12 Comments
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Bridget's avatar

The notion that women are just like men (smaller and angrier men, on average, but otherwise interchangeable), and need to do everything that men do in order to be properly valued, is simply misogyny in sheep's clothing but I do not think the world will recognize that anytime soon.

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Mary C. Tillotson's avatar

This is a big problem in medicine as well.

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Stella's avatar

Thanks to the Pillar for getting in front of this before it can grow like topsy into something it's not.

"But the pope condemned a “reductionism [that] would lead us to believe that women would be granted a greater status and participation in the Church only if they were admitted to Holy Orders.”"

To date there's not really any female Christian roles that stand out like the wives, judges and prophetesses of the OT whose practical participation in the Church, seriously informed it's development.

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Tom's avatar

The female judges and prophetesses were, to my understanding, appointed/raised those positions directly by God. I do not know of any mechanism of OT Judaism for appointing women to any such role. BVM is the most perfect of all creatures of all time and she never had anything like ordination. I think Pope Francis is right on suggesting that viewing ordination as some prize to be won belies a distorted view of the nature of purpose of Holy Orders.

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Bridget's avatar

Women have always had *the* most influential position, which is the handing on of the faith to their very young children, and this is most obvious in the books of Kings and Chronicles when for some reason marrying idolaters seemed like a great idea and then (surprise!) the next generation was all idolaters.

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Stella's avatar

I agree with you regarding motherhood and it's importance. However I'm on board with Pope Francis' mission to have women and motherhood more influential in the Church and the formation of Priests in a more official way. Mary's sacred Motherhood hasn't translated into that sort of role.

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Evan Cowie's avatar

A renewed presence of religious sisters as spiritual mothers could be good.

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Joseph's avatar

based bishop? this doesn't surprise me as after reading some Pillar reporting on Bishop Chow, I went to the YouTube channel that broadcasts the Masses he celebrates in his cathedral. the impression I got is that he's not very concerned with sticking to liturgical texts, and in my experience that often coincides with thinking that aspects of the deposit of faith are malleable.

maybe worth giving the Chinese portion of his homily a translate as well, he could have said more on the subject

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Meg Schreiber's avatar

Can we have a heart button for coverage and a thumbs down for what was communicated?

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JD Flynn's avatar

the ole "like the reporting don't like the news" paradox! Maybe we can make that happen on our new website!

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Fr. Samuel Keyes's avatar

Fascinating. I don't know what to make of this, but the first female presbyter in the Anglican Communion was, I think, ordained in Hong Kong. Is there something in the water?

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Martin's avatar

I would appreciate a Pillar longread about the degradation of the Society of Jesus. When I see a conspiracy theory that includes the Jesuits at the top of the global cabal pyramid, using seed oils to turn bible believing Baptists into Catholics, I can only shake my head. "If only, my friend, if only."

Seriously, we'll pray for Bishop Chow and the dangerous, perhaps impossible position he has found himself in, his opinions about female ordinations aside.

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