I was completely unconvinced by Emily Klejewski's letter, published Oct. 13, supporting the dismissal of female altar servers. Primarily, the argument does not give young men enough credit for following a call to priesthood. Klejewski claimed that young men would not want to serve alongside young women at the risk of it becoming "yet another girls' club." I would hope that a young man would not simply dismiss God's call due to the simple involvement of females in a church ministry. The discernment of priesthood is not a light matter to be influenced so strongly by such an insignificant issue.
Additionally, her argument effectively punishes girls for being "natural volunteers," as she claims. Instead of focusing energies on encouraging young men's participation, she assumes the church should deny women the opportunity to serve God as they are called to do. This line of reasoning implies that women should be excluded from other forms of church service, such as Eucharistic minister or lector, simply because it might "scare away" the young men. Klejewski might point to the Dome and use Our Lady's presence as a justification for the exclusion of women as servers, but quite honestly I am proud of the advancements that women have made in active involvement in the Mass and I would be shocked to witness the Vatican approve of such a digression.
Gabby Sopko
senior
Walsh Hall
Oct. 16
