Posts Tagged U.S. Catholic
Does the Catholic Church really believe women are people? / U.S. Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Future of the Church, Voice of the Faithful, Women Deacons, Women in Catholic Church, Women in the Church on March 2, 2023
We cannot forget that “God created humankind in his image… male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). The imago dei implies, in fact, requires, a single-nature anthropology that recognizes male and female persons existing equally. Even canon law allows for this fact with the first canon in the section describing the rights and duties of the Christian faithful …
By Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D., U.S. Catholic
“It can seem simplistic to say that the life and dignity of people within the Church begins with baptism and must be respected. But when the Church makes statements that imply or directly state that women cannot image Christ, the Risen Lord, there is much to be criticized.”It can seem simplistic to say that the life and dignity of people within the Church begins with baptism and must be respected. But when the Church makes statements that imply or directly state that women cannot image Christ, the Risen Lord, there is much to be criticized.
“While it may seem incomprehensible in current times to say that women cannot—do not—image Christ, this is the bedrock of the argument that women cannot receive sacramental ordination. The implications of this statement or belief are enormous. Its errors are equally enormous.
“To begin with, men and women are ontologically equal. That is, all human beings, all persons, are equal before God. Because they are equal—male and female—one cannot be subordinated to the other. While history is rife with heretical statements of ontological subordination, their existence and expulsion from Church teaching supports the essential point that men and women, while not the same, are equal.”
By Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D., U.S. Catholic — Read more …
New Vatican constitution will create more space at the table / U.S. Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on May 9, 2022
An interview with scholar Phyllis Zagano on the new constitution and the roles of women in the church.
U.S. Catholic
“On March 19 Pope Francis issued a new apostolic constitution for the Roman Curia, the offices that help him govern the Catholic Church. Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel) has been in the works since the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate nine years ago. It is slated to go into effect on June 5, replacing the charter Pastor Bonus (The Good Shepherd) that was promulgated by St. Pope John Paul II in 1988. The completion of this constitution signifies an important milestone in Pope Francis’ ongoing work of making the church more pastoral, synodal, and inclusive.
“One significant change in the new constitution is that leadership of Vatican offices traditionally run by cardinals is now opened to all baptized laypersons. This includes women.
“According to internationally acclaimed scholar Phyllis Zagano, this move is less about making changes to women’s roles in ministry than it is about the pope’s determination to involve as many competent people as possible in the management structure of the church.
“Zagano is a senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University. She is the author of 23 books, including Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future (with Gary Macy and William T. Ditewig) (Paulist Press), Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions About the Diaconate (Paulist Press), Women Deacons? Essays with Answers (Liturgical Press), and Women: Icons of Christ (Paulist Press). She is a leading expert on the history of women in the church and an advocate for the ordination of women to the diaconate.”
U.S. Catholic interview with Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D., — Read more …
Don’t put priests on a pedestal / U.S. Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clericalism, Voice of the Faithful on November 4, 2015
“declaring a pox on clericalism” and how we can end it —
Finally there appears an issue that our divided church can agree on. Catholics of all stripes—conservatives and liberals and in-betweens—are declaring a pox on clericalism. From Pope Francis to the back pew widow, from seminary rectors to lay ecclesial ministers, we agree that clericalism is crippling the pastoral mission of the church.”
“At the same time it is strengthening the secularists’ claim that Catholic clergy are nothing more than papal agents bent on enforcing rigid moral controls that smother our human instinct for pleasure and freedom. So let’s end clericalism in the church.”
By Father Donald Cozzens, U.S. Catholic — Click here to read the rest of this column.
Most U.S. Catholics Call Addressing Clergy Sexual Abuse a Top Priority
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 9, 2013
“Pope Francis is creating a new commission to advise the Vatican on how to deal with the ongoing clergy sex abuse scandal, which continues to make headlines in the U.S. Effects from the scandal continue to ripple across the U.S. Catholic landscape … Most Catholics in the U.S. say the sex abuse scandal is one priority they want Francis to address.” By Michael Lipka, Pew Research Center Fact Tank — Click here to read the rest of this news item and to see chart of “Catholics Priorities for New Pope
What women theologians have done for the Church / U.S. Catholic
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Voice of the Faithful on December 13, 2012
“Catholics can thank women theologians for 70 years of building up the church …
The fact that women have only been admitted to graduate-level theology programs at Catholic institutions for the past 70 years means the addition of women to the ranks of church scholars is a relatively recent change …
“In the intervening decades, however, Catholic women theologians have helped form both lay and ordained church leaders’ understanding of liturgy, scripture, ethics, pastoral ministry, spirituality, faith formation, theology, and the church itself. This means that regular Catholics, too, have been influenced by women theologians—whether they know it or not …
“Svea Fraser (founding member of Voice of the Faithful®) of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Wellesley, Massachusetts, says that it’s precisely the beauty of Catholic rituals—specifically the Eucharist and the funeral rite—that keep her grounded in her Catholic faith. “A Catholic anthropology is so hopeful—you’re loved unconditionally,” she says. Fraser directs her parish’s RCIA program, and she takes the opportunity to include the work of women theologians in the process of explaining church doctrine and tradition to the participants. The group discusses the feminine aspects of God and the value of inclusive language—a tool they can use in their own prayer life, even if it’s not used in the Mass …”
By Heather Greenan Gray in the online edition of January 2013 U.S. Catholic
Look for Voice of the Faithful’s ad promoting the ordination of women to the diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church in the January 2013 print edition of U.S. Catholic.
What is the future of the liturgy? | USCatholic.org
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on November 8, 2012
What is the future of the liturgy? | USCatholic.org.
“Now is not an easy time to move forward with the liturgical renewal inspired by the Second Vatican Council. It may not seem like it at the parish level—unless, perhaps, your priest is recently ordained and pushing for Mass in Latin—but at official levels, mostly behind the scenes, the direction of Catholic liturgy since Vatican II is being called into question. Pope Benedict XVI and his coworkers in the Roman curia are steadily chipping away at guiding assumptions and familiar habits in postconciliar Catholic liturgy.
“It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. Nearly 50 years ago the liturgy constitution of the Second Vatican Council called for a revision and simplification of the liturgy to enable active participation of the people. A massive liturgical reform, unprecedented in all of church history, was carried out under Italian Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, with input from numerous liturgical experts and approval of the world’s bishops. The “new liturgy” was accepted and welcomed by the vast majority of the clergy and faithful.” Fr. Anthony Ruff, O.S.B., in U.S. Catholic
Fr. Ruff teaches liturgy and liturgical music at St. John’s University School of Theology-Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota. He blogs at PrayTellBlog.com and served on the International Commission on English. In February 2011, he withdrew from speaking engagements on the new Roman Missal because, he said in an open letter to U.S. Catholic bishops, “I have concluded that I cannot promote the new missal translation with integrity.”
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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