“The fact that the Catholic Church, for instance, prohibits women from serving as priests or even deacons gives a kind of a permission to male people all over the world, that well, if God thinks that women are inferior, I’ll treat them as inferiors,” said Carter. “If she’s my wife, I can abuse her with impunity, or if I'm an employer, I can pay my female employees less salary.”From here.
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5 comments:
Ironically, he's Baptist, and they don't believe in the sacerdotal priests whether men or women.
The fact that the US Constitution, for instance, prohibits me from exercising the executive authority of the United States, gives a kind of permission to Presidents that, well, if James Madison thinks non-politicians are inferior, I'll treat them as inferior. I can spy on them with impunity, or I can tax them into penury.
I saw him discussing this on Morning Joe. He said that for the first 300 years of the Church, men and women were equal but then "men took over." (That was his grand explanation of how the evil misogynistic takeover went down)
I would normally dismiss such silly liberal Christian nonsense right away, but I'm pretty sure Jimmy Carter was alive in the 4th century.
Poor Jimmy, he is to be given some slack. He was indecisive as president, and isn't much of a Baptist either. Frankly his opinions are right up there with the incumbent. Frankly who cares what he thinks?
The longer I am a Roman Catholic, the more I am rethinking certain things, particularly the ordination of women to the priesthood. When I was in seminary in the late 1980's, it was a profoundly hot-button issue, and there were scores of people in favor of it, and often people who were not were downright persecuted. So much for "all are welcome in this place" and all that.
I have yet to hear a decent argument in favor of it. It's not an issue of human rights, women's rights, civil rights, or an issue of being "inclusive", "pastoral," or "progressive."
It seems to me it is, among other things, an issue of vocation; either one is called to be a priest, or one is not. Please spare me the "John was the only male follower of Jesus at the Cross" routine, Mary Magdalen announced the Resurrection, Veronica pushed her way through the crowd to wipe Jesus' Face, all His male apostles save one fled, so, for all of these reasons, let's ordain women.
Sure, these things get people all worked up, and ready to go to the mat for this cause, but more and more these are worn out arguments, that have little, if anything, to do with the priesthood.
I have never - NEVER - heard an argument for ordaining women to the priesthood that has EVER said ANYTHING about fidelity to the Holy Scriptures, Holy Tradition, the Church Fathers, (and Mothers), celebrating the sacraments worthily and properly, and caring for the spiritual welfare of the people entrusted to the priest's charge, freeing a penitent of the burden of his sins in the confessional, or braving a dangerously cold winter night to take the Blessed Sacrament to a dying person.
When some of these arguments are suggested with reference to ordaining women to the priesthood, I'll be glad to listen. Until then, I'd just as soon watch Bulwinkle.
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