MARY AND GENDER EXCLUSION
François Fouché
Berlitz Language Center, Pesaro
With the evolution over the centuries of it's tradition of
leadership, the Catholic Church would have it that men must remain the sole authors of
policy. It may smack of veiled sexism to
imply that this triumph of patriarchy is simply the result of a resenting male psyche inconsolably envious of being
ill-equipped to participate fully, with childbirth, in the mystery of creation. However, a gender-specific clergy electing
themselves, as sacramental ministers, the privilaged dispensers of grace, begs questions
nonetheless.
Beginning
with an agreement in Milan between Licinius and Constantine in 313 AD (later dubbed the Edict of Milan), and considered
alongside the more wileful meanderings of the Church's history all these developments had
their weight in securing that the Curia as we know it was, from the outset, an in-club. Here The Empire effectively accorded to christians
a first acknowledgement of legitimacy (if
we are to understand that Constantine’s conversion was probably more of a process
than an event). It follows, then, that in
order to be taken seriously as the burgeoning fashion of the day the government of the
Church immediately patterned itself after the imperial model already securely entrenched
in contemporary Rome. A religio-political
tradition of leadership - no less culturally
defined - would then build upon existing
Judeo-Christian foundations and, as would be evident from the might of the Holy Roman
Empire in later centuries (at whatever
lamentable cost to the unfortunates along the way) would
not do too badly for itself at all in the end. As
one jesuitical apologist once enlightened me : any
glib conclusion that the development of a hierarchic priestly tradition hails simply from
one titanic matrix of theological claptrap might be deemed premature when we consider that
a bishop being offered such formidable temporal power as it is in the Emperor's gift to
bestow hardly smirks or sniffs at the prospect. Instead,
for the greater glory of God and (of course) wholly disinterestedly, he grabs at it with both
hands - outstretched, no doubt, in the
attitude of prayer. To retain his prize with
any result to speak of our worthy administrator will as surely imitate those
manifestations of power which make the biggest splash in his society. Accumulated possessions or any property he might
have chanced upon in the meantime will increase significantly in value if there be no
offspring among whom such would be otherwise divided.
After the continuity of the patriarchal link this end had already been ably served. It would become practically irreversible with the
advent of mandatory priestly celibacy when, concomitantly, ideas around Mary come
precariously close to expedient.
Whereas
over much of the Church's history religious celibacy was not uncommon, it was not
universally imposed as a criterion for ordination before the Second Lateran Council of
1139. The moral stance of this hierarchy
whose didactic clout as defender of orthodoxy derives, in part, from it's own disciplines
around sexuality can also be seen to have been fiendishly supported by the unfolding over
the centuries of the Church's theology of Mary. Already
at the Annunciation she becomes the symbol of total abnegation before a God who, with the
subsequent development of the trinitarian concept, will also be proclaimed 'Father,' so
deferring, albeit consequentially, to the patriarchal monotheistic model already securely
entrenched in the Jewish Palestine of the day.
After
Pius IX, who on 8 December 1854 defined, ex cathedra, the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception , we are left with a mental image of a sort of fourth person of the Blessed
Trinity, with Mary ostensibly elevated to the same level as God. Note that it was also during this disastrous
pontificate, with the First Vatican Council (1869
- 1870), that Papal Infallibility was endorsed. The
teaching of a sinless Mary (now held to be
infallible) might be considered theologically
unsound, as the mystery of the Incarnation should, arguably, have derived more depth of
meaning if Creator was understood rather to have become creature in an 'imperfect' womb - so electing, in love, to identify completely with
humankind. Though one can never be quite
certain at which juncture revelation ends and doctrinal fancy begins, it is perhaps
regrettable that by ratifying such a divisive teaching as this Pius succeeded,
effectively, in straining already tenuous links between Catholics and other christians.
By
venerating Mary as 'the Lord's servant (Lk
1:37)' - perhaps at the expense of her other
attributes - the leadership of the
Church effectively uses her to relegate all womankind to a position of perpetual servility
and motherhood. Certainly, as far as it can
be physiologically seen, the male role in procreation ends with conception. However, if indeed any resentment has lingered, it
should be deemed unfortunate for the Church to have remained thus stuck at the conclusion
that if Womankind is singularly entrusted with the secret of human life then, at the very
least, Mankind should be assigned control over it's eternal mysteries.
A nagging contradiction here is that as Theotokos, or 'God-bearer,' Mary is herself
the first priest of the New Covenant as it is she, a woman, who effectively brings into
the world the promised Saviour. It is
therefore not surprising to find that others after her should express a wish to share in
this ministry (from her autobiography we have
it that Saint Therese of Lisieux, for one, entertained a strong desire to offer Mass).
In the
time of Mary stories celebrating female valour were noteably few, though the book of
Esther (it's rabbinical status was still
uncertain in the first century ) indicates
that women soldiers of faith were nonetheless accorded a modest dignity in directing the
course of events. With his close circle of
women companions, the person of Jesus would radically challenge such bigotry. Mind that all the Evangelists report it is to a
woman/women he chooses first to reveal himself after his Resurrection (Mt 28:9, Mk 16:9,
Lk 24:1-8, Jn 20:11-18). Moreover, our twee
picture of the benign jewess of Nazareth is perhaps a far cry from the one painted against
the backdrop of Roman Palestine. Following
Mary's dramatic discourse with the Angel, Luke has her proclaiming the Magnificat, after
the Song of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10), a
significant text given the volatility of the period and consistent with the Messianic
vision in vogue among orthodox jewry. 'He has
pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly (1:52),' lends expression to the existing image of
the anticipated Messiah (already aided by the
cult around King David) as liberator of an
occupied theocracy. In the context of such a
sensitive nationalistic prototype as this, any form of domination by a foreign power was
considered a living outrage. From the
wilderness the charismatic religio-political speak of the Baptist served only to stress
the belief that in no uncertain terms God had business with Israel and that, in the spirit
of the Maccabean Revolt which in the second century BCE had successfully challenged the
might of the Seleucid kings, her deliverance was close at hand.
We
have seen that with the Second Lateran Council celibacy became institutionalised as an
obligatory accompaniment to Holy Orders of the Latin Rite.
How did such thinking make it's way into the early christian Church ? Some scholars maintain that religiously motivated
celibacy was not entirely alien to the Palestine of Jesus.
It has been suggested that the Essene sect of the Judaean Desert had opted for
continence during what was perceived to be the advent of the coming of the Messiah. A clear prophetic message discernable in, among
other sources, contemporary writings of the Qumran community, is that a formidable warrior
to rival the heroic stature of David himself was due to lead the 'faithful remnant of
Israel' to march on Jerusalem (Is 4:3,
37:31-32), reclaim the Temple and reform it's corrupt priesthood who, for their
ineffectual resistence to Rome, were considered bedfellows of the oppressor and sellouts
to the Law of Moses. Celibacy, thus, for a
dormant army of freedom fighters, here intended as an accessory to ritual preparedness for
war.
Perhaps
taking his cue from the Essenes, in 1 Corinthians Paul recommends celibacy, although he
goes on to say : 'it is better to be married
than to be burnt up (7:9),' a position later asserted by Augustine of Hippo. With Anthony of the Desert (251 - 356) and the dawning of Christian
monasticism in Coptic Egypt, and subsequently with the hermits of Mount Carmel in the
twelfth century, celibacy as a life choice would emerge in support of workable forms of
community life, though particular to this
movement, it must be noted, was it's lay character.
It is
thus not accidental that in the 'New Eve' the Church commends to it's leadership of
bachelors a virgin dressed in blue and white period costume, wearing a veil and sporting a
halo to whom they may direct their chaste affections -
a strong indication that our men of the cloth are beginning to lose touch with
their sexuality. This perpetual virginity (upon which the Church still insists though it be
biblically questionable, Lk 8:19) becomes so
exalted as to, at least in theory, accentuate the danger of rendering untouchable anything
of woman save she whom, to all appearances, was sexless -
consequently making of the rest of womankind a collective form of forbidden fruit. Of course, a logical deduction from here would be
to justify the exclusion of women from any representative leadership in the Church. Mary becomes thus a theological pawn to support
the authority behind such thinking, for which collaboration far too much resembles power
sharing.
To
conclude, this has not been an assault on the mother of Jesus. She remains, without a doubt, a central figure in
salvation history and a shining example of fidelity to God.
Neither is it an attack on the Catholic Church.
To me, it's rich history represents the turbulent pilgrimage of a vast family of
believers towards it's God, each seeking eternal answers to often distressingly real
current questions. Needless to say, not
unlike the people of Israel throughout their own journeyings it has, on occasion, been
unfaithful to God (indeed perhaps it is,
among other things, for it's imperfection throughout the ages that sinners, like myself,
continue to find in it a home). Yet though I
should be disappointed with a Church which could never take a position at all, over issues
of priestly celibacy and certain aspects of Marian Theology I find it difficult to regard
it's hierarchy with absolutely no suspicion. Finally,
though I consider myself open to innovations of the Holy Spirit in the Church, it becomes
difficult for me, seeing the fundamental exclusivity of the Roman Curia, to believe that
Mary's position has not been manipulated to uphold a dubious form of leadership.
REFERENCES
'Catechismo del Concilio di Trento', Ed. Pauline, Roma, 1961.
Hales EEY, 'Pio Nono,' Eyre and Spottwode, London, 1955.
Egidio Papa, 'Il Silabo di Pio Nono e la Stampa Francese, Inglese e Italiana,', Ed Cinque Lune, Roma, 1968.
Calkins A B, de Margerie B, O'Carroll M, Most W G, de la
Potterie I, Shug J A, 'Mary Coredemptrix Medriatrix Advocate THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS,' Santa Barbara CA, 1995.
Bright J, 'A History of Israel,' First British Edition,
1960, London.
Jeremias J., 'Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus,' London,
1969.
Vermez G., 'The Dead Sea Scrolls in English,' London,
1962.
Vermez G., 'Jesus the Jew :
A Historian's Reading of the Gospels,' London, 1973.
Nolan A., 'Jesus Before Christianity,' Darton, Longman
& Todd Ltd, London, 1976.
S Agostino d'Ippona, 'Le confessioni'.
'Story of a Soul. The
Autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux.' Translated
by John Clarke OCD, Washington DC, 1976.
Gobry I., 'Les Moines en Occident,' 3 Voll, Librarie
Artheme Fayard, Paris, 1985-1987.
Bouyer L., 'La Vie de saint Antoine.' Essai sur la
spiritualite du monachisme primitif, 1977, Paris.
'Primi Scritti Carmelitani', a cura di Dario Cumer, Citta Nuova Ed., Roma, 1986.
All biblical
references from 'The New Jerusalem Bible (Standard
Edition),' Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd,
London, 1985.
Return to Sincronía General Index