Grace Under Pressure: The Roles of Women—Then and Now—in the Catholic Church
Contents:
Several writers discuss their struggles with and reconciliation to church teachings. The book details the everyday life of Catholic women as well as opportunities and advantages gained by them over the years.
Catholic News Service
Whereas both books mentioned above view the term "feminism" as referring to a movement that negatively influenced women to become either anti-masculine or over-masculinized, Barbara O'Reilly, author of "Grace Under Pressure," views Jesus as being a feminist -- meaning that he treated women as equals in respect to individuality, intelligence, faith and dignity, regardless of social customs of the time.
The focus of her book is how Jesus treated women and how that should affect them today. O'Reilly begins by showing that women were influential in the early church community and were an integral part of "the praise ministry. Deaconesses from apostolic times were initiated by the laying on of hands. Abbesses held authority similar to bishops, with the exception of ordination. Women mystics through the ages were not only influential in their day, but are being rediscovered as rich spiritual resources today.
Most violations occurred in the privacy of the bedroom, so the only witnesses to the sin were the guilty parties themselves, and they did not usually confess to such crimes. Catholic theology and doctrine Gender and Catholicism. The medieval Catholic Church regulated sex and all matters relating to sex very carefully, and often imposed harsh penances to punish wrong doers. Index Outline Lists of Catholics. Adultery called for anywhere from 1 year to 15 years, depending on the confessors judgment of the sin. Adultery was broken up into various categories by the Statutes of Angers:
However, O'Reilly points out, after the 12th century, structures of domination spread. The Pauline doctrine that was believed to be part of the early baptismal formula was eclipsed: Tertullian taught that women are "the gate of death"; Clement of Alexandria thought women should be filled with shame for being female; Thomas Aquinas called women misfits; and Augustine believed that only men were made in God's image. It is no wonder, suggests O'Reilly, that as a result of society at large and of supposed "Christian" teachings that women have had minor, subordinate positions in the church.
Although opportunities are now available to women in ministry, they are to this day excluded from sacramental roles and policy decisions. O'Reilly states that Jesus' concern for and treatment of women as equals and his gifts of freedom in the risen life have been subverted. Perhaps the church's failure through time to implement the vision of the passage from Galatians in its own institution contributed to the subordination of women in its history.
The book shows how women's roles have changed from scriptural days to the present. However, the author also shows remarkable accomplishments of Catholic women and offers hope. God is not static. The church shouldn't be either," concludes the author. Servant Books Cincinnati, The Catholic Church teaches that human life and human sexuality are inseparable.
The Church considers the expression of love between husband and wife to be an elevated form of human activity, joining as it does, husband and wife in complete mutual self-giving, and opening their relationship to new life. The Church teaches that sexual intercourse has a purpose; and that outside marriage it is contrary to its purpose. Church teaching on the sixth commandment includes a discussion on chastity.
The Catechism calls it a "moral virtue The Catechism lists the following "offenses against chastity" [64] in increasing order of gravity according to Kreeft: Spousal love, according to Church teaching, is meant to achieve an unbroken, twofold end: Church teaching on the marital state requires spousal acceptance of each other's failures and faults and the recognition that the "call to holiness in marriage" is one that requires a process of spiritual growth and conversion that can last throughout life.
Throughout Church history, various Catholic thinkers have offered differing opinions on sexual pleasure. Some saw it as sinful, while others disagreed.
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The existence of artificial methods of birth control predates Christianity; the Catholic Church as well as all Christian denominations condemned artificial methods of birth control throughout their respective histories. This began to change in the 20th century when the Church of England became the first to accept the practice in The papal encyclical Humanae vitae is a reaffirmation of the Catholic Church's traditional view of marriage and marital relations and a continued condemnation of artificial birth control.
Authors see influence of feminism on church from different perspectives
The Church encourages large families and sees this as a blessing. It also recognizes that responsible parenthood sometimes calls for reasonable spacing or limiting of births and thus considers natural family planning as morally acceptable but rejects all methods of artificial contraception. Rejecting Church support for natural family planning as a viable form of birth control, some Church members and non-members criticize Church teachings that oppose artificial birth control as contributing to overpopulation , and poverty.
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The Church maintains that in countries like Kenya and Uganda, where behavioral changes are encouraged alongside condom use, greater progress in controlling the disease has been made than in those countries solely promoting condoms. In the Catholic Church, only men may become ordained clergy through the sacrament of Holy Orders , as bishops , priests or deacons. The Church practice of celibacy is based on Jesus ' example and his teaching as given in Matthew Paul, who spoke of the advantages celibacy allowed a man in serving the Lord. It is considered a kind of spiritual marriage with Christ, a concept further popularized by the early Christian theologian Origen.
Clerical celibacy began to be demanded in the 4th century, including papal decretals beginning with Pope Siricius. The Catholic view is that since the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus were all male, only men may be ordained in the Catholic Church.
Official Church teaching considers women and men to be equal, different, and "complementary". Marian devotion has been a central theme of Catholic art and motherhood and family are given a sacred status in church teachings. Conversely, the role of Eve in the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden affected the development of a Western notion of woman as "temptress". Unusually for his epoch, Jesus preached to men and women alike.
Early church father Saint Paul preached of equality of the sexes through Jesus, but appears to have also set limits as to a woman's role in the church.
Based on a reading of the Gospels that Christ only selected male Apostles , the church does not ordain women to the priesthood see above. Nevertheless, throughout history, women have achieved significant influence in the running of Catholic institutions - particularly in hospitals and schooling, through religious orders of nuns or sisters like the Benedictines , Dominicans , Loreto Sisters , Sisters of Mercy , Little Sisters of the Poor , Josephites , and Missionaries of Charity. Spiritual affection has long been documented in various lives of the saints.
Biographies of Thomas Aquinas , Teresa of Avila , Martin de Porres , Joseph of Cupertino and many others include episodes of spiritual affection witnessed both by others who knew the saint or confessed by the saints themselves in their own writings. On the days this lasted I went about as though stupefied.
I desired neither to see nor to speak, but to clasp my suffering close to me, for to me it was greater glory than all creation. Sometimes it happened—when the Lord desired—that these raptures were so great that even though I was among people I couldn't resist them; to my deep affliction they began to made public. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Peter's Basilica , Vatican City. Trinity Father Son Holy Spirit. Natural law Catholic ethics Personalism Social teaching Philosophers.
Authors see influence of feminism on church from different perspectives
Liturgy Mass Divine Office Liturgical year. Prayer Devotions Bible Biblical canon. Gallican Ambrosian Braga Mozarabic. Chaldean East Syriac Syro-Malabar. This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. Catholic teachings on sexual morality. Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women. Catholic Church and women. Only priests and bishops may celebrate the Eucharist and administer the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick. They and deacons may preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages and conduct funeral services.
Men with transitory homosexual leanings may be ordained deacons following three years of prayer and chastity, but homosexual men who are sexually active, or those who have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies cannot be ordained. Emotional and sexual fidelity are essential to the commitment made in the marriage covenant.
God established marriage as a reflection of his fidelity to us. This edict also outlawed slavery of Indians in any form Archived from the original on 28 September Retrieved 27 December Retrieved 13 May Retrieved 8 April Retrieved 21 February Retrieved 15 August Retrieved 9 March United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Retrieved 6 April The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April Retrieved 12 September Archived from the original on 21 February Retrieved 8 February Yet Luke makes clear—and the other Gospels also show this in all sorts of ways—that 'many' women belonged to the more intimate community of believers and that their faith-filled following of Jesus was an essential element of that community, as would be vividly illustrated at the foot of the Cross and the Resurrection. Retrieved 17 March The Book of Her Life.
Translated with notes by Kieran Kavanaugh O. Index Outline Lists of Catholics. Science Evolution Separation of church and state Relations Politics. Latin Church Eastern Catholic Churches: Criticism of the Catholic Church Anti-Catholicism.
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