Scandal and confusion?

Maureen, with respect, the "vast majority of the laity" do NOT support the ordination of women. If you were to write that the majority of laity in America support this, then, perhaps you would be correct. However, globally that is not the case.

There are 67 million Catholics in the United States, there are 1.2 billion globally. The vast majority are located in South America and Africa, where this is a non-issue. The hierarchy is not "outnumbered" by laity who believe in the ordination of women. Rather, those who support women's ordination are outnumbered by the hundreds of millions who do not as well as the weight of history, tradition, doctrine, and the example of Christ Himself.

Game, set, match.

You go, Maureen! Thank you for pointing out, again, that the emperor has no clothes.

Let's be clear maureen: You can't be a priest so stop wasting out time.

If anything is "confusing," it's how the Church hierarchy has consistently taken Jesus's radical message and distorted it, blunted it, watered it down, and made it conform to a cozy, structured, conventional view so that the bishops and cardinals do not have to experience any jolt to their worldview.

Sister Fiedler, thank you for noting the absurdity of our hierarchs' practice of labeling disagreement with official teaching as creating "scandal and confusion".

Unfortunately, too many Catholics today are not "thinking Catholic[s]". They are the weekend pew potatoes who blindly drop their shekels into the collection plate while their hierarchs continue to chip away at the dignity of the laity. These people are the "sheople". If they don't willingly accept papal and episcopal statements "lock, stock, and barrel", they don't bother to challenge official teaching, either, and thus enable continued ecclesial dysfunction.

"Ignorance is bliss" for the hierarchs as they continue to count on most of the "lay faithful" to at least tolerate noninfallible teaching that puts human integrity to shame.

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd".

Unfortunately, our bishops in Rome and elsewhere believe the Lord was including them in the "I", as well. History, however, has strongly demonstrated otherwise.

Yes, the bishops have lost all moral credibility, but I suspect still too many Catholics still don't "get it".

Sad.

Making yourself and your little group seem more powerful than you are, aren't you. 1 bil Catholics in the world and you think that most of us want women for priests. No, the majority will not join in your little rebellion. The independent Catholic movement will eventually form itself into its own pseudo catholic church, that I do not doubt. You keep it. Rah, rah, shish koom ba. The one that makes the most noise wins!

To the moderators. Does that mean nothing will be posted which might conflict with this woman's absurd statements?

Right on, Maureen! The Vatican's arguemnt for denying women priests is so flimsy they have to halt all discussion of it lest they look even more ridiculous.

I first saw Ms Fiedler in 1980 on television bemoaning the fact that there were no women priests. I listened because I had never seen a nun with blond hair and gold jewelry. Thirty one years later, Ms Fiedler is approaching seventy, and she is still singing the same song. Women will never be ordained in the Catholic Church, One of the reasons the Episcopal church is in schism is because of women's ordination. Why would anyone male or female stay in a church that one feels is oppressive?

Right on Maureen! You ladies outlive us men and many women have substantial estates. Remember that there are many worthy charitable entities which do not discriminate against women when you write your will!

As a Catholic woman I don't support women's ordination. Although the "hierarchy" is suspect, I find that there really is scandal in the alternative Church being built, especially when there are alternatives if you don't like the Catholicism.

"Let's be clear: no one is confused. Every thinking Catholic knows that the Vatican opposes women's ordination, and most know that the vast majority of the laity support it."

You're indeed confused and prove the Cardinal's point, the Vatican doesn't "oppose" women ordinations, it recognizes that it has no authority to ordain women. Perhaps its time to recognize your power hungry madness for what it is and repent.

Cardinal George smokescreen. The good cardinal might remember that when he points a finger at someone else accusing them of "scandal and confusion" he has three fingers pointing back to himself. Nothing has caused more scandal and confusion than the sex abuse scandal that cardinal George presided over. Womens ordination is a drop in the bucket when compared to the harm done by this scandal.
Finally, cardinal George, we're not children, and we're intelligent enough to not be confused. This isn't the 18th century or earlier when the ignorant masses looked to the hierarch for advice.

I never ceased to be amazed by the level of vitriol some of the writers express regarding the ordination of women in these blogs. One would think that the fear some of them manifest is worthy of time with a competent therapist. Have no fear you who are opposed to the ordination of women, the sign of the times is quite evident, the ordinations of men to priesthood has continued to decline for decades now, not just in the USA but around the globe. When there are no priests to celebrate Eucharist then we will continue to violate the very essence of the sacrament by distributing pre-consecrated hosts in a para-liturgical service.....one important note......that will not be a Eucharistic celebration! Imagine losing the Eucharistic celebration just because of celibacy! Maybe we can have drive thru Churches, simply order the required number of hosts desired and drive away, no need to meet as a community just take, eat and drive on.

The Pope has forbidden God to love women. The Pope has forbidden God to love married priests. The Pope has championed Bishops who protect pedophile priests and sexually active homosexual priests. The Vatican has paid billions in hush money to victims of clergy abuse. But, in the name of God, the Pope has ended all discussion of women priests and married men in the priesthood. We are asked to believe the Pope claims that God doesn't love women and married men as much as the Pope loves pedophiles, as this is infallible doctrine that can never be questioned.

Only Jewish believers are allowed to question God and their rabbis. Catholics are never allowed to question the Pope who talks to God and forbids God to love women and married men,... or children....

There can be no "dialogue" on matters of doctrine, which is what the Church's 2,000-year-old teaching that the priesthood, since the first priests were installed by Jesus Christ is open to men alone, constitutes. The Church is not a democracy (and neither is the United States, for that matter). There can be no "opinions" regarding doctrine, only faithful Catholics in obedience to Church teaching or heretics. Choose one, not both. It would be beneficial if those prone to heresy would simply make it official and leave our Church physically (as they have already don spiritually) and join another whose views more closely match their own.

Not to allow discussion or dialogue on a topic or idea renders it even more of an issue. A married clergy or women's ordination will not ride off in the sunset or simply evaporate in thin air. The measure of any culture or society can be ascertained by it's treatment of women. Denying women an equal place at the altar seems more Christlike than anything I'm hearing from the opposition. There is sooooooooo much fear amongst those who oppose even the possibility of dialogue about such topics. What does it tell you about the character of any organization when people are not permitted to even speak about an issue? History has clearly demonstrated that those regimes perish with the development and evolution of humanity. For God's sake, we in the United States consider ourselves a very advanced and educated nation and consider how long it took us to give women the right to vote (cf. 19th Amendment, a mere 91 years ago).

Thank you again Sister Maureen Fiedler for giving us another example of the confused hierarchy in the Catholic Church. Many of the people who have defended our intelligent Sister Fiedler have said many of the ideas that I have been thinking when I read her article. Many of the bishops in the vatican and this country are really afraid of women who might be more truthful and intelligent than they are. I agree with those who indicated that the real scandal in the Catholic Church is the the way the Vatican and many of the conservative, republican catholic bishops in this country tried to keep the sexual scandal hidden from the laity. I pray to the Holy Spirit that he will awaken the Catholic Laity to the scandalous behavior of some of our church leaders.

Here is a part of the article from Oct.17.11:

"The Vatican says women cannot be ordained priests because Jesus Christ willingly chose only men as his apostles.
Advocates of a female priesthood reject this position, saying Jesus was merely conforming to the social customs of his times."

Who is Jesus? Jesus is God and he knew the future - sorry but there was no any woman as His apostle.

Helloooo anon Junia Foremost Apostle Among The Apostles WOMAN Romans, NT

Mary Magdala Apostle WOMAN Jesus chose her to reveal, teach His Resurrection.

Samarian well woman John4 Jesus told the returning men she was a better apostle to Samaria than they were. He was so thrilled with her he had no need of the food they had gone to procur.

WOMEN Apostles... yep, you just gotta get to actually read the bible.
Anonymous, your claims there were no women apostles just show complete ignorance of the bible and what Jesus did and said.

Lots of women were Jesus's highly significant, highly praised apostles.

Only WOMEN anointed our Messiah, again with his praise and defence.
Mary Bethany, at which no one complained, and another time, woman of the city, at which Jesus defended her to all present at that communion meal.
Women placed in the role of Bishop, anointers, by Jesus.