little2add Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Priest says no girls allowed at the Star of the Sea Church. Only altar boys can serve, says Father Joseph Illo. Girls will no longer be trained as altar servers at a Catholic church in San Francisco. Females cannot enter the priesthood, he said, so boys should only carry out altar services LINK: http://www.starparish.com/news/official-statement-on-altar-boy-policy Edited February 1, 2015 by little2add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 When I was in school, girls were trained as sacristans and boys as servers. I served once because none of the boys showed up. Looking back I think it instilled the idea of gender roles, kind of the women take care of the house. It also instilled in girls from an early age that being a priest isn't our destiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winchester Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 When we had acolytes, it made sense. Altar servers are not a part of holy orders. So the priest is indulging in a non sequitur. But it's his demesne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritasluxmea Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I know parishes that switched within the past ten years and it didn't get media attention. I wonder why this is different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oremus Pro Invicem Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I guess I don't view this as a shock since male only altar servers have been the norm in the Church since oh, forever. It makes me wonder if Catholics will be shocked when the Church goes back to norm of only the priest distributing holy communion during Mass? What about if the Church goes back to the normative practice of having the priest do all of the readings? Oh the humanity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineM Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I know parishes that switched within the past ten years and it didn't get media attention. I wonder why this is different? Maybe because it's San Francisco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 This parish is an Oratory-in-formation: therefore, because of the order, the practices are going to be more traditional. They offer the EF: you can't have girls serving in the EF regardless. I really wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of EMHCs in the OF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little2add Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 This parish is an Oratory-in-formation: therefore, because of the order, the practices are going to be more traditional. They offer the EF: you can't have girls serving in the EF regardless. I really wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of EMHCs in the OF. would that necessarily be a bad thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 would that necessarily be a bad thing Reclaiming a measure of authenticity in our Mass is never a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 would that necessarily be a bad thing Nope. I just don't have any experience with the Oratory at the OF, so I couldn't say from first-hand knowledge what they do in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little2add Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) " Mass since 1994, but for 1900 years before that generally only males were permitted to serve at Mass. " Fr. Joseph Illo Isn't it funny that about the time that females were allowed to serve as altar boys, vocation to the Priesthood and Sisterhood/Nuns declined and has been declining rapidly ever sent. My children (2 boys and 1 girl) received their confirmation in the 90s, both my boys served as altar boys but we did not allow my daughter to serve... Much to her distain. I don't think she will ever forgive me ( or her mother), she felt it was unfair to let her brothers serve and not her because of her gender. We both felt it was the right thing to do at the time... but I have deep regrets. I now think it was a mistake to forbid her partisapation (I'm sorry honey, forgive me) Edited February 2, 2015 by little2add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't think altar serving itself makes more vocations to the priesthood, but I think the disposition it inspires can make someone more open to it. Altar serving taught me reverence in a special way, that leadership sometimes means not being the center of attention, and that different roles are all important. I saw up close how careful and deliberate and truly reverent the priest was when he presided at mass. At my church a good altar server did what they were supposed to do, helped other servers who needed it, all without being a distraction from what else was going on. I jumped in at the last second plenty of times, and took over for servers who fell sick in the middle of mass - it really emphasized that it was an act of service. It also helped me understand my role as a layperson, in that we all have different roles to play and that they're all important for the Mass to "work" well, even if they're little roles. It also gave me more opportunities to talk to our priest, and learn from him. I'm really thankful I had that opportunity. All those sorts of things are good for anyone, and could also be very easily directed toward helping boys consider a vocation to the priesthood. And I don't have a problem with a priest's ability to decide whether or not to have girls serve (I might have problems with his reasons), and if he does decide to have boys serve to increase vocations, I feel pretty strongly that he needs to make sure that there's something good and active going on in the church for girls vocations. Something like a girl's choir doesn't really cut it, though it's an okay idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilllabettt Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 There are about a million billion places and spaces in parish life where girls and women are expected and welcomed. Most boys are not going to be called to be priests. And yet there are very few places and spaces in typical parish life where they are expected and welcomed as laymen. So they grow up, and don't practice. The reason they do not stay is because we have not made space for them. And at Sunday mass many places women outnumber men 3 to 1. Which is a problem, because of the mountains of research showing it is the father's practice of his faith which is the strongest indicator of whether it will be passed on to the next generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 There are about a million billion places and spaces in parish life where girls and women are expected and welcomed. Most boys are not going to be called to be priests. And yet there are very few places and spaces in typical parish life where they are expected and welcomed as laymen. How do I know this is true? I'm not very active in parish life. Maybe I'm a bad Christian. But do you say this because women run all the bake sales and crap like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilllabettt Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 who do you see running Parish committees. who do you see heading up ministries. who do you see at Mass during the week and on Sunday. Answer: mostly women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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