We need women deacons
We thank Iglesia Descalza for this article
Redes Cristianas
November 29, 2014
Since the beginning of our Church, there have been women deacons alongside the first male deacons (Acts 6:1ff). Lydia in the Christian community of Philippi and Priscilla with her husband Aquila, put in charge of the Church in Corinth by Paul. Also in the Old Testament, the figures of Deborah, the Judge, and Queen Esther stand out. Women have played very important parts among the People of God in the plan of salvation. In these times, it's crucial to have within our Church worthy women who can perfectly assume the ministry of the diaconate and who, in fact, perform it "unofficially." Examples that stand out we can see in our women "parochial vicars." The women vicars are in fact "women pastors" in their territories and perform diaconal roles daily. They lead catechesis, tend to the sick and even confess them (the only thing they lack is the ability to give them absolution), and bring them Communion. Why couldn't they convey forgiveness in the Spirit and administer Holy Unction at the same time? They celebrate [Liturgies of] the Word and distribute Communion to the faithful (all they lack is the ability to consecrate). They could also baptize and witness marriages and home blessings. They are helping the needy and the widows, and taking in the orphans. In short, they're doing everything that the "male deacons" do. So I'm wondering: Why can't they be deacons, officially? Isn't this clerical chauvinism?
Another obstacle that's raised against them is that by being "women deacons" they would move into "clerical status." This doesn't necessarily have to be so since one doesn't imply the other. The deacons in the early Church were never "clerics" but servants of the community, same as the elders (presbyters) and even the episcopos (bishops). This "clerical" terminology has made us a "separate caste" which has distanced us from the rest of the church community. We are only servants (ministers), members of one body whose head is Christ.
I think that "clericalism and chauvinism" are two important things that we must overcome in our Church that is seeking its re-foundation, i.e. its roots and identity. It's the work that our brother Francis has initiated from Rome despite the "traditionalist opposition" that doesn't want to yield to the necessary reforms that being "the Church of Jesus Christ" requires, if we really want to be that.
Yes to men and women deacons, no to chauvinism and clericalism. Let us just be servants of one another. Amen.
Fr. Pablo Urquiaga is the pastor of La Resurrección del Señor parish in the Archdiocesis of Caracas, Venezuela.
Translator's Note: This article is a bit confusing because it seems like Fr. Pablo is blurring the roles of deacons and priests, perhaps deliberately.
Creative searching
There is much wisdom which comes from our friends in Latin America. 'Rebel Girl' in Iglesia Descalza publishes and translates many interesting articles. We recommend a regular visit or signing up for e-mail notification when another article is posted.
by José Antonio Pagola (English translation by Rebel Girl)
Buenas Noticias: Blog de Jose Antonio Pagola
November 16, 2014
Matthew 25:14-30
Despite its seeming innocence, the parable of the talents carries an explosive charge. Surprisingly, the "third servant" is condemned without having done anything wrong. His only error was "doing nothing" -- not risking his talent, not making it bear fruit, keeping it intact in a safe place.
Jesus' message is clear. No to conservatism, yes to creativity. No to a sterile life, yes to the active response to God. No to obsession about security, yes to risky efforts to change the world. No to faith buried under conformity, yes to committed work to make way for the Kingdom of God.
The great sin of Jesus' followers could always be not daring to follow him creatively. It's important to observe the language that's been used among Christians over the centuries to see where we've often focused our attention: preserving the deposit of faith, preserving the tradition, preserving good customs, preserving grace, preserving vocations,...
This temptation to conservatism is stronger during times of religious crisis. It's easy then to invoke the need to control orthodoxy, reinforce discipline and rules, ensure membership in the Church,...All might be explicable, but isn't it often a way of distorting the gospel and freezing the creativity of the Holy Spirit?
For religious leaders and those responsible for Christian communities, it might be more comfortable to monotonously "repeat" the inherited ways of the past, ignoring the questions, contradictions, and approaches of modern people, but what use is all that if we aren't able to shed light and hope on the problems and suffering that trouble the men and women of our time?
The attitudes we should nurture today in the Church are not "prudence", "fidelity to the past", "resignation",...Instead, they have other names: "creative searching", "boldness", "ability to risk", "listening to the Spirit" that makes all things new.
The worst may be that, just as happened to the third servant in the parable, we believe we are responding faithfully to God with our conservative actions when we're disappointing His expectations. The primary task of the Church today can not be preserving the past, but learning to communicate the Good News of Jesus in a society racked by unprecedented sociocultural change.
Pope Francis asks the ministers of the Church to always listen to the people
"Acceptance, temperance, patience, meekness, trustworthiness, goodness of heart: this is “the alphabet, the basic grammar, of every ministry” in the Church. But — Pope Francis recalled at the General Audience on Wednesday, 12 November in St Peter’s Square — there is “basic conduct” which must not be forgotten: the “awareness that everything is a gift, everything is grace, also helps a Pastor not to fall into the temptation of placing himself at the centre of attention and trusting only in himself”. Ministers of the Church must humbly “listen to the people”. And he relaunched his international appeal against the “absurd violence” being inflicted on Christians. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s address, which he delivered in Italian."
Read Pope Francis' Address at the General Audience today
Pope at Mass: Love and justice are more important than attachment to the laws
Pope Francis lamented the case of Christians who are so attached to the laws that they neglect the concepts of love and justice. His words came on Friday during his homily at the morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.
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