Brendan McGrath, in a comment (#41)on the America Magazine blog, "In All Things," has a novel idea. McGrath suggests that women be allowed to become cardinals (not exactly a new idea, but wait). McGrath observes that since this has nothing to do with doctrine, only church discipline, it would only require a change in canon law, entirely possible.
McGrath then goes on:
Let's also not forget that it is part of women's unique feminine genius to be nurturing, to create a home, etc. So how fitting and most profitable to the Church it would be if the bishops and male ex-cardinals could give their mansions to the female cardinals as the ideal home to live in? (That is, unless we were to do something else, such as selling those mansions before daring to close a single Catholic school.) That's not to say that the bishop could not live in that home too - after all, who's going to do the female cardinal's laundry? Surely not a nun, as it has often been, since that wouldn't be complementary: why, it should be the male bishop who looks after the female cardinal, or at least a male priest or brother. After all, the priesthood and episcopacy are about serving; it is the misguided nature of radical feminism that sees everything in terms of power which would say otherwise. And since bishops love nothing more than serving, why could they not serve the female cardinals by cleaning their bathrooms?
Obviously what I've said above is dripping with irony and satire, and as I look at it, I see that it may unfairly tar all bishops with the same brush; some are very much about serving, etc. But anyway, while certainly I used irony and satire, I am indeed very serious about making female cardinals, and I think it actually could be a very good idea to entrust the power of selecting popes and bishops entirely to an all-female college of cardinals.
If the teaching on not ordaining women is really not about power, and is really not about denying equality between men and women, then what possible reason could there be not to make female cardinals?
Food for thought.