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St. Bonaventure was a major theological contemporary of St. Thomas
Aquinas. As minister general of the Franciscan order and Cardinal bishop of
Albano he also had a wide pastoral experience.
Bonaventure generally pursued a more mystical approach to theology than
Thomas Aquinas.
If we analyse Bonaventure’s reasoning,
there are five principal reasons why women cannot be ordained in his view:
Argument 1. ‘Women are inferior to
men.’
Reply. Bonaventure shares the general theological prejudices of
his time against women.
- Women need to have their heads veiled and so
cannot wear the tonsure.
- Women do not bear the image of
God.
- A woman cannot be the head of a
man.
Conclusion. The argument is invalid for is based on the
general prejudices of the time and on a wrong interpretation of
1 Corinthians 11,2-16.
Argument 2. ‘Women cannnot hold power.’
Reply. Bonaventure had absorbed the old Roman principle that
women cannot hold any public office, a principle also integrated in medieval
Church Law.
- A woman ‘is not capable of such
power’.
- ‘In Orders there is a concentration of power which many reasons
show to be not at all suitable for
women’.
Conclusion. This reason too is based on the general
prejudices prevailing at the time, as well as on a wrong interpretation of
1 Timothy 2,11-15.
Argument 3. ‘Popes have forbidden women to touch sacred
objects.’
Reply. Bonaventure here quotes an
excerpt from the Decretum Gratiani which obviously is a major argument for
him. However, he does not know that it concerns a forged letter presumably by
Pope Soter which, via the socalled False Decretals, found its way into
the law book of the Church!
Conclusion. The argument has no basis.
Argument 4. ‘Deaconesses were not validly ordained
to the sacramental diaconate.’
Reply. Bonaventure recognises the
importance of this question, implying that a valid ordination of women
deacons would settle the question of women's valid admission to Holy Orders
(even if it would leave the question of legitimate ordination open).
However, it is clear from his answer that he did not have accurate
information about deaconesses: ‘It is gathered that the women who
communicated with the deacons in reading the homily were called deaconesses.
They received some kind of blessing. Therefore in no way should it be believed
that there were ever women promoted to sacred orders according to the canons
[=laws of the Church].’
Conclusion. If he had known
the ordination rites and ministry of women
deacons, he would certainly have judged differently.
Argument 5. Since Christ the Mediator was male, he can only
be signified by the male sex.
Bonaventure does not clearly and in detail explain the reason why only
men can signify Christ in the paragraph where he
states this argument. However, it is clear from the rest of the text that
women cannot represent Christ in his view because they have an inferior status
and cannnot exercise spiritual power (see no 1 & 2 above!).
Conclusion. This argument is influenced by his bias against
women's status.
Overall Conclusion: If Bonaventure had known what we know now,
especially if he had realised how women did function as validly ordained
deacons in the Church, he would have admitted the capacity of women for
sacramental ordination.
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