Czy istnieją granice liturgicznej posługi kobiety?
Are There Limits to the Liturgical Ministry of Women?

Summary/Abstract: Following the promulgation by Pope Francis of the Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio “Spiritus Domini” on 10 January 2021, among the many questions that arose as a result of the pontiff’s decision to modify Canon 230 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law was a question concerning the limits to the liturgical ministry of women in the Church. The author of this paper attempts to answer that question by referring to “ministries” in the Latin Church as defined, above all, by Saint Paul VI’s Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio “Ministeria quaedam” of 15 August 1972 and by the Code of Canon Law promulgated by Saint John Paul II on 25 January 1983. In its broader meaning, however, the term “ministry” may refer to almost any form of service or ministering in the Church, including ministry in the liturgy under the sacrament of Holy Orders. Hence, the article also reflects upon the possibility of such “liturgical ministry” being performed by women. With respect to the ministries of lectors and acolytes, the pre-existing limits to women’s liturgical ministry no longer ap- ply. As regards priesthood, the limits concerning the liturgical ministry of women in the Catholic Church in the light of her immutable doctrine are absolutely non-negotiable. An issue that remains open and ambiguous, however, is the admission of women to diaconate, although the available historical accounts do not support the thesis that women were permit- ted to be ordained into the first degree of Holy Orders in the Christian antiquity. In fact, this would contradict the Magisterium Ecclesiae, which prohibits women from being ordained to priesthood as the next degree of this sacrament.

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