Father Roy Bourgeois Gender Inequality

Throughout centuries women have fought for the right to be treated and consider equal next to men; though women have moved passed most gender discrimination from society the issue of inequality of women and gender roles still lingers within our social institutions. We allow those in higher classes to hold so much privilege that they use their power to enforce social controls in order to place individuals who are devalued into a controlled category of difference. Father Roy Bourgeois was a priest for forty plus years in the Catholic church, believing and preaching his religious doctrine that specifically cut out the role of women in higher positions within the church until he decided that he did not believe in inequality of women or condemning …show more content…
Father Bourgeois said, “You cannot talk about sexism without talking about power.” I never thought about any kind of discrimination being linked with power, however, control is what makes these gives the spiritual bodies the authority to set the dominate discourses. The women that came up to Father Roy Bourgeois in regards to priesthood created a threat to those in power such as the Vatican; he did not understand why women were not allowed to serve in the church, so he used his voice to question others. Though he was viewed as causing a problem inside the Catholic community, the real question was why did they not speak up for the gender inequality that went against everything they taught? I was frustrated not only with Father Roy’s branch of faith, but Christianity in general. Why was sexism, which is considered equal against racism, still so evident in our faith? I was confused until Father Roy enlightened the audience about the central point which prevents these problems from disappearing. A lot of authorities and leaders do not want us questioning their authority, which is why the Vatican excommunicated Father Bourgeois and the reason change takes so long to …show more content…
I understood what he was trying to explain, because I feel that in our society religion is twisted and used solely as another institution to control the behavior of the outliers in the categories of differences such as sexuality, race, gender, or class. If someone steps out against the “normal” sexuality of a male, then the public may use religion to justify saying that is a sin. Although religion is not based on the essential morals it used to be, Father Bourgeois’ Theology of Liberation (God of Love) that he found in Bolivia while working with the Schools of America, makes more sense regarding how we should accept each other. As a loving God, there is no judgment of gay marriage, since it is rooted in love and justice, nor should there be kids living in slums going hungry based on a social class of those with more power; everyone is equal in the eyes of the loving God. The reaction not just from those throughout the audience, but myself as well was pure shock. This is a former priest going against everything our teachers, preacher, and parents have drilled into our minds; what scared me was that he made more sense than any of my mentors ever have.
What I gained from Father Roy Bourgeois’ speech were words of encouragement and tools to help prevent discrimination in society, starting with the religious and education institutions. Although he was forced out of priesthood