Is the male-only priesthood a discipline or essential to the nature of being a priest? Sr. Vassa (again unflinchingly taking up a contentious topic by climbing up the ladder to the highest platform and then jumping into the deep end head first) dives right in and says there is no reason beyond personal preference to not have female clergy. You know, when people ask me about women in priesthood, they say, 'Sister, why can't women be priests?' And I say, 'Women CAN be priests. We don't WANT them to be priests.' Because you see, God can do anything, and the Church, by divine authority, uh, can do anything, but, the Church doesn't want to - and that's a legitimate reason. What I don't like is when we TRY to pretend that there are other reasons for this, because it's legitimate not to want something, and there are reasons not to want this - right? - but, we shouldn't pretent that there's some... reason, that, for example, the maleness...
My, how far we have come. 27 years ago when my late wife and I began homeschooling I was called by the then director of education for the Antiochian Archdiocese and told point blank that my wife and I were totally incompetent to teach our own child--not even about the faith.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful that intelligence, compassion and support for parents trying to exercise our duty to teach our children is now the way of things. God is good.
Fortunately, my Bishop and the priest if my parish did not feel the same way.
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