Editor’s Note: Here is what the Church’s Divine Office says regarding St. Linus (Matins, Reading 4):
“Pope Linus was by birth a native of Velletri in Tuscany, and was the first after Peter who governed the Church. His faith and holiness were such that he not only cast out devils, but also raised the dead. He wrote the acts of Blessed Peter, and especially the history of his strife with Simon Magus. He forbade women to enter the church without having a veil upon their heads. His own head was cut off, on account of his firmness in confessing Christ, by command of the godless Consular Saturninus, an unthankful wretch whose own daughter he had delivered from being tormented by a devil.”
In honor of St. Linus, we saw it appropriate to post an article on the subject of the veil, as it has become a topic of frequent discussion in the Church today.
Church Law and the Veil
Today few women wear the veil, a hat, or a mantilla, and many are asking why women should wear veils at all. First and foremost, the 1917 Code of Canon Law stated: “…women, however, should be with head covered and modestly dressed, …”
The new Code of Canon Law from 1983 does not mention the requirement of women to wear veils in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. However, the absence of a direct reference to the subject does not de facto imply a change of Church teaching. As stated in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Can. 21: “In doubt, the revocation of a previous law is not presumed; rather, later laws are to be related to earlier ones, as far as possible, harmonized with them.” (emphasis added)
In fact, quite the opposite is true, as we see from another norm in the current Code (1983):
Canon 28 – Unless the law makes express mention of them, it does not revoke centennial or immemorial customs, nor does a universal law revoke particular customs.
As we shall explain below, the veiling of women is undeniably an immemorial custom which stretches back to the earliest popes, to the Apostolic Age, and even to the Church’s roots in the culture of the Old Testament. Since the new Code did not make express mention of the veil, the Church’s rulings have clearly not been revoked.[1]
Yet the Code of Canon Law is actually not the highest authority on this matter, because it is addressed directly by Divine Revelation. No Church Law may actually contradict Apostolic Tradition or Sacred Scripture. If it did, the Church law would be null and void.
Women should still wear veils while in the Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.
Why? St. Paul’s words in the infallible, inerrant, and inspired word of God still apply now just as they always have:
“Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil” (1 Cor 11:4-6).
And Pope St. Linus, the first successor of St. Peter, decreed that it is “established from the command of Blessed Peter that a woman should enter into the church with her head covered.”[2] We therefore have it on record that both St. Peter and St. Paul teach that women are to be veiled in church. Not even the authority of any future pope(s) can counteract a decree of St. Peter and St. Paul which is found in Sacred Scripture and is part of Apostolic Tradition.
St. Hippolytus of Rome (2nd Century), St. Clement of Alexandria (3rd Century), St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom (4th Century), St. Thomas Aquinas (13th Century), and many other saints and Doctors teach that women are to be veiled in church. Clearly, this teaching is ancient, universal, and part of the Catholic Faith.
As a result, the covering of heads has always been observed in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, which includes assistance at Holy Mass, visits to churches, and time spent in Adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament.
A Brief Theology of Veiling
That which is holy is veiled to show its sacredness, to show reverence towards it, to separate it from the mundane, or to manifest the presence of God. Veiling is a physical sign of the nimbus of grace and holiness that is invisible to human eyes. In the liturgy, something is veiled in order to accentuate its true essence or true nature.
Thus, in her liturgy, the Church veils the chalice, the ciborium, and the tabernacle. Even the Mass of the Faithful was originally ‘veiled’ in that only the initiated were allowed to be present. In the East, the iconostasis veils the sanctuary. Offering Mass ad orientem comparably adds a layer of veiling to the Holy Mystery. The priestly vestments are a kind of veiling. Sacred silence veils the most sacred prayer at Mas, the Roman Canon. On Good Friday, the Cross is veiled. In Passiontide, the statues are veiled. Relics and objects of devotion are often veiled. Even the Sacred Host is a kind of veiling of the Eucharistic Lord (Who is hidden beneath the accidents of bread and wine). In all of these cases, it is clear that veiling is not a demeaning sign but one which exalts that which is veiled.
A Brief Explanation of the Chapel Veil
A specific ‘theology of the chapel veil’ is rooted in woman’s identity and her relationship with Christ and with man. It is symbolic and representative of the unchanging role of woman in creation. It carries Eucharistic, sacral, and Marian dimensions. It points to God’s desire for purity and hierarchy in all His creation. Yet this beautiful reality is naturally no longer understood, and even comes under great attack, in an age of rampant feminism (a grave error of Russia) and the ever-increasing gender dystopia now devastating family life and society.
Alice von Hildebrand, from the book Women and the Priesthood, admirably remarked:
“Women are definitely more mysterious than men, not only because their affective life is more complex and more refined, but especially because there is something in women that calls for veiling. It is not by accident that women traditionally wore a veil, and that, up to Vatican II, they wore veils in Catholic churches. This custom was deeply symbolic, and alas this symbolism is now lost. Under the influence of feminism, many Catholics were led to believe that veiling indicated some sort of inferiority, and for this reason it was abolished.
“This interpretation rests on a misunderstanding. Far from indicating inferiority, the veil points to sacredness. While we do cover what is ugly or decaying, we also veil what is sacred, mysterious, and sublime. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he covered his face to hide the glow that was apparent because God had deigned to speak with him: Moses’ body reflected the depth and mystery of his experience.
“Every woman carries within herself a secret most sacred, mysterious, and sublime. This secret is life. Eve means ‘the mother of the living.’ In the mystery of the female body, human life finds its beginning: not in the male semen but in the fecundated egg, hidden in the cavern of the female body. There God creates a new soul which is exclusively His work, and in which neither father nor mother has a part. This creation takes place when the male seed fecundates the female egg. Thus, at that very moment a closeness exists between divine action and the female body which marks the latter as sacred ground. This is why the way a woman dresses, the way she sits, walks, laughs, should always be marked by a note of holy reserve. A woman conscious of her unmerited privilege will necessarily adopt a bodily posture – what is today called body language – which adequately reflects this calling.”
Our Blessed Mother’s Example
Our Blessed Mother is always shown wearing a veil. Beyond following the letter of the law, the Church has always also advocated modesty and shown us through Our Lady the model to imitate. Similarly, customs do change and that is why the Church, to show modesty and observe the clear Scriptural teaching of St. Paul, allows several types of head coverings. For example, hats and bonnets are often used in place of mantillas in some cultures. This is an instance of true inculturation which takes what is good and orientates it to the Truth.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Also relevant to the topic of the chapel veil is Canon 20, which reads: “A later law abrogates or derogates from an earlier law, if it expressly so states, or if it is directly contrary to that law, or if it integrally reorders the whole subject matter of the earlier law. A universal law, however, does not derogate from a particular or from a special law, unless the law expressly provides otherwise.” Nothing in the new Code expressly provides for a custom, discipline, or rule contrary to the chapel veil. Therefore, three canons from the new Code all point to the fact that Church laws regarding the veiling of women remain in force.
[2] From the Liber Pontificalis (Book of Popes), as cited under St. Linus’ feast day in the original Latin (and English) at Sensus Fidelium.com