Have Your Say 

Recent Comments

1. Thanks for this article and a happy International Womens Day!

   Posted By: Barbara M

2. Thank you for your article, Donella.
   I felt like I was reading about myself, and I think you have expressed the thoughts and concerns that many Catholic women have in these times. Our faith keeps us going.

   Posted By: Maureen M

3. Where is this supposed 'injustice and inequality' towards women in the Catholic Church?
   What else could you possibly mean than the fact that a 'Christian priestess' is and always will be an oxymoron? Equal and just do not mean identical.
   If you think it's frustrating being a woman in the Catholic Church in 2012, imagine what it feels like to be a man in the Catholic Church in 2012!
   Look around you next time you're in a Catholic church, 70% to 90% of the adults present are women.
   Men in their 20s and 30s are particularly thin on the ground.
   When will the Australian bishops commission a research project to report on why this is the case and how they can get more men to join and stay in the Church, and set up an urgently needed Office for the Participation of Men?
   

   Posted By: Peter G

4. The sacking of Roy Bourgeois, a Maryknoll father, and the dismissal of John O'Shea, a Jesuit, because of their proactive views on women's ordination is an absolute disgrace - made even worse given the fact that these have happened on International Women's Day.
   On this important day, this absolute insult to women's dignity should be protested strongly.

   Posted By: Jane Anderson

5. How do you define “addressing the concerns of women”?
   It seems to me that addressing is more than just listening – if that is in fact what happens at all, considering the effects the discussion around female priests has.
   Addressing issues is about taking action to eradicate the inequalities that exist between men and women in our Institutional church.
   As long as this does not occur then how can there be cause to celebrate?

   Posted By: Emmy Silvius

6. Thank you, Donella, for putting into words so clearly my thoughts and feelings.
   Faith and Hope are our great gifts.
   Happy International Women's Day.

   Posted By: Noela Donovan

7. Donella's attitude is to be admired. We always want things and sometimes they control our thoughts and actions. Donella looks beyond that, to appreciate the beauty and meaning of being a disciple of the Christ, the one who reconciled us to God.

   Posted By: M. Lyons

8. Well said, Donella!
   It's good to accentuate the positive.
   What does the church offer women?
   Almost exactly the same things as it offers men.
   Does she offer more than she offers men?
   Of the top of my head I can't think of any.
   Does she offer less to women?
   Well, the most obvious is a hierarchial structure limited to males only and all that follows from that,
   which is quite a lot. But I don't want to canvas that here.
   Does the demand more from women than she demands of women?
   More that is than accepting without discussion a men's only hierarchy?
   I remember as a teenager listening to a sermon directed to the girls of The Children of Mary. The girls were told they had a great responsibility to help boys maintain their chastity because it was easier for girls to restrain their sexual desires than it was for boys.
   I am not saying this was authentic church teaching but it was indicative of a male clerical church culture that showed little appreciation of the psychology of women; of the dynamics, physical, social and psychological of male/female relations.

   Posted By: Joe

9. Joe: The idea that men and boys have a stronger sexual drive than women and girls is hardly something that was dreamed up by 'a male clerical church culture'.
   Ask anyone around you, this idea (which I believe is mistaken) is almost universal and is held particularly strongly by people who have never been remotely affected by Christianity, let alone been exposed to a clerical culture.
   In fact one would expect Catholic priests, of whom the vast majority (contrary to anti-Catholic implications in the media and elsewhere) have successfully managed to completely control their sexual drives, would be the least likely group in society to embrace that idea.

   Posted By: Peter G

10. It is frustrating being a Catholic sometimes, without being a female.
    But, our relationship is with the Almighty God who forgives and loves us all despite our weaknesses.
    If we can truly believe in God, we then begin to understand that the church is nothing more than a vehicle to transport us to God's loving ways.
    I pray continuosly for a more lasting relationship with God for my happiness.
    

    Posted By: james macey

11. Peter: I'm puzzled about what exactly is your problem about being a man in the the Catholic Church in 2012!
    I'm a man and it does not worry me in the slightest when I see the majority of the congregation are women — but certainly not as many as the 70% to 90% that you claim.
    Sure, I'd like to see more men, but maybe the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something about the need for a much wider role for women, including ordination.
    As for an Office for the Participation of Men, I thought we had one: it's known variously as the Curia, the Papal Diplomatic Service, the College of Cardinals, the Hierarchy and the priesthood.
    
    

    Posted By: conor bradley

12. Peter G: I think Conor is right in suggesting that there already is a long-established ecclesiastical office for the Participation of Men.
    You yourself have long worked hard to place Catholic women in a proper perspective.
    A notable example was a recent comment you made about Sr Hermengild Maroko's appoitment as secretary-general of a Southern African episcopal assembly as a kind of stenographer - secretarial duties (CN 14/12/11).
    Furthermore, I don't think you should be concerned about the absence of the men you can physically see. The males who really count are all around you, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient namely God: The Father is a bloke, so's the Son and you recently taught Charles that even the Holy Spirit is male, 'By the way (you instructed Charles), the Holy Spirit is a He, that is also the teaching of the Church' (CN 15/07/11).
    You might now care to offer the reader some catechesis on where HE will find this infallible Dogma.

    Posted By: David Timbs

13. Ms Johnstone starts of by saying she is frustrated being a women in the Catholic Church and wonders why she is still here, but does not reveal in her article what her frustration is?
    I am woman working within the Catholic Church and to me there is nothing on this earth that is more satisfying or rewarding!

    Posted By: Regina T Abraham

14. Thanks, Donella. You give heart and hope to us all.
    There is much to grieve about in the Catholic Church today but we need to be reminded of the positive message which you are giving. God bless.

    Posted By: (Bishop) Pat Power

15. Conor: I have no problem being a man in the Church.
    What worries me is that obviously a lot of men do.
    Not the fact that (thank God!) many more women are there. If women deserted the Church at the same rate men are, our churches would be almost empty!
    Yes, if a man becomes a priest, the Church finds plenty for him to do.
    But the vast majority of men are not called, not accepted, not suitable or not qualified for the priesthood.
    David, you obviously have much idle time on your hands to search my comments for the past eight months to mount a personal attack.
    The Father and the Holy Spirit are not “blokes” or “male” (your words, not mine), but they are masculine Persons. (for example as we say in the Creed of the Holy Spirit, “He is adored and glorified. He has spoken [Latin “locutus” - masculine] through the Prophets.”)
    “stenographer- secretarial duties” again are your words, not mine. I merely pointed out that the claim that Sister is the second in command of the Bishops’ Conference is as untrue as to claim that Ban Ki-Moon is “in command” of all the countries of the United Nations.
    

    Posted By: Peter G

16. Thank you, Donella, for your positive article when often all we read is criticism, and yes it is easy to criticize without seeing the wonderful offerings the church gives us in our faith.
    If we all deserted the church like so many have because we were bitter about something, then what would that achieve?
    Often we come to our opinions also from our own little cozy cultures.
    I m in Mexico at the moment and the churches are overflowing with men, women, young people it's absolutely extraordinary.
    And I m not talking about 1 or 2 masses, I'm talking about hourly masses on Sundays at multiple churches, a lot of them full to overflowing. It certainly lifted my heart.

    Posted By: R smith

17. I agree with the article saying we need to focus on the positives of the Church.
    It is so easy to criticise everyone and everything without looking at the great things the Church gives us. Donella's list of positives needs to be in our minds as we gently and lovingly speak up for justice and a desire to do God's Will rather than our own.
    This is the most difficult challenge for both laity and clergy - God's Will not mine.

    Posted By: Clare Brotherton

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