Just an Idea

The Old Baguette just had an idea. The question of whether or not women should be ordained as priests will probably not be answered for years and years. Frankly, following the pros and cons of the ordination of women can be exhausting and knowing that even the smallest of changes in the way "things are done" can take years to accomplish makes the debate both tiring and tiresome. The arguments on both sides are stale. We've heard them all. Too often? Perhaps, but I'd like to focus on one of these arguments just the same. The cons proclaim that one of the reasons why women shouldn't be ordained is the "fact" that women have not been ordained in the past. There is disagreement -- and further debate -- over whether or not this "fact" really is a "fact." Fact or fabrication. Back and forth. Back and forth.

The Old Baguette thinks she might have a solution to this deadlock.

A friend sent me a picture of a Cardinal. A churchman, not a bird. He's wearing a scarlet robe with a train that's about 40 feet long. Bridal consultants call a train of that length a "Cathedral Train." He's wearing a silly hat that would cause a sensation at the Kentucky Derby or at the wedding of a Royal in England. You know he's wearing a ring, a big ring. His red shoes aren't flats either, but high heels. He has attendants to keep all the material off the ground when he's walking and to arrange it nicely when he's seated. The attendants are wearing long skirts and lots of lace. Frankly, they look like nerds, but the title nerd of honor doesn't go along with the long skirts and lace. If the men were women, they'd be dressed for a wedding or a Halloween party. The creature in scarlet would be called the bride and the attendants would be maids of honor. There are women in the pictures, too, but they aren't in scarlet or lace. In their dull colors, they look like drab little wrens. The scenes aren't happy.

Now, in the old days, many a Cardinal was a layman. Men didn't have to be priests to be made Cardinals. That is undeniably a fact. Why not skip the discussion of whether or not women should be ordained? Give it a rest for awhile. Instead, let's argue for the appointment of women Cardinals ASAP. Plenty of women are around who run companies and countries. Some of them are Catholic. Make these women Cardinals and see what happens. Women are practical. One is bound to say: We have no priests. It's time to abandon our focus on fashion and ordain the married and single, male and female. That's the way God made them.

Well, that's the Old Baguette's idea. Push for the appointment of women cardinals.