That Religious Guy: Of Priests and Nuns

..... Well, a certain splinter group of our neighbors to the north have just recently "ordained" a women "priest." Now, it's not the Canadians I'm speaking of, after all, les Quebecois are too conservative for that. The organization Womenpriests, which seeks to persuade the Roman Catholic Church to extend priestly ordination to women, has given its blessing to Diane Whalen, 58, of Olympia, Washington.

..... It's not surprising that I'd find this "ordination" offensive and strange. Some might say that the Church is too traditional, too Medieval for the modern world. These people will say that the Church's policy on male-only ordination is sexist and demeaning to women. Well, I find Womenpriests worldwide ordinations to be sexist and demeaning to women and men!

..... As a Roman Catholic discerning a vocation to the priesthood, I'm insulted that many of the women ordained by Womenpriests are married or have been married. Whalen says that she felt the call to the priesthood in high school but also realized that "she also wanted to have boyfriends and to marry." One cannot just pick and choose features of vocations and blend them into something else. Each vocation has its virtues. Married life has the benefit of loving families and consecrated life (That is the life of priests and nuns) provides an opportunity to serve God's people. The Church isn't some sort of Baskin Robbins where people can say "Hey, I want a scoop of married life... and a side of priesthood too." The new "women priests" should maybe take a page from their many male contemporaries, who never married and stayed loyal to the discipline of chastity.

..... The whole mission of Womenpriests also ends up demeaning women. Their advocates say that becoming nuns or sisters isn't enough for women. Apparently we need women to be in leadership. Of course I agree with this. You know why? It's because the Church has had women in leadership positions for centuries: they're called the female religious. Womenpriests is underestimating the contributions and influences of the nuns and sisters in the life of the Church. Women hold high positions in Catholic education, social services, and other venues. Women, both lay and religious, have become saints. As Catholic.org says: "The history of the Church is full of many women Catholic saints, who received recognition for great deeds or meritorious conduct. Many lost their lives in defense of the faith, while others were themselves the mothers of important saints. Many were also honored for their contributions to the Church and their community." Let's not forget the historical trend of women maintaining the faith in their families. Mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers have all contributed to the family's religious life by preserving traditions and encouraging Mass attendance.

..... The Church owes its longevity to all its members, both male and female. Each has his or her role and purpose. Womenpriests is too busy trying to look for imperfections in the Church that it ends up shortchanging the female gender.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz