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To: livius

If altar service is seen only in the context of preparation for service in the priesthood, then perhaps you might have point. From the point of view of a lay person, I never had any trouble with altar girls or female lay readers or female EMs. Of course our most recent memories are that of the horrendous homosexual/pedophile priest scandal which nearly destroyed the Church. And many altar boys were their victims. When you consider the duties of altar service and watch them in action, I personally see no reason why females should be excluded. It’s the same as being a lay reader or an EM IMHO.


44 posted on 01/28/2015 12:40:29 PM PST by Trapped Behind Enemy Lines
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To: Trapped Behind Enemy Lines

It’s not the same, and, btw, I think there shouldn’t be “EMs” of either sex unless you’re at a huge service where the priests can’t possibly give communion.

Having grown in up in the 50s-60s, when we all came down the aisle, knelt briefly at the altar rail, and then moved on, I know that even two priests could very efficiently give Communion to a huge group - and in those days, the churches were full at every mass. But nowadays, most priests consider themselves put upon if they have to do more than one or two masses on a Sunday, and they never come out to assist the other celebrant if there happen to be more than one of them assigned to the same parish.

What we’re looking at is not the fault of the laity, but the fault of the politically correct hierarchy, who wanted to replace the lower clergy with lay people and made the lower clergy’s lives so unimportant and meaningless that most of them left.


114 posted on 01/28/2015 4:23:29 PM PST by livius
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