What is the Pope thinking?????
First, don't jump on me for criticizing the Pope, as I was baptized and raised Catholic. Now that we are past that..... but I also haven't been to a Catholic Church, other than a funeral, for about 35 years...anyway....
A gal I bowl with is somebody in the local Catholic Church who is part of some mass where she brings some big book (could be the Bible) and carries it around and puts it on the altar and reads something. Goofy description, I know, but that's what she said. She and another Catholic gal were chatting after bowling and she invited me into the conversation knowing that I'm a Catholic....sort of. She said that the Pope has extended an OFFICIAL invitation to Episcopal priests to join the Catholic Church and be immediately ordained as priests. HUH? What's that all about???
Well, here's what she told me it's about: the Episcopal Church has decided to allow women to be priests, and a bunch of priests are pissed off about it and want to leave the Church. The Pope saw a golden opportunity to get a whole bunch of priests on the cheap (There is a critical shortage of Catholic priests. In my area, there is one priest for three parishes.); practically no training since the two churches are so much alike. Now, here's the problem. In the Episcopal church, priests can marry and many are married and have families. What about them? No problem for the Pope; bring the wife and kiddies along!
Now, can existing priests in the Catholic Church marry? Nope. So......the Pope would rather welcome priests in with wives and children than allow women to be priests, even though Catholic priests are FORBIDDEN to marry.
I'm in the Mary Magdalen camp; I believe that she not only was Jesus's wife, but was the person he chose to head the church when he was gone. I don't think women were ever meant to be the Women's Auxiliary for the Church.
A gal I bowl with is somebody in the local Catholic Church who is part of some mass where she brings some big book (could be the Bible) and carries it around and puts it on the altar and reads something. Goofy description, I know, but that's what she said. She and another Catholic gal were chatting after bowling and she invited me into the conversation knowing that I'm a Catholic....sort of. She said that the Pope has extended an OFFICIAL invitation to Episcopal priests to join the Catholic Church and be immediately ordained as priests. HUH? What's that all about???
Well, here's what she told me it's about: the Episcopal Church has decided to allow women to be priests, and a bunch of priests are pissed off about it and want to leave the Church. The Pope saw a golden opportunity to get a whole bunch of priests on the cheap (There is a critical shortage of Catholic priests. In my area, there is one priest for three parishes.); practically no training since the two churches are so much alike. Now, here's the problem. In the Episcopal church, priests can marry and many are married and have families. What about them? No problem for the Pope; bring the wife and kiddies along!
Now, can existing priests in the Catholic Church marry? Nope. So......the Pope would rather welcome priests in with wives and children than allow women to be priests, even though Catholic priests are FORBIDDEN to marry.
I'm in the Mary Magdalen camp; I believe that she not only was Jesus's wife, but was the person he chose to head the church when he was gone. I don't think women were ever meant to be the Women's Auxiliary for the Church.
