Saturday 13 August 2011

No, women don’t have a right. Neither do men!

Anglican Communion Ordains Women Priests
It always amuses me, to see the extraordinary lengths that various organisations or groups will go to, in order to give their particular cause more credibility, while at the same time disingenuously attempting to destroy the credibility of their opponents.

An example of such behaviour is some of the pro-abortion groups. Some of them have quite shrewdly taken on the label of being “pro-choice”. They use it, sadly, quite effectively to mock anyone who may hold the belief that abortion is wrong. They argue that women have the right to make choices about their own bodies and their own lives. A right that I certainly will not dispute and one that I in fact wholeheartedly support!

The craftiness of their “pro-choice” position however lies in the fact that they group, under the “pro-choice” umbrella, the subject of abortion. A subject that cannot be viewed only from the point of view of the mother, but which must also be viewed from the point of view of the unborn baby. The subject of terminating pregnancy has a second person to consider. A person who also has rights, including, amongst others, the right to live!

Sadly, if you choose to make this argument about the rights of the unborn baby, in opposition to the “pro-choice” group, you will no doubt find yourself on the receiving end of an incredibly angry women’s rights group. They will think nothing of it, probably because this was always the plan, to brand you as a misogynist! In doing so, they effectively circumvent the need to engage in any scholarly or civilised discussion of the subject.

This “pro-choice” approach empowers the group to pretty much browbeat their way towards their objective. They know that, even though many people may disagree with them, most people will do their best to avoid any possible public confrontation and embarrassment, which may result from resisting or disagreeing with the “pro-choice” group.

It seems to me that the issue of the ordination of women as Roman Catholic priests now faces the same phenomena. In the absence of any credible argument to support the demand, of a small group of people, they have veiled the issue of the ordination of women under the umbrella of women’s rights. Now the issue, conveniently for them, changes to one in which, to disagree, means to say that one does not believe that women are equal to men and that women are not entitled to equal rights.

Of course, anyone with a modicum of common sense knows that this argument is preposterous. Yet, strangely the movement gathers momentum, as people dive out of the way of that horrendous women’s rights steamroller, the one that threatens to imprint us with the label of misogynist!

Since the argument regarding priestly ordination has now been focussed on the rights of women, let us consider this alleged “right” that many claim women have.


No person, including a baptised and confirmed Roman Catholic celibate virgin heterosexual male, who has all the right educational qualifications, all of the very best Christian virtues, and who is of the right age, can make any demands on the Church to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. He simply does not possess such a right! He will, furthermore, never ever acquire such a right.

Ordination, as a priest, or a deacon, or a bishop, is simply not a human rights matter! It is a sacrament, which can only be received “as an unmerited gift”.

[i] Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1578

4 comments:

  1. I don't think I understand the argument about ordination of women. Are you saying that God only chooses men to be priests so women should just accept that? How does a person know if they have been called to the priesthood?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am saying an individual does not know definitively who God chooses. An individual, man or women, may have a sense of it, but they must be guided by the Church. The Church was established by Jesus. Jesus entrusted the Apostles to build the Church. The Apostles had first hand knowledge of the teaching of Jesus, through the years they spent with Jesus. They have passed this down through the centuries to their successors. The Church, therefore, together with the individual who feels called, is best equipped to discern if the person has indeed been called.

    Ordination to the priesthood is not a right that can be demanded. Not by anyone, including men. Ordination is a gift. No-one can demand ordination, regardless of how strongly they feel called to the priesthood. The Church must share the individuals conviction that he or she has been called. Individuals must submit to this guidance by the Church.

    At this time, the Church teaches that it discerns that God has not called women to be ordained as deacons, priests or bishops.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How do you know that they are not just making excuses to keep the women out. Its not like God will come down and tell us that they are just making that up so they can say anything they like.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually Nicky, God did come down. Jesus was God. True God and True Man. Since Jesus taught the Apostles, they received their knowledge from God. In turn they taught others and so the teachings of Jesus was handed down through the centuries.

    If Jesus wanted to He would have chosen women as His Apostles as well as men. He was not afraid to break with the customs of the time and he would not have hesitated to do the same in this area. Example: Who could have been a better Apostle than His own mother. No-one would have known Him better than her. Yet he didn't and we accept He had a reason because God doesn't make mistakes!

    ReplyDelete