What's Wrong with Altar Girls?

After Vatican Council II, one of the things that arose as a misapplication of the Council’s purpose was the use of altar girls, which was meant to give both girls and boys equal opportunity. However, serving at the altar is not an issue of the equal dignity and opportunity of men and women but rather is a theological issue concerning the proper worship of God. The role has always been reserved for males because the altar server is closest to the priest during the Sacrifice of the Mass, offering assistance in a manner that is quite different from the way the layperson assists from the pew. And just as the priesthood has always been reserved for males, his assistants at the altar must also be male in order to protect the pious nature of the Sacrifice and also foster correct expectations about the priesthood and vocations to it.

Just as all twelve of Jesus’s disciples and closest confidants were male, it is appropriate for the priest, who is in persona Christi, to have his assistants at the Mass be male. Jesus never called women to these roles, and He certainly could have if He had wanted to, and so it is not the Church’s right to overstep and begin to put women in positions that they were never intended to be in. Being in such close proximity to the Holy Sacrifice while assisting the priest also leads the altar boy to further discern a possible calling to the priesthood. Allowing girls to be in this role causes a false expectation that they too could somehow be called to be priests, which we know is not possible. And yet, we see the discussion of women priests and deacons come up over and over again because they are allowed on the altar as servers. It’s leading to the mindset that if they’re allowed as altar servers, why not go to the next step? It only causes confusion.

To maintain the piety of the Mass and the nature of the vocation to the priesthood, it is necessary to maintain that the role of the altar server belong solely to males. The Church should at the same time encourage women and young girls to serve in a manner that aligns with their state in life and is appropriate for them. Maintaining the proper order of worship is essential for the life of the Church, as letting the world dictate how we carry it out will lead to trouble and a breaking down of Her identity.