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In This Section |
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SFBay Catholic Special Section |
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An Open Letter to His Holiness Pope John Paul II |
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Mailed January 4th 1996 |
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H.H. Pope John Paul II, It is evident in the sacred scriptures that, after the resurrection and pentecost, the church is not bound to do everything exactly as Jesus had done. For example, our Lord never challenged the practice of circumcision, but the early church did (Acts 15). Likewise, it is evident that sacred tradition is a living process and not the mere repetition of the past. For example, the church had a married clergy for 1000 years, yet the time came when the Holy Spirit guided the RCC to opt for priestly celibacy in order to open new doors to the kingdom by making the priest a better icon of Christ. Indeed, the election of the 12 apostles belongs to the deposit of faith. But it is the hierarchical constitution of the church which belongs to the deposit of faith and has been defined as revealed truth (Creed, the church is apostolic); and such revealed truth has nothing to do with excluding certain persons from holy orders. That which is not forbidden is permitted. The male-only priesthood is part of the deposit of faith inasmuch as it was the initial manifestation of the hierarchical constitution of the church, but such initial manifestation in no way exhausts the possibilities as to whom the Lord can call to serve each generation of Christians down the centuries. He must always be allowed to call those whom he wants. The church must be willing to mediate (test) all priestly vocations, male and female. As the church continues to extract the fullness of revealed truth from the deposit of faith, she must pay attention to the voice of the Spirit, which most often reaches us through the events of human history and the conscience of Christians. Infallibility is a gift of Christ to the church in order to ensure a valid discernment of the signs of the times as they prompt us to dig deeper into the deposit of faith. Thus our understanding of the faith has been enriched and purified by the Creed, the anathemas of the councils, and the marian dogmas. But the church should not use the gift of infallibility in a cavalier fashion. The recent CDF declaration on the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, which by implication would seem to elevate the male-only priesthood to "revealed truth", is a case in point. The Holy Spirit is well known for writing straight with crooked lines, so we'll see what happens. I believe in my heart that the Holy Spirit is not finished with us regarding the matter of priestly ordination for women. The following questions are offered for consideration as we continue to seek Christ's will under the guidance of the church magisterium: 1. Given the evidence of the sacred scriptures before and after the resurrection, how can we say that the church is not authorized to ordain women to the ministerial priesthood? Christ himself gives the authorization in Matthew 16:19, 18:18. If the church is indeed authorized, why is it that she is not willing? 2. Given the evidence from 2000 years of sacred tradition in which the church has come to full understanding of truths the early church did not clearly understand, such as the immaculate conception and the assumption of Mary, why is it that the church is now unwilling to examine a practice she always took for granted? 3. The eucharist is "heaven on earth". If the ordained priest acts in persona Christi, and therefore in the Second Person of the Trinity who became flesh to assume the concrete totality of human nature, why is it that only baptized males can be ordained? Isn't it clear that a celibate woman is a better icon of Christ than a marrried man? 4. Mary is most intimately joined to her divine Son and always shares his lot, including a unique sharing in the paschal mystery, both in suffering and in glory (Munificentissimus Deus 38, 39). Thus Mary is rightfully called mediatrix ( Lumen Gentium 62). Are we saying that from Mary's unique vocation, which transcends all the sacraments, it follows that women are forever excluded from holy orders? 5. The pro-life doctrine of the church applies to life from conception to natural death, and necesssarily includes the fostering of each person's vocation by removing obstacles to grace. The exclusion of women from holy orders is a severe barrier to the abundant life in Christ (John 10:10), because it is an artificial contraceptive and abortifacient of female priestly vocations. Is it not the men of the church who suffer the most from the lack of a feminine presence in the hierarchy of the church? Clearly, a miracle is now needed for the church to make a 180 degree turnaround on the matter of priestly ordination of women. But nothing is impossible with God. If the priestly ordination of women is Christ's will for the church today, may the Holy Spirit move the church accordingly; not for the sake of feminism, but for the sake of the kingdom. Come Holy Spirit! The peace of Christ, |
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Reprinted with permission 23 April 1996. --- Signed Articles represent the views of the author and do not always reflect the opinions or beliefs of SFBAY CATHOLIC |
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© 2002 San Francisco Bay Catholic, All Rights Reserved |