One of the most
common questions I am
confronted with concerns the
concept of the
Church's teaching that the
husband is
head of his
wife and the
father is head of his
family.
Firstly one must distinguish this headship from man's
domination of woman that is the result of the fall (Gen. 3-granted this interpretation, which is not Roman Catholic, is skewed). Also, it must be emphasized that the
perfection of a
love for man's wife is in the
sacrifice of himself for her, even as
Christ offered himself for the Church (Eph. 5). Nevertheless, Christ does have
authority over the Chruch, and the traditional understanding of this
doctrine has been that a husband has authority over his wife: his headship does not consist solely in sacrificing himself. But what does this authority mean in practice, if it is not to become
domination? Can he
command her to do things, which she is then bound in
conscience to do? What are the
limits of this authority?
The headship of husband over wife is to be understood primarily in
connection with the
Mystery of the Church, the mystery in which Christ is the
Groom of His
Bride and the Head of His Body, the Church. This headship is
not to be understood in terms of domination, which is an
aberration from what God originally intended, namely, as
Pope John Paul II has explained in his theology of the body, a
communion of
persons. Thus, this headship is not to be understood in
political terms, but rather in exclusively marital terms, that is, in the context of the very love of husband and wife for each other, which is the
sacrament of the Love between Christ and his Church. It is really only in the context of marriage that this headship can be truly understood. To attempt to reduce it to something else or to understand it in political terms is already to misunderstand it.
There is a
modern revivalist movement sweeping acroos the
USA. The key idea being
taught/
preached/
practiced is that of a wife's total submission to her
spouse. If her husband says jump off a bridge, these women will do it. This is no
joke, I believe it was
20/20 where I caught this and one woman interviewed said she would do just that!
Although not a Roman Catholic movement, it is important for me to point out the extreme nature of
literal interpretation and why it should be never be done or if so with
absolute caution. Biblical exegetes, and theologians go to univeristy for at least 8 years, often more, and are well trained in the language of the Bible. To pick it up one day, read it and take from it as one will is often detrimental as is
witnessed with this movement.
The faulty
interpretation of this idea will only send humanity back into the
dark ages.