...with parents of First Communicants at the parish of Our Lady and St George, Walthamstow. I was invited to speak about the Church and women: it's a subject on which it is important to explain about Mother Church, the women saints and heroines, and the deep truth at the core of it all - the Bridegroom and His Bride, the nuptial meaning of the Eucharist...and more...
It's actually men who are too often marginalised in the Church, and this is something that needs to be addressed. An understanding of the essential complementarity of men and women is of central importance, and this document is useful in grasping this...as is the material produced at this conference...
1 comment:
Marginalised is too strong. But most parishes are set for families with younger children, or old ladies. It's self-reinforcing, those are also the groups who tend to turn up, so naturally the parish responds.
The families are there to get places at Catholic schools, and also for the better reason to give stability to the children. The old ladies are the last of the Irish. Their children and grandchildren no longer have a meaningful Irish identity. (Irish men used to stand outside the church smoking. Whilst it's understandable that that was clamped down on, the result is that they now don't come at all).
We do badly need to connect to younger men, in particular.
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