Bridget Meehan: The Time Has Come for You To Leave

Someone named Bridget Meehan sent an op-ed to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel which was printed on August 30th. Were it not for Wiggy, it would have escaped our notice.

She starts with the usual line:

It is time for the full equality of women in the church. Women and men are created in God's image, and both may represent Christ as priests.

Ms. Meehan wants us to believe that Christ was androgynous--that is, that Christ was not exactly a male--or that perhaps He was kinda female. While it is true that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, it is NOT true that women "may represent Christ;" He was male, and women are not. As simple as that is, it is amazing how many people want to ignore it--although Western cultural jihadists (really Hollywood and the intellectualoids) have done their damndest to make us believe that women are really men, and vice-versa. By the way, in the "Judaeo" part of the Judaeo-Christian tradition, one will not find female priests, either...

It is time to reclaim our Catholic heritage. Jesus treated women and men as equals and partners in ministry; so should the church. Mary of Magdala, the first to encounter the risen Christ, was commissioned by Christ to be the apostle to the apostles. St. Paul called Junia an "outstanding apostle." In 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded that there is no biblical reason to prohibit women's ordination.

The short response is "So What?" Without researching her claim, let's stipulate that her description of PBC's conclusion is correct. Our Lutheran and other Protestant friends know that the Catholic Church is decidedly not a "Sola Scriptura" bunch. Catholics also rely on Tradition, which Ms. Meehan doesn't bother to mention.

There is archaeological evidence of women deacons, priests and bishops on frescoes and tombstones in Rome, in southern Italy and in Northern Africa. Popes and bishops, such as Gelasius and Atto of Vercelli, acknowledge that the church ordained women in the early centuries. Evidence in the Celtic Church indicates that women and men were equals in preaching the Gospel, presiding at Mass and at the other sacraments.

There is a cloud of "historical" foofoodust being thrown into the air here...suffice it to say that actual historians of the Church acknowledge quite freely that there were female deacons--but that they were not "ordained" in the sense we use the word--that is, for the purpose of being an alter Christi, with the power to celebrate the Mass and forgive sins.

Instead, these deaconess-es were made so (with some ceremony, perhaps) for a VERY practical purpose--to assist Bishops and priests with the Church's charitable activities, with particular emphasis on caring for widows (and/or baptizing women.) The reasons should be obvious. Many of them remained in health-care and the term "deaconess" is familiar in hospital circles.

Ms. Meehan hopes that you don't notice the difference.

Raving lunacy follows:

The Catholic Church teaches that a law must be received by the faithful. Seventy percent of Catholics in the United States support women's ordination. Therefore, canon 1024, which states that only a baptized male may receive Holy Orders, does not have the force of law because it has not been accepted by the community or sensus fidelium.

First off, the Canon she cites (again, I will assume it's accurate) is merely a reflection of the unbroken tradition discussed above; the Canon does not posit some 'new' doctrine or dogma, nor even a 'new' concept.

But Ms Meehan's utter contempt for people outside the USA (e.g., Africa, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Europe) blazes through this inane "interpretation" of Canon law. This is not a complicated math problem; even if the Canon were malleable by popular vote, (it ain't), there are about, oh, 800 million Catholics who do NOT live in the USA. How's the "polling data" read in all those other places, Bridget?

Indeed, one may even be obliged to accept excommunication, rather than act against one's conscience.

As Wiggy pointed out in his column, "excommunication" is self-imposed, Bridget. The paperwork which follows is just that. And you may choose to excommunicate yourself--no problem.

Many have been alienated by the institutional church, including the divorced and separated, gays and lesbians and women, who feel like second-class citizens in their own church and who seek a church in which they will find acceptance and a spiritual home.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Feeeeeellllings.......wo, wo, wo, Feeeeeelllllings....

Much, much more on Ms Meehan can be found with a simple Google search. Warning: it's not pretty.