19 19, April, 2020 catholicweekly.com.au COMMENT ities, looking after their kids and also their elderly par- ents, while trying to maintain a few friendships and may- be a small amount of leisure time … I think that is a big- ger concern for most of them than whether they can be deaconesses.’ Never was this more true than after weeks of being shut up at home with a hus- band who hides in Zoom meetings all day, fractious children, no sacraments, and a dwindling stock of toilet paper. Women don’t need to be ordained to do excellent work in the Church. They’ve been doing it successfully without ordination for over two thousand years. They have led entire coun- tries, bossed Popes, exposed bad bishops, raised families, written music, run chari- ties, hammered out theology, reformed religious orders, survived interdicts, founded schools and hospitals, and saved souls. Pushing the ordained di- aconate at us tells us that our work is not good enough. It tells us that we are not good enough; that the measure of really important and effec- tive ministry is sacramen- We need the Mass even more Women deacons misses the point C an women be or- dained as perma- nent deacons in the Catholic Church? And if they can, should this happen? I will save you all worry- ing, because the short an- swer is no. Deacons in the Catholic Church receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, and only baptised men can receive that sacrament. There you go. I just saved the Church a pile of cash in theologians’ salaries and ad- min costs. However, Pope Francis has not been asking my advice recently, which is why he’s re-opened his com- mission to study this ques- tion in the wake of the Ama- zon synod. Back in 2016, the Holy Fa- ther set up a commission to investigate the history of the role of ‘deaconesses’ in the Church. This commis- sion was apparently still hard at it in May 2019 but hadn’t reached any conclusions. ‘Deaconesses’ aren’t the same thing as ‘women dea- cons’. Deaconesses are men- tioned in Scripture; in the early Church they seem to have been rather like nuns who worked in the Church and the world, rather than in an enclosed monastery. Women deacons, on the other hand, are a different concept. There are two types of deacons in the Catholic Church – transitional (who are on their way to becoming priests) and permanent (who aren’t). Both receive ordina- tion. This isn’t an option for women, and the Church has no authority to change it. I quoted Archbishop Fish- er a couple of weeks ago, and I’m going to quote him again: ‘The average Catholic woman is worried about how to juggle their full-time job, full time family responsibil- tal ordination – a completely male standard. This simply isn’t true. It’s never been true, and will never be true. Women min- ister all day every day - but they do it as women, not as insufficient men. It’s good Pope Francis is examin- ing the issue, because that’s probably the best way of making it go away perma- nently. The makeup of the com- mission also means that it’s unlikely to recommend any exciting changes. So don’t panic just yet. Dr Philippa Martyr is a Perth-based historian, lec- turer and researcher. She can be contacted at: Philippa.
[email protected] A week or so ago, my friend and col- league Peter Holm- es published an article ‘Missing Mass? Don’t complain…’ Its focus is not so much on those who complain about missing Mass, but on those who – like myself – may actively seek to attend one. I respectfully disagree with Peter, not so much with any one particular point, but with the overall implication. Peter acknowledges that he misses attending Mass and outlines the many benefits that flow from it. He then de- velops his reflection, recalling the suspension of temple wor- ship in the day of the prophet Amos (Circa the 8th Centu- ry BC). In that episode, the ritu- al sacrifices of ancient Israel were considered worthless by God, because the people ne- glected mercy and temporal justice. Peter seems to imply that going to Mass in the time of coronavirus – whether it be clandestinely, or by push- ing the boundaries of the law Catholics have been told not to complain about not having access to theMass. But with all due respect to thosewho say this, Catholics are defined as thosewho gather around the Lord in the Eucharist. (temporal or ecclesial) – is similarly displeasing to God. That in some way, the love of the Mass makes a person like one of the hypocrites, who worshipped at the expense of the orphan and widow. I understand Peter’s’ con- cern. The church should nev- er be a source of sickness, in- fection, and death. The best medical evidence tells us that gathering for public worship could contribute to the spread of coronavirus. Yet, the best medical ev- idence surely says the same thing about supermarkets and hairdressers. Experts in other fields might also tell us that isolation is unhealthy for hearts, minds, and souls. What is my problem? It’s about putting first things first. Despite the risk, supermar- kets, hardware stores, take- away cafes, and hairdressers all remain open. In view of this, one wonders if enough voices had cried out against the closure of the churches, would the government agree that religious worship was an essential service too? There are many Catholics disheartened by the decision to close churches. Several di- oceses ceased public Masses before the government even ask them to do so. It seemed the Church didn’t value its own worship. For decades, clergy have told their faithful that the Mass’ greatest value is the gathering of the people. How patronising now to hear them say; “don’t worry we will still be saying Mass for you”. “Well I should hope so”, is the re- sponse of every Catholic. But is it an ‘essential’ ser- vice? We can ask that question of supermarkets, childmin- ding services (schools), and - God forbid – hairdressers, but we cannot measure the Mass in human terms. It is not just a tool for forgiveness, or communion, but it is the right worship of God. If the sacred rites are just a ‘service’, then a podcast, prerecording, or vid- eo will do. Even better, if you have live-streaming you can be ‘in community’ with the likes, love-hearts, and number of views popping up at the bot- tom of the screen. But that is not how we understand the Mass. That is not the tradition of the martyrs. Peter argues against those who think they have a ‘right’ to Mass. I don’t know anyone who thinks that. Mass is more of a duty than a right. In the past, real-life dan- gers created opportunities for creative and heroic disobedi- ence to the corrupt institu- tions of man. While this Cath- olic memory lives on, it is a complete misunderstanding to characterise one’s zeal for the liturgy as an uncharitable desire for a selfish good. Can a Catholic be wrong for thinking some things are worth the risk? Medical prac- titioners put themselves at risk, law-enforcement officers put themselves at risk. Even checkout assistants and hair- dressers are putting them- selves and, by extension their families, at risk. Returning to the example of the prophet Amos, perhaps there is a different conclu- sion. In his day, the sacrifices were taken away from a faith- less people. Their injustices included deceitful business practices, sexual immorality, and the neglect of the disad- vantaged (cf. 2:6-8; 5:11). Reflecting on our unwor- thiness, we should question whether there is some divine judgement in the present sit- uation. That we should so easily give up the Sacraments might lead us to question if we are rightly disposed to such an awesome gift. Maybe on the eve of the Coronavirus pandemic we were much like the congregation of Israel in Amos’ day? Having the Mass taken away provides an opportuni- ty to see what we truly value. Do we value our own respect- ability, social conformity, and life more than the worship of God? Such disorder can only lead to a world where people die alone, as pharisees cross the other side of the road, keeping quarantine. Going to Mass for the purpose of show- ing honour first to God can- not be contrary to charity. No, from that source rolls down charity in a flowing stream and quietly but awe- somely we are inspired to be charitable to one another. Putting first things first is what is most needed, especially at this particularly difficult time. Chris Wolter is an Associate Lecturer inTheology at the University of Notre Dame Australia. Christopher Wolter Philippa Martyr Women don’t need to be ordained to do excellent work in the Church. They’ve been doing it successfully without ordination for over two thousand years.” Fr Greg Morgan shuts the doors of St Charles Borromeo church in Ryde for the last time on 23 March 2020. PHOTO:ALPHONSUS FOK A woman holds a sign in support of women deacons as Pope Francis leads his general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican in November 2019. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/PAUL HARING