Letter
to the editor: Catholics not anti-womyn
Many
people, including Ms. Sawyer in her Sept.
18 editorial "Open Up the Priesthood,"
are strongly misled in what the church teaches
and believes.
Yes,
the Catholic Church needs more diocesan
priests in parishes across the country.
Interestingly enough, the seminaries for
men wishing to be order priests are overflowing.
Ms. Sawyer is assuming that because the
number of diocesan priests is down, therefore
all priesthood numbers are down. This is
not the case. Order priests (Dominicans,
Franciscans, Carmelites, etc.) have specific
ministries (some care for the poor, some
lead the contemplative life, etc.), which
either take them from place to place or
keep them in prayerful seclusion. Diocesan
priests are meant to stay in one diocese.
Unfortunately there has been a decline in
the number of men wanting to be these.
Why
are the numbers down? In this get-what-we-want-when-we-want-it
(not to mention oversexed) society, where
we have so many opportunities for success
and wealth, a call to the priesthood is
not only overlooked, it is ridiculed.
Opening
up the priesthood to women may seem like
an easy answer, right? Not really. First
of all, there are not exactly that many
women lining up for the job. Even if there
were thousands of women interested, and
if they did seem right for the job, there
is a tradition in the Catholic Church that
has discouraged women from the priesthood.
This is not to mean that women are not welcome
as prominent members. Nearly half of the
Saints recognized by the Church are women.
Women are also welcome and encouraged to
serve as Eucharistic ministers, altar servers,
nuns (remember Mother Teresa) and practically
everything else.
Obviously,
there is much more than can be stated here
concerning the role of women within the
church. Danielle Sawyer, I encourage you
and anyone else interested to check out
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Vatican
II Council Documents, and www.vatican.va.
-- Aga Szczesniak, design major
|
