Where the Rubber Hits the Road: 2012

Dec. 26, 2012 - At their annual November meeting, the U.S. bishops failed to approve a pastoral message on the economy. “The Hope of the Gospel in Difficult Economic Times” was approved by a clear majority of the bishops voting, but objections raised in large part by retired bishops were sufficient to deny the document the supermajority it needed.

All of which strikes me as a lost opportunity.

No doubt the draft document could have been improved; any ecclesial document can be improved (if you doubt that, try reading Vatican II’s Decree on the Means of Social Communication without taking a long winter’s nap). What was so striking about “The Hope of the Gospel in Difficult Economic Times,” however, was that it was different: it was the work of pastors, not policy wonks; it anchored its reflections in the Gospel, not in the dismal science; and in a public environment becoming ever more secular, it used terms like “sin” and “virtue” to describe our present circumstances, what led us into them, and what might lead us into a better future.

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GEORGE WEIGEL COLUMN

It is understandable that a church founded on an apostolic leadership model would be wary of making this change.

Women as priests is much less of an issue since a priest is theologically viewed as being subordinate to a bishop. An argument can be made, as it has already within the Anglican communion that priests could analogously be compared to the 'disciples', of which there were both men and women in biblical times. (It doesn't work for Catholics because of the 'in persona Christi' issue, but that's not at issue here.)

However, using the same analogy bishops are seen as the successors to the 12 apostles whom Christ placed at the head of the Church to fulfill the three roles of leadership, sacramental ministry, and teaching/evangelization. While it is clear that women were among his closest followers, some of whom even used their own wealth to support Jesus and his ministry, it is just as certain that among the 12 Christ only chose men.

Theologically it is very difficult to reconcile the fact that Christ clearly and without question chose only men as apostles, endowed with charisms and responsibilities to lead his church, with today's ethos of blinding ourselves to gender differences among individuals. I can appreciate that this is a difficult circle for the Anglicans to try and square.

Church of England votes against women bishops | Holy Post | National Post

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In the latest installment of his weekly reflections on faith, the Holy Father emphasizes the need to rely on God in difficult circumstances.

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