Where The Boys Are

The driving question being pondered worldwide now awaits an answer from 115 cardinals in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.  Who will be the next pope?

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My question is this: where are the women?

No kidding. 

Christ chose 12 apostles.  All men. 

Where is it written that this decision was intended to be an ironclad, unbreakable rule of "men only" rule? Evermore?  The Bible? A tradition of male leadership is one thing.  When does tradition cement into law? 

Clearly this interpretation suits men.

How is it women have been deemed unworthy, unlikely, uninvited to lead for over 2,000 years?  No female priests - no female bishops or cardinals - no female pope. 

I am a lover of tradition -but not at the expense of every other option. 

Among other things I am a Roman Catholic with 16+ years of catholic education.  I embrace the many gorgeous mystical beliefs this theology brings.  I wonder how half of the over one billion worldwide followers are dismissed as secondary when it comes to leading the flock?

I am certain that Christ's message of love is the most important.  I understand Peter was chosen as the first pope and I do not presume to know what Christ's thoughts were on succession.  The rigidity of selecting subsequent male leaders seems more a product of cultural mores of the time than of spiritual awareness. 

Is it probable that Christ had no interest in women leading his church ever?  There is no spiritual basis for the formulaic 'men lead, women follow.' 

It does not ring of grace.  This rings of men making decisions in Christ's name. 

The old TV show titled "Father Knows Best" comes to mind as I watch coverage of the cardinals' conclave.

Two genders.  Only one gets to lead in this church.  Hard to imagine this is Christ's way - the way of light, love, compassion.  It's too one sided, too short sighted, too uneven.  Very man-made.

While white smoke will answer the question of "Who's Next?" the smoke I see hides the fire of
man-made inequality.

The 3/13/13 New York TimesCast looks at what Catholics worldwide want from their church. 

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/03/12/world/100000002113508/catholics-speak-modernization.html#100000002113508

Postscript  In a "60 Minutes" piece titled "The American Nuns" that aired on 3/17/13, Bob Simon gets an answer to the question of women as priests and church leaders. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50143033n