The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Fr Stephen Wang, a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster who is the Dean of Studies at Allen Hall Seminary, and blogs at Bridges and Tangents , has written a good piece about Women and the Priesthood . This is a difficult subject to write on because although the teaching of the Church is clear, the widespread confusion in our society over gender is a relatively recent phenomenon and reflection on the underlying reason for Christ's ordaining only men is in its infancy. Therefore I think that Fr Wang has done the right thing in making it clear that Pope John Paul said that he did not have the authority to change this teaching, and to address straightforwardly the question of "cultural conditioning" which is one of the most popular arguments against Catholic teaching. For Catholics, it is also important to understand also that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a response concerning the status of this teaching. Since the text is not at the Vatican web...

The book launch for "English Catholic Heroines" the other evening was a great opportunity to catch up with some friends, as well as being a well-deserved promotion for the new book which consists of 22 short lives of women who can certainly qualify as Catholic, and can reasonably be listed as both heroines and English (the introduction discusses the criteria.) I have been reading some of the chapters, including a very good piece by Fr Anthony Conlon on Queen Mary Tudor, and an outstanding opening chapter by Sr Etheldreda Hession OSB on Sts Hilda and Etheldreda. Many of the contributors are "linkable" so here are some examples. The Editor is Auntie Joanna (who also wrote the chapters on Caroline Chisolm and Elinor Brent-Dyer.) Other contributors include Fiorella Nash (Elizabeth Cellier), Mac McLernon (St Anne Line), Simon Caldwell (M Riccarda Hambrough) of the Catholic Herald , Leonie Caldecott (Caryll Houselander) of Second Spring , Dora Nash (Frences Wootten), a...

Fiorella Nash has started her own blog " Monstrous Regiment of Women ". I say "her own blog" because I think that she has been helping behind the scenes with more than one blog already. Fiorella is a sterling pro-life campaigner, mother of two, and a published author. (You can buy her novels from the sidebar of her blog.) The picture shows her delivering a copy of SPUC's report Bias and the BBC to Broadcasting House. (See: BBC helped to cover up child molester .) For various reasons, them I think we can expect some good writing at this blog. (The "monstrous regiment of women" is a reference to the title of a work by John Knox: "The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women". As a militant Protestant, he was particularly worried about Mary Queen of Scots and Mary Tudor, but his tirade against women in power was rather muted by the accession of Queen Elizabeth I. On his return from exile, Knox had to slope off to Scotla...

The Mulier Fortis has been moved by the photos posted by the Curt Jester of the recent attempted ordination of women and has decided that she wishes to become a Womynpriest. (Cf. I have seen the error of my ways ) However, she wishes to be a traddy Womynpriest and this presents her with a number of dilemmas (e.g. whether the mantilla should be removed when being ordained to the Minor Order of exorcist and whether it is permissible to knit when assisting in choir.) Do have a look at the combox over there which is already replete with helpful suggestions involving hair, lipstick and the crown. Fr Steven Fisher has raised a most helpful point in referring to 1 Corinthians 14.34 where St Paul says that " the women should keep silence in the churches." This is of course much more effectively achieved in the traditional liturgy than in the Novus Ordo . It could be a point of ecumenical dialogue to suggest to our excommunicated and/or interdicted sisters that celebrating the usus...

Two new documents out from the Vatican while I was away in Lourdes. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has issued an instruction: The Service of Authority and Obedience (subtitled " Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram " - I shall seek your face, O Lord: Ps 26.8) This lengthy document looks at the duties of those in authority and particularly mentions the duty to think with the Church. In this context, it quotes Pope Benedict's homily during the Chrism Mass earlier this year: “Our obedience is a believing with the Church, a thinking and speaking with the Church, serving through her. What Jesus predicted to Peter also always applies: ‘You will be taken where you do not want to go'. This letting oneself be guided where one does not want to be led is an essential element of our serving and precisely that which makes us free” One odd feature of this document is that it speaks always of the "Reign of God" and never of th...

"The Human Person" series comprises three books, one on the Theology of the Body, one on Manhood and a new book, just published, on "The Genius of Womanhood". It is written by Karen Doyle, the Australian Catholic author and co-founder of Choicez Media . Here's a video where Karen introduces the book:

For the past five years, Mulier Fortis has organised a group of women and girls to hand out holy cards to the priests processing into St George's Cathedral on Maundy Thursday for the Chrism Mass, to thank the priests for their work and assure them of the prayers of women from the diocese. There used to be a group of feminists protesting outside in favour of the ordination of women and I know that many of my colleagues were very pleased to see such a " counter demo " from women - although as Mac points out, it is not really a demo, just an expression of support for priests. The prayer cards for this year include text from the Holy Father's address to the Roman Major Seminary in February this year and the picture is the one of Our Lady of Trust which the Holy Father referred to in his address. They will be meeting outside the Cathedral at 10.45am. The Mass starts at 11.15am. Gathering afterwards in the Three Stags pub from about 1.15pm.

This event is held each year and it would be good if the Catholic blogosphere were involved in submitting nominations. You are warmly invited to nominate some one as a Catholic Woman of the Year for 2008. The organisers of the 40th Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon are looking for “unsung heroines” - women who are good neighbours and active in the community, care for the sick and housebound, work to pass on the Catholic Faith to the next generation, raise funds for charity, speak up for moral truths and family values, or in some other way serve God and the Church. Anyone can be nominated – all that is necessary is to write a letter to the Chairman, 22 Milton Rd WARE Herts SG12 0PZ or email mijamajoje@ntlworld.com with a few paragraphs about the person you are nominating. Make sure you give her full name and also your own full name and address. Nominations close on April 30th. The Luncheon – a special one for this 40th anniversary - will be held on Friday October 10th in London a...

My Firefox homepage is a personalised iGoogle page with useful bits and pieces. Among them are the Daily Telegraph and Google News feeds - and a feed from Reuters "oddly enough" section. This has items like " Man forgets car at gas station ", " Cow plunges off cliff onto moving minivan ", you know the sort of thing. Yesterday's selection had " Bishop backs brothel regulation " with the story that Bishop Hollis of Portsmouth has supported the local branch of the Women's Institute in calling for the licensing and regulation of brothels. It was perhaps unfair of Reuters to list it with randomly falling cows and absent-minded drivers since Bishop Hollis was offering a serious and well-intentioned argument. However, it is one with which I respectfully but strongly disagree. The legalisation of an evil seldom has the hoped-for consequences and inevitably leads to a greater social acceptance of the particular evil that is legalised. Bishop Holli...

(As in "Eats Shoots and Leaves", the punctuation of the title is important.) Three books arrived the other day from Family Publications. "Built on Love" is the joint autobiography of Valerie and Denis Riches, the Founders of Family and Youth Concern. I have known Valerie and Denis for many years. They both exemplify courtesy and good manners and it is extraordinary to think of the vitriol that these two kind people have suffered over the years. They both became Catholics in 1982 and continued their work with the support of their Catholic faith. Sr Sara Butler wrote her book "The Catholic Priesthood and Women" largely at the request of seminarians. It will certainly find its way onto the bibliography for my course in Sacramental Theology. At 112 pages, it is a brief and well-structured summary of the Church's teaching, objections to that teaching, and the fundamental reasons for the teaching. Another excellent title from Hillenbrand Books . Fr Nicholas ...

John Allen's column this week is titled Lay ecclesial ministry and the feminization of the church . He quotes statistics that bear out something I have mentioned before: For a church long perceived as bastion of male privilege, it's striking that these new lay professional roles are held disproportionately by women. As of 2005, roughly 80 percent of lay ecclesial ministers in the United States were women. I imagine the numbers would be roughly similar in England. One of the key problems in my opinion is that of the promotion of lay ministry as an answer to all our problems. To quote Christifideles Laici , In the same Synod Assembly, however, a critical judgment was voiced along with these positive elements, about a too-indiscriminate use of the word "ministry", the confusion and the equating of the common priesthood and the ministerial priesthood, the lack of observance of ecclesiastical laws and norms, the arbitrary interpretation of the concept of "supply"...

Another good organisation is the Association of Catholic Women which also has a quarterly publication, the ACW Review. A quote from the website: As Catholic women we are aware of the need for positive and practical action in the service of the Church. We give our glad assent to the teachings of the Church and rejoice in the heritage which we have been given.