Parents For A Just Priesthood

By John Perito, M.D.

If you want peace work for justice! This expression of Pope Paul VI has become so common that it is almost an axiom. It appears in many different places and prompts people to think deeper. There can be no peace without justice because injustice will keep everyone who experiences it in a state of agitation. When basic needs—that are the rights of humans based on their dignity, and, I might add, their baptism—are not met, there will be continued unrest as long as the imbalance exists. Once the injustice is corrected, peace will follow.

Pope Benedict XVI takes the issue of peace and justice to a new level in his recent encyclical, “God is Love.” He stresses that the followers of Christ are not only bound to justice but to love. In fact, he stresses that we are compelled to love by the overwhelming example of God’s love and Christ’s love. After reading this moving encyclical, I cannot imagine how would it ever be possible for women to be denied a share in helping to lead at Christ’s banquet of love, and creating a priesthood to see to it being continued in the Eucharist.

Sexism will continue in this country and in the world until parents decide within themselves that it must come to an end and start to believe that their sons and daughters be regarded as equals, treated as equals, and educated as equals. Parents are the most powerful educators and what is laid down at the formative stages of a person’s life will be stronger than anything coming later.

When it comes to the priesthood parents need to be convinced within themselves that the hierarchy should not ordain their sons unless they are also willing to ordain their daughters. I am speaking of an internal attitudinal conviction that will permeate their thoughts and behaviors to be clearly communicated to their children.

The arguments for and against ordaining women on both sides have persisted for several decades without any change in the official teaching. Some brave women have been ordained with a rapidly ensuing excommunication, obviously meant not only to punish, but also to discourage any further attempts.

One solution to this problem rests with Catholic parents. The priesthood must and will continue. But it can’t continue without people to be ordained. Bishops have the power to ordain priests, but parents have the power to bring priests into the world. So in a sense there would be no priesthood without parents. No one seriously questions the effect of the education process upon children and the attitudes that are instilled in the home. Heretofore, parents have encouraged their sons to become priests. In fact it has always been perceived as a great honor to have a priest in the family and it certainly is, but it is not the only issue. Now it might be time for parents and potential parents to discourage their sons from pursuing the priesthood as long as their daughters are excluded. The potential power that parents have here is extraordinary.

It is crucial also to see this as a necessary movement for the human race. Men will learn more respect for women when their parents are teaching it. This essential respect will begin to permeate society more as it has already been doing with the women’s movement. So this is not just about priesthood, it is about human equality.

To argue that we need women priests because of the priest shortage is rather useless and really untrue. If the hierarchy wanted to correct the shortage, they could do so simply by changing the celibacy rule. There are plenty of priests already ordained that could immediately fill in and shortly there would be more that would willingly become ordained if they did not have to be celibate.

To argue that we need women priests because the human rights of women need to be more thoroughly established, and that the church has a serious obligation to be leading in that fight is more to the point.

The church, in its current practice of only ordaining men, sees the maleness of Christ as more important than the person of Christ whose virtues can be imitated by persons regardless of gender. Consider just the compassion of Christ that was so evident at every turn. Can anyone really believe that maleness is more important than just this single virtue without even considering the many other virtues He possessed? Or can any non-prejudicial person really believe that Christ did not want women equal to men in sharing in His priesthood? Considering that a woman was the first to whom he appeared after his resurrection says a great deal about how he regarded them, not to mention the innumerable occasions in Scripture where he showed the highest regard for women.

The arguments for excluding women from the priesthood like so many arguments regarding sexual ethics are simply not convincing. What needs to be emphasized now is that the hierarchy is not listening to the sensus fidelium. They certainly have the job to teach, but what is even more important is that they appreciate that the church is the People of God, and that the Spirit is speaking through the people. Many presently feel that there is such an injustice regarding women’s ordination, but are either afraid to speak out or think that they have no way of communicating their opinions.

The job of the priest is to bring Christ into this world through their words and actions. A woman brought Christ into this world. Many consider the first priest to have been Jesus’ own mother—this was her body and her blood.

If parents are convinced that their daughters have just as much of a right to ordination as their sons, then they need to look at their role in educating their children. It is imperative that parents take a leading role in the education of their children that there is not a specialness of males. The derivatives of this attitude are enormous. Parents could immediately have an increase in their childrens’ sense of self-esteem because of the mutual respect they give to each other in being clear about equality. Families would benefit by the parental equality and abusive practices of women within the marriage could be more readily challenged. Then, the admission of women to the priesthood, not only would increase the number of priests but the beautiful gifts possessed by women will also benefit the priesthood in myriad ways.

How can the church hierarchy with any sense good conscience and integrity fail to take a leading role in this outrageous injustice against women and fight for their equality? Unfortunately they can and will because of their stubborn conviction of the correctness of their unconvincing arguments. Therefore it will be up to parents to take that leadership role and educate their children about the intrinsic inequality in the priesthood as it exists today. Their sons should be taught that they too, have a responsibility to not join in the ranks as long as their sisters are not offered the same privilege. They can be educated to see that they too carry some responsibility to help correct this discriminatory practice. This education for equality regarding the priesthood will no doubt carry over to fighting for equality in other areas as well.

WOC would like to establish an international dialogue among parents to discuss the points being made about the status of women in the world and in the Catholic Church. Of course opposing opinions would be welcome, but the essential thing is that the dialogue and education take place. It is hoped that many parents would be willing to sign on in a web site and declare that they support this notion of educating women about the power that parents have to make a profound dent in the continued sexism of women in our world. Parents indeed have the power to make an enormous impact on sexism, but it must come from a united front. Parents can most certainly help young women take their proper place in the world, the human race, and most of all, the Family of God.

John Perito, M.D., a board certified psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, is the author of “Contemporary Catholic Sexuality: What is Taught and What is Practiced.” Dr. Perito is a parent of two and grandfather of four. He spent four years as a professor and consultant at the Christian Institute for the Study of Human Sexuality. For more information, visit www.johnperitomd.com.