Ban on women priests not a gender equality issue

THE issue of female ordination should not be combined or confused with a campaign for greater accountablility and lay participation in the running of Catholic parishes and dioceses.

This does not help any campaign for reform. The fact is that the ban on female ordination is not a gender equality issue. It is a matter of scriptural symbolism.

Jesus defined his own relationship with his church in spousal terms. The Book of Revelation speaks of the church as “the bride”. He created a template of male priesthood. Through the priesthood of Christ, the church is called to bear fruit and take on new life. Changing that template would be no different to substituting the signs of bread and wine with other symbols. Scriptural images are a theological language that map out our relationship with God. To alter them is to distort their meaning. That is not to say the lay faithful, men and women, should not campaign for a greater role in church administration and that there should not be the kind of accountability and transparency that makes the church not only conform to best practice but actually leads the way as befits an organisation committed to an understanding of leadership as humble service.