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Would a different question yield a different answer on the ordination of women?

Would a different question yield a different answer on the ordination of women?

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Peter Albion

in

This piece, Ordination of women: the Church is asking the wrong question, on the Global Catholic site is interesting reading. Essentially the argument is that when we ask “Can the Church ordain women?” we put the Church at the centre of discernment and immediately narrow the investigation. It goes on to suggest that a better, more open, question would be “Is God calling women to ordained ministries?” which puts God at the centre and invites a broader investigation.

In my view that is a valuable contribution to the ongoing issue of the ordination of women. That said, I’m a little troubled by the identification of the author as Father Anne. Does that suggest that the ordination of women would not move the Church forward from its captivity by clericalism?

Comments

One response to “Would a different question yield a different answer on the ordination of women?”

  1. Michael Sibert Avatar
    Michael Sibert

    Aside from the article by Father Anne itself, I found reading the comments on the article very interesting as they highlight not only the division of opinion on the question of female ordination but also division on the interpretation and authority of ‘the tradition’. I agree with Peter Albion that the tradition around ordination is currently captive to the clerical model. Further, moving the Church forward will require some re-imagining around the nature and role of what it means to be a priest, male and female. Some things within the tradition are time bound in that they are limited by the cultural perspectives that gave rise to their manifestation within the tradition and some things are timeless, in that they express a forever truth . For example, I would put Jesus’ rejection of the temptation to seek power, evident in Mt 4:8-10, into the timeless category. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” For me clericalism entails a model of priesthood that is overly concerned with the governance (exercising power) aspect of priesthood and as such is orientated toward serving the ‘kingdom of the Church’ rather serving the ‘kingdom of God’. Furthermore defending the clerical status quo with reference to the so called apostolic tradition, is an example of resting on a time bound, culturally bound aspect of the tradition that no longer serves the best interests of the churches’ evangelical mission.
    It is time for a democratisation within the tradition. A time to recognise the presence of Christ within all and the common priesthood of all. To allow the wisdom of the faithful to discern and decide on the particular individuals within our communities, be they male or female, married or single, that we would ordain to lead us in sacramental celebrations while also instituting shared authority for governance between the lay and ordained.    
    Re-theologising the role and nature of ‘priest’ is a fundamental aspect of evolving the tradition to meet the demands of the 21st century.      

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