and pretty much anything. The religion only allowed membership of priests to males only. There was a wide following amount of women with an enhanced social status, while they believed and practiced Christianity, they were only allowed to follow the men. Later centuries, as religious groups of women and nuns flourished, women came to play an important role in Christianity through convents and abbeys and have continued through history to be active. They mostly participated in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and monastic settlements. A lot has changed in recent decades, with the ordination of women in some churches have become pretty popular. Focusing on the early century of Christianity, played a huge role in re-defining a women’s credibility within the Christian

In other denominations such as the Protestant Church, women have had the choice of ordination since the 20th century. Numbers of women becoming ordained are continuing to rise in the Protestant Church and other churches that allow it such as The American Baptist Church, Assemblies of God, Christian Science, and The Episcopal Church.

Gender roles, and the mere existence of a gender binary, has been a recent topic of conversation for many churches, theologians, and individual believers. As the cultural pressure to remove gender-specific limitations builds, many of those aforementioned have turned to scripture for answers. Seldom are women’s roles in the Old Testament characterized by decision making or personal merits. Rather, a woman’s capacity to produce an heir for their husband complements his dominance and responsible faithfulness and allows God’s plan to be fulfilled through their combined efforts. In the New Testament, through the transformative power of Christ, prominent women became less of an anomaly, but were still held to a different set of standards and expectations than men and were usually still praised according to their actions and their faith. The Pauline epistles, written in the context in which the Church still exists today: the age to come, provide a basis for today’s understanding of women’s roles in marriage and in church leadership. Although there are many instances of women fulfilling God’s plans and proving their worth among the community of Christians, the biblically normative role of women is to avoid authoritative church leadership positions and remain submissive in situations of teaching and interpreting the Word.

The purpose of this brief is to provide you with an overview of how the Catholic Church view women being ordained in the church. The views are based on the traditional and doctrinal references that the Catholic religion is based on. The views are from various resources such as the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, Pope John Paul II, and the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI. The views described in this brief are based on the traditions of old and their refusal to change the traditions to fit for the twentieth century.

Until recently, women were not allowed to preach or even speak in the Christian Church, but in modern times women are beginning to play a more significant. While sects of Christianity still hold the traditional teachings about women, others have given them equal status within the church, an increasingly accepted interpretation.

Christian women during the Greco-Roman period, according to the church fathers, were allowed few privileges. Women were thought of as being subordinate to men and therefore the men should have all the leadership roles, rights and responsibilities within the church, since they believed women were incapable of handling such a task. According to the newest Revised Standard translation, it was written “women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” Also within the New Testament there is a passage which states, “Let a