Hi, Marcy —

Women can assist the priest during Mass but, No, an acolyte is not one step before being a deacon.

• The diaconate is the first step in Holy Orders.
• Acolytes are men and women who help and assist the priest during Mass.

They are two separate roles and functions in the Church.

It was Our Lord's choice that only men be ordained to the ministerial priesthood.

Because the Church protects and safeguards Our Lord's Teachings, the male priesthood will never include women for the same reason, a man can never become pregnant. 

This is a matter of roles and callings, not respect or disrespect.

Heck, the Catholic Church above all other men honors a woman: the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Hope this helps,

Mike

Hi, Marcy —

You said:
When I was a child there was no such thing as altar girls, just altar boys, and we were told the reason was to encourage young men to consider the priesthood and what better way than to assist the priests at Mass by being an altar boy.

You are absolutely correct and your sentiments are right on the nose. I totally agree with them; I received the same catechesis.

My personal opinion on why the Vatican allowed female altar servers was to allow young women to feel like they were an active part of the Church. I believe this initiative, like many disciplines of the Church, started with the Bishops of the United States asking for it.

I think this was a big mistake, which they now regret.

Remember though, we are talking about disciplines and practices, not doctrines.

Mike

Hi, Marcy —

Acolytes and servers are often used interchangeably but they are not the same thing. Acolytes have more specific roles and serve as a master of ceremony of sorts in the Liturgy.

They are sometimes installed, just as Lectors are sometimes installed however women and girls cannot be installed acolytes or lectors, so most parishes just have non-installed lectors and altar servers.

They misuse the term acolyte and refer to all their servers as acolytes.

John

Marcy,

The acolyte is the highest of the former minor orders, the others being porter, exorcist, and lector.

Minor orders were suppressed after Vatican II, although it is still possible to be installed as an acolyte or lector. Seminarians are installed as lectors and acolytes as part of their transition to the priesthood. In this situation, the acolyte would be a step before deacon. An installed acolyte is something between an altar server and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. Only men can be installed acolytes. While in common parlance altar servers are called acolytes, these are fundamentally different from installed acolytes.

It is true, in times past, that the altar server was seen as a stepping stone to the priesthood, and only boys could serve Mass. It would be wrong to say though, that it was wrong for them to say that only boys should serve Mass, because that was the law at the time. This is a matter of discipline, and the law was changed. Now depending on the bishop, both boys and girls, both men and women can serve Mass.

I know it's confusing, but an installed lector or installed acolyte, in the way we are using it,
is not the same as having a ceremony to inaugurate the ministry of lectors or altar servers even
if it's called installing them.

I think the bishop has to install lectors and acolytes in the way we are speaking of it.

Eric

Marcy,

I agree with your sentiments Eric, however, I would ask you to consider the following. A diocese in Virginia still refuses to allow girls to be altar servers and it is the only diocese in which vocations are doing well.

There is a certain psychology to this. Little boys usually don't want to do what little girls do. By the time they get old enough to want to spend time with little girls, they aren't thinking about serving at the altar.

When little boys see girls up on the Altar, they simply don't want be a part of it. It's the girl thing to do. Feminists might not like to hear this, but that's simply the way it is.

I'm not arguing that we return to the old discipline, I think it's great to get kids involved,
in general, no matter the gender but we've got to find a way to encourage boys to start serving again, just as we need men to step up to the plate and do their part in other ministries.

John

Hi, Marcy —

I believe the use of women as non-installed lectors is pretty common around most of the world. I've seen women at Papal Masses but again, it depends on the circumstances. The World Youth Day Masses are obviously different than more solemn and high feast day liturgies.

I don't see this as a major issue. We have congregations full of marginal believers. Most of them don't understand the Gospel, let alone the doctrines of the Church which flow from the Gospel.

The average American Catholic is Pelagian. They believe they can earn their own salvation by their own good works.

Given that sad state of affairs, our energies would be better directed in finding more effective ways to evangelize the baptized.

John

Marcy,

Using non-officially-installed lectors is allowed, but installed lectors are supposed to have precedence. The installed acolyte, too, takes precedence over Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

Canon 230 §3 states:

The entire Canon 230 deals with different types of lay ministry exercised in the Church.

• The first paragraph states that lay men can be instituted into the stable ministries of lector and acolyte.
• The second paragraph states that all lay persons can receive a temporary assignment to the role of lector, as well as to roles such as commentator and cantor.

For this reason, I don't think you need to worry that this practice of allowing women and men not officially installed is not above-board.

Eric

Hi Marcy,

John said in a previous reply:
Now I'm not arguing that we return to the old discipline.

Well, I am arguing that we return to the old discipline. I think Virginia's on the right track and
I think all U.S. Catholic dioceses should follow their lead. As Marcy said:

We were told the reason for that, was to encourage young men to consider the priesthood and what better way than to assist the priests at Mass as an altar boy.

If young girls knew the importance of the priesthood, they would probably encourage other young boys to serve.

I feel very sorry for Catholic parents who will have to explain their political correctness on Judgment Day as to why Sally had to be an altar server. Their political correctness is due to the poor catechesis in our Church on the faith.

Mike