Today the Vatican released important information about clergy sex abuse and decided at the same time to address other grave delicts most notably the ordination and attempted ordination of women. This is indeed a grave matter before the Church and Archbishop Wuerl does a masterful job in the article below:
US Bishops Welcome Vatican Statement on Gravity of Attempted Women's 'Ordination'
7/16/2010
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)
Archbishop Wuerl noted that all Catholics are called to Christian service
The seven sacraments are an integral and identifying part of the Catholic Church and the faith life of each Catholic. To feign any sacrament would be egregious. The Catholic Church through its long and constant teaching holds that ordination has been, from the beginning, reserved to men, a fact which cannot be changed despite changing times.
Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl, Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine, said the clarification was "a welcome statement."
WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - Archbishop Donald Wuerl of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine welcomed the Vatican's recent clarification on the canonical penalties for the attempted ordination of women, saying the action shows "the seriousness with which it holds offenses against the Sacrament of Holy Orders."
In a July 15 statement the Vatican said that the attempted ordination of women was a "grave delict," a Church crime that is always referred to the Holy See for adjudication.
Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl, Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine, said the clarification was "a welcome statement."
"The seven sacraments are an integral and identifying part of the Catholic Church and the faith life of each Catholic," he commented. "To feign any sacrament would be egregious. The Catholic Church through its long and constant teaching holds that ordination has been, from the beginning, reserved to men, a fact which cannot be changed despite changing times."
Archbishop Wuerl noted that all Catholics are called to "Christian service."
Women have responded to this call with "extraordinary generosity" and have had an "essential role" in the life of the Church. They now serve in "Church leadership positions at all levels," he commented, reporting that they hold nearly half of diocesan administrative and professional positions, about 25 percent of the top diocesan positions, and make up about 80 percent of lay parish ministers.
"The Church's gratitude to women cannot be stated strongly enough. Women offer unique insight, creative abilities and unstinting generosity at the very heart of the Catholic Church," Archbishop Wuerl continued.
Pope John Paul II, in his 1994 apostolic letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis," reaffirmed that the Catholic Church has no authority to ordain women. The issue was also addressed by the U.S. bishops in their 1998 pastoral response.
Hello Mike,
ReplyDeletePretty mind boggling that they'd do this now? I am the proverbial horse's mouth and I am now gifting you with the Vatican's worst nightmare, now realized.
The Vatican is being set up for a much bigger fall than most are expecting. Some amazingly damaging information about pivotal religious assertions is about to become widely available and understood. This child abuse scandal is merely proof of their absolute lack of veracity, before the real controversy is unsealed. Here's an early peak for parties like yourself, who are more likely to make good use of the information.
Finishing the Mysteries of Gods and Symbols
Peace and Wisdom,
Seven
I'm a lay Catholic woman and I welcome the Vatican statement. To pray and meet with Mary in the rosary is to understand woman fully human, fully alive. Mary is a wonderful example in the beauty of woman and the meaning of woman. A timely statement to be sure!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally I very much enjoyed your spirit filled post (they all are) on your prison ministry.