Anger at Vatican plan to ban altar girls

Gaurdian (UK) ^ | 24 September 2003 | John Hooper

[Lorianne]

This seems to be a suicidal religion.

[thinktwice]

Islam, practicing something akin to the inquisition, is the religion that's really looking bad these days.

[Lorianne]

I can't argue with that.

[Windcatcher]

Unbelievable. We complain about feminazis, about leftists claiming our young girls and twisting them, and they want to ban something that keeps at least some of them grounded? Are they insane?

I was raised Catholic, and this makes my blood boil.

[nickcarraway]

Why is it a suicidal religion?

[ellery]

If it's true that the Pope backs such measures, I wonder what the reasoning is? Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Will conservatism now sweep throughout the Church?

[wideawake]

The reasoning is twofold:

(1) The introduction of altar girls began as an act of disobedience.

(2) Traditionally, the acolytate is the early training ground for priests. The introduction of girls, who cannot be priests, interferes with recruitment for the priestly ministry.

[beelzepug]

This Vatican topic went to 800 posts yesterday. I hope it doesn't today - my eyes have still not recovered.as

[wideawake]

This seems to be a suicidal religion.

I'm sure that you, in your profound ignorance, believe that.

Many have thought so in the past.

Many will think so long after you're gone.

And long after you're gone, the Mass will still be celebrated every day by more than a billion Catholics.

[B Knotts]

Because the allowance to use altar girls was granted only to the bishops to be used only in extraordinary cases, but has unsurprisingly been abused, much like extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.

[mbraynard]

The anti-Church types are just using this as a tool to attack the Church, including the anti-Catholic types on FR. It's a draft that two people put together and it is, indeed, a draft.

Besides, the Church isn't a democracy, it has always offered sound reasoning behind all of it's decisions, and if someone doesn't like it enough to leave, please don't let the door hit you on the ass as I play my imaginary violin.

[stanz]

In think the Catholic church has far more serious problems to address rather than worrying about little girls or hand-clapping.

[wideawake]

Unbelievable. We complain about feminazis, about leftists claiming our young girls and twisting them, and they want to ban something that keeps at least some of them grounded?

It does not keep young women orthodox.

The introduction of altar girls was engineered by the women's ordination movement, which is a radical feminist movement.

I was raised Catholic, and this makes my blood boil.

This means that you were poorly catechized.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Not being a member of your church, there won't be a need for me to leave. I just wonder if this will reinforce more conservativism amongst the parishoners, a return to their Christian roots. That is always a worthy endeavor, in my opinion.

[Lorianne]

They don't have enough priests and they are working very hard to alienate their largest group of active members, women.

[Petronski]

Would you care to explain that, or should we assume it's been retracted?

[RosieCotton]

Will conservatism now sweep throughout the Church?

LOL! Oh the horror, the HORror!

Here's hoping...

[wideawake]

In think the Catholic church has far more serious problems to address rather than worrying about little girls or hand-clapping.

The problems are all of a piece.

There is an old theological principle called lex orandi, lex credendi, which essentially means that the way in which you worship God reflects the way you think about God.

Clapping hands to congratulate creatures at a time specifically reserved for reverent song or silent prayer to God implies that creatures deserve more attention than God in His own house.

Likewise, a disregard for the complementarity inherent in God's creation reflects a disregard for God's ordering of nature and of ordering the Church.