Arbpen - Adrienne Boswell

Recently, I have been reading about Rev. Roy Bourgeois and his opinion that women could and should be ordained as priests. He says:

After much reflection, study, and prayer, I believe that our Church's teaching that excludes women from the priesthood defies both faith and reason and cannot stand up to scrutiny. This teaching has nothing to do with God, but with men, and is rooted in sexism. Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination against women, in the end, it is not the way of God, but of men who want to hold on to their power…. I will not recant. I firmly believe that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is a grave injustice against women, against our Church, and against our God.

I agree with him. I am a woman, and I am a practicing Catholic. My son has been Baptized Catholic, and had his First Communion on May 15, 2010.

There is nothing in the Bible that says that women cannot be priests. But, there is a lot of history of women being treated as second class citizens, or even citizens at all. In some of the gospels that did not make it into Canon bible text, especially the Gospel of Mary Magdalene 9:4.

[Peter] He questioned them about the Savior: Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?

Now, if that's not discriminatory, I don't know what is. And, I can see why that gospel was not included in the Canon. It shows discrimination, and at the end, Levi says:

6) Levi answered and said to Peter, Peter you have always been hot tempered.

7) Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries.

8) But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well.

9) That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Savior said.

10) And when they heard this they began to go forth to proclaim and to preach.

What that sounds like to me is that Mary Magdalene was the first woman priest, and that Peter was envious and afraid he might lose his position. Although there was no church as we know it today, Peter was the first Pope, and everything cascaded from him. No wonder that The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was not included in the Canon, and actually made a heretical book. To make matters worse, for hundreds of years, Mary Magdelene was vilified as a prostitute.