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I agree that no girl "has" to serve mass to have a good relationship with God. But that is different from saying she should be PROHIBITED on account of her being a female from doing that function. And just how insecure were your little brothers? REAL men need not fear REAL women. REAL men do not quake in fear if REAL women are capable. It's a lesson they should ALL learn when boys are learning that girls do not have "cooties" and girls are learning that boys do not have "cooties." There is no "separate but equal" opportunity existing if girls can't be altar servers. I have no problem with "boy scouts" or any of that. Girls can have clubs and organizations too, that provide similar experiences. But if the laity is "equal" then the church should act like it!

My little brothers, who are now about a foot taller than me, weren't insecure, but they understand that they have duties by virtue of being male. Just as my sister and I have duties by virtue of being female. We are complimentary.

Nowhere does the church say that the duties should be the same.

Oh, and REAL women don't complain about "fairness". We accept gracefully and demurely.

The church used to have something for the girls: Sodality.

I was in it, and we girls did LOTS of things to serve the church.

But guess what? The pushy women Desdemona spoke of had most of them disbanded (I can think of only one still left, in rural Pennsylvania).

I remember not quite understanding what the problem was. They kept harping about how it was "demeaning" for the girls to be in a separate ministry and that the Sodality should be immediately disbanded and that all the young girls should be encouraged to become girl altar boys.

Well, it didn't happen immediately, but disband it they did, through attrition. They simply stopped asking the little girls if they wanted to join.

It took awhile, but soon enough, a new generation of little girls came about, and these little girls had never seen the Sodality's beautiful traditions, had never seen the processions we were so thrilled to join, had never seen the
white dresses and lace veils we got to wear to May Coronation and other celebrations...and they forgot about us. We became a fondly remembered but distant memory. Now, of course, most people don't even remember us at all.

So what do we have now? Well, we've got one or two altar boys and about a bazillion girl altar boys wearing those ridiculous Druid robes and flip-flops. The boys aren't interested in doing stuff with the girls -- girls infiltrate EVERYWHERE --there is NOWHERE where they can just be boys together.

Oh, and before you call me a milquetoast pantywaist, I can assure you that I could play ball with ANY of the boys -- and play it better than most. I spent a goodly portion of my day in jeans and sneakers. My mother forbade me from going outside the house if my hair wasn't firmly bound up by two long braids. I could shoot, hook my own worm, and clean my own fish. (And still do, BTW...)

But I could (and still can) sew, embroider, cook, and do all those things girls ought to be able to do.

So when you say that there isn't anything similar to altar boys for the girls, you need only look to those "pushy women" to find out WHY there isn't. This is their doing.

Regards,

PS: Being a redhead, pink is also one of my best colors, though I admit I didn't like it as a kid. Of course, both blue and green look good on me, too...