UNITED STATES
Question from a Ewe
The soap opera around, “Did he? Didn’t he? Did she? Didn’t she” seems to be fading as the Vatican claims Pope Francis’ meeting with Kim Davis did not endorse her behavior refusing to issue same sex couples marriage licenses. And now his meeting with an openly gay man and that man’s longtime partner are paraded before us as evidence to refute any political intentions on Francis’ part by meeting with Kim.
Whatever…. I think the pope can meet with whomever he wants. Jesus met with sinners and social pariahs all the time. I applaud anyone willing to receive any human being with Christ-like, humble, non-judgmental hospitality. That we could all have genuine warmth towards all people…
That being said, I do question why, despite requests, he did not meet with Catholic women ordained as priests. Why didn’t he meet with any of the plethora of sanctioned and excommunicated people in this country – enduring marginalization due to their support of women priests? Just curious….
I also question Francis’ dismissive and patronizing statements about women made during his homeward flight press conference. On one hand he calls for and lauds conscientious objection while in the same press conference he repeats his unwillingness to engage in his signature “dialogue” activities regarding women’s ordination…with some of those pesky conscientious objectors to unjust hierarchical edicts. Irony…or perhaps hypocrisy.
He repeated his call for a “theology of women” and joked about not having done a darn thing about it like actually reviewing the compendium of female theologians’ works that already begin to describe such a theology. He found time to meet Kim but not meet with any one of the many outstanding female theologians living in the U.S. who could help him make his wish about a “theology of women” a reality. Elizabeth Johnson, Joan Chittister, Mary Hunt, Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Elisabeth Scussler Fiorenza are a few who come to mind. Many live in the very geographic localities Francis visited.
Perhaps he prefers talking to regular folk versus professional theologians. I did extend multiple invitations to meet and discuss this very topic beginning with a request in my Christmas card last year…which I know arrived because I got a nice impersonal acknowledgment of its arrival. Yet, his schedule evidently was too packed to spend time with such women though he claims they are more important than men in the church…so important that he could not squeeze in one meeting on the topic…
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