Book Review: Women and Catholicism by Phyllis Zagano

Book Review: Women and Catholicism by Phyllis Zagano

Summary

The book’s centre of focus is the place of women in the Catholic Church. Zagano begins by raising common questions asked in the society regarding a woman’s place in the Church. “Where and when can women participate in church liturgy and structure?”, ” Can women be ordained?” “Can women participate in governance?” “Can women have authority?” (Zagano, p3). The author then goes ahead to explore a highly controlled, catholic church in Nebraska. The book explains in detail how the bishop Bruskewitz of the Lincoln diocese used unapproved methods to govern the Church. The bishop forbade anyone to question his authority, especially women. The context, therefore, examines the level at which the church leader’s authoritative rights overshadow common sense.

The next part of the book sheds light on an African archbishop who went into forced retirement due to non-catholic practices. Milingo went against the Doctrine of Faith and got married. The congregation in Lusaka also sought healing from the priest who integrated Catholicism with African traditions. The section raises a few questions. “Did Emmanuel Milingo exceed what the Church perceived as Catholic? Was his connection to faith healing too African and contrary to Vatican Catholicism? Was his position revoked because he represented the poor?” (Zagano, P xiii). Many church organizations have currently adopted Milingo’s advocacy and continue to resonate on the concept of married clergymen.

The final section of the book focuses on the ordination of women in catholic churches. The author gives an overview of how the Catholic Church treated the first women to be ordained. The Church excommunicated women or anyone who participated in the process of female ordination. In the current world, the Vatican is still against the ordination of female priests. However, the position of female priests faces different opinions—the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement advocates for women’s authority in the Catholic Church. The people fighting for the female priesthood also raised a few questions regarding unfamiliar practices within the Catholic Church. “What about priests in other groups who display various combinations of Vatican recognizes communion and authority?”, “What about the breakaway Society of Saint Pius X?” “What about the Czech underground church?” “What about the Church’s outreach on priests of the Anglican communion?”( Zagano, p90).

The first two sections of the book feature the authority, domination, rights and duties of men within the Catholic Church, whereas the last section shows the power of women in churches. Zagano tries to bring out the weaknesses of the Catholic Church in relation to laws administered to bar women away from authority. Furthermore, she brings out the gender confines that are difficult to overcome in the Catholic Church. Readers get an impression of how the Catholic Church prevent women’s ordination into any position in the Church. Zagano tries to show that “gender barrier regarding women’s ordination is not easily overcome.” ( Zagano, p106).The Vatican enhances the inferiority of women’s power and duties in the Catholic Church.

The discussion above gives a summary of Zagano’s book context. The reader gets to understand that the book covers the role of men in the Church and how the Catholic Church prevents women’s authority. The next part of the discussion will give an overview of the three focal points Zagano brings out, that is:

1. A case study of Bishop Bruskewitz in relation to juridical authority.
2. The Case of Archbishop Milingo in relation to sacramental authority.

• A combination of both authorities in relation to the ordination of women.

1. The Case of Bishop Bruskewitz

Fabian Bruskewitz is known for refusing to conform to the Catholic Church’s rule of openness and had a preference for secrecy. Bruskewitz’s acts “raised the profile of his now 95,000-member diocese, which takes bishops in a no-prisoner fashion.” (Zagano p4). Bruskweitz’s diocese formed a common juristic configuration ‘in communion’ but not in accordance with the Civil law of Rome. (P 8). The Call to Action-Nebraska (CTA-N) is a movement founded in the mid-1960s that criticized how the diocese of Lincoln run its activities. The movement came about after Bruskewitz became the head of the diocese. The diocese of Lincoln has its own set of rules up to date despite numerous efforts to bring it up to speed with other churches in the US. The bishop set up a decree declaring that any diocese in Lincoln against his leadership would face ex-communication. Furthermore, the Diocese of Lincoln produced a book that laid out the statutes governing the diocese and spelled out forbidden societies, including CTA-N. (Zagano, p35). However, bishops who choose to follow steps contrary to the catholic laws lead people to question communion and authority.

Women’s position in relation to the Case

The Lincoln diocese forbade the participation of women in liturgy despite several complaints. The Catholics for an Active Liturgical Life (CALL) came to rise in 1988 and challenged the authority than denied women’s involvement. The movement specifically challenged the Church denying women of the following positions; “lectors, Eucharistic ministers and altar servers.” (Zagano, p15). By 1992, several dioceses allowed women to perform altar services. However, Bruskewitz refused to approve the involvement of women as altar servers. Furthermore, he threatened to deny communion celebrations to any priest who allowed women to serve in the altar. Bruskewitz never addressed the issue further.

1. The Case of Archbishop Milingo

Milingo is famously known for integrating African healing beliefs with those of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II forced the archbishop into early retirement as his actions faced criticism from Africa and the Vatican in Rome. Milingo also raised awareness of the poverty levels in Africa, claiming that the powerful countries exploited the continent. However, his faith healing is what gained a higher level of recognition. “He served the best he could as an archbishop, but his healing ministry continued and expanded exponentially.” (Zagano, p50).

Due to constant ridicule, the archbishop ceased providing healing services. Despite making the announcement public, Milingo still received numerous requests from people who had an interest in his services. Milingo- formerly an archbishop then- got married in 2001 and faced threats of ex-communication from the Catholic Church. He conceded to the threats and abandoned his wife, but later formed the Married Priests Now! Movement. The archbishop wanted to integrate married priests with the Catholic Church. “Milingo connects the priests’ sexual abstinence to the multiple tragedies of alcoholism, sex-related abuse and loneliness.” (Zagano p73).

Women’s position in relation to the Case

Milingo’s actions led to the creation of some underground churches which ordained married priests. The complications presented by the underground churches led to the requests to ordain women as priests. Davídek, a leader of an underground church, “ordained women as deacons and priests.”(Zagano, p85). However, people questioned if the women were ordained under the holy communion. The Church responded by claiming that the ordained women agreed not to exercise their priestly functions. Ludmila Javorová was one of the women ordained by Davídek. Several people questioned her validity as an ordained Catholic priest.

• Ordination of Women

In Part III of the book, Zagano’s focal point is the women’s ordination in relation to Vatican authority. “The matter of women priests touch on teachings that mention, if not mandate, an automatic rapture of communion with the Catholic church.”(Zagano, p91). The Catholic church reasons for denying female priesthood include;

1. A priest must resemble Jesus Christ physically.
2. Jesus chose male disciples.

A doctrine questioning women’s involvement in the ministry was published in 1976, and a few heads of the Church responded. A person can retrieve documents surrounding that period from the Vatican website. However, the website mentions nothing related to the doctrine.

The Catholic Church also teaches people to embrace righteousness and avoid making mistakes, also known as infallibility. The primordial Vatican council claimed that whenever the pope spoke on faith and morality, his actions were infallible. (Zagano, p93). The Vatican requires all priests and bishops to act in accordance with the Roman civil law. Therefore, bishops such as Bruskweitz, Milingo and Davídek were not in communion with Rome. Furthermore, the Catholic Church claims that forbidding female priests if infallible. “So then what about women’s ordination… Is the teaching on the ordination of women as priests infallible?”( Zagano, pp94-95).

The Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement advocates for the ordainment of female priests. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith cast out the first women ordained by the movement in 2002. “In 2003, two of the seven ordained women became bishops.” (Zagano, p99). Consequently, the female bishops ordained other women into the Church’s positions forbidden by the Rome civil laws.

Christian Feminism in the Contemporary Period

Several individuals and movements continually challenge the gender equality in the Catholic Church. In the current generation, the Catholic Church is still rigid about ordaining female priests. In addition, any person who approves or participates in the ordination of women breaks Roman law. ( Zagano, p94). Catholic teaching also teaches that the female gender is subordinate to orders. According to the teaching, people can not look up to women for guidance in relation to the Church.

After the ordination of female bishops, the Church’s spokesmen stated that the act of ordaining women as bishop meant that the women had unanimously left the Catholic Church. “Women bishops are neither diocesan bishops nor acting with the permission of the diocesan bishops.”( Zagano, p105). The women, however, continue running their ministries in Europe. The first female bishop in the United States was Dana Reynolds in 2008. The Anglican Communion has a long history of accepting women’s ordination as priests. Currently, the Anglican Church also allows the ordination of female bishops. The involvement of women in the Church has somewhat increased compared to medieval times.

Weak Spots of the Catholic Church

In an effort to identify women’s position in the Catholic Church, Zagano points out a few weaknesses. The Us norms governing clerics exclude Bishops. (Zagano, p11). The law, therefore, seems to exempt bishops from taking responsibility and dealing with the consequences of their actions. Secondly, “the Vatican website posts thirty-six documents of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, but not the 1976 report that found no evidence in scripture questioning female priesthood.”(Zagano, p92). The Catholic Church, therefore, seems to hide any historical evidence that validated female priesthood.

Both bishops mentioned in the book, that is, Bruskewitz and Milingo went against Catholicism norms within and faced no opposition within the confines of their dioceses. The bishops “conformed to their ways using teachings of the Catholic Church.”(Zagano, p89). However, the ordination of women has less support, and the Catholic Church completely absolves its authority from such practices. In simpler terms, it seems like the Catholic Church favours men as compared to women. Another weakness raised is that women served in the early church ministries. In a context by Pope John Paul II, “In the history of the church, even from earliest times, there were side-by-side with men some women.” (Zagano, p107). Therefore, women served in capacities that are equal to clerics in the current generation. Lastly, the Vatican refuses to recognize Anglican women as clerics. However, “Rome seems to willingly accept Anglican orders for men to create a reunion of sorts.”(Zagano, p114). The Vatican seems to favour men who go against the Roman Civil laws openly.

Conclusion

In the book ‘Women and Catholicism’, Phyllis Zagano gives the reader an understanding of the Catholic’s church position regarding women’s ordination. To provide the reader with a clear understanding, the first two parts of the book narrate about two bishops who went against the Vatican’s rules. Bishop Bruskewitz and Archbishop Milingo impose their judicial authorities and confer valid communions, respectively. Both clergymen gain worldwide support. The actions of the clergymen lead to the question of women’s place as authoritative figures in the Catholic Church. The Church staunchly refuses to approve the ordination of women as priests, deacons and bishops. However, the book shows that the Vatican is more lenient to men as compared to women. Zagano concludes by pointing out that the gender barrier in relation to women’s ordination as a long way to go as is it is difficult to overcome.

Reference

Zagano, P. (2011). Women & Catholicism: Gender, Communion and Authority. Fifth        Avenue, New York, NY. Palgrave Macmillan.