Women need not apply

Posted on July 29, 2010 at 10:08 PM

Madeline Hawke is Officer for Young Women in the Irish Feminist Network

Women need not apply By Madeline Hawke

While the Catholic Church could never be described as a symbol of gender equality, the recent Vatican document, Normae de Gravioribus Delictis is one of the most disparaging of women yet. In this document the Church, whether intentionally or otherwise, aligns the ordination of women as of equal concern to sexual abuse of children by priests. The most shocking element is the penalty imposed for each action. While the toughest penalty for sexual abuse of children is dismissal from the priesthood, for those involved in the ordination of women the penalty is automatic excommunication from the Church.

Over the last few weeks since the document was released many theologians, clergy and lay people have debated its content. I would like to add my own perspective. When I was young, I used to dream of what I would be when I grew up; one day it was a doctor, the next a pop star and the week after a rocket scientist. When I was about 9 I decided that I wanted to be a priest. To me it seemed like a great job, to work as a moral guidance counsellor for people who needed it most. Being a priest offered a chance to speak to big groups of people about serious social justice issues, to really make a difference (with the added bonus of getting to wear pretty clothes to work!). I remember one day posing this aspiration to my mother who gently explained that while maybe in the future it might be possible, as a girl I was not able to be a priest when I grew up.

Now, this was not necessarily an unusual response to a new career proposition. Only a few days before she had said a similar thing when I told her I wanted to be a giraffe and previously when I wanted to be a fairy princess. But this struck me as different. I'd never seen a fairy princess in real life, and I could see the difference between my body and that of a giraffe's, but a priest was both human and real. For days I tried to reconcile why my gender disqualified me from the Priesthood, eventually giving up to pursue my new desire to become a world-famous chef.

This may seem like a quaint anecdote, not relevant to a serious discussion on women's role in the church, but to me it illustrates much more. Part of being human is striving to make the world a better place for future generations. Regardless of your religious persuasion, I think it's important we realise the implications of denying a woman's right to choose her future. Normae de Gravioribus Delictis represents a tangible and intentional barrier to women, which shows a blatant disregard for the valuable role of women in all areas of the Church. Furthermore, it is upholding sexist traditions that have no role in a purportedly 'inclusive' institution.

Though I was born and raised a Catholic, each day it gets harder to admit to my faith. I hold strong to the social justice element of Catholicism, hoping that one day a second Damascus moment may happen upon the Church to remind it of its responsibility to all people, not just a select few. With the release of this document, however, the Church has shown my childhood self that I may have better luck applying for the giraffe position at Dublin Zoo than ever hoping to be a priest.

Permanent link | Comments (0) |