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by Mark_Ockerbloom from Dedham

Last Post 56 minutes Ago


Yes to Women Priests
Jul 20, 2008 | 8:13 PM
Category: News
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Women priests? Why not? I believe their time has come and the Catholic church needs them... too bad they won't recognize them. On Sunday, three women were ordained priests, and one as a deacon, at the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street, even though the Vatican had already promised excommunication. The Archdiocese of Boston released a statement saying "Catholics who attempt to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the women who attempt to receive a sacred order, are by their own actions separating themselves from the church."

I'm a practicing Catholic and feel strongly that many of the Church's traditions and teachings should be practiced and upheld. But with vocations falling off in alarming numbers and therefore the word of God being preached by fewer and fewer priests, perhaps it's time to make some modifications and allow those who truly want to become priests, like these women as well as married men for that matter, to do just that! Churches are closing because of a lack of able bodies... these people are ready, willing and able and should not be turned away at the door. 
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Member Comments Total Comments: 83
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sirB read my blog
Jul 20, 2008 | 8:20 PM

Mark,

Now I'm not a religious person so maybe their is something I don't get, but aren't priests men of the catholic faith? Or is it a senioirity/title type of thing?

Does this mean men should be able to become nuns?

Help me here.
TheEliteOne read my blog
Jul 20, 2008 | 8:34 PM

First: These three women today have nothing to do with the Catholic Church. I know it is being reported as so, but this is wrong. These women are Protestant and The Protestant Church does not fall under the Arch Diocese of Boston.

Next...you are opening a discussion which can go on for days. If you go to church, I would discuss it with you. If you are a twice a year Catholic, I would not.
ZenexCarter
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:20 PM

I think that religion is a waste of time, being an Atheist, but besides that, I think that These women should be able to waste the rest of there lives on the Catholic Church then I say go right ahead.
captainseapig read my blog view my photos
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:22 PM

Just an educational note here. The largest church women's organization in the world is called the Relief Society in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Founded in 1832 it now has 5.2 million members. Please go to wikipedia and type in Relief Society for the unbiased history it's very interesting. Women in the church are respected and admired and play a paramount role.
john14six
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:28 PM

Since when does personal opinion become biblical? Look at what the Bible says about women in leadership roles in the Church.

Look up 1Timothy2:11-15
Verse 12 states "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man;..."

1Timothy3:2 "An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife."

Instead of getting into a battle of opinions, why not hold God as having full authority when dealing with spiritual matters.
fenwaydav read my blog view my photos
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:30 PM

Ock, Sure why not? Women Rabbis do a wonderful job.

By the way good to see you. I hope you had a nice vacation.....
dlapointe34
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:32 PM

Mark, Mark, Mark... you say you are a practicing Catholic, but sad to say, not a very well informed one. If you want to be a good practicing Catholic, read the Catechism... all of it, then see if you still hold this opinion.

The late Pope John Paul II stated that the Catholic Church does not even have the authority to change this. Christ did not have women Apostles, period. As Catholics, we are called to be obedient to the Church. Mark, I pray that you will seek the Truth that is protected by the Catholic Church. -David
legendkiller34 read my blog
Jul 20, 2008 | 10:32 PM

Mark,
Women priests?
No we don't need women priests, what we need is for the Catholic church to stand up
take responcibility for their actions and
clean-up.
Married men as priests?
So would that be FATHER OCK?
IS THAT WHY YOU TOOK VACATION LAST WEEK?
Hmm,
tribe_fan_in_exile read my blog
Jul 20, 2008 | 11:25 PM

I practice my faith every day and attend Mass weekly, happily singing in the choir. When our kids were grade-school age I took classes (yes, just a few) so I could teach 4th grade religion classes to parish children who did not attend the church dayschool. A Notre Dame nun was covering the history of the church and reviewed a point from the Council of Nicea, held in 325. One of the statements to come down was along the lines of "women shall no longer be breakers of the bread". In the early days of the church the Celebration of the Last Supper was held in homes (is this where we are headed with increasingly smaller parishes?) and presided by the homeowner or another adult. Interpretation takes this declaration from the Council to imply that at the time the women were also "breaking bread", hence performing the priestly duty. Time and passing will only tell if this was a correct interpretation. Also, there were no women apostles, but besides The Twelve there were scores of disciples. Who are we to say that many were not women (remember Mary Magdelene?)who were accepted in this priestly role? AND, some of the apostles were married! *GASP* So what is holding up the modern church from re-instituting this tradition? Married priests were eliminated when the Church no longer wanted the cost of supporting the entire family instead of just a single man. Sound reasoning...not.
Mark_Ockerbloom read my blog view my photos
Jul 20, 2008 | 11:48 PM

Hey guys,

Good points all...a lot of you certainly have put some deep thought into your responses. dlapointe34, I still don't see the problem here. This could be a significant step towards infusing new life into the church at a time when fewer and fewer men are entering the priesthood. I like my Pastor and enjoy his sermons but I also enjoy hearing from other priests and right now they're in short supply and the numbers continue to dwindle.
IrishLad71
Jul 21, 2008 | 6:06 AM

Many of those in my age group (the 30-somethings) have left the Catholic Church for a number of reasons, one of which is that the Vatican excludes women from the priesthood.

About 8 months ago, my wife and I started going to a Catholic community that has a woman priest. This female pastor and church community are wonderful and we feel more connected to church than ever before.

The Gospels are clear that Jesus’ ministry included both men AND women. I’m convinced that Jesus welcomes every person responding to God’s call to ordination.

It won’t be the Vatican, but our female pastor who will baptize our children, anoint our sick parents, officiate at our child’s wedding, and bury our friends.

I don’t care what church “officials” say, these women are priests.
TheEliteOne read my blog
Jul 21, 2008 | 6:15 AM

Women priest are not going to bring people back to the church. With the shortage of Priests, one would think the Masses offered would be full. Many Masses are empty.

What needs to be done is to teach some of the existing Priest to base their homilies on the readings and not their personal lives. They need to talk about the bible and not what happened to them 30 years ago.

Mark: Have you ever been to a mission? The Priest do a nice job where the nuns bore me.
bstn
Jul 21, 2008 | 7:09 AM

it's high time the church of catholic faith comes into the 21st century, they keep closing churches, and saying priests are in short supply, it's all about faith in and preaching the word of GOD, or is it politics. who care's if thier men or woman
Happyg read my blog
Jul 21, 2008 | 7:43 AM

After reading this thread I was surprised not to see the words "cafeteria Catholic" in any of them. But Mark, if you read the exerpt from what you posted, it appears that shoe might fit.
Married priests, as they were in the beginning, absolutely. Women priests? See below.



The Archdiocese of Boston released a statement saying "Catholics who attempt to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the women who attempt to receive a sacred order, are by their own actions separating themselves from the church."
jovanone read my blog view my photos
Jul 21, 2008 | 8:27 AM

Mark,

You your self said you’re “a practicing Catholic and feel strongly that many of the Church's traditions and teachings should be practiced and upheld”, so, what’s wrong with that? And for someone who wants to keep the church’s traditions and teachings I have to ask this question, what part of NO do these women not understand??? This came from Rome NO women priests. Again the word NO doesn’t seem to matter and/or has any meaning. Why??? Why is the word NO so hard to accept??? This is not a new topic, women have been trying to do this for quite some time now, and the word from Rome is still NO. People have to accept this and move on.

I don’t want to get into another topic with the word NO and women. However, I thought when someone said NO, NO meant NO……
Toria
Jul 21, 2008 | 9:22 AM

When I see 64% of Catholics support woman priests it just demonstrates to me how many of them do not know or understand the teachings and practices of their faith. A faith they profess to believe in every Sunday if they are weekly Mass attendees. It is not about equality for woman, it is about the teachings of Jesus Christ. Not only did he institute the priesthood at the Last Supper, He continually through out the New Testament speaks of His Church as His Bride, and He is the Bridgegroom, which is Life-giving. Thus a priest essentially "marries" the Church his bride. This is another reason a woman cannot become a priest, a woman cannot marry another woman and have it become Life-giving...procreative. Catholics need to make their faith their own, if they were given this faith at their baptism it is now the time to make it your own. There are many wonderful books written....start with the beginning and then to the Early Church Fathers, of the first century. Then it will become a Faith you understand its practices and teachings.
TheEliteOne read my blog
Jul 21, 2008 | 9:31 AM

Mark: Where do you go to church? Maybe this can explain why you feel the need for change. You should try another Parish and find a Priest who knows how to give a sermon.
dlapointe34
Jul 21, 2008 | 11:33 AM

Mark, do you honestly believe that these women were ordained as priests? Of course they weren't, whether you or anyone else wants this. These women and the others who laid hands on them were playing pretend. Absolutely nothing happened to them. Unless a Bishop is in direct succession of the Apostles, nothing happens. Do you think if I came up and laid hands on you, you would now be a priest? What happened with these women is exactly the same thing... all pretend. Hardly newsworthy.

And this is another thing that really irritates me... Fox News reported that history was made in the Catholic Church when three women were ordained priests. This is about the worse, irresponsible reporting I've ever heard. It was a complete lie. History was NOT made, the three women were NOT ordained priests. It doesn't make it true just because they say so. It should have been reported that three women attempted to be ordained as Catholic priests, but the Church does not recognize their actions. Think about it.... why do you think it was done in a protestant church....? Because they are all really protestants, all of them.

Mark, I still challenge you to study your faith and learn why the Catholic Church teaches what she teaches. Not to try to prove your opinion, but to be open to the Truth (yes, with a capital 'T', as in the Way, the Truth, and the Life). Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the Truth.

I still challenge you to read the Catechism. Christ promised that the Church would be protected by the Holy Spirit to teach the Truth. Did you know that as Cathol
TheEliteOne read my blog
Jul 21, 2008 | 12:04 PM

Just one more comment. I had nuns for 12 years. Most of them were great teachers and very holy people. The nuns to me were as important to The Catholic Church as the Priests.

Different roles and I never see the two interchanging.
Chip read my blog view my photos
Jul 21, 2008 | 12:05 PM

I am not a Catholic. I have sat on my opinions here out of respect and to allow the Catholics their say, and to be educated by them.

As a non-Catholic, I see choice as a critical Christian value. I see rigid dogma as the last resort of the weak willed. My opinion.

All I'm seeing here is a group of Catholics who are acknowledging that maybe what was a past pracitve of their church is not relavent, not scripturally based. I think they both deserve and need a voice in it.

Finally specifically to TheEliteOne, your comments to Mark are offensive. I can only imagine how he feels. Had you done your homework, and read his blog, you'd see that he has answered each of your disrespectuful questions earlier.
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Mark_Ockerbloom

I anchor the Fox 25 News at 5, 10 & 11pm and want to hear from you. Feel free to drop me a line anytime.

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