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Date:         Mon, 5 Oct 1992 13:41:05 -0400
From:         Eric James Ewanco <ewanco@MLO.DEC.COM>
Subject:      Re: women as priests

Excerpts from catholic: 5-Oct-92 Re: women as priests Nancy
Piatkowski@AMERICA (509)

> Eric- I thought I asked you to drop it--- I understand you can't abide
> the thought of women as priests- The church can still change the law
> maybe not within my life time but at some point she will- I do not see
> the current prohibition of women as priest as something absolute handed
> down by God- all your scriptural reasoning doesn't wash with me- It is
> law made by MEN- and enforced by MEN- am I not correct?  but then again
> I've been corrupted by Matt Fox and the Berrigans what else can I say
> *<8+}

I am not going to drop it when you call me "homophobic" when I am merely
quoting and supporting the position of the Magisterium.

Not all church laws are made by men, some are ordained by God.  To claim
that everything the Catholic Church teachings is mere human teaching,
and none of it is divinely revealed, is to deny the very nature of the
Catholic Church.  Otherwise, Nancy, truth becomes relative and subject
to the whims of sinful men and subject to every wind of doctrine.
Christ has revealed to us divine truth so that this would not happen.

It would be one thing to say that some of the Church's teachings are
divinely revealed and immutable, but you don't see evidence that this
particular teaching is among them -- that is a reasonable issue to
discuss.  But by you assert that it *is* teaching of men, and you don't
back it up with any evidence from Scripture or Tradition that it is a
mutable belief.  Or is this whole idea of Christ entrusting divine
revelation to the Church preposterous to you?  Do you believe that
everything the church says is "law made by MEN"?

Perhaps you have been corrupted by Matthew Fox, I don't know.

Amanda,

I respect your disagreement, and you, being in communion with
Canterbury, are free to disagree with Rome.  Admittedly it does seem to
be an arrogant position of the Magisterium (and I thank you for
recognizing that it is not I, but the Magisterium that says these
things), but, then again, one of the main claims of the Roman Catholic
Church is that it possesses all divinely revealed truth.  It's
understandable that this claim comes across arrogantly, but IMO it's the
only thing that keeps us from falling into error.  Oh, well, to each his
or her own!

Excerpts from catholic: 5-Oct-92 Re: women priests (yet again) Amanda
Walker@INTERCON.C (2107)

> You also say, " it would totally destroy the fabric of our church and
> open up to question our most sacred beliefs."  This disturbs me as well,
> because it elevates belief in the Church (or, more accurately, a particular
> church) to the status of "our most sacred beliefs."

Well, actually, it is, because one of the basics of Roman Catholicism is
that the Catholic Church cannot fall into error when it speaks
authoritatively on matters of faith and morals.  Indeed belief in the
Church _is_ integral to our faith, and I believe that without this
belief, we are doomed to eventually fall into error.  It's not a popular
view, that's for sure, but looking at nearly every other Christian
denomination and the disasterous results stemming from a rejection of
this belief, I figure it's the only choice.

Eric