Melissa Moschella, who just received her doctorate from Princeton and is one of our Catholic Voices, has a letter in the New York Times today responding to “Women as Priests” (Exposures, Sunday Review, Sept. 30) She counters the article’s “oversimplified portrayal of the church’s position on women’s ordination, which is based neither on 'the logic of tradition' nor on a denial of women’s crucial role in the church."  As Melissa notes,

Women, however, are far from second-class Catholics. To be a first-class Catholic is to spend your life serving God and others, and priests have no special advantage in that regard. Priests nourish the laity (and one another) with the sacraments, so that all of us —men and women alike — can spread the joyful and loving message of Christ to a society badly in need of it.

 

At the important Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization taking place in Rome, Washington DC’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl told his fellow bishops that Catholics need to respond to a “a culture that … is characterized by secularism, materialism and individualism," with “confidence in the truth of our faith”, and with “boldness or courage, connectedness to the Church, a sense of urgency and joy.”  That’s what Melissa demonstrates so well, and that’s our goal here at Catholic Voices.