Nicholas J. Vaccarelli – 8/6/06

This page was last updated on August 6, 2006.

Women should be priests; Nicholas J. Vaccarelli; Beaver County Times; August 6, 2006.

I don’t argue for or against women priests in this critique. The purpose is to illustrate Mr. Vaccarelli’s strange view of how religions should work and his faulty logic.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“Before I receive responses that say that if I don’t like the Catholic Church to find another religion, let me say that’s not going to happen.”

[RWC] In other words, the Catholic Church must conform to Mr. Vacarelli’s beliefs, not the other way around. I wonder what other Catholic teachings Mr. Vaccarelli opposes.

“Once again, what I like to call the good old boy network of the Catholic faith has reared its ugly head. This time, it’s not recognizing the women recently who have become priest [sic].”

[RWC] “[G]ood old boy network?” Mr. Vaccarelli doesn’t sound very happy with the religion he allegedly chose.

As you will read below, proponents of women priests are in trouble if people like Mr. Vaccarelli are their spokesmen. Just as too many people, Mr. Vaccarelli turns what could be a legitimate political/religious discussion into a bashing exercise.

Also, these women are no more priests than if I had performed the bogus ceremony. If the Catholic Church doesn’t conduct the ordination, you aren’t a priest.

“The church’s claim is that Jesus only picked men and that is what they based their all powerful decision on.

“Far be it from me to quote the Bible to them, but in Genesis, God stated it was not good for man to be alone, and so he created Eve. Why, then, should the church take the stand it has?

“With the shortage of priests and numerous pedophilias we have put up with over the years, why not let married individuals or women become priests?”

[RWC] So, only single men are pedophiles? I hate to break the news to Mr. Vaccarelli, but pedophiles come in both sexes and are married and unmarried.

“A recent Associated Press article stated how Joan Houck [sic] has run parishes, administered to the sick and numerous other duties she has performed.

“How is this any different than what some of the priests do now? Talk about hypocrites. The church currently lets divorced or annulled Catholics with children administer communion.”

[RWC] I read those articles and none of them described what they meant when they said “Houk has ministered to the sick and needy, run two Roman Catholic parishes that were without priests and has presided over baptisms and funerals.” I could hand out traffic tickets but that wouldn’t make me a police officer or make those tickets valid.

While we’re talking about news articles, here’s an excerpt from a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the “ordination.”

“Several liberal Catholics offered support for yesterday’s ritual. But not all advocates of women’s ordination are convinced it’s the way to proceed.

“Phyllis Zagano, a senior research associate at Hofstra University on Long Island is a Catholic theologian who advocates the ordination of women to the diaconate, because that discussion is still permitted in the church.

“The riverboat movement ‘raises the issue and makes more people discuss it,’ she said.

“But she is concerned that some of the women wouldn’t qualify if they were male because of their theology or lifestyle.

“‘From what I have read of their biographies, some of the women are not much interested in much of what the Roman Catholic Church teaches. So there is a conundrum there. How can you be ordained to serve a community of believers if you don’t agree with them?’ she said.”

“I believe the lines of authority have been blurred. Most churches have female altar servers. These women deserve to be given a chance, and based on what I have been experiencing around the county, it would be a refreshing change.”

[RWC] What does having “female altar servers” have to do with allowing women priests? That’s like saying women should be priests because they sing in the choir and play the organ during Mass. I was an altar boy and I can tell you being an altar server is nothing like being a priest. Indeed, you don’t even need altar servers for a Mass.

What do “female altar servers” have to do with Mr. Vaccarelli’s perceived blurring of “the lines of authority?” Altar servers are not part of any “line of authority” in the Catholic Church.

Note that Mr. Vaccarelli never tells us what he has “been experiencing around the county” that would lead him to believe “[t]hese women deserve to be given a chance.”

“Women have made numerous advancements and probably in the near-distant future one may even be president.”

[RWC] What does this have to do with a religion’s teachings? If women hadn’t “made numerous advancements,” would that have left women any less worthy?

Does anyone want to bet Mr. Vaccarelli also believes the U.S. Constitution is a “living document” that should be subject to interpretation based on the fads of the day?

If Mr. Vaccarelli were really concerned about the treatment of women by a religion, perhaps his time would be better spent working to change the teachings of Islam.

“It’s time for the church to recognize that it has a problem which needs to be addressed.”

[RWC] I rarely use the word arrogant to describe someone, but I believe the term fits Mr. Vaccarelli in this case. As I noted above, Mr. Vaccarelli believes the Catholic Church should change its teachings to conform with his beliefs. If that isn’t arrogance, what is?