What of St. Joan of Arc? God calls both men and women to fight for him, spiritually, mentally and even sometimes physically. So why can't women fight against the forces of Islamic radicalism?
St. Joan was an exception (having received a direct revelation from God to do something the Church and society at large found typically reprehensible), but exceptions do not disprove a rule. The fact that we find her example to be so exceptional proves this point.
I still stand by my position. What element of society is in greater need and worthiness of our protection, as men, than our wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters? Putting them in harm's way does not do anything for their protection.
In the liturgy, sacred things are veiled: the tabernacle, the chalice, ciboria, the monstrance, and women. We men should view women as sacred in a way that we are not, for they are bearers of life and the promise of future generations. If we seek to place such a valuable element of our society on the front lines, then we obviously don't have a society that is very much worth protecting.
And regarding the crusader example and fighting against "radical Islam" (a far smaller threat than radical Zionism, in my opinion), the United States and Great Britain aren't fighting radical Islam, anyway. They're fighting politically and economically motivated wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not religiously motivated. If eliminating radical Islam were the motive, these countries would be at war with Saudi Arabia, which practices a far more radical form of Islam than found in most other Muslim countries. But the US and UK aren't religiously motivated in the wars they fight. If they cared about religion, they would be reclaiming their Christian identities at home. The so-called "War on Terror" or war on radical Islam is not a Crusade, and it's an affront to the original Crusaders to use the term in such a reference.
