Word: priesthoods
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...parishioners, to be sure, express mild disagreement with positions that John Paul, hewing to church doctrine, has emphasized during his 17 years as Pontiff. The ban on women in the priesthood prompts a brief debate. Joseph Lewis, 64, a retired Westinghouse engineer and chair of the St. Joseph parish council, suggests that the omission of women from the ranks of the Apostles may have been historical rather than theological: "You've got to put yourself back to A.D. 25 to interpret the Jewish religion and the Roman Empire. Could you picture Christ choosing women Apostles? There's a different frame...
...member of the parish council, isn't buying this historical relativism: "Christ is God, and he knew what would happen in the future." Kevin Coyle, 35, a student at nearby Towson State University, disagrees with Sally's argument that women were not intended by Christ for the priesthood: "I look at other faiths and think, Why is the Roman Catholic Church different? I support women's rights. If women can hold other jobs and are intelligent and capable, why hold them back...
...well by scandal? The spate of news accounts in recent years about priests accused of sexually molesting children is only the most disturbing sign that something must be seriously wrong within the U.S. church. There is another, with potential long-range consequences: the minuscule numbers of men entering the priesthood and women entering religious congregations, suggesting an inevitable course of institutional decline. Or, as Francis Pugh of St. Joe's puts it, "we have a vocations crisis. Times have changed. We're going to have to do something...
...some doubt the celibacy rule is responsible for the decline in the priesthood. It was never an easy cross to bear, they point out. Why should it be harder now than it has been throughout much of the church's 2,000-year history? "People say the sexual revolution has made sex more attractive for young men," Greeley observes. "I say, Give me a break...
...Pope apologized for the Church's past treatment. The Pope wrote that there is "anurgent need to achieve real equalityin every area," calling for equal pay, fairness in career advancements andcivil equality.But the Church is not a democracy, John Paul says, and there is still no room in the priesthood for women. The letter, Elson notes, is "entirely consistent with his theme of the dignity of human life. He has expanded his horizons to emphasize the role of women outside marriage. Butthe weight of traditionis too much for John Paul to ever advocate ordaining women priests...