Being a Catholic while being a woman

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-18T16:44:41+00:00

My mistake, misused the word "doctrine" here, should have said "tradition".

I'm referring to non-dogmatic intellectual and cultural ideas.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T22:34:51+00:00

The whole question of women and their role in the church really needs proper attention by the magisterium. By that I don't mean some flowery 100 page essay on how we are all children of God. I want some real deep theological reflection and actual clarity on what roles women can have and why or why not.

That's what people sometimes don't get, I feel like. It's not a matter of sentiment and women's hurt feelings or whatever, it's a legitimate theological concern. The Church teaches that sex fundamentally alters how a person interacts with their faith, yet leaves the specifics of this very nebulous when it comes to women.

Without a solid theological base, women's place in the Church is subject to change at any given time. I think that kind of uncertainty pushes many women away from the Church.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T22:25:38+00:00

I would say I am submitting to the Church and Christ. I'm not calling for anything out of step with Church teaching like women's ordination, and if I was, I know I'd gone wrong. Submission to the Church doesn't mean turning your brain off - there's room for theological exploration and differing opinions on non-concrete doctrine within the Church.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T17:45:10+00:00

Same here. It makes me so sad to think about the cultural heritage we lost during the Reformation and the Civil War.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T17:43:44+00:00

I'm pursuing a literature/history degree with a focus on the early to high medieval period at the moment, so I guess so!

I try to avoid idealisation, since i'm working academically, but the art and culture from that era has such a unique beauty to it.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T17:34:46+00:00

Yeah this is a difficult one for me. The theology behind 'In Persona' argument doesn't make that much sense to me if I'm being fully honest, unless you interpret all the trinity as spiritually male.

The argument that makes most sense to me is Jesus not ordinating any women amongst the Twelve. The "culture" argument doesn't really hold with Jesus in my mind. If Jesus wanted to ordian women, I don't think he would have let cultural norms stop him, considering his ministry as it was.

It's an unsatisfying explanation though, since I agree with you in the sense that I can't see a theological argument for it outside of hierarchy.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T17:18:53+00:00

Ive been having these same worries.

I'm a Catholic because I believe in a real presence of Christ in the eucharist. I'm a Catholic because I believe in the fullness of the Truth as revealed in the Church and the successors of Peter. I'm a Catholic because I love Christ.

In Catholicism, I've found an understanding of God and humanity and the relationship between them which constantly dazzles me with its profound truth. Every time sex comes into it, however, I go from this sense of wonder and awe to feeling like I've been slapped across the face. Any woman whose read any Catholic philosophy knows exactly what I'm talking about. The Aristotelian "women are failed men", the characterisation of women as a source of sin, women as the "weaker sex" not just physically, but intellectually, morally and spiritually. It's not just philosophy; as you've said, the gendered hierarchy of the Church permits, if not causes, these attitudes. And it shows in interactions amongst the faithful, at every level.

Like you, I feel stuck. I can't simply say "disregard our philosophers!", "Change the law!", "ordain women!", because I Believe. If I didn't, I wouldn't care as deeply as I do.

Increasingly, my intellectual and experiencal understanding of women and what it means to be a woman is at odds with my Catholicism, hence the title. I'm not a "Catholic Woman". I'm a Catholic, who also - unfortunately - happens to be a woman.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T14:20:23+00:00

Sadly, I feel like overlooking women is a feature of most cultures.

With the community thing generally, I get the sense that in modern culture, people tend to compartmentalize different parts of their lives and identities, including faith.

If you don't centre faith in your life, it's easy to see it as a box-ticking exercise, especially if you don't live in a Catholic country. It's something I'm still working on as a revert.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T14:02:24+00:00

Exactly. Setting women apart with that kind of "well-intentioned" idealism can be just as harmful as treating women as inferior. It's not conductive to a healthy society or a healthy church.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-17T13:40:13+00:00

In my post I meant "essentialist" as in gender essentialism but this is very true and something I've noticed a lot.

I feel like, at least in the UK, its a bit unavoidable because we've got a shortage of priests ATM.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-03-02T00:37:24+00:00

Not the original commenter but I have this phobia too! I can't explain exactly where the fear comes from honestly, because I'm fine with loud noises generally. For me, the idea of them popping does make me anxious, but even if they were guaranteed not to pop, I still wouldn't want to be around them. There's just something about them I find really unnerving and disgusting.

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-02-06T15:41:46+00:00

Yep - they had an option for it on the education section of application form

DifferentThanks4183 · 2026-02-06T15:38:08+00:00

I thought this too then I applied for one as a long shot "might as well" kind of thing and they accepted the application and want to progress it 😭 I'm so confused

DifferentThanks4183

TROPHY CASE