A concerned Catholic: Fr Pat was lovely. The new, young priest, Fr Francis, is rather more challenging. He means well, but he wants to take us back to before Vatican II. My daughter has just made her First Communion and I told him I want her to serve at the altar. Can you believe, he said only boys will be serving in future. I was livid and decided to leave for the neighbouring parish. I don't see, however, why I should be forced out. I think I will write to the bishop. Is that the best option?
Chaplain: This is an emotive issue. I understand fully how you see this to be a matter of justice and view the new priest’s actions as divisive and unfair. Let us think first what the Church says. A diocese may permit girls to serve at the altar, but it is for the individual bishop and priest to decide whether this is used in their respective diocese and parish. Fr Francis is, therefore, acting entirely properly in his policy of having only boys serving. It was controversial when Rome first gave permission in 1994 for girls to serve. This was seen as a concession to those in Germany and elsewhere who were doing something forbidden in the Church for 2,000 years. Most UK parishes, however, are now accustomed to seeing boys and girls serving at the altar. Now let us think why Fr Francis might be saying only boys should be serving at the altar. It is unlikely to be due to misogyny or unthinking reaction. Most priests would recognise that girls are as good, and sometimes better than, boys in altar serving. If this were purely a secular and functional matter, there would be no controversy.
At the time of the initial concession, and subsequently, Rome has praised “the noble tradition” of having boys serving at the altar. It acknowledges that many boys have discovered their vocation to the priesthood through this opportunity to serve, assisting the priest, being close to the altar and the Eucharist. Research in the US clearly demonstrates this to be the case. Priestly vocations are far more common in parishes which have only male altar servers.
In the UK there seems to be a reluctance to commission or accept such research. The existence of female altar servers is not the sole reason for the decline in priestly vocations, but its use is a return to reserve the right and duty of serving to boys may counteract some loss of vocations.
Some would argue that we ought to be ordaining female priests, but that is something the Catholic Church teaches to be impossible. It is more helpful to consider the practicalities. In the experience of many priests, having girls and boys serving at primary school age is not problematic at the practical level — except that it can be seen as unfair to encourage girls to consider a vocation which is not open to them.
The practical problems emerge at secondary school age when girls and boys become more conscious of their identity and tend to avoid common activities. Altar serving can be seen “girly”. Many boys stop serving at that age when priestly vocation ought first to be considered. Having come from the tradition of male-only altar servers, in many places serving in practice is now exclusively female, at least by the time of adolescence. This is not healthy for the future of the Church. By contrast, those parishes which have only male altar servers tend to have far more boys continue serving into their teenage years and beyond. There is a sense of male camaraderie and competence closed to women in many areas of life. Parents comment on how helpful (and rare) it is for boys to have a structured role in which they feel valued. Other priests share Fr Francis’s view, but are reluctant to articulate or implement them for fear of controversy in a parish which has had a tradition of girls serving at the altar. This is particularly true for younger priests, who are the ones who will be most affected by the vocations crisis.
If a priest returns to the Church’s tradition, the practice of having only boys serve, such a change should be made sensitively. He may allow those girls already serving to continue to do so; only in the future are new servers drawn only from boys. Girls should be encouraged to participate in other areas of parish life, such as reading or a ministry of welcome. Even when parishioners disagree, the priest should explain clearly the reasons for the change. I would urge you not to leave your parish, but not to engage in dialogue. Discuss the matter with Fr Francis and listen to one another. Liturgical ministry in the Church should not be a source of conflict. It is a place where we seek to preserve and build up communion.
