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God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

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A Catholic who follows Rome & the Magisterium. I'm against gay "marriage", abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, human cloning. Altar girls, Communion in the hand, Eucharistic Ministers and "Protestant" music in the Church doesn't bother me at all. A proud American retired submarine sailor. Our borders should be secured with a 10 ft. high fence topped by concertina wire with minefields out to 20 yards on both sides and an additional 10 yards filled with warning signs outside of that Let's get energy independent NOW! Back Israel to the max, stop appeasing followers of the Pedophile Prophet. Pro 2nd Amendment, pro death penalty, Repeal all hate crime legislation. Back the police unless you'd rather call a hippie when everything hits the fan. Get government out of dealing with education, childhood obesity and the enviornment. Stop using the military for sociological experiments and if we're in a war don't micromanage their every move. Kill your television, limit time on the computer and pick up a book. God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

Monday, August 22, 2011

"No Gurlz Allowed" sign on the altar?

Found this at www.azcentral.com via Pewsitter:

Phoenix diocese cathedral won't allow girl altar servers

Girls no longer will be allowed as altar servers during Mass at the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, SS. Simon and Jude.

The Rev. John Lankeit, rector of the cathedral, said he made the decision in hopes of promoting the priesthood for males and other religious vocations, such as becoming a nun, for females.

Made up primarily of fifth- through eighth-graders the altar-server corps in American churches has included girls since 1983 in many places. Girls and boys regularly serve together at churches throughout the Phoenix Catholic Diocese.

Bishops and pastors always have had the option of restricting the role to boys, but only one diocese, Lincoln, Neb., and scattered parishes have done so. Before 1983, when church law was revised, girls were not allowed to serve.

At SS. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix, the girls will be offered the role of sacristan, the person who prepares the church and the altar area before Mass.

Lankeit said 80 to 95 percent of priests served as altar boys, but he could not state the percentage of altar servers who go on to be priests.

He made the decision on his own, he said, even though the cathedral is recognized as the home church of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted and is used for some important church events.

"He leaves these decisions to me," Lankeit said.

SS. Simon and Jude is believed to be the first church in the diocese of Phoenix to ban girls from serving Mass, according to the diocese.

Altar servers have a direct role in the Catholic Eucharistic ceremony, assisting the priest, and are the only lay people directly involved throughout the entire service. Other lay people may serve as lectors or Eucharistic ministers, helping the priest distribute communion.

"The connection between serving at the altar and priesthood is historic," Lankeit said. "It is part of the differentiation between boys and girls, as Christ established the priesthood by choosing men. Serving at the altar is a specifically priestly act."

There appears to be little if any research connecting altar service to a later decision to enter the priesthood - or connecting other types of service for girls to religious life as a nun. Anecdotally, the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., is one of the stronger dioceses in developing new priests.

The Rev. Kieran Kleczewski, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Avondale and director of the diocese Office of Worship, does not expect other parishes following the cathedral's policy just because it is the cathedral.

"That's not the way things work in our diocese," he said. "The pastor has the authority over the parish's liturgical practices."

Kleczewski allows girls to serve Mass and has no plans to change.

Lankeit said there had been little reaction to his decision so far, but it was unlikely to sit well with many Catholics, especially those who have daughters who wish to serve.

"It is a shame on how the church continues to abuse the females," said Bob Lutz of Phoenix, a Catholic with three grown daughters. "Church attendance is shrinking now, and this adds more fuel to the fire on how females are treated as second-class citizens."

Carole Bartholomeuax of Phoenix, who attended St. Joan of Arc parish, said girls outnumbered boys as altar servers there.

"I believe Mary Magdalene set the example for women to be altar servers. I am so sorry to hear of this going backwards," she said, adding that she still loves her church, "warts and all."

But Michael Clancy, who heads the diocesan men's group, said girls never were supposed to be allowed to serve, based on his understanding of the rules of the Mass.

(End of story, my comments follow.)

That has got to be the most stupid thing I've come across all day.

8 comments:

ABNPOPPA said...

Subvet,

I kinda agree with you. Not being of the same faith I really shouldn't have an Opinion. Just seems to me there are more important things in the church to worry about than this.

Pops@ Conservative Outrage

Jessica said...

LOL Care to elaborate?

Erin Manning had a great post about this:
http://redcardigan.blogspot.com/2011/08/blaming-women.html

Subvet said...

Pops, don't worry about it. Common sense isn't restricted to any denomination. Yep, there are more important things to worry about.

Subvet said...

Ranter, I don't get how the lack of feminine company for one or two hours a week encourages priestly vocations. It makes zippo sense. I served on the altar prior to Vat II, believe me when I say it instilled no greater sanctity in my thinking. As a matter of fact while helping the priest serve Communion I used to take the opportunity to look down various girl's dresses. So much for holiness.

VSO said...

Because SV they aint supposed to be there in the first place. If ANYONE can be there then it isn't special. Show me where St. Paul or anyone else used girls and I'll back down.

Besides we Orthodox will NEVER have women serving behind the Iconostasis and if your Church is truly serious about restablishing communion then the girls and other "Spirit of Vatican 2" stuff has to go. I expect however it they wont.

Subvet said...

VSO, show me where it specifically states girls are not allowed on the altar. If we're talking about tradition, at one time only grown men would be acolytes, maybe we should go back to that?

If the Orthodox Church insists on returning to a "stag" altar I suspect you're right, we'll never see a reunion. So be it.

Most Rev. Gregori said...

Subvet, In the Orthodox Church, our Alter Servers are all boys. Females are never allowed in the sanctuary during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. This has nothing to do with being sexist, but has everything to do with maintaining Tradition. In some Orthodox churches, the acolyte (alter server)is actually are minor order to which one is ordained to. These minor orders include:
acolyte,
reader,
lector,
sub-deacon.

Females can, in some Orthodox Jurisdictions, can be ordained a deaconess, but their function is NOT the same as a male deacon, nor can they be ordained any higher.

Subvet said...

MRG, the idea of it being driven by Tradition is great. Unfortunately it's almost never phrased in those terms in the RC Church. Thats a failing on our part and one that should be addressed not just concerning the topic of altar servers but a whole slew of others.

And I like the idea of ordaining the servers. THAT would emphasize the importance of the task.

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