This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like. I'll serve up more next Friday... 

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica - "The first basilica on the site was built in the fourth century when the Roman Emperor Constantine donated land he had received from the wealthy Lateran family."

Indulgences Are a Gift From the Church - "This is a good topic to consider during November, the month dedicated to the holy souls in purgatory."

What Do Catholics Really Believe About Purgatory? -  "Purgatory might be one of the most misunderstood beliefs held by some Christians.  In this blog I am briefly going to cover the biblical foundation for purgatory, what purgatory is, and the history of purgatory in the Catholic Church."

OK, the election is over, so this will be the last time that political stuff overwhelms the Friday news round-up. Bear with me. Here we go...

Post-Election Catholic Punditry and Analysis Roundup - "A look at the postmortems of the presidential election results from the thoughtful, rhetorical and informative." [A snapshot of what was being said immediately after the election.]

Pope Congratulates President Obama, Stresses Freedom and Justice; See also: UCSSB congratulates Obama - [Nice formality... but I just ain't feelin' it.]

We Are in Enemy Territory - "Defending the unborn and defending traditional marriage are things I'm glad to fight for. And when I die I think I'll feel glad of my efforts. Others can defend how they thought preventing Republicans from slowing the rate of the growth of the budget 2% outweighed all the other issues."

Difficult Days Ahead for the Church? - "The American people and process have spoken. But a few remarks based on the election results, things I think of as undeniable facts for the Church, though you are free to offer any rebuttals."

Shake Off the Election, Let’s Get Back to Stopping Abortion -  "Too many of our fellow citizens are woefully ignorant of what it means to be truly human: to reflect the image and likeness of God."

Here's the lesson from the election, folks! - "Whether marriage is redefined now or later, whether our religious freedom is trampled now or in 10 years, these are not at risk because politicians are getting bolder, they are at risk because our convictions are getting colder."

Victory Only Comes Through the Cross - "An election like yesterday’s can cause a great deal of discouragement. The results were practically a worse-case scenario for the most fundamental building blocks of society: The right to life, religious liberty and the family. But don’t forget that Jesus Christ has only one modus operandi: The cross."

How Should Christians Respond to the Election? With Prayer - "Anger spewed forth about anything doesn’t help endear anyone to us. Prayer does. Here’s the deal: If we don’t believe prayer works, we might as well quit being believers." See also: Obama’s Been Re-Elected, Now It’s Time to Pray for Our Nation

HHS Threat Undiminished - "Given its campaign promises, a Romney administration presumably would have rescinded the mandate or broadened protections for religious objectors. The Obama administration has given less hope that, in a second term, there will be any meaningful change to the mandate."
 
Abandoning Pro-Life Issues Is Not the GOP Path to Victory - "Some conservatives argue that social issues led to Romney’s defeat, but they ignore the fact that the pro-life margin has been helpful to every pro-life Republican presidential candidate since Reagan, even in elections where Republicans lost."

Pro-Life Leaders Vow: We Will Not Give Up Fighting Abortion - "Now is not the time to give up, but instead, I hope I can count on you to join me in fighting the President’s radical pro-abortion agenda for the next four years."

Ron Paul goes Cassandra -  "America has for too long lived beyond its means, justifying its hegemony and entitlements as necessary, and paying only the minimum installment on the debt, leaving the bulk of it to the next generation."

Religion and Voters in 2012 - "A pre-election Pew poll showed most Catholics supporting Romney. The exit poll showed Catholics, who were 25 percent of the electorate, voting 50 percent for Obama and 48 percent for Romney. But weekly mass attending Catholics supported Romney by 57 to 42 percent."

Despite Attacks on Catholics, They Vote to Re-Elect Obama - [We certainly have a lot of house-cleaning to do.]

Obama officials will face questions on Libya attacks - [Will they answer? Will the media cover it? Will the public listen? Will it make a difference?] See also: Obama played while Banghazi burned

Senior Obama adviser allegedly conducting secret talks with Iran - "According to Kahlili's reports, attempts were made to reach agreement on the announcement of a breakthrough in the nuclear standoff before the November 6 U.S. election."

No Research Shows More Welfare Spending Stops Abortions - [Liberal Catholics need to know that they are lying to themselves on this issue. This is what we are up against...] Catholic Democrats’ Curious Claim: We’re the Real ‘Pro-Lifers’

Abortion Practitioner Admits "Yes I Am" Killing Unborn Children During Abortions -
"He told WFAA that he is a former Baptist ordained minister who is now a part of the pro-abortion Unitarian Universalist church who says he prays often about the abortions he does. 'I’ll ask that the spirit of this pregnancy be returned to God with love and understanding,' he said." [What a sick, sick man.

Woman Conceived in Rape: How Pro-Lifers Should Handle the Rape Question - "Tell me that my life was not worthy of protection and that I don’t deserve to be living, and I’ll show you who is the one who is extreme."

Pakistani mother brutally murders daughter for looking at a boy - [In other news: Liberal women in the U.S. are forced to pay for their own contraception!! - Hmmm... Where is the war on women?]

Post-election Thoughts

A quick break from other topics to address some thoughts on the election this week.

First of all... what a depressing outcome. The Catholic Church and Christians of all denominations, and anyone who values life and religious liberty have been dealt a severe blow. We had a chance to undo some damaging policies with the election of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, but the votes were just not there. Is it the shape of the new electorate? Perhaps. Maybe it was due to  apathy or an ill-informed public. Whatever it is, we have work to do, and we need to start by changing the culture, one person at a time.

It is clear from the exit polls that even Catholics - those who share our faith and worship next to us on Sunday morning -  were just as responsible for this tragic election outcome as the rest of the population. Though a majority of regular Mass attendees went for Romney/Ryan, (thank goodness), this edge for the pro-life candidate was wiped out by Catholics who attend Mass less regularly. In the end Obama won the overall Catholic vote in roughly the same percentage as the rest of America. That means that many, many Catholics voted against their own Church's teachings; they voted against life the unborn, against religious liberty, against traditional marriage... If this election taught us that we need to re-evangelize the culture, then we need to start right here in our own congregations among our fellow Catholics.

This was brought home to me in a conversation i had online with a fellow Catholic who supports the pro-choice side of the abortion debate. Below is a snippet of our conversation. (My friend will be referred to as "Confused" - for obvious reasons.):

Confused: Obama is giving us a choice. So did Jesus. It is up to individuals to make the right choice. Lets continue to pray for those to find God.

Me: Unfortunately Obama has taken away our choice on some things... He requires that Catholic institutions violate the moral teachings of the Church or face penalties. He expects us to violate our conscience. And the Democratic Party wants to use our tax money to fund the death of innocent children through abortion. I have no choice in that.

Confused: Do we really as Catholics NOT have a choice. Oh the choice may not be an easy one. No Federal Funding for Catholic hospitals. NO, sadly, we have a choice....it just isn't an easy one. Mark 10:25. How do we enter the kingdom? With God all things are possible.

Me: I'm not sure what you're implying. That the HHS mandate is okay in your books? That's not what the Catholic bishops are saying. Are you saying that Obama gives us a "choice" by supporting abortion rights, and that Jesus gives us the same choice? Explain that.
Certainly I agree that we should pray for people to make the right moral choices (as you said), but it is also our duty to support laws that uphold the sanctity of life and our religious freedom. And we must actively oppose laws that violate those principles. Obama's policies on these issues must be actively opposed by Catholics.

Confused: I am just saying I am thankful that I live in a country where we have freedoms. Even if some don't believe the same way I do, I am glad we are all given the freedom to choose. I understand what you are saying...that we shouldn't be supporting (and by this I mean both financially and morally) what we consider to be wrong. But we can't make laws that dictate how we should behave. Jesus did not demand that we follow him. He lets us choose to follow him. We can't force others to follow him either. We must allow them to make the right choice. I like having choices and not being made to do anything. Then when I choose right...I choose God, I know that it wasn't because I had no other choice. That is what I love about America. So I am saying God is still over all of us. He is still my protector. By providing more instead of less we are allowing people to make the choice.

Me: Actually we DO make laws that "dictate how we should behave." We make laws that limit our choices. That's the whole purpose of laws. Murder is illegal because we do not want people to have that as a choice. Stealing is illegal for the same reason. These things limit our behavior. Try driving over the speed limit or on the wrong side of the road...see if the law limits your choice then. What about rape? What about tax evasion? What about trespassing, or zoning laws, or age limits for drinking alcohol? And on and on and on. Every law on the books was designed to limit our choices and dictate our behavior.
But none of these laws force anyone to accept Jesus as their Savoir. None of these laws are theological in nature, and they do not establish a religion or dictate faith. You are confusing the issues. Abortion is an injustice because it kills an unborn baby. There are even atheists who are pro-life. Outlawing abortion would save lives...period. Whether or not people become Christian has NOTHING to do with it.
And, consider this: By aborting a child you take away EVERY choice that child could ever have made throughout his or her entire life. Talk about limiting choices. You even take away his or her choice to become Christian. Are you sure you are arguing on the right side of this issue?

Obviously my confused friend has been duped by the culture of death. She has been taught the radical freedom of "anything goes" and "live and let live," where religion is a private affair and we must not challenge the moral choices of others or bring our faith into the public square. She has even given it the "Jesus stamp of approval" - Jesus let's us choose sin, so why shouldn't our laws allow us to choose sin? Being pro-choice is exactly what Jesus wants.

There is so much to correct here...so many errors. Today's Catholics are not taught natural law, or moral theology, or even the basic tenets of the faith. What they do learn of the faith they water down with a mix of pop culture gibberish and feel-good sentiment and believe that they are doing God's Will.

Yes, much needs to be done to change our culture...and we need to start right here, right now.

Quote of the Week

"The challenge facing you, dear friends, is to increase people's awareness of the importance of religious freedom for society; to defend that freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America's official faith."

- Blessed John Paul II

Catechism for the Year of Faith

Part of a continuing series.

A selected quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in honor of the Year of Faith (October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013)

84 The apostles entrusted the "Sacred deposit" of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. "By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. So, in maintaining, practicing and professing the faith that has been handed on, there should be a remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful."

 85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

86 "Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."

87 Mindful of Christ's words to his apostles: "He who hears you, hears me", the faithful receive with docility the teachings and directives that their pastors give them in different forms.

88 The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.

89 There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.

90 The mutual connections between dogmas, and their coherence, can be found in the whole of the Revelation of the mystery of Christ. "In Catholic doctrine there exists an order or hierarchy of truths, since they vary in their relation to the foundation of the Christian faith."

Monday Musings

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...


The only thing I have to say today is: VOTE! Vote to defend life. Vote for traditional marriage. Vote to support religious freedom. Vote for responsible government. Vote for the future of our country.

Tomorrow is Election Day and it is perhaps the most important election of our lifetime. Don't stay home. Don't be apathetic. Don't think that your vote won't matter. Standing up for Truth and Goodness always matters. Even if you stand against all odds, you must stand on the right side of history. Vote!

And most of all - Pray!

This Week's Headlines

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like. I'll serve up more next Friday...

All Souls Day - "These days remind us that love is stronger than death, that Christ’s death for us means that our beloved deceased who believed in Christ are very much alive."

Announcing National Check In to Mass Sunday! - "...please join me in publicly proclaiming your choice to exercise your First Amendment freedom by joyfully attending Mass. You can join the event on Facebook I’ve created to remind you to check in on Sunday and invite others to attend as well."


Catholic Countdown to Election 2012, Day 4. Put Out Into the Deep and Vote! - "As we head into the final week of the presidential campaign, I cannot help but be preoccupied by the tone of the debate surrounding what is being referred to as 'women's issues.' This language seems to be code for abortion rights and now a mandate upon employers to offer contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients to employees."

New Polls Confirm Romney Momentum in Battleground States - [I hope and pray that it holds up.]

Romney Early Voting Lead Could Portend Election Victory - "Gallup released a new poll showing Romney leading Obama in early voting, something that had been a key part of the Obama campaign strategy. The polling firm also reported that more Republicans than Democrats have already voted by a margin of 19 to 15 percent."

Why Every Christian Voter Should Vote for Mitt Romney - "His opponent, the sitting president, is radically pro-abortion (when you support taxpayer funding of abortion, you’re beyond “pro-choice”), has launched a frontal assault on religious liberty and the most basic rights of conscience, seeks to redefine marriage, has led the most anemic economic recovery since the Great Depression, and advances a hope-based foreign policy that is imploding in front of our very eyes." See also: Why Catholics Shouldn’t Vote for the Blatantly Anti-Catholic Party

Not only *can* Catholics vote for Romney, but we *ought* to. - "I make no categorical claim that a President Mitt Romney will have a perfect record on all of these areas—only fools make categorical claims about the future actions of politicians. But the nearest to a categorical claim any of us can make is that Barack Obama, if given the chance, would continue to be the most anti-life, anti-religious liberty president we have ever endured."

What I Wish Everyone Knew About Religious Liberty - "The Founding Fathers understood that democracy flourishes when all people, including people of faith, are allowed to freely associate and thereby create civil society."

The Light Dawns: American Bishops and the State - "...the American bishops very frequently seemed to view government as the primary source of human flourishing, unconsciously joining in the demonstrably fatal modern embrace of the all-encompassing State. If one had not lived through this period of disregard for the dangers to the common good posed by the State, one could not possibly have imagined how uniformly the American bishops—and indeed, most Western bishops—would have fallen prey to the empty promises of the State’s elusive charm."

Bishop: Obama, Politicians Who Support Abortion Reject Jesus - "Bishop Jenky instructed priests in the Diocese of Peoria to read a letter this Sunday to churchgoers that cautions them about President Obama and pro-abortion members of the U.S. Senate who have rejected attempts to make it so the Obama HHS mandate does not force Catholic churches, businesses and organizations to pay for abortion-inducing drugs for women."

Catholic Bishop: Vote for Obama “Stretches the Imagination” - "It is inconceivable to me how Catholics could support such policies. Indeed, Roman Catholics who support abortion rights and vote for a candidate because of those policies, place him/herself outside of the life of the Church. In so doing, they also place themselves in moral danger."

New Catholic Cardinal: Catholics Can’t Vote for Pro-Abortion Candidates - Burke: "As a bishop it’s my obligation in fact, to urge the faithful to carry out their civic duty in accord with their Catholic faith."

Report: Enough Spent on Welfare Programs in 2011 to Write Every Poor Household a $59,523 Check - [If government welfare is really about helping the poor, then where does all of this money go? It feeds the bureaucracy! This is a sham! It is NOT Social Justice!!!]

Left, Right, and Debt - "Left and Right will never agree about abortion, capital punishment, gun control,  and a host of other issues, but one would think that when 'money talks, ideology walks.' Unfortunately our leftist pals will hold to their ideology even unto fiscal doom."

Romney: “Two Lives at Stake in Abortion, I Care About Both” - [You won't hear that from a Democrat!] See also: Mitt Romney Must Learn the Language of Life

Romney Applauded for Trying to Save Baby From Abortion - [In other news: As state senator, Obama voted to allow infants born alive during abortion to die without medical attention. - Do you see the contrast in these two candidates?]

Enough is Enough: Rape Babies Don’t Deserve Death - "Our civilization rests upon the recognition of certain inalienable human rights, and the first of these is the right to life. A rapist takes away a woman’s control of her own body in the most vile way imaginable. But an innocent unborn child does no such thing."

Election Could Decide Fate of Abortion for 40 More Years - [YES, it is really THAT important!] "Next January, the United States marks 40 years of virtually unlimited abortion under Roe v. Wade and more than 55 million unborn babies have lost their lives in this national travesty. The next president will have an opportunity during the four-year term to leave an indelible mark on the nation’s high court."

Moral Coherence and Voting: Courageous Bishop Daniel Jenky Calls Catholic Citizens to Loyalty to the Lord First  - "To insist upon the fundamental Human Right to Life is not single issue politics. Human rights are goods of human persons. When there is no human person to exercise them all the rhetoric extolling them is sloganeering and sophistry."

Bishop explains how voting can jeopardize your soul - "Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay has gotten some attention in the media for stating the obvious. Ricken told parishioners that their souls could be in jeopardy should they vote for candidates that advocate 'intrinsically evil' positions."

No communion for Joe Biden - "Vice President Biden is a professed Catholic, but he has spoken openly of his support for anti-life measures including abortion. Together with President Obama and Kathleen Sibelius, Biden has stumped for the passage of Obamacare's Health and Human Services which provides free contraceptives and abortifacients on demand." See also this piece: Pro-Abortion Biden Claims He’s a “Practicing Catholic” In New Ad

Obama’s Voting=Sex Ad Shows He Views Women Like Playboy Does - "I’m not surprised many 20-somethings think this campaign Web ad is cool and funny; young people tend to lack wisdom. But the president of the United States, who is also the father of two young daughters? If Barack Obama really does think his ad’s messages are cool, he’s revealing more about the way he thinks of women than he may realize."

See also this piece on the Voting=Sex ad: A New Campaign Low. Presidential Character and the Lena Dunham Advertisement

Obama abandoning hope - [Let's pray that he has lost all HOPE of winning.]

Hey President Obama: Women Vote on All Issues, Not Just Abortion - "When I look at commercials released from President Obama and Tim Kaine, I routinely find myself asking, are there millions more votes coming from 18-year-old girls than I am aware? Because the 'all sex, birth control and abortion all the time' message just doesn’t play with serious women with any life experience."

Real War on Women: Obamacare Reduces Women’s Health Coverage - "In what’s become a hallmark of the president’s philosophy, real women’s health care has been shunned in favor of sexual health care."

Some Clarity on the Contraception Debate- "Ironically, the Catholic Church is in the pro-choice position on this issue. It is arguing that it and others should have the freedom of choice to decide whether or not to provide coverage for non-therapeutic contraceptives."

 Voting Ad Has Kids Singing: Romney Will Let Sick People Die - [You have to see the video... If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.]

How did Kyle Clark get past the Praetorian Guard? - [The biased media has been largely silent on important questions that need answers!]

GOOD NEWS - China may end one-child policy! - "This week, officials in Beijing published a report from the China Development Research Foundation that calls for an end to the country's onerous one-child policy."

Islamic terrorists from Mexico infiltrating U.S. for next attack - [The Bishops and liberal Catholics need to realize that their soft approach to illegal immigration poses a threat to American lives.] 

Pope Benedict XVI Tells General Audience: The Church is the Place Where the Faith is Transmitted - "...the fact that I believe is not the result of solitary reflection, it is the fruit of a relationship, a dialogue with Jesus which causes me to emerge from my 'I' and to open myself to the love of God the Father." [Includes Video]

The Virgin Mary is an Intrinsic Element of Christianity - "If a Christian refuses to see God's glorious election in choosing the Blessed Virgin Mary as the perfect Mother of His Divine Son, then that soul does yet see the beautiful plan of human salvation."

Canonization of Saints: Why Miracles Are Necessary - "This is what adds a true theological dimension to the process of sainthood. It is what elevates it beyond mere human process in which a person is recognized as holy into one in which heaven itself witnesses to their holiness."

Winning the Battle for Souls - "A former satanist recounts her return to the Church and provides some timely advice about dealing with Halloween."

Lutheran Ordinariate? - [Maybe...maybe not. But I find it interesting that this path to unity is drawing others into the Church.]

What Google Street View Reveals About Why Women Don't Want to Stay Home - "The human mind revolts against isolation. Even those of us who are more introverted will eventually start to feel worn down by stepping out on the front porch to a silent, deserted street day after day."

Tired of Bad Church Art? Do Something About It! - "'Like what?' you say. Well, how about supporting Catholic art education so that we can get better Catholic artists?"

Of course everyone has heard about Hurricane Sandy, and many have already seen the image of the statue of the Blessed Virgin that was somehow spared amidst the rubble. That image of hope will be our picture of the week:

Male-only Priesthood, Part 7

Many Christian denominations insist that female ordination was permitted in the ancient Church. They even point to Biblical evidence of this. Specifically they rely on passages that describe female deaconesses, most notably the following verse from Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is the deaconess [servant] of the church at Cenchreae." (Romans 16:1)

This chapter of Romans goes on to mention several women who had prominent roles in the Church and presumably may have been given the title “deaconess.” Also, there is this passage from 1Timothy:

“Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.” (1Tim 3:8-13) [emphasis added]

Notice that women are mentioned within the context of describing the proper traits for deacons. This may indicate that women were included in this office. These and other passages which describe an active role for women in the Church are used to bolster the claim that women were ordained in ancient Christianity.

The problem with this argument is that ecclesial terminology (the language used by the Church to describe itself) was not fully developed at this early stage. The term “deacon” or “deaconess” was simply the Greek word for “servant.” (The New Testament was written in Greek.) These women were “servants” of the Church, just as men were “servants” of the Church. It is not at all clear from the text that men and women shared the same role as “servants” in the Church – it is only clear that they were sometimes both described as “servants” using the same Greek term. Did they hold the same office? Were they “ordained” as part of the clergy? Did they serve the same functions? Not likely. Paul clearly states elsewhere that women are to be “silent in Church” (1Corinthians 14:34), so it would seem that men and women did not function in the same way as servants/deacons (whatever that term may have meant to Paul).

In the first few centuries of Christianity terminology was imprecise. For example, the term “episkopos,” which means “overseer” in Greek, eventually came to denote specifically a “bishop.” But among early Christians the Greek word “presbyteros” was also used interchangeably with “episkopos,” often with no clear distinction between the two terms. Only later did the term “presbyteros” come to mean what we now call a “priest.” In today’s Church these are two distinct offices – bishop/episkopos and priest/presbyteros - but in the early Church these two terms were often used without distinction. The offices were not clearly defined. Knowing this, it would be irresponsible of us to apply our modern understanding of the clearly distinct roles of bishops and priests to the understanding of Paul and the early Christians. When they used these terms they did not always mean exactly what we mean today. Likewise, we must not assume that our understanding of the word “deacon” is what the early Church meant when using that word.

The Catholic Church today understands the Sacrament of Holy Orders to include deacon, priest, and bishop. But the clear delineation of these three offices is something that developed over time. As with any doctrine, it often takes centuries for the Church to state clearly the truth of the Christian faith against any heretical teaching or misunderstanding. Look no further than the doctrine of the Trinity or the divinity of Jesus. The precise terminology used to describe these beliefs was hammered out over hundred of years. The same is true of deacon/deaconess and the exact role of women in the Church. Over time the Church came to use the term deacon to describe a male-only office within the Sacramental priesthood. The original Greek word was assigned a precise meaning.

This development can truly be seen when one examines the writings of the Church Fathers with regard to heretical sects that did in fact “ordain” women. For instance, this passage from Tertullian concerning heretical sects of his day:

"How wanton are the women of these heretics! They dare to teach, to dispute, to carry out exorcisms, to undertake cures, it may be even to baptize." (The Prescription of Heretics 41)

And this:

"It is not allowed to a woman to speak in the church nor to teach, baptize, offer, or claim for herself any function proper to a man, and least of all the office of priest." (On Veiling Virgins, 9.1)

Or this from St. Epiphanius:

"If women were ordained to be priests for God or to do anything canonical in the church, it should rather have been given to Mary... She was not even entrusted with baptizing... Although there is an order of deaconesses in the church, yet they are not appointed to function as priests, or for any administration of this kind, but so that provision may be made for the propriety of the female sex [especially at nude baptisms]. Whence comes the recent myth? Whence comes the pride of women or rather, the woman's insanity?" (Against Heresies 79)

Clearly the Fathers were not ignorant of the term deaconess (as found in the Bible) or of female ministry in the Church. But the Church understood this role for women as a practical matter in ministering to the needs of other women. And so, at baptisms (which at the time were done in the nude), women were not the presiding ministers, but rather they assisted the priests to avoid any occasion for sin. As customs changed, and nude baptism became less and less the norm, the need for female deaconesses in this role faded.

It is not that women were viewed as incapable of performing priestly duties; rather it was seen as the proper role for men to perform the priestly function. As St. John Chrysostom wrote concerning the duties of leadership within the Church:

"Many of the subjects could easily do the things I have mentioned, not only men, but also women. But when there is question of the headship of the church... let the entire female sex retire." (On the Priesthood 2)

So, as we saw in earlier reflections in this series, the Church has always recognized different spiritual roles for each of the sexes. Women are certainly capable of ministering within the Church, but the Sacramental priesthood is a distinctly male role. Although female deaconesses are mentioned in the Bible, they have never been considered a part of the Sacramental priesthood. As ecclesial terminology developed, and as the role of deaconess became obsolete, the Church clearly taught that only men are to be ordained into the priestly office.

We will explore more on the history of deaconesses and other ministries within the Church next time…

[See also Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6]