Jennifer Ferrara, Former Lutheran Pastor, on Women and the Priesthood

A two-part interview at Zenit.

Part One, June 21:

.... Q: How did you as a former Lutheran pastor come to realize that women should not and cannot be ordained as priests?

Ferrara: When I entered seminary, I was a garden-variety feminist who believed men and women were basically the same. I thought it patently obvious that women should be ordained.

I really gave the issue little thought, but to the extent that I did, it was a matter of equal rights. I also was not particularly orthodox in my beliefs. I had studied religion in college; I did not lose my faith in the process but adopted a mishmash of heretical ideas.

While in the seminary, I gradually became theologically orthodox, which was — considering the environment of mainline Protestant seminaries — a minor miracle. Slowly, it began to dawn on me that women's ordination was a new development that needed theological justification. I did not come up with a full-blown defense until years later when I was a parish pastor.

By that time, I thought of myself as an "evangelical catholic." Evangelical catholics view Lutheranism as a reform movement within and for the one Church of Christ. Therefore, Lutherans have a responsibility to work toward reconciliation with Rome.

The fact that I was a Lutheran pastor put me in an awkward position, theologically speaking. I was an impediment to that reconciliation for which I longed. This forced me to take a hard look at the issue of women's ordination....

Part Two, June 22:

.... Q: What can be done to combat the movement for women's ordination?

Ferrara: Those of us who oppose women's ordination cannot allow ourselves to be put on the defensive. We do not have to apologize for our stance. The best way to combat the movement for women's ordination is to present the Church's teachings in a positive light.

We do not raise the status of women by convincing them that they need to be men. Though women can and should be allowed to do most of the jobs traditionally filled by men — bringing to them a feminine sensibility — they cannot and never will be biological and spiritual fathers.

Those who insist otherwise effectively deny that which is noble and holy about being wives and mothers — biological and spiritual — in the plan by which God intends to redeem his creation.

The Catholic Church is one the few institutions, maybe the only one, left in the world that recognizes the importance of the feminine not only for the proper working of society but for our salvation. We need to be willing to say just that.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 08:50:24 PM
Categorized as Religious.

"Seeing, and Believing"

Nick Schultz introduces journalism's "Aaron Brown doctrine".

See also It's Almost Like They Have An Agenda.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 06:42:54 PM
Categorized as Media.

Operation Tiger Claw

Vide.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 06:07:42 PM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

"Punitive Liberalism"

Thanks also to Margaret for notice of this article by James Piereson at the Weekly Standard, dated Jun. 28:

WE HAVE HEARD a great deal in recent days about how Ronald Reagan brought a spirit of optimism to Washington after his election in 1980 and thereby renewed the nation's belief in itself after a period of self-doubt, pessimism, and "malaise." President Reagan said America's best days were still ahead, and he thus renewed our belief in progress and a better future for generations yet unborn. In this sense, he did for the nation in the 1980s what had been done in the 1930s by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

This narrative about Ronald Reagan is completely accurate, so far as it goes. The problem is that it does not go far enough. Why had Americans become so pessimistic about their country during the 1970s? Why had they been overcome by a sense of "malaise," as Jimmy Carter described it? There was, of course, the long ordeal of Vietnam, followed by Watergate, and then a sluggish economy — reasons enough for Americans to feel some sense of doubt and disappointment. But why was Ronald Reagan able to reverse these doubts when Jimmy Carter could not?

The answer to these questions is that while Americans in general were not down on their country, Jimmy Carter, along with the leaders of the Democratic party and its main constituent groups, certainly was. President Carter could not overcome the "malaise" of the 1970s because he and his fellow Democrats had played a large role in fostering it....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 08:08:51 AM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

Send Your Thanks to the U.S. Military

Thanks to Margaret for calling my attention to this.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 08:03:39 AM
Categorized as Other.

Catholic Movie Poll

Now taking votes:

The nominations for the best motion pictures that celebrate Catholic life are in. Now it's time to vote for the finalists. Choose the TOP FIVE movies that make you proud to be Catholic from the finalist list below. Voting will end on June 28, 2004. We ask that you vote only once.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 07:59:38 AM
Categorized as Religious.

A Rothschild Calls Kerry "Hoity-Toity"

Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode CCCXIX

Very amusing.

Why was Kerry vacationing on Nantucket, of all places?

To go to this island retreat of the rich sent all the wrong messages to undecided voters, and it discourages his hard core.

Like his ski trip to Colorado after the primaries, the junket to Nantucket, where Kerry owns a home, reinforces the image of Kerry as a member of the upper class. Since Bush traffics on his own synthetic image as a regular guy, Kerry's indifference to looking hoity-toity is foolish.

What's more, there are millions of Democrats who are so desperate to get Bush out of office that they don't want Kerry to waste a single minute.

Of course, they know he needs to pace himself for the marathon that is a Presidential race. But he's been slipping ever since the Reagan beatification, and the Democratic base wants him to come out fighting, not dining on scallops.

There is another problem with the Kerry campaign: Its lack of a good grassroots organization.

I've just come back from an East Coast trip, where I met longtime Democratic activists from upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania. They had the same experience. They had tried to volunteer or to give money to the Kerry campaign, but no one returned their calls!

And here in Wisconsin, where I live, it has taken forever for the Kerry campaign to get going.

Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are crucial swing states. Why is Kerry dawdling?

Kerry has also been tardy getting his outreach effort together for the Latino and African American vote. By contrast, Karl Rove has been relentlessly pursuing these constituencies.

On top of this, Kerry's failed effort at arranging a shotgun marriage with John McCain has backfired, as McCain showered Bush with praise the other day.

And Bill Clinton's me-me-me book tour — and his guffawing with glee when Bush flattered him at the White House — is a distraction Kerry doesn't need.

If Kerry doesn't leave Nantucket for good and kick his organization into high gear, he will slip further in the polls.

The Blog from the Core asserts Fair Use for non-commercial, non-profit educational purposes.

I think that Kerry & Campaign are counting on Bush Hatred to see them through.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Wed. 06/23/04 07:18:10 AM
Categorized as Democrats in Self-Destruct Mode.