Sexist treatment of women in Church

By Herbert Vego

THERE was a time when progressive Catholic women badgered the Church to integrate women into priesthood and fire homosexual priests, apparently because of the dwindling number of manly men entering the seminaries. The Pope at that time was the late Benedict XVI.

He answered with a cryptic reminder: “My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church.”

What did he mean? That it’s not his but God’s will that women are unfit for priesthood?

That God prefers “half-women” or homosexuals to he-men?

I once attended a seminar on misogyny in Antipolo City where Dr. Michael Tan – former chancellor of the University of the Philippines UP-Diliman – lectured on the subject matter. In the open forum, I asked him whether he would favor disqualifying homosexual priests.

He answered jokingly: “Fire the homosexuals? Then there would only be half of the priests left.”

Dr. Tan even wondered why the Church seemed tolerant of the gays in the clergy but prejudicial against women. Then he proceeded to blame seven “early church fathers” for misogyny, handing down to succeeding generations their sexist treatment of women. I would like to summarize from my notes what he said.

Tan cited Tertulian (150-225 AD), a North African theologian, for calling woman “the devil’s gateway who still bears the curse of God on Eve.”

St. Ambrose (339-397 AD), as Bishop of Milan, imputed second-class status on woman because “she was only a rib taken out of Adam’s body.”

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407 AD), Bishop of Constantinople, called the woman “an inescapable punishment, a necessary evil for the man.” He urged men not to marry.

St. Augustine (354-450 AD) blamed Eve for the “original sin.” Adam could not have eaten of the forbidden fruit had Eve, the only one who succumbed to the serpent’s deception, not transgressed first. Thus, Augustine hyped his conversion to Christianity as “a vocation of celibacy.”

St. Albertus Magnus (1200-1280), Dominican theologian, openly despised women in a sermon: “When a woman has relation with a man, she would like, as much as possible, to be lying with another man at the same time. Woman knows nothing about fidelity.”

To St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), “women symbolize decay, deformity and the weakness of the age.”

Pope Gregory I, who reigned from 590 to 604 AD, is badly remembered for his idea that the woman was fit only for either harlotry or maternity.  Despite that, he was later canonized as St. Gregory the Great.

If the aforementioned pillars of the Catholic faith were to resurface today and repeat what they said in their time, today’s women would probably stone them to death.

Another speaker in the same forum, Fr. Percy Bacani (now the Superintendent of Diocesan Schools of Baguio-Benguet), denied being a woman hater. On the contrary, he confessed, he had fallen in love with a luscious young woman who showed signs of reciprocity.

However, when we asked him to go on with specific details, he just whispered “Secret….”

-oOo-

MORE POWER GEARS UP FOR DINAGYANG FESTIVAL

AS the Dinagyang Festival 2025 approaches, MORE Electric and Power Corp. announces the company’s proactive measures to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted celebration.

According to Engr. Bernard Bailey Del Castillo, Vice President for Network Development and Operations Group, the company has prepared for proactive measures to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted celebration.

In fact, MORE Power is deploying teams in strategically positioned areas to enable them to act on any electrical concerns that may arise, ensuring the continuous delivery of reliable power throughout the event.

MORE Power will coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) to facilitate immediate responses in case of emergencies.

As part of their commitment to public safety, MORE Power urges both Ilonggos and festival visitors to exercise caution with balloons, ensuring they are properly secured to prevent unintended incidents. Uncontrolled balloon releases pose a potential risk of entanglement with power lines, leading to unscheduled power interruptions.

MORE Power advises residents and visitors to take precautions before leaving their homes for the Dinagyang festivities. Ensuring that appliances are unplugged, and circuit breakers are switched off, which can significantly reduce the risk of fire hazards and electrical incidents.