This article is Sequel 1 to From Homo economicus to Homo ecologicus ~ Cultural Evolution During the 21st Century. This first sequel is about conscious evolution pursuant to universal fraternity. In an overcrowded and degraded planet, this is the most conducive way to enhance social and ecological justice.
"No one can face life in isolation… We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead. How important it is to dream together… By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, on the other hand, are built together. Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all." — Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, 3 October 2020, #8.
Fraternity and domination are mutually exclusive. Patriarchal domination, driven by patriarchal gender ideology, is the most universal and most deeply ingrained form of domination (Genesis 3:16). The most universal, because it entails 50% of human beings excluding the other 50% from full communion in consubstantial unity. The most deeply ingrained, because sexuality influences most deeply the identity of each and every human being. All the other forms of domination (racism, elitism, etc.) pertain to subsets of the human population. There can be no sustainable fraternity as long as patriarchy is not exorcized from the collective unconscious of human civilization. This may not be achievable in the foreseeable future, but it is time to start the exorcism. It is a sign of the times.
Conscious Evolution
Conscious evolution may be a way to attain what otherwise might seem to be unattainable. This is the basic concept:
"Conscious evolution means giving less and less place to herd instinct and more to the group imperative. We are emerging from our gregarious condition and are now to enter on the rational way of living by scanning our relations to one another, instead of bluntly feeling them, and so adjusting them that unimpeded progress on this higher plane is secured." — Mary Parker Follett, The New State, 1918, p. 91
With 7.8 billion people now competing for natural resources, the time is ripe for conscious evolution pursuant to overcoming the patriarchal mindset of domination by brute force and focusing instead on fostering the common good and mitigating
economic inequality and ecological overshoot.
The Inseparability of Culture and Religion
Culture and religion can be distinguished but cannot be separated. In the context of the Judeo-Christian tradition, consider the following:
- Natural Unity of Man and Woman
- Natural Consubstantiality of Man and Woman
- Unitive Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Integral Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Patriarchal Disunity of Man and Woman
- Natural Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Sacramental Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Sacramental Homogeneity of Man and Woman
- Sacramental Consubstantiality of Man and Woman
- Sacramental Unity of Man and Woman
- Apostolic Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Apostolic Consubstantiality of Man and Woman
- Apostolic Consubstantiality of Man and Woman ~ Mary of Nazareth
- Reconstructing the Original Unity of Man and Woman
- Reconstructing the Original Harmony of Humanity and Nature
- Here and Now: Laudato Si' and the Year of Mercy
- Here and Now: Integral Humanism and Evangelization
- Here and Now: Liturgical Body Language
- Body Language in the Church Family
- Eucharistic Body Language, Male and Female
- Apostolic Body Language, Masculine and Feminine
- One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic ~ Male and Female
- From the Creation to the Ascension ~ Male and Female
- From the Creation to Pentecost ~ Masculinity and Femininity
- Trinitarian Body Language ~ Communion of Persons
- Eucharistic Body Language ~ Corpus Christi
- Liturgical Body Language ~ The Anointing at Bethany
- Sacramental Body Language ~ New Creation in Christ
- Spousal Meaning of the Body ~ Humanae Vitae
- Spousal Meaning of the Body ~ Apostola Apostolorum
- Spousal Meaning of the Body ~ Domus Sanctae Marthae
- Spousal Meaning of the Body ~ Assumption of the Virgin Mary
- The Body is a Sacrament of the Person
- The Homogeneous Sacramentality of the Human Body, Male and Female
- The Homogeneous Sacramentality of Human Flesh, Male and Female
- Religious Patriarchy is an Obstacle to Integral Human Development
- Religious Patriarchy Compromises the Mission of the Church
- Religious Patriarchy Corrupts the Church as a Visible Sign of Christ's Presence
- The Patriarchal Gender Binary Perpetuates Fallogocentric Liturgies
- The Ascension of the Risen Christ and the Patriarchal Descension of the Church
- Religious Patriarchy Contributes to a Dysfuntional Human Ecology
- An Adequate Anthropology for an Integral Ecology
- The Twilight of Patriarchy and the Dawn of an Integral Ecology
- Consubstantial Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Rediscovering the Natural Consubstantiality of Man and Woman
- Resilience of Religious Patriarchalism in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
- Internalizing the Consubstantial Complementarity of Man and Woman
- Overcoming Patriarchal Gender Ideology for Integral Human Development
- An Integral Anthropology for Integral Human Development
- An Integral Anthropology for an Integral Ecology
- Third Anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si'
- The Provisional Character of Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
- The Patriarchal Roots of the Ecological Crisis
- Fostering Gender Communion for an Integral Ecology
- A Cultural Revolution for an Integral Ecology
- One Human Nature, One Common Flesh, One Common Home
- Patriarchal Gender Theory: Defective Anthropology, Defective Ecology
- Seeking New Paths for Humanity and for an Integral Ecology
- The Nuptial Dimension of Human Ecology
- The Nuptial Insanity of Male Headship in Human Ecology
- The Incarnation is the Beginning of the End of Patriarchy
- "Original Sin" is the Root Cause of the Patriarchal Culture
- The Copernican, Darwinian, and Marian Revolutions
- Conscious Evolution from Artificial Patriarchy to Natural Relationality
- Man and Woman ~ Relational Complementarity in Consubstantial Unity
- Fifth Anniversary of the Encyclical Laudato Si'
- The Climax of Religious Patriarchy and the Renewal of Human Relations
- The Paradox of Religious Patriarchy and the Golden Rule
- Cultural Evolution Beyond Patriarchal Gender Ideology
- A Path of Transformation from Patriarchal Ecology to Integral Ecology
- On the Renewal of Humanity for Social Equity and an Integral Ecology
- On Laudato Si', Fratelli Tutti, and the Terminal Decline of Patriarchal Civilization
- Meditation on Biblical Patriarchy, Apostolic Succession, and Global Warming
- Musings on Human Supremacy, Religious Patriarchy, and Industrial Ecology
- Ruminations on Frugality, Fraternity, and Patriarchal Religiosity
- Transitioning from a Patriarchal Human Ecology to an Integral Ecology
- The Ecological Crisis is the Climax of Patriarchy and Religious Patriarchy
- From Homo economicus to Homo ecologicus ~ Cultural Evolution
- Summary Points for Meditation on the Ordination of Women
- Religious Patriarchy in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
- Patriarchal Gender Ideology and the Reign of God
- Consubstantial Complementarity of Man and Woman
- An Adequate Anthropology for the Anthropocene
- Gender Communion for Integral Humanism & Integral Ecology
- An Integral Ecology for the Anthropocene
- Nuptial Complementarity in the Church Hierarchy
- On Discernment about Women in Sacramental Ministry
- On the Mysteries of the Beginning and the End
- On the Mysteries of the Incarnation and the Redemption
- On the Nuptial Mystery of Christ and the Church
- On Religious Patriarchy and Social/Ecological Justice
- On the Marian Dogmas and the Pilgrim Church
- On the Encyclicals Humanae Vitae and Evagelium Vitae
- On Church History & Doctrinal Development
- On the Global Sense of the Faithful
The historical reality is that cultural evolution unfolds simultaneously in the secular and religious dimensions. Secular cultural evolution without religion becomes the rat race we are currently witnessing, with technological developments driven mostly by short term profit incentives without regard for the social an ecological common good. Religious cultural evolution without secular (grassroots) input is stymied by the inertia of ancient patriarchal ideologies that prioritize theological abstractions over biophysical realities.
When the Titanic sank, the band kept playing until the ship went down. Perhaps they kept playing for a while even after the ship was already under water. The same will probably happen with all the "titanic" patriarchies of the world. They will keep playing the game, business as usual, until the bitter end. If religious institution are to provide leadership, they have a lot of catching up to do.
In the Christian churches, synodality may be a way to let go of patriarchal Christendom and embrace something resembling a Christian community within the community of creation. No more "definitive" pontifications, no more top-down indoctrination based on culturally biased theological abstractions, no more patriarchal gender ideology, no more religious pomp and circumstance, etc.
Just as, in Europe, the fall of the Roman empire was followed by the Middle Ages, the fall of patriarchal civilization may be followed by centuries of decaying global instability until a new civilization emerges -- assuming that the human species survives. This could be a blessed opportunity for Christian communities to let go of archaic patriarchal scaffoldings and become less dogmatic and more fraternal. If the Christian churches were patriarchalized during the first millennium, then they can be depatriarchalized during the third millennium.
Integral Conscious Evolution
To outgrow Homo economicus and become Homo ecologicus, cultural evolution during the 21st century must be
integral conscious evolution. It is not just a matter of superficial adaptation of human behavior in response to changing economic and ecological realities. The collective unconscious must consciously move from prioritizing individualistic goals to prioritizing the common good. Given that the collective unconscious is decisively influenced by religious beliefs and traditions, it is hard to imagine that it can be transformed for continued human flourishing without the concurrent transformation of religious institutions by way of shedding their patriarchal semblance and modus operandi.
In the Catholic Church, for example, this entails dismantling the patriarchal priesthood. When Jesus chose the twelve male apostles to represent the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel, was he mandating that only males could follow them in apostolic succession? No, that would be a literalist reading of the gospel texts that is no longer credible because it emanates from the patriarchal culture and the anthropologically false sex/gender binary whereby women are "defective males."
Bodily sexuality is constitutive of the person but is not exhaustive of personal identity. There is one human nature, not two. Human nature is male and female, not male or female. Each person is a unique mix of the masculine and feminine polarities. Sexual difference does not cancel ontological unity in one and the same flesh. It does not cancel the potential for interpersonal communion in the image of God. Twenty centuries after the redemption, the patriarchal gender ideology of male headship and sex/gender binary continues to exclude women from sacramental ordination in the Catholic Church. It is time to leave behind the conflation of revealed truth and patriarchal gender ideology; it is time for the hierarchy of the Church to exemplify the redeemed "unity on diversity" of man and woman by ordaining women to the ministerial priesthood.
Ordinatio Sacerdotalis is not a dogma of the Catholic faith. It is a
gagging order to preempt further discussion. It is also a tacit admission that we are still prisoners of patriarchal theology based on patriarchal gender ideology, but apostolic succession is not dogmatically masculine. By the power of the keys, the church can and should ordain women to the ministerial priesthood. The following points for meditation are based on textual analysis of the
New Testament, the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the
Theology of the Body:
1. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, God made flesh, not a patriarch.
2. God the Father is a person, but not a male.
3. God the Son is a person, but was not a male before the incarnation.
4. God the Holy Spirit is a person, but not a male.
5. The Trinity is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate.
6. The "Son of Man" is God made flesh, not a patriarch.
7. All men and women are fully consubstantial in one and the same human nature.
8. Bodiliness and sexuality are not simply identical.
9. Being a body-soul is more fundamental for human nature than sexuality.
10. The body is a sacrament of the entire person, but is not the entire person.
11. The priest acts in the person of Christ, not in the masculinity of Christ.
12. All men and women are ontologically homogeneous in their whole being.
13. All men and women are of the same flesh in their somatic structure.
14. The complementarity of man and woman is enabled by their consubstantiality.
15. All men and women are fully consubstantial with Jesus Christ as to his humanity.
16. For the redemption, the masculinity of Jesus is as incidental as the color of his eyes.
17. Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, not the male of life.
18. The substance of the Eucharist is BODY, not XX or XY chromosomes.
19. The substance of the Eucharist is FLESH, not testosterone.
20. The Church is "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic," but not necessarily patriarchal.
21. Patriarchy is a disordered attachment to the supremacy of masculinity.
22. The Church is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate.
23. The Church is the body of Christ, not a woman with a male head.
24. The Virgin Mary is the "type" of the Church, not a woman with a male head.
25. The Virgin Mary precedes the sacramental economy as Mother of the Eucharist.
26. The Marian dimension of the Church precedes the apostolic dimension.
27. Apostolic succession is contingent on redeemed flesh, not on masculinity.
28. The nuptial mystery of Christ and the Church is not a patriarchal marriage.
29. Canon 1024 is an artificial contraceptive and abortifacient of female priestly vocations.
30. Catechism 1577 reduces the priesthood of the New Law to priesthood of the Old Law.
31. Catechism 1598 declares that ordaining only males is a choice, not a dogma.
32. The exclusively male priesthood makes invisible the "feminine genius" in Christ.
33. The Christian/Catholic/Orthodox faith is not intrinsically (dogmatically) patriarchal.
34. The conflation of patriarchal gender ideology and Christian doctrines is a disgrace.
35. Institutionalized ecclesiastical patriarchy is an abuse against Christ and the Church.
36. It is time to discard the patriarchal scaffolding that obscures the Catholic faith.
37. Male headship is an ancient but entirely artificial cultural custom, not natural law.
38. After the resurrection, nothing requires that apostolic succession be exclusively male.
39. The first "transubstantiation" in history happened in the Blessed Virgin Mary's body.
40. Transubstantiation can happen via women ordained to act in persona Christi.
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"What is not assumed is not redeemed." Humanity is male and female, not male or female. For the redemption, and the sacramental economy, what really matters is the body-soul humanity of Jesus, not simply his masculinity; for the New Law, what matters is that the Word became flesh, not that Jesus is male. The Church should stop defending culturally biased doctrines and allow Christ to call women to the priesthood and the episcopate. Religious patriarchy became obsolete with the resurrection of Christ. Is the risen Christ, in today's world, still calling twelve males to represent the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel? Thousands of men, and no women? Thousands of male bodies, and no female bodies? Something stinks. The stench of sexism was not detectable in apostolic times, but it is no longer deniable.
What is no longer good for people and the entire community of creation to flourish cannot possibly be what Christ wants to continue happening. For integral universal fraternity, for integral human development, and for an integral ecology, this is the way to go:
One Sacred Community ~ Mary Southard CSJ
Courtesy of Ministry of the Arts ~
Click the image to enlarge
"It's a long way to Tipperary".
Along the journey, the encyclicals Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti are good guidance for conscious evolution by all men and women of good will. The
Laudato Si' Action Platform and the Laudato Si' Movement are recommended as a most effective means, especially for 1.2 billion Catholics, to play a part in conscious cultural evolution for the renewal of humanity and human civilization:
Study the encyclicals Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti.
Click the image for more information about the Laudato Si' Action Platform.
Consider becoming active in the Laudato Si' Movement.
Goals of the Laudato Si' Action Platform:
(1) Hearing the Cry of the Earth
(2) Hearing the Cry of the Poor
(3) Ecological Economics
(4) Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles
(5) Ecological Education
(6) Ecological Spirituality
(7) Community Resilience and Empowerment.
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