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Do you think there will ever be a female Pope?

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ShaunGoldstein

Member
I think that might have been a myth. The Catholic were too busy oppressing women before the Enlightenment stopped them from doing so.
 
Rainbow Mage

Rainbow Mage

Lib Democrat/Agnostic/Epicurean-ish/Buddhist-ish
Because as it stands, it's against church canon law to ordain women as even Deacons.
 
S

ShaunGoldstein

Member
Are the canon laws regarded as unchangable? I thought they were able to be changed and not set in stone, and the Vatican can vote to change them.

If not why are they so intent on keeping Catholicism like an exclusive country club for men?
 
Rainbow Mage

Rainbow Mage

Lib Democrat/Agnostic/Epicurean-ish/Buddhist-ish
They can vote to change them, but I don't see it happening with Benedict in office.
 
Mister Emu

Mister Emu

Emu Extraordinaire
Staff member
Premium Member
Male priesthood is a dogma, it is not changing. There will never be a female Pope.

Also, please remember where you are. This is the Catholic DIR, and only respectful questions from non-Catholics are allowed.
 
Father Heathen

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
The catholic church is defined by and based upon ancient dogma and tradition. It's like asking if Dairy Queen will ever stop serving ice cream.
 
A

angellous_evangellous

Guest
DeitySlayer said:
I fail to see why this is disrespectful?
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I don't think that the comment was specifically for you, but a general reminder to everyone that only the viewpoints of Roman Catholics are allowed on this thread... and everyone else can only present respectful questions. That's all.
 
Runlikethewind

Runlikethewind

Monk in Training
ShaunGoldstein said:
Do you think there will be a female Pope in our lifetime?
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Not in our lifetime, if ever. The Church would have to make some major changes for that to happen, changes that the previous pope JPII essentially said were impossible. But this has not stopped the debate on the subject of ordained women. That is a question that will have to be settled before there could ever be a women as pope since the pope is also bishop of Rome and would therefore have to be ordained. It is possible that the Church could appoint women as cardinals, and there is historical evidence to support the ordination of women as deaconess. However, the possibility of a female priest, bishop, or pope is something that will take centuries to work out. If it happens it will most certainly not happen in our lifetime.

ShaunGoldstein said:
Do you think that the Catholic church can overcome centuries of internal sexism to become a truly equal organization?
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I don't think the Churches refusal to ordain women is based on any kind of sexism, I think it is based on theological reasons. Having said that, the Church is moving in a direction of a more visible presence of women in Church leadership. Here is one recent example:

"On Jan. 21, 2010 Pope Benedict XVI named Italian lay woman Flaminia Giovanelli, 61, a longtime official of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as the new under-secretary of that council." NCR

So although we are unlikely to see women in ordained roles in the Church in our lifetime we are already seeing a growth of lay women in key leadership roles throughout the Church.

But the real question here is ordination and equality. I think it is assumed that there can never be true equality in the Church without the ordination of women. I am not so sure about this. And I don't think it is a matter of ability either. I know that women could be just as good, if not better, than men in the pastoral role of priest. But the priesthood is not a job. Its not just about the work. There is a deeper reality to the priesthood that brings up metaphysical, philosophical, and theological questions.
 
Runlikethewind

Runlikethewind

Monk in Training
Smoke said:
Do you think it's impossible for theology to be sexist?
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I think Quaxotic has a point...
Quaxotic said:
Nope just the people who practice it.
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We can't remove the human element from theology and Catholic theology has been dominated by men. So its not impossible, those who produce and practice theology are human and their preconceived notions will enter into their work. I think sexist thought is much less an issue today than it may have been in the past but I also think that what we perceive as sexism in the past was not seen that way then. I don't like the idea of condemning the past on today's standards. As the standards change, however, hopefully the Church will adjust and change with them. I think it is happening with the expanding of roles for lay women in non-ordained positions of authority. The Church is not this draconian institution that never changes. It does change but very slowly. There was a time when the Church taught that slavery was morally permissible under certain circumstances. Now the Church teaches that slavery is intrinsically evil, always and everywhere wrong. That is a complete 180. The role of women in the Church is something that will change, but slowly.

An all male priesthood goes back to the Jewish Levitical priesthood. For the Church to ordain women they would have to reverse thousands of years of tradition and in the Church, tradition is an important factor. The very fact that we have basically always had an all male priesthood since before the days of Christ makes for a theological argument against the ordination of women.
 
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