FIUV PP 22

The Apostolic custom of headcoverings for women is maintained by many Catholics attached to the Extraordinary Form. St Paul laid down that women should cover their heads, and men uncover them, and explained this in terms of his analogy between the relationship between bridegroom and bride, and between Christ and the Church. As Pope St John Paul II taught, female members of the Church represent the Church in a particular way; thus they represent the bride, veiled, both as a symbol of obedience and sacredness. Appendices examine the claim that the custom of the primitive Church was taken from other cultures, and the experience of women recovering the tradition of head coverings today. . . . . .

The 22nd in the FIUV Position Papers series, called “Headcoverings in Church in the Extraordinary Form” is now available in the FIUV Positio section.