Chivalry isn't dead

Bishop Wenski offers a brief tutorial on the status of women in the church, courtesy Zenit:

"That the Church only ordains men to the priesthood is not a comment on the status or state of women but a statement on the nature of the priesthood as instituted by Jesus Christ," he said.

"The ordained priest acts 'in persona Christ'; that is, he acts in the place of Christ who is the bridegroom of the Church, his bride," said the 56-year-old prelate. "To say that a woman cannot be a bridegroom in no way detracts from her essential dignity as a human being or her equality with men."

Additionally, "pagan societies were hardly 'pro-women,'" Bishop Wenski continued, "and this was true of civilizations of high culture like that of the Greeks and Romans as well as the less 'cultured' barbarians."

"Where the Gospel took root, however, the status of women improved," the bishop added. "That the Middle Ages were considered the 'Age of Chivalry' shows how deeply the Gospel penetrated societies that had once treated women as chattel."

"A Catholic anthropology can affirm the equality and dignity of both men and women without denying the God-made differences between the sexes.

"Of course, this is not to say that women were always treated with dignity or received their due within the Church. While the Church is not of the world, too much of the world is found in the Church. Believers have, in this as well as other areas, often failed to live in a way congruent to our beliefs."

"We are always called to conversion,"Bishop Wenski added, "Both women as well as men are called through baptism to witness to the Lord. And lest we forget, salvation came to the human race through the free yes of a woman, Mary."

So there it is in a nutshell: the whole catechesis on women in the church. What more needs to be said? The Pope is cited as a critic of chauvinism in the article. I would venture to guess he is one of the most chivalrous men in Europe. What could be more evident of the decay of Christian chivalry than the exponential rise of abortions? Who more eloquently defends the dignity of women than the Pope?

For Father's Day, let us honor the men in our lives who defend the dignity of women and thus promote the wellbeing of society. Happy Father's Day, Pope Benedict! Happy Father's Day, Dad! Happy Father's Day, Godpop!