Affirmation
for Catholic Women
Because of the assaults against the Christian
Faith and the family by elements within contemporary society
which have led to pervasive moral confusion, to damage and destruction
of families and the men, women and children who comprise them;
Because we adhere to the Catholic Christian
faith as expressed in Holy Scripture, the Nicene, Apostolic and
Athanasian Creeds, in the ecumenical
Councils of the Church, and in the continued deepening of the
understanding of the revelations of Sacred Truth to the Church
by the Holy Spirit through the teaching authority of the Church
and of the Successors of Peter, Apostle;
Because we wish to affirm our desire to
realize our vocations and our duty as Christians and as women
in accordance with these authentic teachings, following the example
and instruction of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and the example of
Mary, His mother;
Because we are cognizant of our obligations
as Christian women to witness to our faith, being mindful that
this witness is important to the formation of the moral conscience
of our families and of humanity, we wish to make this affirmation:
1. We believe that through God's grace
our female nature affords us distinct physical and spiritual
capabilities with which to participate in the Divine Plan for
creation. Specifically, our natural function of childbearing
endows us with the spiritual capacity for nurture, instruction,
compassion and selflessness, which qualities are necessary to
the establishment of families, the basic and Divinely ordained
unit of society, and to the establishment of a Christian social
order.
2. We believe that to attempt to subvert
or deny our distinct nature and role as women subverts and denies
God's plan for humanity, and leads to both personal disintegration
and ultimately to the disintegration of society. Accordingly,
we reject all ideologies which seek to eradicate the natural
and essential distinction between the sexes, which debase and
devalue womanhood, family life and the nurturing role of women
in society.
3. We affirm the intrinsic sacredness of
all human life, and we reject the notion that abortion, the deliberate
killing of unborn children, is the "right" of any human
being, male or female, or of any government. Such a distorted
and corrosive notion of individual freedom is, in fact, inimical
to authentic Christianity and to the establishment and maintenance
of a just social order.
4. We accept and affirm the teaching of
the Catholic Church on all matters dealing with human reproduction,
marriage, family life and roles for men and women in the Church
and in society.
5. We therefore also reject as an aberrant
innovation peculiar to our times and our society the notion that
priesthood is the "right" of any human being, male
or female. Furthermore, we recognize that the specific role of
ordained priesthood is intrinsically connected with and representative
of the begetting creativity of God in which only human males
can participate. Human females, who by nature share in the creativity
of God by their capacity to bring forth new life, and, reflective
of this essential distinction, have a different and distinct
role within the Church and in society from that accorded to men,
can no more be priests than men can be mothers.
6. We recognize and affirm the vocations
of women who subordinate their human role of motherhood and family
life in order to consecrate their lives to the service of God,
His Church and humanity. Such women's authentic response of consecrated
service to the physical, spiritual and/or intellectual needs
of the community in no way diminishes or compromises their essential
female nature, or the exercise of inherent attributes, insights
and gifts peculiar to women. Rather, it extends the applications
of these gifts beyond the individual human family.
7. We stand with the Second Vatican Council,
which took for granted the distinct roles for men and women in
the family and in society and affirmed that Christian education
must impart knowledge of this distinction: "In the entire
educational program [Catholic school teachers] should, together
with the parents, make full allowance for the difference of sex
and for the particular role which Providence has appointed to
each sex in the family and in society. (Declaration on Education,
Sec. 8, paragraph 3, from Vatican II Documents, ed. Austin
Flannery, 1981)
8. We pledge our wholehearted support to the teachings of Pope John Paul II concerning all aspects of family life and roles for men and women in the Church and in society, especially as contained in the Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio; and we resolve to apply the principles contained therein to our own lives, our families and our communities, God being our aid.
Please Print Clearly
Name______________________________________________/Signature______________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________
City, State__________________________________________
Zip________________________________________________
Name______________________________________________/Signature______________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________
City, State__________________________________________
Zip________________________________________________