Liberated from Prejudice

OK, in the past the Church refused to ordain women as priests.
But why?
When judging past practice in the Church, we must study the reasons why things were done the way they were.
As to women, our findings are disturbing.
Women were excluded from the priestly ministry for totally invalid reasons.

A threefold prejudice barred women from the priestly ministry.

1. Women were considered less than men in every respect: physically, intellectually and emotionally.
Since it was believed that only the male sperm ‘contains’ the future child, women were looked upon as incomplete human beings.
In short, women were considered inferior.

2. Since Eve caused humankind’s fall from grace, every woman was thought to carry the curse of her sin.
Women were marked as sinful creatures.

3. People thought that menstruation makes you impure.
As unclean creatures, women were kept far from the altar and sacred services.

The Church constantly needs to liberate itself from the social and cultural prejudices that contaminate its doctrine and practice.

Up to 1854 popes taught that God allowed slavery, something now totally forbidden by the Church.

The Church has made many similar mistakes throughout its history.

Women today deserve to be liberated from the doctrinal prejudice that stills bans them from the share in the ministries that is theirs in God’s true plan.

Read: Can Men be Ordained?, by Rosemary Radford Ruether

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