Some Women Were Born To Preach

When you’re young, friends and relatives ask you the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For Roman Catholic women with strong faith and leadership qualities, it’s a shame that they can’t say, “I want to be a priest.”

Although women are defying the strict rules of Catholicism and making it their prerogative to become priests, as evidenced by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, they’re still very much living in silence — publicly and privately. Out of fear of being excommunicated, they don’t allow photographs during ordination ceremonies of women priests and many women are afraid to openly share their priesthood with close friends and family.

It’s not just an issue of gender or religion; it’s a human rights issue to deprive women of what they feel is their calling in life. Patti LaRosa, a woman who grew up in a religious family, did what she was supposed to do as a Catholic woman. She got married, had kids and got a job outside the church. But religion demanded to be a bigger part of her life. One day she realized, “I’m supposed to be a priest.”

Even though there are restrictions against women priests, there’s an innate feeling that some women have that they can’t shake, even if it means going against religious rules that they’ve always held sacred.

There’s no question that women should be able to participate in their own faith at the highest level possible. Women feel they should be priests, and who on earth would deny their calling to God?

Contact the author here: tinybart@morningquickie.com