Women and the Catholic Church

I resent The Times identifying Sweeney as “Father Terrance Sweeney.”

Catholic theology holds that, once validly ordained, a man remains a priest forever because of the character imparted by the sacrament of holy orders. However, in light of his marriage and lack of good standing as a priest, Sweeney displays intellectual dishonesty by allowing himself to be called “father.” The ordinary reader could be led to believe that Sweeney still represents the Catholic Church in some ministerial capacity, which he clearly does not.

I object more strenuously to Sweeney’s contention that the Catholic Church can and should ordain women to the priesthood. Like all advocates of this aberrant proposition, Sweeney lacks any compelling theological, scriptural, moral, sacramental or ecclesiological rationale for maintaining that the church should deviate from the example set by Jesus himself. Thus is he forced to rely on a perverted notion of egalitarianism that reduces equality to sameness.

FATHER GREGORY COIRO

La Canada-Flintridge