tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10205805.post111886983247908694..comments2023-10-09T10:54:03.005-05:00Comments on Whitehall: ordinatio sacerdotalisUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10205805.post-1118965902410628022005-06-16T18:51:00.000-05:002005-06-16T18:51:00.000-05:00Another point. I am, of course, guessing again. ...Another point. I am, of course, guessing again. But in my experience, there seems to be a class of women in ECUSA seminaries (men too, I reckon, though I've noticed it particularly with women) who seem to have experienced a lot of rejection and broken relationships (and maybe in some cases, abuse) in their lives. It looks to me as though many of these experienced love and affirmation, maybe for the first time, in the Church, and as a result of this begin to pursue the ordained ministry. It also seems like many of these eventually leave the ministry, or get weeded out by "the process" at the outset. And in some cases I've noticed that this (appropriate, in my judgment) "weeding out" is experienced as a double rejection or a betrayal. Its very sad.<BR/><BR/>And I can't say enough that this is my guess, but its an educated guess. And I don't mean to give the impression that this is my estimation of all women in seminary. Far from it.gwbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00126771210414634962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10205805.post-1118945810771112612005-06-16T13:16:00.000-05:002005-06-16T13:16:00.000-05:00Right. Well, I think the clamor of women to be pr...Right. Well, I think the clamor of women to be priests comes from an overblown clericalism within ECUSA. You're right, this is generlization, but I'd say women are indeed called to ministry and leadership and what not, just not to the *priestly* ministry. This means, mainly, that they are not called to say mass. I've known (and even worked for) several women "priests" in ECUSA, and they were, by and large, good preachers, effective pastors, and generally very gifted. It would be a shame were the Church not to have recourse to their obvious gifts.<BR/><BR/>A large part of the blame falls on the Church, historically, which provided no avenue (in most places) for women to exercise any kind of ministry. That is, the Church has tended to under-value the laity and lay ministry in general. That's the result of priests and bishops having an overblown sense of their own importance.<BR/><BR/>Priests are nothing more (or less) than offerers of the mass. I would have absolutely no problem with women as lay pastors, lay preachers, etc. Even, I mean, women in full time, paid, in-charge type of positions.<BR/><BR/>I note, by the way, that my own diocese (Georgia) had, for a hundred years or so, a comparatively healthy deaconess ministry. Georgia even had a fairly famous black woman as a deaconess in the early part of the 20th century. I'm talking about southern, rural Georgia. That's a point of pride for me.<BR/><BR/>Noting that I am, of course, not a Roman Catholic, I would say that I see nothing wrong, in theory, with women as cardinals. Its likely impractical given the massive Vatican bureaucracy, but I don't believe women cardinals are impossible, nor even necessarily a bad idea.gwbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00126771210414634962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10205805.post-1118938477490044782005-06-16T11:14:00.000-05:002005-06-16T11:14:00.000-05:00WB-Two questions come to mind.First, since you are...WB-<BR/><BR/>Two questions come to mind.<BR/><BR/>First, since you are someone who has been around many women who are priests in ECUSA and many seminarians who aspire to be Anglican priests, I'm curious to know what you think is going on there. If these women are not being called to priesthood, which I assume would be your belief, then what are they being called to? General speculation, of course, as I know you can't presume to speak for the situation of any individual woman whom you do not know.<BR/><BR/>Second, there was a movement a few years back within the Roman Catholic Church to create a gender balanced college of cardinals. The idea was that women would be made cardinals and in this respect have a voice in governance at the very top of the Church hierarchy, but without being ordained as cardinals are not required to be ordained (though these days all are). What do you think of such an idea?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com