(This is the Op-Ed I wrote in response to this article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protests-of-va-parishs-move-away-from-altar-girls-reflects-wider-catholic-debate/2011/11/17/gIQAnbRLcN_story.html. The Post declined to publish it, but I'll share it with y'all anyway.)
Last weekend the Post published an article outlining the ongoing debate concerning girl altar servers in Roman Catholic parishes, specifically in the Diocese of Arlington. Reverend Michael Taylor, pastor of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in South Riding, issued an announcement in his parish’s weekly bulletin informing parishioners that girls will no longer be trained as altar servers. Girls who have already been trained in this role can continue to serve but will wear white robes while the boys will don black robes similar to the vestments worn by priests. Needless to say the implications of Father Taylor’s actions and the actions of those who share his beliefs are far deeper than this particular parish or diocese. They are demonstrative of a much larger debate within the Catholic Church.
The crux of Father Taylor’s argument (which, in all fairness, is also the argument of a great many faithful and learned Catholic men and women) is that boys should serve at the altar because this ministry is meant to be the first step toward priestly ordination which, in our tradition, is reserved exclusively for men. If girls are removed entirely from the altar, I fear that the message we are sending to Catholic girls and women is that you are not an integral part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass... that you are somehow afforded a lesser portion of the promises that this sacred mystery contains. I am a Catholic woman. I am a convert. I love my Church fiercely. I am the mother of three small children, two of whom are girls. I will not be deceived into believing that the accident of my biological sex makes me any less worthy to approach and serve with adoration my Savior who is truly present in the Eucharist. I will not be deceived by those who would have me believe that God is offended by any human person’s sincere desire to serve him and his Holy Church. I will not be silenced simply because the conversation about women’s roles in the Church causes discomfort and division. I will speak because it is a matter of justice. I will speak because my Catholic Tradition demands that I take a stand to defend the dignity of all persons. I will have courage because I follow the One who taught us to be unafraid in the face of those would mock us for speaking the truth and who love their own authority more than the God they claim to serve. I will do all of this because I love the Church.
So, in conclusion, I have this to say to Fr. Taylor and likeminded folks: If the god you worship is offended by little girls serving him at his altar, it is clear to me that we do not worship the same God. I worship the LORD God Sovereign of all Creation who made all people in the divine image, who frees captives and shames the proud, who chose for his mother a poor young woman and made her Queen of Heaven, and who admonished those who would keep little children from approaching him. Jesus was served almost exclusively by women during his earthly ministry. That is evident in both the Gospels and Sacred Tradition. If we were fit enough to birth, protect, teach, feed, follow, and comfort him, how dare you presume to keep us from his altar now?
Prayerfully,
Caitlin Kennell Kim, MDiv
