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To: Dominick

Up until around 20 years ago, many priests found it difficult to explain why women were allowed to distribute the body and blood of Christ, but young women (i.e., girls) were excluded from being servers and handing the priest cruets filled with water and wine. Many priests today are likewise having a hard time explaining why Curia officials and the pope are insisting that extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, many of whom are women, can distribute the body and blood of Christ, but are unworthy of cleaning the chalices. If priests believed this regulation made theological sense, they would support the revised General Instruction of the Roman Missal 2000 that allows only men (i.e., priests, deacons and instituted acolytes) to purify sacred vessels after Mass. However, most priests cannot rationally explain why women are worthy of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ, but, at the same time, are excluded from helping the priest “do the dishes.” Instead of addressing the fact that the median age of priests in the U.S. is over 60 and there are more and more parishes without a resident priest, we have men in Curia offices publishing decrees reminiscent of the Pharisees who were preoccupied about “the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.” (Mark 7:4) Why do you think some Curia officials want only men to cleanse the chalices? To what degree are women excluded from playing an important role in the Church based upon discriminatory theological formulations that “teach as doctrines the precepts of men”? (Mark 7:7)


11 posted on 11/11/2006 10:24:51 PM PST by Tommaso
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To: Tommaso
You joined FR to post that? I smell ozone....
13 posted on 11/11/2006 10:32:57 PM PST by Pyro7480 ("Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world." - Pope Blessed Pius IX)
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To: Tommaso

I can't find coherent theological reasons for them to allow Altar girls, and to permit EEM of either sex.

They do have the right, as God has given them the authority.

I don't understand why you think it is important to make some point about women serving, but there are myriad other ways for women to serve besides at Mass.


16 posted on 11/12/2006 8:03:13 AM PST by Dominick ("Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - JP II)
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