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	Critique of Church's Stance on Ordination of Women Seriously Flawed Irish Times August 13 2010 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0813/1224276715195.html OPINION: An appreciation of ‘Sacred Tradition’ is crucial to the case for a male priesthood, writes KEVIN O'REILLY MARY CONDREN ( The Irish Times , July 26th) offered a spirited critique of the Catholic Church’s prohibition on the ordination of women. Her arguments, however, were seriously flawed. On sexual difference and Holy Orders, the church does indeed teach, as she points out, that “whatever has not become incarnate cannot be redeemed” and women are most definitely included in this teaching. When we say “God became man”, the word “man” refers generically to the human condition as a whole. In a second sense, “man” also refers to any individual adult male. It is in this second sense that the word is now almost exclusively used. Undeniably, Christ, as He grew up, also became a man in this more restricted sense of the term. Dr Condren conflates the two distinct senses of the word “man” in her comments concerning Baptism and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Sacraments are participations in the life of the risen Christ. However, while Baptism grants the Christian a participation in the life of Christ precisely as “man” in the generic sense, Holy Orders grant a participation in the life of Christ in the second, restricted sense. It is important to note that symbolic signification is intrinsic to sacramental reality. The sacrament of marriage, for instance, symbolises the union between Christ and His church. In conferring the sacrament on each other, the bride represents the church, the groom represents Christ. Just as the groom cannot be a sacramental representation of the church any more than he can be a woman, neither can the bride be a sacramental representation of Christ any more than she can be a man. In the celebration of the Eucharist, Christ makes present his own priestly offering for the church through the priest. The priest can be such an instrument only by representing Christ sacramentally. The logic of sacramentality requires the priest be male to effect the sacramental offering of the Eucharist for Christ’s spouse, the church. On Sacred Tradition, human traditions, and authority, Dr Condren assumes Sacred Tradition – yes, with a capital ‘T’ – is akin to any kind of human tradition. It is not. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit. By Tradition the Revelation of Christ is transmitted from age to age. Recent hermeneutical philosophers such as Hans-Georg Gadamer point out that reason is always ensconced within tradition and always relies ultimately on some authority or other. It is moreover an act of reason to acknowledge the limitations of one’s own knowledge and reasoning powers and to recognise the authority of another superior in knowledge and reasoning ability. The question in the present context is: will I entrust myself to Tradition, which is animated by the Holy Spirit, and to the authority of the church that is the bearer of Tradition or will I opt for a human tradition? Whether I entrust myself to the formative influence of Tradition or to that of mere human tradition has a key bearing on my ability to perceive and appreciate truth – including the truth of the church’s teaching concerning the ordination of women. The criticisms Dr Condren levels against church teaching on the ordination of women are grounded in a rationalist conception of reason. Interestingly, rationalist reason is depicted in feminist discourse as a male phenomenon on account of its totalising and violent inclinations. This paradox is seemingly lost on Dr Condren. A more contemplative attitude would, I suggest, render her thinking more ecclesial in character and help her to see the sacramental implications of a sexually differentiated anthropology.
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