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Episcopal, Roman Catholic Theologians Discuss Ordination of Women

Diocesan Press Service. July 21, 1975 [75246]

Worley Rodehaver, Editor, Interchange

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Issues have been raised by the question of the ordination of women which cannot be answered adequately by the mere citing of traditional practices or beliefs, Episcopal and Roman Catholic theologians have agreed.

In a prepared statement concerning the relation of the question of the ordination of women to the authority of the Church's tradition, 19 theologians meeting in Cincinnati June 22-25, said the Church faces an issue which demands of it a new effort at self-understanding in regard to certain elements of its Gospel.

The theologians, meeting as an ad hoc group, said that the current discussion of the issue has shown that traditional reasons for refusing the ordination of women are not universally acceptable.

In the statement, the 19 theologians said the current situation has shown that problems relating to the doctrine of God, of the Incarnation, and Redemption are at least indirectly involved in its solution, so that any decision, whether for or against the ordination of women, will in fact require the Church to explain or develop its "essential tradition" in an unprecedented way.

The theologians termed this "essential tradition, " as witnessed in the Scriptures, the ecumenical creeds, the Church's liturgical tradition, and its proclamation and teaching, as the basic identity of the Christian community. The essential tradition has as its fundamental content the relation of human beings to the God and Father of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Variously elaborated and interpreted in dogma and doctrinal tradition, this tradition is faced with change within the Church, is confronted by intellectual, social or political movement in the world and the Church, and the Church is required to move toward a deeper self-understanding through explication of the tradition which constitutes its identity. The Church thus faces, from time to time, novel issues, which demand that on the basis of its given self-understanding, it explain itself in new ways for the sake of fidelity to the Gospel.

While there was agreement among the theologians concerning the statement of authority, a number of issues dealing with sacramentality and sexuality were surfaced during the conference which were not released to the public at this time.

Dr. Peter Day, ecumenical officer of the national Episcopal Church and the Rev. John Hotchkin, director of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Church and staff persons for the Cincinnati conference, said that a series of position papers are planned to define those issues. The papers will be given to members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic consultation prior to their fall meeting, tentatively set for October 21-24 in Cincinnati.

The theologians met in Cincinnati as an ad hoc group which will report to the Anglican-Roman Catholic (ARC) consultation. The ad hoc group's two convenors, Bishop Arthur A. Vogel of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri, and Bishop Charles H. Helmsing of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, are the chairmen of ARC. The others are not involved with ARC.

The theologians were called together as an ad hoc group according to Dr. Day, because the U.S. Anglican-Roman Catholic consultation has been devoting itself exclusively to discussions concerning the possibilities of inter-communion.

Those theologians participating in the Cincinnati consultation on the ordination of women were called together to supply expertise in dealing with that specific question, according to Dr. Day and Fr. Hotchkin.

Dr. Day and Fr. Hotchkin reminded that there are Episcopalians and Roman Catholics on both sides of the issue and that both those sides were represented at the consultation.

They both emphasized that the consultation was not called to exercise any influence on the decision-making processes in either the Episcopal Church or the Roman Catholic Church.

Ordination of 11 Episcopal women at Philadelphia last summer, accepted by some Episcopalians and condemned by others and termed irregular by many was not debated during official sessions of the consultation, although it was discussed during informal moments.

The recent approval of women's ordination by the Anglican Church in Canada was also discussed informally. Dr. Day commented that it is true the Anglican Church of Canada's decision means that a major Anglican Church has already taken a position on this subject. We're not now doing a "ground breaking" in the U.S.

The Canadian Church's approval caused a change in the language of the consultation, Dr. Day said. "We were talking about Anglicans having this decision before them and now we have to say Episcopalians have this decision before them. "

Episcopal Church representatives at the consultation were Bishop Vogel, Kansas City, Mo.; the Rt. Rev. Dr. Addison Hosea, bishop of Lexington (Kentucky); Dr. Ruth Tiffany Barnhouse, M.D., Th.M., Cambridge, Mass.; the Rev. Dr. Eugene Fairweather, Trinity College Faculty of Divinity, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario; the Rev. Dr. Reginald H. Fuller, Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Va.; the Rev. Dr. Richard A. Norris, General Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Va.; the Rev. Dr. John Howard Rhys, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.; the Rev. Dr. Robert E. Terwilliger, Trinity Institute, New York, N.Y.; the Rev. Elsa P. Wallberg, Brookline, Mass.; and Dr. Day.

Roman Catholic participants included: Bishop Helmsing, Kansas City, Mo.; Archbishop Baum, Washington, D.C.; Sister Letitia Brennan, O.S.U., Ph.D., New Rochelle, N.Y.; the Rev. Schuyler Brown, S.J., General Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.; Sister Agnes Cunningham, St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill.; the Rev. J.M. Donahue, O.P., Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Michael Fahey, S.J., Weston College, School of Theology, Cambridge, Mass.; the Rev. John E. Lynch, Catholic University, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Msgr. Austin B. Vaughan, St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, N.Y.; and Fr. Hotchkin. Archbishop Baum was only present the first day.

For further information contact: Dr. Peter Day, Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017, Tel. 212/867-8400; or, The Rev. John Hotchkin, Director of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs, 1312 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C..20005, Tel. 202/659-6855.

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