VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis named six superiors of women's religious orders, a consecrated laywoman and the superior of the De La Salle Christian Brothers to be full members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Previously, the members had all been men: cardinals, a few bishops and several priests who were superiors of large religious orders of men. The Vatican confirmed that this is the first time that women have been appointed to the congregation, according to Christopher Lamb of The Tablet.
The women named members by the pope were announced by the Vatican July 8: Sisters Kathleen Appler, the U.S.-born superior of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul; Yvonne Reungoat, superior of the Salesian Sisters; Francoise Massy, superior of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary; Luigia Coccia, superior of the Comboni Sisters; Simona Brambilla, superior of the Consolata Missionary Sisters; Rita Calvo Sanz, superior of the Company of Mary Our Lady; and Olga Krizova, general president of the Volunteers of Don Bosco, a group of consecrated laypeople.
Brother Robert I. Schieler, the U.S.-born superior of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, also was named a full member of the congregation along with the priests who are superiors general of the Jesuits, the Discalced Carmelites, the Augustinians, the Scalabrinians, the Capuchins and the abbot president of the Subiaco Cassinese Benedictine Congregation.
The new members announced by the Vatican also included five bishops and four cardinals: Cardinals Angelo De Donatis, papal vicar for Rome; Kevin J. Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life; Luis Ladaria Ferrer, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Ricardo Blazquez Perez of Valladolid, Spain.
"I do not permit a woman to exercise authority over men." (1 Timothy 2:12) . . . But of course, Francis & his liberals are wiser than the Holy Spirit.
Women led churches in the early church and 1st Timothy and Titus for that matter are no longer considered by historians to be likely ever written by St. Paul based on comparison with his other writings. There exists too many blatant differences in style and content. Also, St. Paul would have likely balked at the idea that his actual writings could contain no errors and were perfect and came completely from the Holy Spirit. St. Paul, like all saints, was an imperfect man who was God inspired to write the letters that he wrote but it needs to be clear that he never intended these letters to be held as any kind of scripture. He wrote them to encourage and instruct or advise new believers in Christ what is the best way to live in the Holy Spirit. Other than what he wrote, actually taken from his knowledge from the Apostles regarding Christ's actual commands (Love God and your neighbor as yourself and do not judge or condemn unless you wish to be judged or condemned) and perhaps the few strong instructions about no sexual orgies or fathers having sex with their daughters-in-law, St. Paul did not state any of his instructions were laws. In fact, St. Paul chides the Galatians, early in the epistle, for acting out their new faith with the same old legalistic attitudes they had before they were baptized. He states to them to the like - "Stupid Galatians, did God free you from a perfect law only to have you imprison yourselves once again but this time by an imperfect law, created by men?"
It was often in that time period of the Apostles that if a writer wanted people to pay attention to what he/she wrote, they would use a famous name and give credit to that name, for their writings, so people would follow whatever agenda the writer had in mind. Historians believe this is what occurred with these two letters: First Timothy and Titus.
There is nothing in the main epistles of Paul or Acts that would lead us to believe that St. Paul did not want women leading churches in their homes filled with both men and women, and they did so, and St. Paul praised them for this behavior in Acts. Even in the one area in Corinthians that Paul is supposed to have told women to be quiet in church, it has been scrutinized by historians who have concluded that this statement was added later on to the epistle, by a church that wanted to have women be submissive to the men, as it does not fit with the context surrounding the statement which is all about spiritual gifts. Historians also recognized that this statement contradicts St. Paul's directions within the same exact epistle, directly spoken to women, telling them to speak in tongues and prophesy within their worship (therefore within church). This direction cannot be followed unless women can speak in church.
St. Paul is also the one who claimed Galatians: 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
The above verse is vitally important because it comes from a main epistle of Paul's and it answers directly to the idea that Jewish Men had a greater place than gentiles, or women, in the body of Christ because of their Jewish blood, and the ability to pass it down as males can, which made them the genuine inheritors, in the flesh, of the Messiah and all his promises, above all other believers. What Paul is saying is that nothing of flesh or blood matters anymore. This is not how you will judge one another because in the Body of Christ one is great not because of their blood, or gender, and one does not inherit anything from God, any longer, based on these standards (which is how both Jewish and most Gentile cultures determined inheritance rights-The First born male gets most) but by one's faith now one inherits from God all gifts, and power and greatness, and even their very salvation unto eternal life. A woman can be more powerful than all her brothers according to the greatness of her faith and love of God and neighbor, and she should be esteemed by the church according to these things too, and by nothing else, for this is how God judges all believers in the body of Christ Jesus.
We could lay hands on and "ordain" every woman in the world and we still wouldn't have one more priest than when we started. Women can't BE priests. It's analogous to baptizing a cat: no matter your intent, it isn't going to do anything, just like a bishop or a priest stretching his hands out over a rock and salt water and trying to confect the Holy Sacrifice. You're beating a dead horse, Nora. Join my three year-old great neice in her favorite song "Let It Go!"
I scarcely need to defend myself or my gender as God through the Gospels has already defended women and all people from discrimination. Perhaps you should consider reading one of them and then consider believing what you read.
Matthew 3:8-10 Produce fruit worthy of repentance and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.…
See Slayton there is truly nothing God cannot do thru Christ for those who believe. If he can make children out of rocks (and he can) then God can quite easily overcome a law with no basis in scripture in order to have women justly ordained priests in the Roman Catholic Church like their brothers.
Matt 7:1-12 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets. See Jesus states IN EVERYTHING - NO EXCEPTIONS AND NO ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM SAME TREATMENT BY CHRIST WHEN HE INSTRUCTS HIS 12 APOSTLES AND THE DISCIPLES. THIS WOULD INCLUDES SAME ORDINATION ALTHOUGH NO ONE WAS ORDAINED BY CHRIST A PRIEST AND THIS WORD DOES NOT EXIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. There were presbyters who did the works of priests and the Apostle were the first of these but there were male and female presbyters and no one was ordained a presbyter.
Luke 1:36-37 Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Matt 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Jeremiah 32:17 "Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
Slayton - maybe you need to realize it is your faith and understanding that are weak. God called me and many other women in our church to ordained priesthood. I fight for justice and same ordination for women and men, according to His Will, as He has shown it to me, and I pray constantly until this change comes to pass for the sake of the Church and the world around it.
Slayton Helm---
17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood* has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
18k And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,*and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
19l I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN; AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN.”
20* m Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. Matthew 16: 17-20
Spoken like a true woman. Men have defined roles in the Church. Women have theirs as well. Why would either want both?
Yes - I know women are so intelligent when they speak. Men can be too Hank when they want to be.
There are no defined roles for men and women anymore than there are defined roles for black people and white people. When did Jesus Christ tell women they have different roles than men or vice versa - not in any Gospel anywhere. Do unto others as you would have them do to you - no different treatment for different groups of people - So Commands Jesus Christ to the Apostles, including Peter and so therefore to all popes who follow after him.
So why are you fighting Jesus's commands Hank, if he is your Lord?
Its hard to imagine anyone thinking this is anything but good news.
Exactly!
It's bad news. Because we already have examples of "women in leadership positions" in Protestant denominations. None have improved or succeeded. IN many cases it's a nail in the coffin for the faith of many. The only woman who didn't seem to be driven by a hate agenda was Mother Angelica who started and ran a TV network in the supposed "misogynist" church. Nobody tried to stop that great woman, but only the gay priests, who acted in collaboration with hateful and bigoted feminists. Anyway, it's rare you see a woman who is climbing for power, or a lesbian version of clericalism, who is going to help the Church. Most of them are subversive and destroyers.
Well Dale, you have certainly proven yourself to be a terrified traditionalist whose ignorance has caused you enormous stress and depression.
Nothing you have stated about these protestant churches is accurate or factual. What is factual is that female led parishes do as well as male led parishes in Protestant Churches despite the fact that these women over the last 40 years have dealt with extreme discrimination while making their way into inclusion. They have been underpaid, kept from same advancement as males and it has actually been the ongoing sexism that has caused many of these churches to continue to lose members even after they allowed the ordination of women ministers, priests and even some bishops. In particular the Anglican Church has recognized this issue and has taken much stronger steps to correct its institutional sexism, and as of last year this church not only showed it has stopped losing members but has also begun to show new growth, with new members (unlike the RCC which has only managed to keep numbers steady thru its steady birth rate, and in the U.S., thru immigration entering from the South. of people who were already Catholic).
On most surveys of why people leave our church, the unequal treatment and refusal to give women same ordination as men, is among the top 5 reasons (unless the surveyor is a Catholic Organization and they don't ask on the survey if people want women ordained priests.)
The other top reasons are the priest sex abuse crisis which grew to the height it did on account of patriarchy itself. Women tend to blow the whistle on this type of abuse faster than men because they are often victims themselves and this is especially true when women hold higher or equal positions of power in an organization or religion. One of the other reasons they leave is our support of highly conservative politics and our restrictive stand on birth control and our naive and self-destructive stand on abortion. These issues would have been researched in a more balanced and honest fashion had women been among our ordained leadership but now these arcane stands have us losing our youth before they even reach their 20's.
Feminists seek same and equal treatment as men, not greater treatment so this cannot accurately be described as bigoted. Women who are called to priesthood the same as men are not doing so seeking any different power than their male counterparts. Women deserve same prestige, respect, titles. ordination and sacraments as their male counterparts and that is exactly what Jesus commanded the Apostles do. Matt 7:12-13 "So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.
Jesus gives no allowance for discrimination of any sort for any reason in how we treat each other. This is a command and to break it, whether you are a bishop, or all bishops is sin. There is no mere man or group of people - not even a pope - who is greater than Christ or who contains the authority to act or teach or speak directly against what Jesus Christ has clearly commanded in the Gospels. While we uphold this bigoted and biased exclusion of women from same ordination, we as a Church remain in sin, and will continue to pay the price for that sin, until we as a Church repent in action and in prayer for that sin.
How about centering yourself on turning away from Sin, living a virtuous llfe, and fulfilling the roles women already have in the Church.
Inclusion my big old behind.
Really Dale, clearly you know nothing about the protestant reformation. How has celibacy worked for the priests within the Catholic Church for whom celibacy was so against nature that they found young men, boys, and girls to meet their sexual needs. Having men only in leadership and equating celibacy with purity hasn't worked out so well for the Roman Church.
Dale Athlon---
The many successful women ministers, rabbis and their congregants would be surprised by your erroneous statement that there is a blanket of failure among them.
It is amazing you point out Mother Angelica as not driven by hate. Her obvious malicious falsehoods of others are what made me stop watching her. Perhaps you were misled by her smiles and “down homey” approach as she smeared and slandered those with whom she disagreed. She finally went too far when she made false statements about Cardinal Roger Mahoney. The Vatican directed her to take back her comments and apologize for her defamations about him.
Dale, I agree with you. Women should not be priests. When a priest in the Catholic Church is on the altar he is Christ in persona. A female shouldn't pretend to be Christ. The Catholic Church is strong in it's traditions, rules in Cannon Law and CCC. These have sustained us for 2,000+ years and will continue until the end of time. The Church does not change based on popularity or public opinion. If it did we would not be here. Christ is male and therefore people who are Christ in persona should be male. Women do have many places in the Church but it not and never shall be on the altar impersonating Christ. Woman who hold their faith close to their hearts know this. A woman trying to be a priest goes against their faith and the laws of the Church. Knowingly trying to do that, in my opinion is sacralige and sinful. While I respect the office of the pope, I feel that evil had entered the soul of this pope.
We can't base our church on the feelings of what ever happens to going on in this world.
It has absolutely NOTHING to do with sexism.
The faithful respect the laws/traditions of the Church. If you are not for us, you are against us.
Carol, you should not judge and condemn others without knowing them.
I did not base my beliefs on feelings but on what God spoke to me thru prayer and by what is actually written in the Gospels and in scripture, which our traditions have rejected for no more reason than pure sexism. John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Jesus tells us we are made in his image not on account of our flesh but on account of the Holy Spirit we inherit from believing he is the one true Messiah. Just as Christ saved both men and women without looking like women, he was still fully able to represent them and to save them, women can equally represent Jesus the savior in whose image both women and men have been made. The image of Man is equally represented by both male and female forms of man according to scripture. You may feel free to examine the examples of our forefathers in faith and how lovingly they describe women below. We have not always kept women from priesthood as there was no priesthood for hundreds of years and none of the apostles was ever ordained a priest. There were women and men who were presbyters in the early church and they are the ones who acted as priests. It is truly sad to see women so brutally brain washed to hate their own gender and to fight against the support of equal human dignity for all women. For the record, women treating other women with hatred and supporting the oppression of other women is no less a sin than if a man does this. It may even be a worse sin when a woman does this.
Examples of what attitudes and thinking inspired the sexism in our church history and its hate-filled discrimination against women: (They had nothing to do with Jesus)
Statements on Women
by Church Fathers, Doctors, and Saints
Clement of Alexandria, Pedagogues II, 33, 2
With women "the very consciousness of their own nature must evoke feelings of shame."
Origen, On the Apparel of Women, chapter 1
"And do you not know that you are (each) an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that (forbidden) tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert--that is, death--even the Son of God had to die."
St. Augustine, De genesi ad litteram, 9, 5-9
"I don't see what sort of help woman was created to provide man with, if one excludes the purpose of procreation. If woman was not given to man for help in bearing children, for what help could she be? To till the earth together? If help were needed for that, man would have been a better help for man. The same goes for comfort in solitude. How much more pleasure is it for life and conversation when two friends live together than when a man and a woman cohabitate?"
St. Augustine, Soliloq. I 10
"I consider that nothing so casts down the manly mind from its heights as the fondling of women, and those bodily contacts which belong to the married state."
St. John Chrysostom
"The whole of her bodily beauty is nothing less than phlegm, blood, bile, rheum, and the fluid of digested food... If you consider what is stored up behind those lovely eyes, the angle of the nose, the mouth and cheeks you will agree that the well-proportioned body is merely a whitened sepulcher."
St. John Chrysostom, On Priesthood, VI, ch. 8
"There are in the world a great many situations that weaken the conscientiousness of the soul. First and foremost of these is dealings with women. In his concern for the male sex, the superior may not forget the females, who need greater care precisely because of their ready inclination to sin. In this situation the evil enemy can find many ways to creep in secretly. For the eye of woman touches and disturbs our soul, and not only the eye of the unbridled woman, but that of the decent one as well."
Petrus Cantor (d. 1197)
"Consider that the most lovely woman has come into being from a foul-smelling drop of semen, then consider her midpoint, how she is a container of filth; and after that consider her end, when she will be food for worms."
St. Albert the Great, Quaestiones super de animalibus XV q. 11
"Woman is less qualified [than man] for moral behavior. For the woman contains more liquid than the man, and it is a property of liquid to take things up easily and to hold onto them poorly. Liquids are easily moved, hence women are inconstant and curious. When a woman has relations with a man, she would like, as much as possible, to be lying with another man at the same time. Woman knows nothing of fidelity. Believe me, if you give her your trust, you will be disappointed. Trust an experienced teacher. For this reason prudent men share their plans and actions least of all with their wives. Woman is a misbegotten man and has a faulty and defective nature in comparison with his. Therefore she is unsure in herself. What she herself cannot get, she seeks to obtain through lying and diabolical deceptions. And so, to put it briefly, one must be on one's guard with every woman, as if she were a poisonous snake and the horned devil.... In evil and perverse doings woman is cleverer, that is, slyer, than man. Her feelings drive woman toward every evil, just as reason impels man toward all good."
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica I q. 92 a. 1
"Woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from defect in the active force or from some material indisposition, or even from some external influence, such as that of a south wind, which is moist."
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica I q.92 a.1 reply 2
"Good order would have been wanting in the human family if some were not governed by others wiser than themselves. So by such a kind of subjection woman is naturally subject to man, because in man the discretion of reason predominates."
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q.149 a.4
"Sobriety is most requisite in the young and in women, because concupiscence of pleasure thrives in the young on account of the heat of youth, while in women there is not sufficient strength of mind to resist concupiscence."
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q.70 a.3
"The reliability of a person's evidence is weakened, sometimes indeed on account of some fault of his...; sometimes, without any fault on his part, and this owing either to a defect in the reason, as in the case of children, imbeciles and women, or to personal feeling..."
And for the PRO-LIFERS in our Group:
St. John Eudes (d. 1680)
"It is a subject of humiliation of all the mothers of the children of Adam to know that while they are with child, they carry with them an infant... who is the enemy of God, the object of his hatred and malediction, and the shrine of the demon."
Wow! doesn't that sound Holy Spirit inspired - so perfect really? To believe the attitudes of the above men were always perfect and Holy Spirit inspired is perhaps the greatest insult one could pay upon The Holy Spirit.
Yes, these are our forefathers words, and at times many of them had irrational almost insane hatred for all women, and for no reason founded in any scripture. Hate is not something Jesus ever taught, and every time someone in the Gospels chose to treat women less or differently than men, Jesus corrected them. Examples are the Adulterous woman, Martha who critiqued and judged Mary for sitting and listening to Christ instead of doing stereotypical woman's work, the very fact that many women Jesus taught in the same way and alongside the Apostles and other male followers, and that he had Mary Magdalene as a constant companion and allowed her to financially sponsor his ministry shows Jesus did not care about gender. This is something only weak men and women judge others by, and falsely, since no stereotypes on gender have not already been debunked by science completely.
Well, heaven will be a very uncomfortable place for you with our Blessed Mother Mary as Queen of Heaven, plus many, many heroic and devoted women saints.... Our Blessed Mother Mary, a woman, already exercises authority over men and is one of the fiercest fighter against the serpent... plus, perhaps, you should think about why Jesus entrusted the most important message over the last 100 years, the Divine Mercy message, to a woman....
Neither Timothy nor Paul is the Holy Spirit.
You must be looking for attention. I cannot believe anyone believes what you said in this day and age.
And that is one reason why I left the Roman Catholic Church to become an Episcopalian. Precisely because of misinformation like you are presenting here. It is time for the Church to acknowledge its shortcomings. Pope Francis has done just that.
David Rudmin---
You ignore the part of the Bible which shows that Pope Francis may make this decision.
17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood* has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
18k And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,*and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
19l I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.* WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN; AND WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN.”
20* m Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. Matthew 16: 17-20
It is about time! Now all he needs to do is ordain some of them bishops and make a few female cardinals and we can begin to say we are starting to do something real. However, without equal ordination and priesthood offered to both men and women alike, women are still the slaves of men and not equals in our church. Equality is same human dignity and respect which can only be proven through same treatment, same sacredness being respected the same way and thru same rituals and sacraments, and the same voice and votes as men, as well as same opportunities, and nothing less.
This is nice but it isn't the same thing as men and women being treated equally in the church. As long as only men can be priests, these random and rare postings of women for certain jobs, all at the pleasure of the pope, will be PR distractions to keep us from noticing that women still don't, and never will according to Francis, have equal opportunities.
Sorry you feel that way. I see it as a very exciting time in the church.
I've been a Catholic for about 25 years now and nothing has really changed ... not what I would call exciting ;)
30 years ago and before, women in the church could not enter a catholic church without a head covering. Young girls could never become altar servers, and under no circumstance, could a women pass the threshold of the altar during mass.
Why did these things change? Because of the forcefulness. of the radical feminist women in the church, that included the nuns.
Today our world is about totally equality. The church still has a long way to go.
30 (well, 28) years ago at my church in central California, girls were alter servers, women didn't wear head coverings, women could go by the altar. What planet was your church on? :)
Women covered their heads in Church for about 1600 years. A boon for hat-makers. Young Girls cannot grow into Priests, so they have no business taking up spaces in the Sacristy that could be utilized to the full by young MEN who can begin to discern calls to the Priesthood.
The church needs to let the pendulum swing back to when things actually made sense.
30 years ago and before, women in the church could not enter a catholic church without a head covering. Young girls could never become altar servers, and under no circumstance, could a women pass the threshold of the altar during mass.
Why did these things change? Because of the forcefulness. of the radical feminist women in the church, that included the nuns.
Today our world is about totally equality. The church still has a long way to go.
God Jesus Christ didn't ordain women. He didn't send 72 out in pairs to evangelize. Why do so many people want to second-guess Jesus?!!
Once again, a narrow mind proves to have little space for correct information. NOTHING in Luke 10 says that the 72 were all men. Jesus sent the Samaritan woman to evangelize her fellow townspeople, and sent Mary Magdalene to evangelize the cowering-in-terror male apostles. You're the one who seems an expert at second-guessing Jesus.
Jesus didn't ordain men either - he didn't ordain anyone. I think you are the one fabulizing Jesus.
So what do you think happened during the Last Supper? Just a snack? He was teaching the Eucharistic Prayer.
Jesus spoke the Eucharistic Prayer but ordained no one and there were both men and women at the last supper not just the apostles. The word ordination does not exist in the New Testament anywhere. If you can find it, please feel free to offer that chapter and verse. Passover Seder meals are mandatory meals that the whole family must attend and take part in so for Mary Magdalene and Mary, Jesus' Mother, to be able to be at the foot of the cross the next day, they would have had to be in Jerusalem the night before, and if that is true then both Mary's would have been obligated to eat the Passover meal with Christ according to the directions given in Exodus. No gospel states only the apostles were present at the last supper, and John's Gospel tells us all the disciples were there for the foot washing before this meal. So if everyone there was ordained a priest by that Passover meal then the women were also ordained priests on that night too. Most Catholic's and indeed most priest's and bishop's biggest problem is that they have no understanding of Jewish Customs and therefore make rules and dream up ideas regarding scripture that are completely flawed because they lack knowledge of what those Jewish customs mean and are supposed to mean for Christians. They don't understand the laws Christ was fulfilling so they create new ways to oppress new groups of people because they don't bother to educate themselves due to their own arrogance.
Repeat
2000 years ago Jesus the jew worshipped in his synagogue every saturday, as the Bible stated. He followed the laws of the Torah. Sunday worship was installed by emperor Constantine in the third century because most of his life he was a sun worshipper.
Change is good.
It’s a small step but one in the right direction I applaud the Holy Father who likely faced some opposition with these appointments. As more women are appointed to various commissions it should highlight how important and productive it is for everyone to participate in the management and direction of the Church
Who did Jesus first appear to after his resurrection? Who did he listen to at the well? His time, and those men who wrote about him after his death, were narrow and sexist, leaving women out as leaders and founders. The church has followed this sexist path. And I don't think he is pleased with this. How can us guys be so stubborn, so closed to his words and his way?
If women had been running the church there would have been no reformation and protestants.
There would have never been a worldwide systematic sex abuse scandals and the church would not have been responsible in every case, costing the church (followers) over $4 Billion in lawsuits.
Never trusted the male clergy, and today we all now know I was right.
And you know this because....
That is a pretty teaching statement. Can women not have theological differences? Is there not a large sex abuse problem in public schools, where women are often the majority of employees?
This is just news, not necessarily good or bad.
Proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Can anyone tell me if any of those stiff-necked and rebellious women who hectored the Pope, the Leadership Group of Woman Religious, are included?
Is this a surrender after the crackdown of John Paul 2?
This appears to be an administrative decision that allows more input by consecrated religious who are women and brothers, so it is just practical to get their input for better governance. This is silly to turn this into a concern for women having authority over men, and this is not at all about the ordination of women. It is unkind and unhelpful to categorize our Pope as liberal or conservative. These names just aid the great divider. Our Lord was extremely progressive in communicating equally well with women and men; however, our Lord favored some people over others many times even among his Apostles and he was the victim of racism as well. And he and his mother never complained.
This decision comes after the news of priests raping nuns and using them as domestic slaves ... after the Pope has decided women can't be deacons ... after he has said that women will "never" be priests ... after he has said that women's main function in life is to have and raise children ... after the Pope has refused to revisit teachings on contraception. He has already decided about us, what we are, what we're good for, and our place in his church.
“The longest journey begins with a single step.” -Confucius
“The longest journey begins with a single step.” -Confucius
The great irony of opposition to women priests is if the Blessed Mother decided she wanted to be ordained as a priest, the Vatican and the right wing of the church would say no to her.
First class Tokenism!