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Article: Out of the past, women deacons point the way. (ordained female clergy)(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- February 21, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It would appear the 1995 statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on women's ordination ended all hope for women priests. Yet all the statement did was heat up the issue and thrust it to the forefront of Catholic debate.
As much as we would like to forget the past and look to the future, we cannot ignore our collective history, which has shaped and defined who we are today. As a traditionalist, I believe we should look to our early history to see how our "church fathers" regarded women in ministry.
Many people might be surprised to learn that there exists a rich, apostolic tradition of an ordained female clergy that endured until ...