Hope For the Common Man and Woman

Congrats Kate and William.

The one day Queen of England is a commoner. Shock and Scandal-it rarely ever happens. Self made business folks her humble parents. All of England will cheer in the biggest wedding fest in 30 years since Prince Billy's mum tied the Windsor Knot. Lovely Lovely. May they be blessed with many many little british kiddies.

The Brits have a much more evolved better appreciation of the role of women in church life- they can be married to their priests. They can even be married to their priests once the priests decide they want to become Catholic apparently-- so if William becomes King and Kate becomes Queen and they are then the heads of the Church of England, if they decide to become Catholic would that make them Pope and Popette? Not bloody likely (on either front).

For one thing, the Brits have a rather gentle disdain for an institution that is so blatantly discriminatory of women. No women can be ordained- and apparently such an act is worse than sodomizing a child according to some official papal document and the Washington DC Archbishop. England has a lot of women clergy and Bishops even.
This of course strikes them as total malarchy inasmuch as Jesus commissioned himself a number of women evangelists (the woman at the well was told to get her husband and went and told the whole village, Mary Magdalene was an evangelist, etc....) and never once said that only men could feed people. He ate at women's houses regularly. Mary and Martha feed Jesus- so women can't feed other people Jesus? And don't get me started on the blessed mother- She nursed Jesus so he lived in human form. If she didn't nurse him he would not have made it to toddlerhood much less adulthood- and women can't feed people Jesus ? Because why again: there is something in male semen that Jesus needs to transfigure himself? Are they kidding?

The Catholic priesthood will be around for a while and half the christian world will think it is half a reflection of what the Sprit is moving the church into and what Jesus actually wants his body to look like in the world. It's not outdated, it's just half the picture until it grows up.

It isn't an issue of just sexism. It's an issue of oppression. And Christ frees the oppressed. The fact that the entire working world of catholics contribute to beautiful buildings that no woman is allowed to live in is just wrong- and against a number of laws were it not for the clever religious exclusions they lobbied to create discriminatory housing exemptions. One of my old Presbyterian pastors who was raised Maronite Catholic with Middle Eastern background once said "I don't know why anybody would be Roman Catholic" and I am beginning to understand why he thinks that. It is not an irrational opinion in light of its obstinence. Three guys living in a palace begging for money is just not acceptable in today's economy. Huge places like the Dominican House should be half filled with African orphans if the church means anything. -what-you don''t know how to put books on the Kindle and need a library to rival NY City library when there is a huge one across the street at Catholic U?

Huge rectories with empty rooms should have homeless living transitionally in them. Huge palaces of half empty monestaries should be lower income housing for single catholic women over the age of 50- the most vulnerable sector of the economy now as age discrimination gives their jobs to 25 year old men.
The church is too into itself. We need another Seminary like we need a hole in the head in DC.
Ridiculous misappropriation and bad stewardship.

And Yes, the church should have a married priesthood option- one that only the bold and brave would avail themselves of. One that only those who truly understsood the heart of christ toward women- would get. One that the purest in heart would see. You want to know the biggest step the Pope could take toward ecumenicism? Call the married priesthood order the Lutherian Order of Married Priests. Martin Luther was a purist- pure in heart- a former Augustinian Monk who had five kids with a former nun. Real fruit- that has lasted.