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By David Magallanes / Guest contributor
David Magallanes
After a long, sometimes violently opposed struggle, women were finally granted the right to vote in this country in 1920. After similarly contentious battles, women eventually found their way into politics, corporate business, science and the arts.
This past week, Pope Francis, that last great hope for pious women who have wished to gain access to the Roman Catholic priesthood, dashed their ardent desire on the rock upon which the Church was built by declaring that this privilege is denied to them—not just for the time being, but forever*. What he is saying is that women will never be deemed worthy to assume this sacred ministry. The clear implication is that [giving them a gentle pat on the head] it’s OK for them to clean the church and that they should be content to serve during Mass.
Given the seismic changes in gender roles over the past century, and the ascension of a socially progressive Jesuit to the papacy, many of us hoped that the Church would finally, at least, seriously consider the right of women to serve in the same capacity as men within the Church. That Jesus chose only men as his apostles is no longer a valid argument against the ordination of women. The founder of the Church held women in the highest esteem, beginning with his mother. He violated rigid social norms by conversing with female prostitutes and “riff-raff” (a Samaritan woman), simply because he saw no reason to deny them the divine grace that radiated through his humanity.
That women would be banned from the highest levels of an organization that claims to serve all humanity, simply because of their gender, is clearly a case of a privileged few men desperately grasping the vestiges of an archaic hierarchy that heretofore guaranteed their highly exclusive male privilege.
* USA Today — Pope: Women will be banned from priesthood forever
— David Magallanes is a writer, speaker and social network marketing consultant. 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. Follow us on Facebook (“Like” us!) at www.facebook.com/roses.for.daughters.
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Mujeres Prohibidas Para Siempre
Por David Magallanes / Columnista invitado
Después de una lucha prolongada y a veces violentamente opuesta, a las mujeres finalmente se les concedió el derecho a votar en este país en 1920. Después de batallas similarmente contenciosas, las mujeres con el tiempo encontraron su camino en la política, las empresas, la ciencia y las artes.
La semana pasada, el Papa Francisco destruyó la gran esperanza de las mujeres piadosas que han deseado tener acceso al sacerdocio católico romano. El sumo pontífice hizo añicos su deseo ardiente contra la roca sobre la cual se construyó la Iglesia, declarando que se les niega este privilegio no nada más por el momento, sino para siempre jamás*. Lo que él está diciendo es que las mujeres nunca serán consideradas dignas de asumir este sagrado ministerio. La clara implicación es que [dándoles una palmadita en la cabeza] está muy bien que limpien la iglesia y que se contenten con servir durante la misa.
Tomando en cuenta los cambios sísmicos en los papeles de hombres y mujeres durante el siglo pasado y la ascensión de un jesuita socialmente progresista al papado, muchos esperábamos que la Iglesia finalmente considerara seriamente, al menos, el derecho de las mujeres a servir la Iglesia de la misma manera que lo hacen los hombres. Que Jesús escogiera sólo a los hombres como sus apóstoles ya no es un argumento válido contra la ordenación de las mujeres. El fundador de la Iglesia les tenía a las mujeres en gran estima, empezando por su madre. El violó las rígidas normas sociales al conversar con “la gentuza” (las mujeres samaritanas) y las prostitutas simplemente porque no veía razón alguna para negarles la gracia divina que irradiaba a través de su humanidad.
Que las mujeres sean prohibidas de los niveles más altos de una organización que afirma su servicio a la humanidad, simplemente por su sexo, es claramente un caso de unos cuantos hombres privilegiados que desesperadamente agarran los vestigios de una jerarquía arcaica que hasta ahora garantizaba su privilegio masculino altamente exclusivo.
* USA Today — Pope: Women will be banned from priesthood forever
— David Magallanes es un escritor, orador y consultor de mercadeo por las redes sociales. 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. Síganos en Facebook (“Like”), http://www.facebook.com/roses.for.daughters.
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