It seems that the Catholic Church is going through some pains currently. I am not talking about any scandals of abuse and molestation that have captured headlines for what seems like too long. Instead, I am talking about the apparent fight between conservative and liberal sides as to which way the Church should proceed into the future. Currently, it seems like the conservative side has gained ground, especially with more and more clergy (from the Vatican down) adhering to the conservative camp and attempting to flex their muscles so that all can feel their strength. For those of you who are Catholic and attend church, the first and perhaps most notable conservative change is the difference in the responses during Mass. Many of the new changes in my mind make things more convoluted and are pushing people away. The changes were made so that the wording was more along the lines of what the original text meant and said, yet, I can't quite picture Jesus and his disciples uttering anything similar to what we are saying now. What the conservatives seem bent on doing is not advancing the Church into the future, but dragging it back into the middle ages or pre-Vatican II years. In a day and age where everything is changing, adapting, and advancing; the Catholic Church seems to be stuck in a rut. They are having trouble attracting new faces to the church, and in many cases, they are actually pushing people way with their policies and rules. Frankly, I have no use for the current leadership in Rome and think that they need to seriously wake up and smell the coffee.
The changing of the words used at Mass is by far the least of what they have done in recent years. They have also seemingly reversed their policy towards women in the Church as well. While we all know that women can not be priests in the Catholic Church, for years after Vatican II they were able to serve as acolytes and Eucharistic ministers during Mass. Now it is highly recommended, if not strictly enforced, that women not be allowed on the altar. Luckily at our church we do not run into that issue as our pastor aligns himself more with the liberals than the conservatives. To me, women have every right to serve on the altar with men and any church that says otherwise will not see me attend. (Its not like I go to many other churches, but if I did, my statement would hold). Yet all this talk about women is just the tip of the iceberg. Most recently the nuns have been in the news for supposedly going against what the Vatican says. I don't know every little detail, but I believe it all boils down to the Church trying to micro-manage every facet of its organization. Every where the Church touches, they need to have a say and control how things are run. Perhaps instead of persistently going back to the rules that have stifled the church's growth, the Vatican should instead look to what would be most beneficial to its members. The only thing that the Vatican sees is adherence to the rules, nothing else. They have failed to consider the human factor in recent years, the changes that society has gone through, and how best to advance the church into the future. And last but not least, perhaps they should seek out a woman's opinion on the matter.
What is truly needed is a female voice in the Vatican. I am not saying that they should be made priests (although I think that the possibility should be examined), but rather priests should seek the advice of nuns and other religious women who deal with members of the church on a more regular basis than the priests holed up in the Vatican do. For now, however, we will have to deal with the manly priests doing their manly thing, putting their foot down in the face of adversity and laying down the law for all to follow. After all, they know everything, right? In my experience, women have more capacity to follow change and keep an open mind than men do. Something just doesn't seem right in the Vatican and perhaps it is the lack of women. Yet all my talk about priests getting women's opinions won't amount to anything because there seems to be a closed minded approach to everything done in the Church. Maybe one day a liberal more along the lines of Pope John Paul II will take the reins and drive the Catholic Church into the future. Until that day, however, we will have to deal with our conservative leadership, bundled onto their slow moving ox and cart and hope that they don't get stuck in a rut they can't get out of. We shall see what happens. I myself will continue to go to my church, mostly because it leans heavily towards the liberal sect and doesn't alienate its members. Lets all hope for some growth and true change that can bring our Church back from the 16th century into modern times.
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