On April 25th, local columnist and proclaimed Catholic, Valerie Shultz wrote an article for our area newspaper entitled: Is there Hope for our Pope? One Catholic's Plea. Amongst other things that I objected to in Ms. Shultz's article, What I found most offending was her continued reference to "We women". I for one AM a woman, but in no way, do I agree with her point of view. I will quote only part of her original article here (emphasis mine):
I want the pope to know that we women, who largely take care of the daily business of church, are becoming weary of hoping that the men will come around. We know that Jesus sees us as equal to men in devotion and capability, but we know that the hierarchy of the earthly church of Jesus does not.
We are tired of being denied one of the sacraments because we lack male sex organs, (egads! did she have to say that ?!) and we are even more tired of scandals brought on by those same unruly organs. (By the way, no, "we" are not... not THIS "we"...What I AM tired of is this same old pointless argument, but that will be addressed further down...) It seems to many of us that the critical shortage of priests might be alleviated by admitting the possibility of priestly vocation in the hearts of the roughly 50 percent of Catholics who are not male. (Uh, no... Heck, I have 'issues' with girl-altar boys...)
-SIGH- Okay, Ms. Schultz... Among other things, let's not mention that males are not the ONLY ones out there committing scandal with children... have you seen the news on the many female teachers lately that have been arrested for such?... But I digress... At this point I would like to refer to my TERRIFIC sister and her AWESOME CATHOLIC response to Ms. Schultz in her 'Letter to the Editor' that appeared in today's same paper. Short, sweet and to the point... I am SO PROUD of her!! Oh that MORE Catholics could go out and do more of the same evangelizing and be unafraid to speak TRUTH!
And, as for Ms. Schultz, well, by her own admission at the end of her original article, "I believe that the pope is the vicar of Christ on earth, but I am, like many Americans, a reluctant papist. I pray to God to strengthen my own insufficient and sometimes confused faith." I will pray for her, too...Columnist Unclear On Faith
The Bakersfield Californian Tuesday, May 6 2008 7:05 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday,
May 6 2008 7:08 PM
It saddens me to know that someone so intelligent, well-read and well-educated as columnist Valerie Schultz could be so lacking in knowledge of the faith she calls her own.
If only she would read the documents of the Catholic Church, she would see that it is not Pope Benedict's doing that we still have an all-male priesthood. It is apparent that she has not read nor studied the teachings of Pope Benedict, nor the teachings of Pope John Paul II, and I venture to say she has not thoughtfully read the Scriptures, either.I have to wonder if she's even bothered to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which details the most fundamental teachings of the church with supporting documents. The sacraments were all instituted by Jesus Christ and are not subject to change, even by the pope. Jesus Christ himself ordained 12 men to proclaim his teachings and protect his sacraments. He was not being misogynistic, nor was he bound by the social mores of the day. Jesus was God and is God. He neither changes nor has an end and the sacraments he instituted are likewise unchangeable. The question of an all-male priesthood was settled over
2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ when he established his church. That is a fact that can not be changed by anyone or anything, not even American public opinion.
IRENE C
2 comments:
Great post. I generally don't get too worked up about such things. As a woman, I believe we are basically equal to men. But at the same time I believe in the teachings and ways of the Church. I am not offended women are denied the sacrament of priesthood. I don't even know what the big deal is. If someone doesn't like it maybe they should find a religion that allows both male and female preachers. I'm also tired of all the snarky comments about past scandals involving priests. It is unfortunate. When my mom mentioned our son was possibly going to Catholic school to her neighbor guess what her response was? "I don't know if that is a good idea, they have child molester priests there." Of course my mom just dismissed it as to not start an argument. People will have their opinions no matter what. Most of it is a lack of knowledge about the Church, which the woman who wrote the editor pointed out.
Your post on this topic was really interesting. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing.
I kinda see it as, yeah, we are equal, but DIFFERANT... duh... I mean, if it was going to be interchangeable, heck, hubby would be bearing THIS baby! lol!!
God Bless!
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