alter servers

[Guest magenna]

is it wrong for a church to have girl alter servers? i am one, but my friends at another school think that it shouldn't be.

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
6/22 - St. Paulinus of Nola

magenna,

In the 1990s, the Vatican allowed for women to serve Mass in the United States according to the discretion of the local bishop and the pastor of the parish. It's perfectly permissible for you to serve at the altar. Hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono

[Cam42]

Here is another view....while what Pio Nono says is correct, it isn't as simple as it seems.

Your friends have reservations and they are entitled to them.

Here is what the Church teaches:
[quote name='Redemptionis Sacramentum #47']It is altogether laudable to maintain the noble custom by which boys or youths, customarily termed “servers,” provide service of the altar after the manner of acolytes, and receive catechesis regarding their function in accordance with their power of comprehension. Nor should it be forgotten that a great number of sacred ministers over the course of the centuries have come from among boys such as these. Associations for them, including also the participation and assistance of their parents, should be established or promoted, and in such a way greater pastoral care will be provided for the ministers. Whenever such associations are international in nature, it pertains to the competence of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to establish them or to approve and revise their statutes. Girls or women may also be admitted to this service of the altar, at the discretion of the diocesan Bishop and in observance of the established norms.[/quote]

This is where your friends' concerns are coming from. It is a valid concern and one that should be considered carefully.

Here is another article:
[url="http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/DocumentContents/DocumentIndex/556"]Concerning the Use of Female Altar Servers [/url]

While the Church allows for female altar servers, it is not a right to serve at the altar. It would seem that in a time of necessity the Church should allow it, but not at the cost of having boys serve.

Again, I don't disagree with Pio Nono, but it isn't quite as simple as it is made out to be. The concerns of your friends are valid and should be considered.

[Apotheoun]

In the Eastern Catholic Churches women are not allowed to serve at the altar; moreover, they are not permitted to go beyond the iconostas into the sanctuary.

Below is the canon from the CCEO (Ruthenian particular law edition) that deals with this issue:

Canon 701 § 8: Women are prohibited from serving at the altar.

[Laudate_Dominum]

Let's see if we can get every Church Scholar to throw in their two cents.

I just wanted to add that the role of the altar servers is a human institution and a matter of discipline, while the priesthood is a Divine institution and its nature has explicit doctrinal aspects. Therefore the fact that the discipline regarding altar servers can be modified in time of necessity to include girls, the priesthood cannot. I know many people have a problem with altar girls because they think it is a victory for those error-stricken revolutionaries who lobby for priestesses in the Catholic Church. While I can't say I'm excited about it, it is the allowed in current legislation, but fortunately this is not as big a thing as it might first appear.

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' date='Sep 23 2005, 12:40 AM']Let's see if we can get every Church Scholar to throw in their two cents.
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here's my 0.02

here is the [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWCOMM.HTM"][b]original communcation[/b][/url] from the Vatican in which the Congregation for Divine Worship interpreted Canon 230 #2 as allowing female altar servers.

note that, this communication simply gives bishops the authority to [i]allow[/i] pastors to use female servers at their parishes. this does not mean bishops [i]must[/i] have female servers, or even that they should feel obligated to, or that a pastor in that diocese is obligated to use female servers once this allowance is made.