I am the mother of two intelligent, grown daughters. Both have doctorate degrees, are married, and are raising children. Neither of my daughters are Catholic anymore. They have found the highly patriarchal structure and mindset in the Catholic Church irrelevant and actually dishonoring of their womanhood. The Church has tried to define them and their gender in very limiting and short-sighted ways which leaves them no opportunity to bring forward all their individual charisms. One daughter has found another Christian church where she feels accepted as her full self and in which she can raise her children with integrity. My other daughter has left organized religion altogether.
The People Speak Out
Local voices connecting globally
This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good. (Pope Francis) |
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Canon Law 212 calls upon the laity to speak up:2 - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.§3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons. |
By defining women with the “Complimentarity Feminism” model, many women who don’t hold that limiting view feel alienated. If the Catholic Church treated women as equals and allowed them to define themselves, and if women were welcomed into all areas of ministry including priesthood and Church governance, my daughters would still be Catholic to this day. As it now stands, not only have we lost my daughters but we have also lost their children…and their children. This deeply saddens me. Jesus treated women equally and accepted them in the fullness of who they are. Let our Church do the same as Jesus!
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