David Magallanes
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By David Magallanes / Guest contributor
Just when we thought the Catholic Church, the institution in which I grew up, was becoming drenched in tolerance and enlightenment, we see that the relatively recent phenomenon of girls serving at the altar during Mass is being altered. Actually, in at least several churches throughout the country, girls are being told that they are no longer welcome at that male enclave next to the tabernacle, that most sacred place, the sanctum sanctorum.
This is like offering a child some candy, and then taking it away. This is like Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive because they’re…you know…women. This is like women being prohibited from studying math and science and music in earlier centuries because they were deemed unworthy to even try.
The Rev. Joseph Illo at Star of the Sea Church in San Francisco decided within the past year that girls may no longer be trained to assist him during Mass.* After all, he explained, they are ineligible to join the priesthood, and so there was no point in having them at the altar.
In his world, in other words, girls have to learn their place. I suppose in his worldview, they can learn to clean the church and cook for the priests, but God forbid they aspire to serving the Church during its highest form of liturgical expression.
Two steps forward, five back, over and over, for the Church. At this rate, it will regress back to the Dark Ages within just a few years!
*Information for this article was obtained from an article in the Ventura County Star Free Press, Oxnard Edition, p. 3A, January 28, 2015.
— David Magallanes is a writer, speaker and retired professor of mathematics. You may visit his web site, dedicated to honoring daughters and keeping them healthy, at www.roses4daughters.com. You may contact him through e-mail at dmagallanes@roses4daughters.com
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A Las Muchachas Se Les Prohíbe el Paso al Altar
Por David Magallanes / Columnista invitado
Cuando apenitas creíamos que la Iglesia Católica, una institución en la que crecí, se empapaba de tolerancia e iluminación, vemos que el fenómeno reciente de que las muchachas tomen parte durante las ceremonias en el altar durante la misa se está alterando. De hecho, en por lo menos varias iglesias en el país, a las muchachas se les dice que ya no están bienvenidas en ese enclave masculino junto al tabernáculo, ese lugar sumamente sagrado, el sanctum sanctorum.
Esto es como si alguien le ofreciera dulces a un niño, y luego quitárselos. Esto es como en Arabia Saudita, donde a las mujeres no se les permite manejar puesto que son…tú sabes…mujeres. Esto es como prohibir a las mujeres a que estudien las matemáticas, la ciencia y la música en siglos pasados porque se les consideraba indignas para ni siquiera intentarlo.
El Rev. Joseph Illo en la iglesia Star of the Sea (Estrella del Mar) en San Francisco decidió el año pasado que las muchachas ya no pueden ser entrenadas para ayudarlo durante la misa. Al fin y al cabo, explicó, no son elegibles para incorporarse al clero, así que no servía para nada que estuvieran en el altar.
En su mundo, en otras palabras, las muchachas tienen que aprender en dónde está su lugar. Supongo que según su punto de vista, ellas pueden aprender a limpiar la iglesia y cocinar para los sacerdotes, pero Dios nos agarre confesados si aspiran a servir la Iglesia durante la forma más elevada de expresión litúrgica.
Dos pasos por delante, y cinco para atrás, una y otra vez, para la Iglesia. A este paso, ¡regresará a la Edad de las Tinieblas en muy pocos años!
*Información para este artículo fue obtenida del Ventura County Star Free Press, Oxnard Edition, p. 3A, 28 de enero de 2015.
-– David Magallanes es un escritor, orador y profesor jubilado de matemáticas. Usted puede visitar su sitio cibernético, dedicado a la honra y la salud de nuestras hijas, en www.roses4daughters.com. Se puede comunicar con él por e-mail a: dmagallanes@roses4daughters.com
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