Posts Tagged women’s roles
Lost in translation: seven reasons some women wince when Pope Francis starts talking / Religion News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Antwerp, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women, Women in the Church on December 11, 2014
When Pope Francis this month wanted to highlight his appointment of several women to a blue-ribbon theological commission, he called the female theologians ‘strawberries on the cake.’
“Yikes.
“Two weeks earlier, when the pontiff gave a speech to the European Parliament, he used another lady-based analogy, this time underscoring the continent’s demographic decline and cultural crisis by comparing Europe to a grandmother who is ‘no longer fertile and vibrant.’
“Ouch.
“Yes, Francis is a veritable quote machine, tossing off-the-cuff bon mots that the public finds enormously appealing in large part because they are coming from a Roman pontiff — not an office known for its improv routines.
“But when he speaks about women, Francis can sound a lot like the (almost) 78-year-old Argentine churchman that he is, using analogies that sound alternately condescending and impolitic, even if well-intentioned.”
By David Gibson, Religion News Service — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Conflict with Vatican shadows upcoming LCWR assembly / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Religious Women, Voice of the Faithful on August 5, 2014
U.S. women religious leaders face an uncertain future as they gather Aug. 12-16 in Nashville, Tenn., for their annual assembly. More than 800 elected congregational leaders will discuss how they plan to react to continued charges of infidelity leveled by the church’s top enforcer of orthodoxy, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as to the congregation’s plans to take over the organization after the assembly …
“The issues are multilayered, involving disputes over the role of religious life, the relationship between religious and bishops, questions of obedience, and differing visions of church priorities and mission.
“Beneath these is one more: the role of women in a church that maintains a gender-determined authority system. The conflict between LCWR and the doctrinal congregation has become the most visible manifestation of this highly charged issue.”
By Thomas C. Fox, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
As a Female I Am Frustrated by the Lack of Democracy within the Church / The Herald Scotland
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on March 21, 2014
I read with interest the comments of Hugh McLoughlin (Letters, March 19) and was surprised that he asserted that Pope Francis does not lead an autocratic church. I have been a practicing Catholic since my birth 62 years ago and there is little in my experience to lead me to believe that it is anything other than autocratic.”
Letter to the Editor by Moira Gray, The Herald Scotland — Click here to read the rest of this letter.
The Papal Anniversary / The New York Times
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 7, 2014
In this editorial, The New York Times briefly presents its view of the first year of Pope Francis’ papacy. The editorial board points out particularly Francis’ comments on women’s roles in the church, clergy sexual abuse, the need for greater provisions of pastoral care and world poverty.
Click here to read the editorial.
Francis: ‘Women Called to Service, Not Servitude’ / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on October 16, 2013
In his first address entirely focused on the topic of women, Pope Francis on Oct. 13 said ‘women are called to service, not servitude.’ His remarks came before approximately 150 people gathered at a two-day Vatican event organized by the women’s section of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. It marked the 25th anniversary of the apostolic letter ‘Mulieris Dignitatem,’ written by Pope John Paul II. ‘I suffer — speaking truthfully! — when I see in the church or in some ecclesial organizations that the role of service that we all have, and that we must have — but that the role of service of the woman slips into a role of servitude,’ Francis said.” By Thomas Fox, National Catholic Reporter
Read the rest of Fox’s story by clicking here.
2013 approaches. Where is the Church heading?
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 20, 2012
Reconciling the Passions of the Members of the Church
The news is filled recently with stories of longtime, loyal Catholics being told the beliefs they have arrived at through experience and reflection are not good enough … If the church were to ban all its leaders — ordained and non-ordained — who didn’t follow all the teachings espoused by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and by all its local bishops, I wonder how many leaders would be left in a church that is already seeing declining ordained leadership? I wonder how many more followers would throw their hands up and realize this church doesn’t represent their beliefs?” By Mike Sweitzer-Beckman, National Catholic Reporter
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.
Former Head of US Bishops’ Diaconate Office Banned in Philadelphia Over Women Deacons
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Voice of the Faithful on December 7, 2012
A former key U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference staffer has been told he is not allowed to speak publicly in the Philadelphia archdiocese because he co-authored a book investigating the possibility of ordaining women as deacons. William Ditewig, a theologian and deacon who previously served as the head of the bishops’ secretariat for the diaconate, has been told his public presence in the archdiocese would cause ‘doctrinal confusion.'” By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter
Media, Retired Clerics Endorse Women’s Ordination to the Priesthood
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Clergy, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 5, 2012
In order to keep our readers up-to-date, we are offering the following links to National Catholic Reporter: one, an editorial endorsing the ordination of women to the Roman Catholic priesthood; the other, a story about a retired priest ordered not to say Mass or perform his priestly duties after participating in a liturgy with a woman ordained by the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.
From these examples and others, the voices of Catholic media and retired clerics are, it seems, becoming stronger in support of ordaining women.
Editorial: Ordination of Women Would Correct an Injustice
The call to the priesthood is a gift from God. It is rooted in baptism and is called forth and affirmed by the community because it is authentic and evident in the person as a charism. Catholic women who have discerned a call to the priesthood and have had that call affirmed by the community should be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church. Barring women from ordination to the priesthood is an injustice that cannot be allowed to stand.” By National Catholic Reporter Editorial Staff, Dec. 3, 2012
Jesuit, 92, Penalized after Eucharistic Liturgy with Woman Priest
A Catholic priest who participated in a Eucharistic liturgy with a woman priest last month has been ordered to no longer celebrate the Mass or perform any other priestly duties. Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan, a 92-year-old Milwaukee-area priest, said the superior of his religious community told him of the restrictions Nov. 29, saying they came at the request of Archbishop Jerome Listecki.” By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter, Dec. 3, 2012
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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