Women are critical to the future of the Church

Unless the Catholic Church changes radically it will become a very diminished and very despised sect. The widespread clerical child sexual abuse crisis is but a symptom of the current disfunctional hierarchical church system of governance. The Church either needs to ordain women or abolish ordination all together. I'm in favour of the latter. Jesus never ordained anyone! Ordination and clericalism go together and as Pope Francis has said, clericalism is an 'evil' in the Church. Jesus treated people as equals but the Catholic Church doesn't do this. Catholic parishes need to be able to choose their own leaders, male or female, married or unmarried, and not have their leaders chosen for them by a hierarchy that now has lost much or most of its credibility. Unless there is a power shift to the laity, the Church will diminish more and more until it resembles an aged care home. Just look at the age of the members of your current Mass congretations! The Church hierarchical system has failed. We need to abolish cannon law and get back to Jesus two commandments - love of God and love of neighbour. The Titanic is going under quickly! Don't just rearrange the deck-chairs!

First to abandon and deny the arrested Jesus? The men who had so recently called Him Rabbei, Didaskale, LORD. Which were those who never left His side, who stood with His mother, grieving, juxta crucem, lachrymosa, dum pendebat filios? These 3 women were divinely appointed as first to preach the Resurrection of Jesus. The Three Maries. In Acts is Dorkas aka Tabeitha, taking care of less fortunate women. Phoebe the Deaconess. Later, flagging faith is revived in Europe by Anglo Saxon Saint Walburga. Think Hildegard von Bingen, Hilda of Whitby. About 30 years ago I heard the Sermon delivered in Saint George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, by my esteemed colleague Professor V Brady ("Sister" if her Academic status is a bit much for you.) Dr Veronica Brady I.B.V.M, PhD spoke of Theology's future, the probably increasing role of Mysticism. The increased, no longer suppressed role of women may decide Christianity's fate.

I always suspected that women weren't just restricted to the sidelines. As a young catholic I witnessed how the local church was kept ticking over by the women and it got me to thinking. In later years I have studied theology and yes, there we are at very beginnings. I do my best to shine a light in those cupboards where these women's stories are buried. The Catholic Church will indeed have great difficulty surviving unless it restores these women and acknowledges it can’t survive without us. The issues are about so much more than priesthood for women, as it often reduced to, its about being truly heard, true and authentic participation and a very prominent place at the table.

Would those who claim that there is scriptural evidence justifying an exclusively male priesthood please provide the relevant reference(s) ?