Friday, June 1, 2007

Women Ordained Priests in Canada

Earlier this week in Toronto, five women and a married man were ordained to the priesthood by a female bishop. And my initial response is "good for them." We need more priests. Based on my knowledge of a women in this diocese being ordained, this group typically ordains women who are just as qualified academically as Pope-sactioned priests.

I was reading another blog that commented on this ordination before it happened, and I thought he made some interesting points. He stated that "valid matter" was needed to perform sacraments. He gave the example that you can't use milk for baptizing. As such women are not "valid matter" for ordination. I wrote him a response reminding him that under certain circumstances you can baptize with milk, in face certain official books give spit as an examle of valid matter that can be used in an emergency for baptism when no water is available. Also, of course, lay persons can baptize in an emergency when no priest is available.

I think that this argument could also be used to justify ordaining women when there is a vocational crisis. We need our sacraments. And I am very proud of the male bishops who were brave enough to ordain the original group of female bishops. But even without the emergency argument, there is plenty of evidence that relates how certain doctrines, even those concerning sacraments and valid matter, have changed and evolved over time.

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