Did I Become Catholic Because I Hate Women?

The General Synod with three houses of Bishops, Clergy and Laity debated and voted, but the problems with that system is that it was open to politicking. In the deaneries and dioceses people campaigned on this one issue and the campaigns–like all political campaigns–attracted single issue voters, didn’t account for the lazy and indifferent, was open to corruption and bullying. Most of all, it didn’t resolve anything. When the innovation was rejected those who were in favor of women’s ordination didn’t go home and say, “Well the Holy Spirit has spoken through the synod. I guess I just change my mind.” No. They said, “We must rally around and discuss a bit more. We must convince and persuade. We must make sure the system works in our favor next time.” When the vote went in favor of women’s ordination those opposed didn’t say, “This is clearly of the Lord.” They said either, “We must now work to overturn this terrible mistake” or they said, “I’m outta here. The Church of England Synod is wrong.”

I therefore came back to the Catholic solution. When there is a debate there is a referee. There is someone to listen to all the arguments, gather all the data, appoint experts to study further and then to make the call. Furthermore, this authority was so much larger than the little General Synod of the Church of England. The Catholic authority considered the global church, the other Christian churches, the historic church and the 2000 year tradition. The Catholic authority system was therefor much more impressive and weighty. It also meant that the decision was out of my hands and out of the hands of a few bishops, clergy and laity of the Church of England.

Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and now Pope Francis have all closed the door to this innovation.

Some have asked me, “What are you going to do when the Catholic Church decides to ordain women?”

The answer is, “He wouldn’t because he can’t.”

But hypothetically, and to make my point that it is about authority and not women priests per se,  I explain that should such a thing happen I will accept the innovation. If the pope were able to give the green light and did, then I’d accept it.

And that’s the point. It’s not my call. It is the church that decides and my role is to learn and listen to that decision.

That’s why I never argue for or against women’s ordination because that’s not really the point.

I left the Church of England because of women’s ordination, but not because I dislike women or even because I thought they could never be ordained under any circumstances.

I left because the debate over women’s ordination revealed to me the need for a greater authority in the church to decide contentious questions.

In other words, I didn’t leave to escape women’s ordination.

I left to embrace apostolic authority.