The Role Of Women In The Church

In his book, Passion of the Western Mind, Richard Tarnas decisively makes the point that the future of the whole human race depends on allowing women to be on totally equal basis with men on every level. Tarnas concludes his book with this statement:


"The restless inner development and incessantly innovative masculine ordering of the reality charcateristic of the Western mind has been gradually leading, in an immensly long dialectic movement toward reconciliation with the lost feminiine unity, toward a profound and many- leveled marriage of the masculine and feminine, a triumphant and healing reunion. Our time is struggling to bring forth something new in human history. We seem to be witnessing, suffering, the birth labor of a new reality, a new form of human existence, a "child" that would be the fruit of this great archetypal marriage,, and that would bear within itself all its antecedents in a new form.

"Each perspective, masculine and feminine, is both affirmed and transcended, recognized as part of a larger whole; for each polarity requires the other for its fulfillment. And their synthesis leads to something beyond itself: It brings an unexpected opening to a larger reality that cannot be grasped before it arrives, because this reality is itself a creative act."

If it true that the future of the human race depends on the integration of the feminine on an equal basis with the masculine, it is equally true that the future of the Catholic Church will depend on its willingness to integrate women into its power structure. Tragically, however, the present leadership is fighting tooth and nail to prevent that integration.

Archbishop Weakland reveals the strength of that opposition in his memoirs, A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church. In 1968 Rembert was elected Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order in Rome and held that post for the next six years. During those years Rembert describes a growing friendship with Pope Paul VI but simultaneously the development of a serious conflict with traditionalist Cardinals of the Curia, especially Cardinal Antoniutti. Their conflict was primarily over the autonomy and independence from central authority of the Benedictine monasteries. The conflict was also over the role of women in the Church. After visiting the convents of Benedictine nuns all over the world Rembert felt the need to facilitate the way women could use their gifts in the Church. He had no idea how important it would become and how much opposition it would generate from Cardinal Antoniutti and many members of the curia. For example, after Rembert organized a summer program for Benedictine nuns at St. Anselmo, the Benedictine Seminary in Rome, Cardinal Antoniutti canceled the program saying the nuns had no need of further formation. Rembert went directly to Pope Paul VI who ordered Antoniutti to allow the educational project to continue. (This same curial opposition to nuns continues today with the appointment of papal inquisitors to rein in the American sisters, eliminate their independence and bring them back under the authority of the men in the Vatican)

The present Pope would argue that he has no choice, that the decision to exclude women from priesthood was a decision made by God and Jesus and he has no authority to rescind that decision. What was unquestionably an unjust and sinful cultural failure in the past to recognize the equal status and dignity of woman has been transformed by the Pope into a divine dispensation. By this slight of hand the Vatican is trying to maintain the Church as an exclusively man's club and, as a result has made the institutional church deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit, an heirloom from the past but irrevelant to the future of humanity.

Pope Benedict has frequently claimed that he is willing to give women positions of authority in the Catholic Church. At this juncture in time the faithful should call his bluff. No one needs to be a priest to be a cardinal. The faithful of the Catholic Church should call on the Pope to immediately appoint all elected heads of major religious order of women as Cardinals of the church. Certainly they are more deserving and better qualified than are most in the presenr College of Cardinals. And who is better qualified to choose out next Pope.

I believe also that the major religious superiors have the right and the duty to appoint a commision to send to Rome to investigate whether the Roman Curia is governing the Catholic Church is a spirit consonant with the teaching and values of Jesus Christ.

Justice for women in the Church

Over the past fifty years of ministry in both my study and experience I have becom more and more convinced that the deepest root of homophobis both in our culture and in our church is feminapbobia, the fear and suppression of the feminine. Consequently, the most important contribution that can be made to gay liberation is for the gay community to commit itseelf to women's liberation.




I published a book that deals with this connection in the epilogue: Emerging From The Heart Of The World. The book was recently reissued by Lethe press. The title is Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey To The Fullness Of Life For Gays, Lesbians, and Everybody Else. ( A summary of that study can be found in my article Misogyny and Homophobia on my website: www.johnjmcneill.com.)

I am aware that many bloga deal even better than I with empowering women in the Church. My hope is to offer a few suggestions for an effective pragmatic program to help brings this about.

My fist suggetion is to, as Republicans would say, "Starve the beast". The Vatican and the Bishops will not empower woman until they see it as a financial neccesity. Lets call on all the faithful to stop giving money to the institutional church and contribute money instead directly to charity. Refuse to directly support the institutional church until it deals with its female members in a just manner.



My friend Brendan Fay suggested that money should be sent to Mary Hunt's organization WATER, to set up a scholarship fund for woman, who feeling called by God to priesthood, need support to attend a seminary and prepare themselves to become effective priests.

In my next few blogs I will make further pragmatic suggestions on how to go about achievig justice for women in the institutional church.

I want to introduce my blog by sharing this lettter I sent to David Tracy as a response to the article that appeared about him in the January 29th issue of Commonweal entitled "God Obsessed: David Tracy's unfinished Business. David , one of the leading Catholic theologians, just retired from his post at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Stating that the primary need of today is not intellectual speculative theology, Tracy made this  observation:


David

Over the years I have been a great admirer of your contribution to theology. I was moved by the Spirit to write you after reading your interview in Commonweal.

I cant convey to you how healing your words were to me.

"Tracy sees *massive global suffering* as *the overwhelming issue* in the modern world. That is why he has always tried to support liberation theologians."Doing something about it - the struggle for justice and to clarify what that means in relation to God and Christ - has become for me an overwhelming focus."..."You know without mysticism, I think we are lost."

Over forty years ago the Spirit led me into contact with the intense unjust suffering of the LBGT community. I felt called by God to create a ministry within the Catholic church for that ommunity. In 1972 I helped create Dignity and in 1976 published my first of five books, The Church and the Homosexual, on gay and .lesbian spirituality and liberation. The General of the Jesuits, Pedro Arupe gave his imprimi potest and aproved my ministry to gays. (Confer my website: www.johnjmcneill.com. I alo have a second websit: www.Maurice Blondel.com on the thought of Maurice Blondel and his Philosophy of Action)

A year after the publication of the Church and the Homosexual in 1976 I was ordered to silence. After nine years of silence I felt obliged in conscience to speak up again and published my second book: Taking a Chance on God. In 1988 Cardinal Ratzinger ordered my dismissal from the Jesuits. Basically I have been cut off from the Catholic church and I have found a home in Metropolitan Community Church.

I have spent my whole life trying to bring the good news of God's unconditional love for GLBT people with some success on the grass root level but none on the governing level of the Church. My only consolation has been a mystical sense of God's love and approval.

Thank you again for your supportive message

May God's love fill your heart anew.

John McNeill



I used this letter to introduce my blog because the primary focus of my blog will be the same as my ministry over the past fifty years, to bring the message of God's unconditional love for GLBT people and to seek justice in the Catholic church for its gay and lesbian members.