A month-long meeting of Catholic bishops and lay people at the Vatican ended on Saturday. But on the question of whether women could be ordained as deacons, the Church said the possibility “remains open” and requires further meditation.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, one of the top officials at the meeting, told a news conference Saturday night that allowing female deacons was a delicate issue that had not been debated for or against at the so-called synod. It is.
“The question remains open,” he said, as the pope signed a document endorsing the meeting’s findings. “Who am I to contradict the Holy Father?”
The issue of the role of women in the church, which emerged as a priority when Catholics around the world were canvassed for comments ahead of the meeting, was repeatedly discussed at the synod. But the question of female ordination was taken off the table and relegated to a separate study group that will present its findings to Pope Francis next summer.
The final document, presented on Saturday evening, said there was “no reason or bar to prevent women from assuming leadership roles in the church”. It also urged women to participate in the formation of priests in seminaries.
Each paragraph of the document requires two-thirds approval. The passage on women’s roles didn’t get as many votes, but still passed 258-97.
The document did not address LGBTQ inclusion, another priority that came up during the global campaign. But one participant, an American Jesuit who ministers to the LGBTQ community, was Rev. James Martin said that a year ago, when the first session of the synod was held, the discussions were very friendly and “very open”. Francis told Saturday’s assembly that the Church must be open to “everyone, everyone.”
The Vatican meeting has been hailed as a major event comparable to a smaller version of the Second Vatican Council, which modernized the church in the 1960s, and reflects Francis’ desire to engage all Catholics — from cardinals to the faithful in far-flung parishes. Open discussions to explain the future of the church.
The question of women’s role is hotly debated in an organization where women play a greater role in its day-to-day work. They outnumber Catholic men who work in hospitals and schools around the world, and often serve as ministerial leaders in remote communities, but they have little say where it counts, critics say.
However, many of these women around the world say their leadership is not always recognized.
“There are so many examples of leadership and women’s ministry that we’re already seeing around the world,” said Ellie Hidalgo. Discerning DeaconsAn organization in Durham, NC that advocates for women deacons.
In an effort to make the church more inclusive, Pope Francis has appointed more women to top positions at the Vatican than any of his predecessors. While Francis made it clear that female deacons were not on his agenda, he said in an interview in May that “women serve best as women, not as ministers.”
Deacons can preach and perform weddings, funerals, and baptisms. But they cannot celebrate mass.
For some, the increased leadership roles outlined in Saturday’s document may not be enough.
“I don’t think it’s enough for women, especially those who are called to ordained ministry,” Kate McElwee, executive director Women’s Ordination ConferenceFriday said. “It feels like they’re trying to open up different opportunities and create spaces where they think it’s appropriate for women, but it’s not enough if it doesn’t address the urgent need for women to be fully recognized as equals.”
The Vatican’s top doctrinal authority, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, explained This past week Francis decided the time was “not ripe” to weigh the question. On ThursdayThe cardinal, who oversees the study group, told synod delegates that the question needed further review and that he believed it was not a priority for most women in the church anyway.
He, however, said the study group was open to receiving views and experiences of women on the role, which was appreciated by advocates for women’s ordination.
“Until now, it’s mostly been a theological conversation or a historical conversation,” Ms. Hidalgo said. Discerning DeaconsFriday said. But she added that “taking into account what’s really happening on the ground and all the ways that women are called to leadership by their communities and by priests and bishops” will lead to real change.
Throughout this month, various groups are holding programs to raise awareness about the role of women in the church. That’s a liberal group We are the church performed a Short play A religious house in Rome condemned the “absurdity” of debating whether women should be given full equality. McElwee’s group held protest marches.
Others held events that were apparently not sanctioned by the church.
The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, which is not recognized by the Vatican, held the ordination of six women – three women. Deacons and three priests.
For the Vatican, the event violated canon law prohibiting the ordination of women. The women disagreed, claiming that an Argentine bishop whose credentials the Vatican had challenged – who said he had ordained seven women in Danube in June 2002 – was an apostolic successor.
Two years later, another unidentified bishop claimed to have ordained the first two female bishops. Since then, more than 270 people in 14 countries have performed the same ritual, said Rev. Bridget Marie Meehan said.
The decision to hold the event in Italy’s capital was deliberate, he said.
“We are making a visible witness to say that we support the Synod, we are part of it, we are part of the Church,” he said. The Pope “talks about conversing in the Spirit,” he added. “We’re ready. We’re here.
Mary Catherine Daniels, one of the newly ordained, said that for years she had suppressed a sense that she was called to the priesthood, “I always wanted to be an obedient daughter of the church, and I knew this was out of bounds.” But in the end, she followed her heart because she believed it was God’s will.
Last year, Pope Francis gave carte blanche to Sister Linda Bocher, a theologian, to organize a series of seminars on women and the church for the group of cardinals who serve as his advisers.
“I was given the freedom to open the windows to their meeting room and offer some different perspectives,” Sister Bocher said last week at a presentation of the four books that comprise those seminars, each with a preface by the pope.
Speaking at the presentation, Brazilian theologian Sister Regina da Costa expressed the frustration of many Catholic women. ” Men in the Church.
“We want to be side by side and move forward together,” he said.
