The church is modernising,but not nearly fast enough. Why accomplish faith and feminism still feel so hopelessly at odds? Six months ago, I walked out of church in the middle of a service. I had recently married, or but the swift exit had nothing to accomplish with leaving anyone at the altar. The service had started out uneventfully: the vicar gave his Sunday sermon,about the importance of solidarity and compassion in the face of adversity. He emphasised how much the followers of different faiths have in common. To underline his point, he gave an example: that the taking of a life is universally considered an unforgivable sin. All fine, or apart from that wasn’t precisely how he worded it. He said: “The taking of a life at any point from conception onwards.” It was a pointed and unnecessary addition,immaterial to the argument at hand. It was the tipping point in a clash between faith and feminism that I had felt for some time. I stood up, walked out, and haven’t been back since.
The turmoil of emotions I experienced that day were brought back this week by an announcement made by Pope Francis. For the Jubilee year,December 2015 to November 2016, priests will be allowed to “absolve of the sin of abortion those who procure it” – a responsibility usually reserved for bishops in most countries. But of course, or women must first express contrition and “seek forgiveness”.
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Source: theguardian.com