Holy Saturday message: Adopt a
bishop
By PATRICIA LEFEVERE
Special to the National Catholic Reporter
The women on the cover of Phyllis Zaganos book Holy
Saturdayýare not afraid. Unlike many depictions of the women who
went to anoint Jesus body, these women have purpose painted across their
faces. Bearing their ministerial tools -- alabaster jars of spices Ñ
they sidestep the sleeping watchmen and learn of the Resurrection from an
angel.
Those who are participating in the Adopt-a-Bishop campaign related
to the book, which advocates ordaining women deacons, are not afraid either.
Zagaono and others are trying to make sure the book gets into the hands of
bishops.
In her scholarly work, subtitled An Argument for the
Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church, Zagano is not
arguing for a change in the ban on women priests. Instead she is bringing the
weight of extensive historical research to her call for a permanent diaconate
for Catholic women.
Zagano, founding co-chair of the Roman Catholic Studies group of
the American Academy of Religion, believes it is entirely within the
churchs tradition to restore its ancient practice of ordaining women to
the diaconate. She uses theology, ecclesiology and historical documentation,
along with contemporary understandings of deacons roles, to solidify her
claim.
Im convinced shes right. Her argument is on
target, Dominican Sr. Marian McCarthy told NCR. She brought the
book to the attention of the General Chapter of her order, the Dominicans of
Sinsinawa, Wis.
The Provincial Council of the order encouraged McCarthy, who
wanted to get Zaganos book into the hands of the men who could do
something about it: the bishops
McCarthy has sent Holy Saturday (Crossroad, $16.95) to a
dozen bishops and received a few responses.
A similar idea emerged among alumnae at the high school Zagano
attended, Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, N.Y. On April 5 the school kicked
off the Adopt-A-Bishop campaign. It allows fans of Zaganos
book to buy a copy at a discount and have it sent to a U.S. bishop of their
choice. The campaign is being organized by the Christian Meditation Center in
Roselle, Ill., which McCarthy and her brother, Fr. Warren McCarthy, run.
Zagano points out that Holy Saturday, her ninth book, was
inspired by the late New York Cardinal John OConnor. In 1979 when
OConnor was an auxiliary bishop of the Military Ordinariate, he asked
Zagano, a member of the Navy Reserve, how he could get women to serve as
ministers in the military. Ordain them as deacons, Zagano said,
noting that military chaplains have to be ordained.
OConnor urged her to put her ideas on paper. If she wrote a
book, he said, hed get it to the pope.
Last spring, shortly before he died, OConnor received one of
the first copies of Holy Saturday. Zagano doesnt know whether the
book made it to Rome, but she has reason to believe the question of women
deacons remains open at the Vatican.
In 1987 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger visited New York, Zagano
broached the subject at Ratzingers meeting with journalists. Ratzinger,
the Vaticans doctrinal czar, told her, It is under study.
Patricia Lefeveres e-mail address is
pal-scribe@erols.com
National Catholic Reporter, April 13,
2001
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