I self-labelled as a "liberal" evangelical, but I will disappoint those expecting wholehearted buy-in on all the traditional "liberal" stances. Here's one....the Vatican released a 37-page document on July 31 addressed to Catholic bishops on the role of women in the church.
Some women's groups have lashed out, calling it "a throwback to the 1960s and Archie Bunker," "written by an imam of al-Azhar," a Sunni Islam institute of learning in Cairo, and like "passing through a time warp." One Catholic activist commented, "Such observations could only be made by men who have no significant relationships with women."
"... the Vatican said women should be respected and have equal rights in the workplace, but differences between the sexes must be recognized and exalted. The document said that many women felt they had to be 'adversaries of men' in order to be themselves. It criticized feminism's attempt to erase gender differences, saying that it had inspired ideologies questioning the traditional family structure of a mother and a father and making homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent.
The document said women should not be stigmatized or penalized financially for wanting to be housewives. 'Indeed, a just valuing of the work of women within the family is required.' But it also said that women who chooose to work should be granted an appropriate work schedule and 'not have to choose between relinquishing their family life or enduring continual stress.'
'From the first moment of their creation, man and woman are different, and will remain so for eternity.' "
--- Reuters, August 1, 2004
Please understand....I have no idea whether or not women should be Catholic priests. I am Protestant, and believe that women make gifted pastors, just as men do.
As for the rest of this issue, I say..............Amen, and Viva le Difference!
The Vatican's stance sounds logical, fair and...well, obvious.
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