Topic:  How does the Catholic Church deal with Biblical prohibitions about women speaking in the Church?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: February 9, 2003

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question:   What is the Catholic Church's position on women in the church? -- Are former nuns or sisters allowed to give the homily and sit beside the priest on the altar? I noticed that in response to a similar question in the archived Questions and Answers under Liturgy, the inquirer was told that only bishops, priests and deacons are allowed to sit on the alter . . . so I wonder why my church allows a former nun to do so. And how does this jive with what is said in the Bible, Corinthians 14:34-35 and Timothy 2:11-12 that women are to be quiet in the church? Thank you for you help!

Answer: 

Hi, Brooke!

You alluded to the FAQ Library on our web site, and I would just want to encourage you to read through all the questions there that have to do with women in the Church. Several questions address this important topic.

A homily is 'reserved' for the ordained in the Liturgy. Since only males can be ordained, neither a nun, a sister, a former religious woman, nor other lay woman could give what is TECHNICALLY a homily.

However, Canon Law does provide for a non-ordained person to give a "reflection" on the readings during the Liturgy. So, while the distinction may seem somewhat arcane, a non-ordained person could PREACH at Mass although that preaching would be a "reflection" rather than a homily.

Actually, non-ordained persons "sit 'on' (?) the altAr" at most every Mass. Altar Servers, for instance, are rarely ordained and they sit NEAR the altar very often.

(By the way: altEr is a verb while altAr is the noun.)

Since females can be Altar Servers, women can indeed sit NEAR (nobody can sit ON!) the altar.

With regard to your parish's particular practice, I can't comment since I don't know the situation first hand. However, I will say that I always assume that a Pastor has a good reason for doing whatever he is doing...and I would encourage every Catholic to do the same!

If you have specific questions about the practice in your parish, make an appointment to see your pastor. Ask him -- respectfully!!! -- to help you understand the way things are done in your parish. And don't argue with the man; his job is hard enough as it is! :-)

Finally, remember that we Catholics use the Bible as one of God's great gifts to the community of faith. But that is precisely the point: God entrusted the Bible and its use to the Church, so the Church is the primary arbiter of how to understand the Bible.

Jesus, when He was on earth, did not spend His time "writing;" rather, the Lord called persons into community with Him and with each other. Therefore, we Catholics have always assumed that the community of faith has priority.

That means, in this context, that the community of faith -- the Church -- has the right and responsibility to determine how best to interpret and understand the Scripture.

And while -- in the specific context of the first two centuries of Christian experience -- Saint Paul did say that women should be quiet in the Church, the Church itself has determined that women can speak in certain contexts in the Church. Since the Bible is "the Church's book," Catholics feel perfectly comfortable allowing the community of faith to decide how we should understand and apply these particular passges of Scripture to our present situation.

Hope this helps some...

Blessings,
Father Phillip