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...
You know, I am not sure that this act is all that laudable. A man competes in sport to challenge himself by continually pushing against his limits to overcome them. Part of this process is the experience of losing. Letting an opponent win is not mercy - it is an insult to a fellow competitor.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but recognizing that you've won, and that you don't need to put someone in the hospital to prove it to everyone else... that is a different type of victory.
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