Tune In to Last Gasps of Patriarchy in Rome

[realFedUp]

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2255

Tune In to Last Gasps of Patriarchy in Rome
Run Date: 04/13/05

By Anne Eggebroten
WeNews commentator

Women are not among the cardinals, priests and choristers handling the papal transition. But Anne Eggebroten says the patriarchal show of force going on Rome cannot stop the concerted upward push by women into Church hierarchy.

snip

Ordinations in July
In July more women will be ordained to the priesthood, this time in international waters at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway, by two of the Danube group: theologians Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany.

These ordinations will take place in conjunction with the second Women's Ordination Worldwide International Ecumenical Conference in Canada. As part of that event, organizers will hold a seven-day caravan from Washington, D.C., to Ottawa with public demonstrations at bishops' headquarters along the way.

Watch out, Rome, the women in your church are gaining a sense of their own power and refusing to be silent. After all, they fill the pews, polish the candlesticks, and wash the altar linens. Many also do pastoral ministry and manage parishes where priests are unavailable or elderly.

And it's likely that the immense, unavoidable news coverage of the Vatican this month will make male control of ecclesial power ever more visible and obviously out of step with the world.

continued

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Wishful thinking

The Church seems to be getting ever more conservative and traditional. Power is shifting steadily to Catholics in Third World countries that are far more patriarchal socially than Europe and North America.

[aneerkoinos]

2. Schisma

Yes, most probably cardinals will nominate an even more conservative pope tha JPII.

But Catholicism is not island. During the last couple females, AFAIK most if not all protestant churches in Europe have accepted women priests, which naturally led to minor schisma with small sects of fundie literalist elements sticking with Paul. What is happening and what will happen in Catholic church will not be small schisma, because also papal authority will be questioned and challenged, and quite possibly, in a sense, this will spell the end of patriarchal Catholic Church.

[realFedUp]

3. rewarding bad behavior

don't.

If you don't like what this church is doing,
don't give them your money.
Jesus would say give it directly to the poor
and marginalized.