Of course, they feel threatened. Would a starving man feel threatened working with a chef?

I believe that the option of marriage for parish priests must come before the ordination of women in the Catholic Church.

I'll explain through question and answer, but first, an introduction to my own background.

My father was Scottish Presbyterian, my mother was Brethren. Jesus has always been a part of my life. I grew up in many churches, and found something in all of them, but ran out of space.

Catholic influence came through books and then through other people.

Eventually, I received instruction and entered the Catholic Church.

I had come home.

Five years later, my priest friend Terry Coles wanted to marry me.

Terry knew there were Anglican priests in my family, and he suggested we both become Anglicans.

I told Terry I had to remain Catholic.

We had support from Catholic clergy and Women Religious, but generally, laypeople seemed convinced we were going to hell.

Now I'd like to clear up some of the misinformation that is still out there.

Were the apostles celibate?

No. They were Jews, and marriage was important.

In 1 Corinthians 9:5, Paul writes: "Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?" (RSV)

In the Jerusalem Bible, "woman" is described as a "Christian wife."

Cephas was Peter, who was in Rome when Paul's letter was written. I doubt that you will find any reference to Mrs Peter in the Vatican.

Why were the apostles' wives not mentioned in the Gospels?

For the same reason that electricity is not mentioned in modern books.

Marriage was taken for granted.

We must also remember that Jesus did not leave writings, and neither did the apostles. It was the followers of the apostles who recorded the stories handed down to them.

Was Jesus married?

Probably not. But he loved and respected women.

Nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus rebuke a woman for lack of faith.

We are told he had special friends in Martha and Mary and Mary of Magdala. When he was resurrected, he chose to appear first to Mary of Magdala.

Why would he say to her, "Do not touch me" if he wasn't accustomed to having her embrace him?

Women were not a part of Jesus' ministry

Really?

Let us read between the lines. Jesus' ministry began with his mother at the wedding in Cana. He thought he wasn't ready, but she knew he was ready.

Remember when Jesus believed that his ministry was to be to the lost children of Israel?

When he sent his disciples out, he told them not to go to Samaria or the Pagan Territories.

In Samaria, Jesus preached to Samaritans after his conversation with the woman at the well.

In the Pagan territories, he also preached to people after a woman challenged him to heal her daughter. We could say that both these women were instrumental in making his mission global.

In the Catholic tradition, priests have always been celibate

No. That is not true. Priests, bishops, and popes were married.

However, there came a time when Church property was being handed down to children. So the priesthood became celibate.

I suspect there is some truth in the saying, "The love of money is the root of all evil."

But priests need to be celibate to freely serve. They can't do this if they are looking after a family

My experience of other churches, especially the Anglican, tells me that the married priest has a spouse and family to help him or her in ministry. In Orthodox churches, celibacy is for the Religious. Parish priests must be married before they go into a parish.

Mistakes can happen, so one divorce is allowed, but not more than one. This seems to work.

But it costs money to raise a family. How would the Catholic Church cope with that?

How is the Catholic Church coping with payment for abuse cases?

If we walk away from nature, it will pursue us.

I know good men abused by priests when they were young, but they have not made this public because they love their Church. But what about those who have made claims? What has that cost the Church?

Do I think women will become priests?

Yes, I do.

Even in Biblical times, women were priests.

Miriam, sister of Moses, was made High Priest with Aaron.

St Paul mentions Phoebe, a woman who looked after several churches in Chencre. What do we call someone who looks after several churches? A bishop?

There will be women priests, but I think that marriage for parish priests must come first. My hope for this is with our compassionate and wise Pope Francis.

It is said that if a priest marries, the marriage will fail

That is political nonsense.

My husband Terry left his body six months ago. He was 92, and in 32 years of lovely marriage, I believe we have done more for our Church than we could have done separately.

Have I wanted to be a priest?

No.

My call is to the laity, and my heart lies with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I love the Catholic Church.

I love the beauty of our Faith, the messiness of our history, and that great mixture of the human and the Divine.

I am a year older than our Pope, and I will remain Catholic to the end of my last breath. But in the time left, I pray that I will see married priests.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

Additionally, a rector at another Catholic university called on him to reconsider the Church's prohibition on ordaining women as priests.

The visit underscored the Church's deep challenges in one of Europe's most secular societies.

The pope's day started with a formal meeting with Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, followed by a conversation with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.

De Croo did not shy away from addressing the Catholic Church's handling of clerical abuse.

He highlighted Belgium's troubled history, particularly the case of former Bishop Roger Vangheluwe who admitted to abusing minors, including two of his nephews.

"We cannot ignore the painful wounds that exist in the Catholic community and in civil society" De Croo told the pope. "Numerous cases of sexual abuse and forced adoptions have undermined trust."

He acknowledged Pope Francis's efforts but emphasised that the Church's path to justice remains a long one.

"Victims must be heard and injustices must be recognised" he added. De Croo then insisted that the Church must fully confront its past to move forward.

Abuse being addressed firmly

Pope Francis responded by reaffirming the Church's commitment to addressing clerical sexual abuse.

The pontiff called the abuse "a scourge that the Church is addressing firmly and decisively by listening to and accompanying those who have been wounded, and by implementing a prevention programme throughout the world".

Catholic University distances itself from the Pope's comments on women

Francis then got into trouble "on home soil" at a Catholic university over his remarks about women.

"What characterises women, that which is truly feminine, is not stipulated by consensus or ideologies" he said, adding that dignity is "ensured not by laws written on paper, but by an original law written on our hearts" said Francis at Belgium's UCLouvain University.

"A woman … is a daughter, a sister, a mother, just as a man is a son, a brother, a father" the pope said, emphasising that the Church is not structured like a civil corporation.

Shortly after Francis' comments and in an unusual move, Professors and students at the Catholic university sharply criticised the Pope's remarks.

In a strongly worded statement of disapproval, the University described Francis' views as "deterministic and reductive".

The university said the pope's language did not align with its views on gender equality.

"UCLouvain expresses its incomprehension and disapproval of the position expressed by Pope Francis regarding the role of women in the Church and in society" the university said.

"UCLouvain can only express its disagreement with this deterministic and reductive position."

The university's response marked a rare public rebuke of the pope by a Catholic institution.

Women priests

The incident follows Belgian officials also urging the Church to address and reconsider its ban on ordaining women as priests.

The Louvain university's rector, Luc Sels, urged the pope to restore the Church's moral authority and reconsider its ban on women priests.

"Would the Church not be a warmer community if there was a prominent place for women, including in the priesthood?" Sels asked.

The pope did not respond directly and has not advanced the issue.

Francis defends comments on women

On the pope's return flight from Brussels to Rome on Sunday afternoon, Katholisch.de reports Pope Francis defended his remarks at the Catholic University of Louvain about the fundamental differences between men and women in the Church.

Francis said it was inhumane to "masculinise" women.

"The Church is feminine; she is the bride of Christ. Therefore, the feminine in the Church is more important than the masculine" the pope said.

"Anyone who does not understand this is not thinking hard enough and does not want to hear these words.

"The woman is equal to the man and, in the life of the Church, the woman is more important because the Church is feminine.

"The feminine mysticism is more important than the ministry of men."

He added that these views are not outdated, noting that exaggerated feminism is as ineffective as masculinism.

Climate Change

The 87-year-old pope visited UCLouvain as part of the university's 600th anniversary celebrations. Although his speech primarily addressed climate change, he also responded to a letter from students and professors asking about the Church's position on women.

Sources

Crux Now

Crux Now

Reuters

Katholisch.de (report translated by AI.)

CathNews New Zealand

"Women cannot be called to this office" Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller stated during an interview with Swiss portal kath.ch on 7 June.

Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that the exclusion of women from priestly ordination is rooted in the sacrament itself.

He emphasised the theological belief that, while all people are fundamentally equal in their relationship with God, only men can embody the role of Christ within the Church.

Just as "a man cannot become a mother and a woman cannot become a father", it is only men who are called to the priesthood Müller said

"The vocation comes from God. One would have to complain to God himself that he created human beings as man and woman."

He also referenced the symbolic nature of the Church which is traditionally viewed as female, with Mary, the Mother of God, serving as its archetype. Thus, Müller asserted "Only a man can represent Christ in relation to the Church".

The Church "must not change this"

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, echoed Müller's sentiments.

Speaking at ITI Catholic University in Austria on 1 June, Schönborn expressed his conviction that the Church "cannot and must not change this because it must keep the mystery of women present in an unadulterated way".

"We were all born of a woman. This will always be reflected in the mystery of the Church."

He stressed the importance of maintaining the Church's traditional teaching on this issue, as Pope John Paul II articulated in 1994.

In his apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, John Paul II declared that the Church has "no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women" and that this teaching must be "definitively held by all the Church's faithful".

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Catholic World Report

CathNews New Zealand

In an interview with kath.ch, the Luxembourg archbishop stressed "If you attack too much, you won't achieve much. You have to be cautious, take one step at a time, and then you might be able to go very far".

As the General Relator in the synodal process of the universal Church, Hollerich highlighted that the synod focuses on listening rather than politicising.

The Jesuit commented that the issue of the ordination of women is not an infallible doctrinal decision. "It can be changed. It needs arguments and time."

Hollerich said he would be delighted if women felt fully equal in the church. "Whether that happens through the priesthood or not is something that time will tell."

What is important now is "that women are given more responsibility".

Addressing the criteria for ordination, Hollerich noted that vocation alone is not sufficient. He acknowledged that while men's vocations are scrutinised, women's are not, which can appear as structural discrimination - especially from a European perspective.

The Catholic Church will fall apart

He pointed out that the Church must consider global perspectives, where community often takes precedence over individualism.

The cardinal explained that the objection that appointed women should take a back seat is "based on a typically European principle of the individual. Many societies don't think like that at all - the community comes before the individual".

Hollerich warned against imposing European individualistic principles on the global Church, which could be seen as neo-colonialist and provoke a backlash.

According to Hollerich, the global church must consider different mentalities. "We have to have these discussions with the whole church, otherwise we will have huge problems later. Then the Catholic Church will fall apart."

Cardinal Hollerich concluded: "It's not the evil Vatican that insists on these positions and doesn't want to change anything." There would be "a storm in other continents if it were to introduce the female priesthood tomorrow" and the Vatican would have to back down.

This has already been experienced with the comparatively "small matter" that same-sex couples can now be blessed in church.

Sources

English Katholisch

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

Women are being given a stronger voice says the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).

The Vatican patriarchy is giving way somewhat.

Pope Francis has appointed a few women in senior Vatican managerial positions. He also gave women voting powers in this month's synod.

This is the first time women have been allowed to vote in a bishops' summit discussing church reforms.

Women priests

Although he has increased the opportunity for women's voices to be heard, Francis has ruled out opening up the priesthood to women.

Speaking to the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Rome on Wednesday, one of the UISG nuns expressed her exasperation.

The Church is "by and large fully led by a male hierarchy" and "if you ask if I have felt frustrated, yes I have felt frustrated" said UISG associate executive secretary Sister Mary John Kudiyiruppil (pictured).

"But I really think we are making progress."

Another of the nuns, a UISG member and missionary from Ghana, Sister Maamalifar Poreku, told the FPA she doesn't need to be ordained.

She and other women are already able to make an impact helping the poor and the needy, she explained.

Ordination isn't necessary for this, she noted.

"I don't think I am interested in being a priest and I am very happy with the vocation that I have ... I don't need to be at the altar to do anything," she told the Foreign Press Association.

The 61-year-old said women priests "will happen" eventually, but "the way things move, I might not see it in my lifetime.

"We live in a patriarchal world ... it is men who dominate, whether we like it or not. This is reality so, in the church, it is men who dominate and change in society, a patriarchal society is not easy."

Enlarge your tent

One area the closed-door synod looked at was how the Church can be more welcoming - in particular to women, migrants, clerical sex abuse survivors, divorcees and victims of climate change and social injustice.

Conservatives are critical of this exercise.

Where to from here?

While Bishops completed their discussions on Saturday, they are set to begin again in October 2024.

A papal document outlining any changes in Church teaching will follow, most likely in 2025.

This means that, if there were changes in Church teaching, they would be a long way off US News reports.

Source

• US News

In a candid interview with the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) am Sonntag, Bishop Felix Gmür (pictured) also acknowledged past mistakes in addressing abuse cases within the Catholic Church and called for the admission of women to the priesthood.

"It's time to abolish mandatory priestly celibacy," Bishop Gmür of Basel told NZZ on September 24.

The bishop elaborated: "Celibacy means that I am available to God. But I believe that this sign is no longer understood by society today. Many think: What is wrong with this person? Does he have a problem? When a sign is no longer understood, it must be questioned.

"I have no problem at all imagining married priests," the 55-year-old bishop added.

Women priests

Moreover, Gmür advocates for the inclusion of women in the priesthood, challenging the long-standing exclusion.

"The subordination of women in the Catholic Church is incomprehensible to me. Changes are needed there," he declared.

His stance aligns with a broader societal movement towards gender equality.

"I am in favour of the ordination of women; it will also be a topic at the synod that will soon take place in Rome," Gmür stated.

Errors handling abuse cases admitted

Gmür's admission of errors in handling abuse cases is a striking move, indicating a willingness to confront the Catholic Church's troubled past. He emphasised the need to question prevailing conditions within the Church, asserting that the time is ripe for sweeping reforms.

Gmür is in favour of an external monitoring of the church investigation into the cases of abuse as demanded by the Roman Catholic Central Conference.

In response to the abuse scandal, the Swiss Bishops' Conference plans to establish an ecclesiastical criminal and disciplinary tribunal for the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland.

However, this still has to be discussed with the Pope since such a tribunal is not provided for in canon law, said Gmür.

But, the proceedings under church law are subordinate to state law, "so they do not replace secular criminal proceedings."

Sources

Swiss Info

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

Martin (78) also discussed clergy sexual abuse and policies of the Church, including the ban on condoms during the AIDS crisis.

"I'd be very worried about consultations, which lead to frustrated expectations which don't take place. People's faith is damaged by a church which doesn't respect women's dignity," Martin said.

Martin also criticised Pope John Paul II's ban on condoms during the AIDS crisis, describing it as "bad theology."

"I think that it was bad theology.

"It's this idea of an extraordinary narrow dogmatic understanding of bringing principles and not looking at the broad circumstances in which the situation is taking place and the struggles that people have to face.

"It was one of the problems with the church in Ireland.

"We learned the rules before we learned who Jesus Christ was."

He stressed the need for a more compassionate and contextual approach to such issues.

Women weren't listened to

While discussing the clerical child sexual abuse scandals, Archbishop Martin highlighted the understanding of ordinary Dublin women who recognised the harm caused by paedophilia but often found their concerns dismissed by bishops.

"They (the women) saw the mess that their child got into, they saw in some cases how their child took their own life, and they went to bishops and they weren't listened to."

When asked what he would say to God on arrival at the pearly gates, Martin said:

"The only phrase I have is, when you've got that weighing scale there, take the 80,000 files I gave and that might bring me the right way."

His comment was a reference to the number of documents he handed the Murphy Commission when it was investigating how the archdiocese had dealt with allegations of clerical child sexual abuse.

Martin was speaking to Joe Duffy in The Meaning of Life programme.

Sources

The Irish Times

CathNews New Zealand

The contrast between ageing congregations and young students is stark. Equally striking is the contrast between relatively youthful school staff and ageing church leaders.

Twelve months ago, with the Plenary Council final assembly still fresh in my mind, I reflected in Eureka Street that if church renewal is to take place, then Catholic schools must embrace and actively support church reform.

My own recent engagement with Victorian Catholic school principals convinced me then that their status, credentials, and ties to young people gave them a pre-eminent place in any such reform.

Twelve months later, in July 2023, as the Synod on Synodality first assembly came closer, another wider speaking engagement with almost 2,000 staff of a dozen Victorian Catholic secondary schools over three weeks, confirmed my belief.

These staff, including but not restricted to leaders and team members in Catholic identity and religious education, have crucial responsibilities and unparalleled opportunities in their daily contacts with teenagers, whether Catholic or from many other backgrounds.

My presentations covered topics like Pope Francis and the Universal Church and the Church in Australia.

If the outcomes of Pope Francis' 2023-2024 Synod on Synodality, based on the themes of its Working Document, are to penetrate more than skin deep into the Catholic community, schools must be at the forefront.

If not, the Synod will be a wasted effort and a missed opportunity. It will be wasted because it will not catch the attention, much less the enthusiasm, of the next generation.

The task is challenging. Students in Catholic schools represent the face of the present and the future. They are extraordinarily diverse in terms of ethnic and faith backgrounds.

The vast majority, reflecting official surveys of the wider Catholic community, are 'unchurched' in the sense of not being regular churchgoers outside of school.

Teachers are confronted, but not really surprised, by the dismal official figures (6 percent) of church attendance for their former students, Catholics aged 20-34.

They themselves represent the equally dismal official figures for church attendance of those aged 35-60. That applies to the Catholic teachers.

The anecdotal evidence offered to me by the school communities and by various priests was that 10 per cent church attendance may be generous.

The universal Church's 'experiment with synodality'

Yet the Catholic identity of the schools, often expressed though different charisms, remains profound, even if the challenges posed by student and staff diversity are enormous. These staff development days were couched in beautiful liturgies and inspiring messages from school leaders.

Notably our schools are more open and inclusive than our parish and diocesan churches are. They are a sign of where the church should be on matters like inclusion and there is no going back.

These schools occupy a world in which value statements such as 'all faiths, genders, sexualities and cultures are respected, accepted and welcome' are predominant.

Outdated church teaching about sexuality and gender is implicitly and explicitly rejected. Most students and staff would have it no other way.

The challenges that I threw out were often tossed back at me through tough but respectful table-talk and public questioning.

Occasionally my openly pro-renewal stance was thought disrespectful to church tradition and teaching.

For some panellists and respondents my message of dramatic church decline in Australia was too dark and hopeless; for others my own hope in what I called the universal church's 'experiment with synodality' was too optimistic because they thought change was impossible.

They could see little sign of reform happening around them; and made clear that even when there were signs of progress it was happening much too slowly.

Frequently I was asked when the church would accept equal rights for women. The general tone of voice was that the church should just get on with it because the status quo was indefensible.

Often, I was specifically asked when the church would allow women priests.

My response that the best we could hope for in the short to intermediate term was the introduction of the female diaconate was hardly satisfactory.

When I presented as a breakthrough by Pope Francis the fact that there would be 54 women among the 363 voting members of the Synod in Rome in October my audiences still wanted much quicker progress on gender equality.

Catholic secondary schools are a parallel universe as far as the diocesan and parish churches are concerned.

Their staff take no pleasure in the decline of the latter and recognise the implications for their schools; but, even in the middle of World Youth Day (which some current students were attending as had some staff on previous occasions) they could see no obvious ways of halting the decline.

Some staff could see a future in which the school rather than the parish was the heart of the church. But one teacher told me to my face that my suggestion that schools were the future of the church was not just unlikely but 'vacuous'.

Most staff, teaching and non-teaching, welcomed an opportunity to enhance their own learning by discussing present developments and future aspirations for the church.

They are at the coalface where church and society meet, and they taught me a great deal about the real world of schools and church.

• John Warhurst is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University and former member of the Plenary Council. His visits to Catholic secondary schools were hosted by the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools.
• First published in La Croix. Republished with permission.

In an interview with America Magazine, Francis responded to a question posed by Kerry Webber, executive editor of the magazine published by the Jesuits of the United States:

"Many women feel pain because they cannot be ordained priests. What would you say to a woman who is already serving in the life of the Church but who still feels called to be a priest?"

The Holy Father was unequivocal in his response:

"And why can a woman not enter ordained ministry? It is because the Petrine principle has no place for that," the pope said.

"The ministerial dimension, we can say, is that of the Petrine church. I am using a category of theologians. The Petrine principle is that of ministry," the Holy Father said.

A theology of the ‘Marian principle'

The pope explained that there is another "theological" way in which women play a vital role in Church life.

The dignity of women, he said, reflected the spousal nature of the Church, which he called the "Marian principle".

"The way is not only [ordained] ministry. The Church is woman. The Church is a spouse. We have not developed a theology of women that reflects this," Pope Francis said.

"The Petrine principle is that of ministry.

"But there is another principle that is still more important, about which we do not speak, that is the Marian principle, which is the principle of femininity in the Church, of the woman in the Church, where the Church sees a mirror of herself because she is a woman and a spouse.

"A church with only the Petrine principle would be a church that one would think is reduced to its ministerial dimension, nothing else. But the Church is more than a ministry.

"It is the whole people of God.

"The Church is woman. The Church is a spouse. Therefore, the dignity of women is mirrored in this way," the pope said.

"Therefore, that the woman does not enter into the ministerial life is not a deprivation.

"No. Your place is that which is much more important and which we have yet to develop, the catechesis about women in the way of the Marian principle," he said.

"There is a third way: the administrative way.

"The ministerial way, the ecclesial way, let us say, Marian, and the administrative way, which is not a theological thing, it is something of normal administration. And, in this aspect, I believe we have to give more space to women," Pope Francis said.

Theologians must explore and venture

At a recent meeting with members of the International Theological Commission, Pope Francis told the Commission that it is the vocation of the theologian is always to risk going further because they are seeking and they are trying to make theology clearer.

"The theologian dares to go further, and it will be the magisterium that will stop them," the pope said.

Theologians must explore and "venture" out further to help enrich doctrine while catechists must stick to established, "solid" doctrine, never anything new, Pope Francis told theologians.

The pope singled out the women members on the Theological Commission, saying women bring a different intellectual perspective to theology, which can make it "more profound and more ‘flavourful'."

Francis suggested that the prestigious ITC could consider including more women in their group.

In September, women's role in the Catholic Church was the focus of a New Zealand group working for gender equality in Church leadership.

A media release from a group called "Be the Change, Catholic Church, Aotearoa" notes New Zealand women's suffrage was granted on 19 September 1893, and the September anniversary shows the Catholic Church is 129 years behind New Zealand in recognising the leadership skills of women.

To mark women's suffrage and highlight God's call for the Church to allow women to exercise their gifts, on 18 September, Catholic women in Auckland and Wellington mounted an installation of women's shoes at their respective cathedrals.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• CathNews New Zealand
• CathNews New Zealand
• CathNews New Zealand

According to figures from the national bishops' conference, the Church in France was ordained 122 new priests this summer - 77 diocesan and 45 from religious congregations.

One can spend a long time discussing these numbers.

Catholics who are more or less resigned will deplore the decline in vocations. Others will see the figures as a reason to abolish mandatory celibacy or ordain women.

And still others will urge the bishops to follow the example of those dioceses or communities that are attracting vocations.

What these three seemingly different attitudes have in common is that they focus on numbers - numbers that should be increased one way or another. But perhaps this is the wrong way of looking at the problem.

To put it provocatively, we do not "need" priests who will be available to everyone to provide various spiritual services. We must place ourselves on another level.

The priest is first of all a sign of God's concern for his people. The priest is a gift that God gives to his Church to guide it and help each of its members to advance on the path of holiness, through listening to the Word of God, sacramental life, fraternal service, and so forth.

But are we aware that God wants to make us a holy people, a people of saints?

The vocation crisis is perhaps above all a crisis of the desire for holiness, an issue that is apparently absent from the synodal consultation's feedback.

It's a desire to live more and more in the grace with which God fills us and which transforms us interiorly, to the point of making us new beings.

What use are priests to us if we have no desire to be made holy?

And how can we desire to become saints if there is no longer anyone to remind us, through a choice of life totally dedicated to the building up of the Church, that God calls each one of us to holiness (cf. Lev 19, 2) and sustains us on this path by his grace?

That is why we need priests. But not just any priests, especially after revelations of various types of abuse committed by the clergy.

We need priests who will not be puffed up by pride, but who are fully dedicated to the sanctification of those entrusted to them.

Hence the fundamental role of Christian communities in the discernment of vocations.

• Dominique Greiner is a senior editor at La Croix, as well as a moral theologian and Assumptionist priest.

To the modern ear that "can't" is jarring.

After all, the history of humanity is very much a history of proving that we can do something that we couldn't do before. And the Christian faith expands human capabilities well beyond natural limits.

So when she says she "can't," the church must be drawing from a deep biblical, historical and theological tradition, as Avery Dulles, S.J., noted in "Gender and Priesthood: Examining the Teaching."

And that reality raises another possibility: Perhaps when we ask if women can be ordained, we are asking the wrong question.

There are some cases where women experience a sincere desire to be priests, as in the case of St. Therese of Lisieux, who eventually understood her vocation to include a special dedication to supporting priests.

Her writings manifest the prayerful way she processed her desire. I have no doubt that it was challenging for her, nor that it continues to be challenging for other women.

But the experiences of many may be more connected to a desire to improve upon flawed understandings or experiences of the priesthood.

When we see our ordained leaders fail us, sincere Catholics start to look for solutions.

For some, this includes women's ordination.

The problem with this is that we are responding to a failure, an abuse of power, which is more of a management crisis.

And we think that in order to remedy the situation, power must be redistributed.

That might be part of the solution, as I will discuss below.

But it also reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the priesthood and an underappreciation of its being based on the priesthood of Christ who came as "a servant for all." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1551)

That particular role of servant is actually one of profound love, culminating in the passion and death of our Lord.

And yes, unfortunately, that reality has not been lived out by some of the ordained, even if we can all point to good examples of men who are ordained ministers.

When we experience more than a few tragic examples (like the sex abuse scandals), faithful Catholics cannot but look for solutions to the problem.

Including the laity

In terms of decision making, there is no reason why clerics cannot better incorporate the laity. Yes, canon law does have a top-down model.

At the same time, it does not limit a bishop or priest from delegating decision-making power.

Last year, I worked on webinars with Cardinal George Pell from Australia (and the Vatican) and Archbishop Anthony Muheria from Kenya.

When speaking on the topic of transparency and the Catholic Church, each of them said that because they picked competent people—people who were skilled and willing to ask the tough questions—they never had to contradict the decisions of their diocesan finance councils.

The same should be true of other advisory boards, such as those that review cases of sex abuse.

Relying on expert and strong-minded laywomen and men is a way for a bishop to utilize professional expertise outside the realm of his own skillset and to be more certain in his decisions.

While the bishop is ultimately responsible for the final decision, canon law does not prohibit him from diffusing the power of his office through collegiality.

I would also add that often we think that priests are someone who they are not; in these cases, the laity performs a reverse clericalism.

We expect them to make significant decisions on important matters as if the only people who should weigh in are those in clerical collars.

In the words of my mother, "Gone are the days when the priest was the only one in the parish who could read and write."

In fact, those days have been gone for a really long time.

The governance and decision-making structures of the parishes and dioceses could evolve to include much more input from lay people without contradicting canon law; this would be very much in concert with Pope Francis' ideas for church reform.

In some places, this is already happening.

When Cardinal Pell was Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy at the Vatican, he was known for designating a laywoman on his staff who was eminently qualified in economics to attend meetings that were traditionally reserved for ranking clerics.

Ordination, he understood, does not confer an M.B.A. on the ordained man.

Pope Francis has famously said that our ordained leaders need to "smell like the sheep."

This could also be applied to decision making so that decisions are not made in isolation from the flock.

In our Program of Church Management in Rome, we have been fortunate to construct a faculty that is representative of all vocations, in which practitioners share their expertise with current and future church leaders so that they may better steward the assets of the church.

Of course, in order for this to work, the church has to be willing to pay competitive salaries for competent expertise.

My proposal is more structural than the superficial attempts of those who want to keep dysfunctional clerical structures in place and simply add women.

I recently read of a highly qualified woman who had been appointed to one such structure, and my immediate response was, "Great, now they're wasting her time, too."

While it was somewhat of an honour for her to be given the appointment, I couldn't help but think that she would probably be a lot more effective if she were given more of a leadership role to create and direct something.

Most of these roles in the church do not require priestly ordination.

Abolishing clericalism, not abetting it

In addition to women's ordination being the wrong solution to the problems we face, I find it limiting and another form of clericalism.

The church teaches consistently that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are not the ordained, but the saints. And for those who have been exposed to terrible clericalism, they tend to join in Dante's famous opinion that many ordained ministers are sadly not in heaven.

I would like to think that we are beyond the 1980s when many women in the workplace felt that to be accepted they had to act and dress like men.

Women should not have to change who they are in order to have their significance in the church recognized.

Also, it is important to recognize that the vast majority of men are not called to the priesthood; it makes little sense to limit or shape conversations about the vocation of women in the church around the subject of ordination.

Similarly, at least in developed countries, we have seen a shift in the meaning of diversity.

Forty years ago, diversity meant including people who would not normally be at the table because of their ethnicity and/or sex while expecting them to conform to the behaviours, norms and characteristics of those who already had a seat at the table.

Now, when practised integrally, diversity means that we value the perspectives of people of different backgrounds rather than expecting them to conform to the pre-existing ideals and characteristics of a larger group of people.

Scriptural examples

When it comes to the question of the role of women in the church, I am particularly convinced that we can only move forward by thoroughly reexamining our past and, by doing so, deepening our understanding of the roles of women in Scripture.

The Bible offers numerous examples where Jesus refused to be constrained by cultural norms around the diversity of vocation.

In his encounters with everyone from the Pharisees to the adulterous woman, he modelled new behaviours and called people to unique roles.

A few examples come to mind.

We are generally familiar with the account of Mary, the young teenager, giving her assent to become the mother of God in Luke 1:38: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

Her powerful witness to accept the will of God is not often enough seen as a precursor to Jesus' acceptance of his cross during his passion—one which he arguably accepted before

Mary's acceptance but which is made known to humanity in a different sequence: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done" (Lk 22:42).

Jesus had two natures: human and divine.

In his human nature, he humbled himself to learn as we do. Various parables demonstrate that he learned from his mother as a child, accompanying her in her daily duties that involved bread making, sewing and other household tasks. Perhaps on a human level, he also learned from her the fiat ("let it be done") that preceded his own fiat as articulated during his Passion.

Another favourite scripture passage of mine is the story of the woman at the well (Jn 4:4-29).

She is cut off from her community because of the public nature of her sins, so she gets water at midday when most people would be inside avoiding the heat of the day.

To this woman, who is not even Jewish, Jesus reveals himself as the Messiah.

Upon hearing this revelation, the woman goes to tell people about him, and they come to him. In many ways, she could be called a proto-evangelist.

When Mary of Bethany washes the feet of Jesus with a costly ointment and dries them with her hair (Jn 12:1-3), tradition and commentators relegate her to the role of the sinful woman (though we all share that part of the human experience).

But keep in mind that John says that this happens just six days before the Passover, the same Passover where Jesus will wash the feet of his disciples (Jn 13:4-10).

Matthew and Mark also record this event, putting it within two days of the Passover (Mt 26: 1-13; Mk 14:1-9).

Tradition holds that she was cleansed of her sins in this unique gesture of humility toward the one who could forgive sins.

Strikingly, Jesus uses that same gesture to model to his apostles how they are to model his forgiveness towards penitents. Nothing is simply coincidental in Scripture.

Soon after, knowing that his mother and other women are nearby in Bethany, Jesus tells his disciples to make preparations for the Passover (Mt 26:17-19; Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-12).

In other words, he told them to do "women's work."

Given his divine nature, he knew the greatness of his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. He also knew that some of the apostles would fail him the very night of his Passion.

After his death, Mary Magdalene is the first to whom Christ appears (Jn 20: 11-18).

He instructs her to go to the apostles and tell them what she has seen.

For this reason, in the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas called her the "apostle to the apostles." In 2019, Pope Francis elevated her feast day to a feast for the universal Church.

And finally, through her active openness to grace, Tradition holds that Jesus's mother becomes—in the same room where the Last Supper was held—the authority of grace on Pentecost for the apostles (Acts 2:1-3).

Priests, prophets and kings

Clearly, these women responded to Jesus in a way that set them apart from others, even from his closest disciples.

He did not choose to limit their role in the church to that of his ordained ministers; but he clearly elevated some to at least the level of his apostles.

We ought to spend more time considering this reality.

By revisiting the examples provided in Scripture, we can expand our vantage point for understanding the exercise of power in the church and thereby clarify the relationship between management roles and ordination.

Then, with a deeper appreciation for the value of the kingly component of baptism, we can unravel the identity crisis identified by the Second Vatican Council and overcome the burden of clericalism.

Jesus said that the harvest is great.

Perhaps the labourers are so few simply because we have not yet appreciated the depth and breadth of his witness.

• Pia de Solenni is a moral theologian. She currently serves as the president and executive director of the Global Institute for Church Management.
• First published in America Magazine.

He would like women to "participate more in areas of responsibility in the church."

"Today there is a need to broaden the spaces for a more incisive female presence in the church," he said on October 11, "because in general women are set aside. We must promote the integration of women into places where important decisions are made."

Adding, however, that women leaders in the church must maintain their vocation as laity and not fall into "clericalism."

Pope Francis has made many gestures to give momentum to this desire to give women greater weight in the Church.

"Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded," he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium.

Fr. Frédéric Fornos S.J., International Director of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, says that since 2013, much has been accomplished, but more needs to be done.

Earlier, Pope Francis reflected on Jesus' parable from the Gospel of Matthew about the king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. When the initially invited guests did not arrive, he sent his messengers out to invite anyone and everyone.

God loves and has prepared a banquet for everyone — "the just and sinners, the good and the bad, the intelligent and the uneducated." Every Christian is called to go out to the highways and byways sharing God's invitation to the feast, Pope Francis said.

"Even those on the margins, even those who are rejected and scorned by society, are considered by God to be worthy of his love," the pope told the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray with him.

The church as a whole and each of its members, he said, are called to go out to "the geographic and existential peripheries of humanity, those places at the margins, those situations where those who have set up camp are found and where the hopeless remnants of humanity live."

"It is a matter of not settling for comfort and the customary ways of evangelization and witnessing to charity," the pope said, but rather "opening the doors of our hearts and our communities to everyone, because the Gospel is not reserved to a select few."

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Vatican News

In the Scandinavian country, often hailed as a champion of gender equality, the statistics are clear.

As of July, 50.1 per cent of priests are women and 49.9 per cent are men.

It's very likely the first Church in the world to have a majority of women priests, according to the World Council of Churches.

In the Protestant Lutheran Church of Sweden, which has 5.8 million members in a country of 10.3 million and where ministers hold the title of priest, "women are here to stay," insists Signarsdotter, who was ordained six years ago.

Since 2014, even the head of the Church is a woman, Archbishop Antje Jackelen.

At the Gustaf Vasa church, a smattering of worshippers wait for the service to begin.

"This Sunday, the service will be conducted by three women," the 37-year-old priest says proudly.

Coincidentally, it was in this imposing white church in the heart of Sweden's capital that another woman, Anna Howard Shaw, an American Methodist pastor and suffragette, became the first clergywoman to preach in Sweden.

That was in 1911, at an international women's suffrage conference, and long before women could be ordained in the Church of Sweden, in 1958.

"The men didn't allow her to go up there," explains Signarsdotter, pointing to the marble pulpit above her.

"She was allowed only on the floor," she says, standing at the altar as if to mark the spot.

This Sunday, the service will be held by Julia Svensson, a 23-year-old theology student whom Signarsdotter is mentoring — and she will give her sermon from the pulpit.

The feminisation of Sweden's priesthood is also seen at universities, where the 4.5-year theology studies required to become a priest are dominated by women.

Protestants generally believe that a priest is an expert, a theologist who tends to a congregation, and not a calling, in contrast to the Catholic Church which opposes women priests.

The rising number of women may be due to priests' changing roles over the years, suggests Signarsdotter.

"The priest's role today is not what it was before. There are other requirements, (such as) kindliness … (and) being able to handle many different situations."

"Historically men have held it for themselves but now we see it happening all over the world. Things are changing and new paths are open to us as female priests and women in general."

Divine design

One who has benefitted from the rising number of female priests is stylist Maria Sjodin, who designs vestments for women and whose business is booming.

In her atelier in a southern Stockholm suburb, the designer recently welcomed a regular customer, a female priest looking for a new collared top.

One could say divine intervention landed Sjodin here: in 2001 her daughter made a new friend at kindergarten, whose mother was a priest.

"She asked me to make her a priest shirt, because she didn't like the male shirt that she had to wear," she recalled.

The piece remains one of the most popular in her collection. Continue reading

Law professor Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof (pictured), who was recently appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the high-level group that oversees the Vatican's finances, says in her view "very much is possible in this area."

"But there are heated debates going on in the church about this at the moment."

A Duesseldorf-based professor, Kreuter-Kirchhof is one of six women Francis named as members of the Vatican's Council for the Economy last week. They are the first women in these top roles in the Vatican bureaucracy.

She says her appointment to the Council is a "clear sign of the desired cooperation between bishops, priests and laypeople and of the cooperation between men and women."

Council membership reflects a togetherness that is preparing the church for the future, she says.

Francis created the group in 2014 to supervise the financial activities of both the Vatican city-state and the offices of the Holy See.

Besides Kreuter-Kirchhof, the other new Council members her compatriot Marija Kolak, who is the chair of the National Association of German Cooperative Banks.

The other four women Francis appointed to the Council last week from Spain and the United Kingdom. Besides these, the Council includes one layman, an Italian, and eight prelates.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx is the Council's leader.

In addition to her top role in the Vatican bureaucracy, Kreuter-Kirchhof, is the chair of the Hildegardis Association, which supports women in academic education and job training.

She says she is noticing encouraging signs of women's leadership in the German church.

"In many dioceses women are taking on central leadership tasks and making a substantial contribution to the future viability of our church."

Source

• NCR Online
• Image: The Tablet

St. Paul mentions deacons along with bishops in his letter to the Christians of Philippi.

Later, in the first epistle to Timothy, Paul (or more likely someone writing in his name) talks of the qualifications for those ministries. There is a sentence about women that might refer to deaconesses since it is in the middle of the list of qualities that should typify a deacon.

Art historians have discovered early representations of the liturgy that show women sharing a role at the altar with men.

So, it is clear that from the early days of the Church, at least in some places, there were bishops and deacons, perhaps of both genders, though they would have been very different from their evolved descendants.

Those ministries postdate Pentecost when the Church received the power of God to fulfill its mission.

Presbyters (we call them priests, though the ordination rite calls them presbyters) apparently came to share the priestly ministry of bishops sometime after the New Testament period.

The Acts of the Apostles presents the origins of a ministry that evolved into the deaconate we know today.

In Acts, seven men were appointed in response to a practical problem in the Church. The charitable work of the community was expanding beyond the ability of the leaders to equitably serve all (Acts 6:1-6).

So, the community, at the behest of the leaders, chose men to engage in that work.

After the Ascension, the newborn Church had no problem organizing its life and ministry in accord with needs and opportunities with which Jesus did not, could not nor needed not deal.

The ordained ministries of bishop, presbyter and deacon arose out of concrete needs and were intended to meet those needs that could only arise after the Church developed into a more or less structured community.

It is need, not precedent, that determines the way the Church meets new situations.

The Vatican has been studying the question of ordaining women as deacons, focusing on history.

However, whether or not women in the first, second or third century exercised what we would call ordained ministry is irrelevant.

Answers to situations back then in the Mediterranean basin are, in themselves, of no use in the 21st century.

What is relevant, and is the true tradition, is confidence in the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church to innovate in meeting the needs and cultural situations of that time and place.

What does that mean two millennia later when the Church has become truly catholic, truly universal?

Obviously, there are different needs, needs that will not and cannot be answered by continuing or restoring ancient precedents.

In major parts of the world, the spread of the Gospel is hampered by the increasing perception of the irrelevance and injustice of the Church's relationship with women.

Women are taking their place as equals of men.

That is not the case everywhere, but it is a major and growing trend in large parts of the world.

Therefore, the need facing the Christian community today is to respond to that fact where the roles and relations of men and women are rapidly diverging from what they have been in the past.

Ordaining women will not be a panacea and may not even be desirable when there are more important needs that should be met by involving women.

However, it may be step toward being a sign of openness to the call of the Spirit to once again answer the needs around us with creativity and confidence.

We do have a precedent for recognizing that women may not be excluded from full discipleship by their gender. The one who broke the precedent was Jesus himself.

When he visited Martha and Mary, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus.

In the world in which he lived and taught, that posture had a special meaning that those who saw it and those who originally read Luke's Gospel would have understood.

And that meaning would have surprised or even shocked them.

It bothered Martha.

One who sat at the feet of a teacher was that teacher's disciple.

We still speak of disciples sitting at the feet of a master.

Mary was a disciple of Jesus, entitled to sit at his feet as any other disciple would.

But in that time and place, women belonged in the kitchen, doing what Martha was doing.

For a woman to occupy the position of a full disciple was a radical challenge to the society in which Jesus lived.

Mary was claiming equality with men!

And Jesus not only allowed it; he even said to Martha that Mary had "chosen the better part."

And, he added, "it will not be taken from her."

In fact, not much time passed before it was taken from those women who followed Mary as disciples of Christ.

Jesus' and the early Church's radical view of equality did not long survive.

Customary attitudes toward women, even among women, were just too strong.

Today, as attitudes toward women that subverted the practice of Jesus are changing in many places, we are challenged to accept the fact that Jesus still has something to teach us that seems subversive of the so-called "normal" ordering of society and the Church.

What has been is not what need be.

• Father William Grimm is a New York-born priest active in Tokyo. He has also served in Cambodia and Hong Kong and is the publisher of ucanews.com. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of ucanews.com.
• Image: Supplied

It is in stark contrast to the recent turbulent times for the church, including a royal commission which exposed widespread sexual abuse, and the conviction of Cardinal George Pell.

Those events have not made her question her faith, but they have made her question the future of the Catholic Church and changes it must make to embrace the role of women.

"If not after this catastrophe, then when?" Ms Englebrecht said.

Englebrecht does not say these things easily. Until a few months ago she worked for a nearby Catholic diocese, visiting parishioners and assisting the Bishop.

Now she has moved on and is free to speak about what she believes must happen in the wake of the Pell verdict.

"I think it was a moment of absolute clarity," she said.

"The culture of secrecy … those days have gone. They have to go."

She and others believe a greater role for women in the Catholic Church would have changed the culture that allowed sexual abuse to flourish.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse reached a similar conclusion.

It recommended women be given decision-making roles at all levels of the church after evidence suggested dioceses where women played a larger role had lower levels of sexual abuse.

But Ms Englebrecht goes further. She wants women to have a place in the highest role in the church. As long as she has been a Catholic, she has felt the calling to become a priest.

She knows due to Vatican law, that is unlikely to happen in her lifetime.

"It's very painful," she said.

"I live with the longing to serve in a way that I'm not going to be allowed to."

'It's about feeling equal with the priests'

The Catholic Church in Australia is preparing for one of the most important gatherings in its history next year, when it holds its first Plenary Council meeting since 1937.

The ordination of women priests will be on the agenda, but most agree there is no likelihood they will be sanctioned here.

That would directly contradict more than 1,500 years of canon law — the rules that govern the Catholic Church.

"It's based on the view that Jesus ordained the 12 apostles at the last supper … and therefore only men can represent Christ," Professor Dorothy Lee of the University of Divinity in Melbourne said.

"At mass, behind the altar, they are standing in the place of Christ. Therefore, the argument is they have to be male."

It is a belief fundamental to the Catholic Church and Pope Francis has been clear that, on this point, there is no room for negotiation. Continue reading

• Image: ABC

The Church has to acknowledge a history of male domination and sexual abuse of women and children and it must repair its reputation among young people or risk becoming "a museum", he says.

Francis made these comments in the 50-page "Apostolic Exhortation" he released on Tuesday, written in response to last October's synod of the world's bishops on ministering to young Catholics.

The "youth" synod took place against the Church's clergy sex abuse crisis. Demands for greater women's rights within the Church were among the issues discussed.

Among the bishops' recommendations at the end of the synod was one saying the need for women to hold positions of responsibility and decision-making in the church is "a duty of justice."

In response, Francis's Exhortation says a church that listens to young people must be attentive to women's "legitimate claims" for equality and justice, as well as better train both men and women with leadership potential.

"A living church can look back on history and acknowledge a fair share of male authoritarianism, domination, various forms of enslavement, abuse and sexist violence.

"With this outlook, she [the Church] can support the call to respect women's rights, and offer convinced support for greater reciprocity between males and females, while not agreeing with everything some feminist groups propose," Francis's Exhortation says.

He does not, however, respond to demands by women participants at the synod that they be allowed to vote in future synods.

Although Francis acknowledges women's claims are legitimate and and notes young people are complaining of a "lack of leading female role models," his Exhortation offers no new ideas as to how to rectify this.

Source

• Reuters
• ABC
• Time
• Image: YouTube

Welby led the service in London to commemorate the 25 years since the first woman was ordained to the presbyterate in the Church of England.

Over 80 women priests were at the celebrations. Some were among those who were in the first group of 32 who were ordained on March 12, 1994.

Among the five female bishops in attendance was Libby Lane, who in 2015 was the first woman to be consecrated in the Church of England.

Other women at the service included Dr Isabelle Hamley, who is the Archbishop of Canterbury's chaplain and Prebendary Angela Berners-Wilson, who was the first woman to be ordained in the Church of England. (A prebendery is an honorary canon.)

Isabelle Hamley preached the sermon at the service.

In her sermon, she reflected on the gift of Jesus that Mary and Joseph were given, and the risks and responsibilities of nurturing it.

"Let us cherish this gift where it is public and obvious, and where it is hidden, private and yet equally powerful. Together, may we witness to the gift that lives in us, and the God who has called us to follow him," she said.

Speaking at the service, Welby said: 'Many of those here today have been pioneers as they work out what it means to be an ordained woman in the Church of England - not just for themselves and their communities, but for the whole of the Body of Christ.

"Today let us bear witness to those who paved the way in 1994, as well as upholding those whose way into ministry has been opened up since," he added.

Berners-Wilson said it was "amazing to be — by a few seconds — the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England.

"For 25 years it has been the greatest privilege to finally be able to live out my calling, after a 15-year probationary period first as a deaconess then as a deacon," she said.

Former bishop Barry Rogerson, who welcomed the women to the ranks of clergy 25 years ago, sent a relayed message that was broadcast at the chapel during the special service.

Congratulating them on their success, he urged attendees to spare a thought for "all those women worldwide whose vocations to the priesthood have still been neither recognised nor tested."

Source

• La Croix
• Christian Today
• Image: The Telegraph

When it ordained five women on 3 December 1977, New Zealand was the fourth province of the Anglican Church to ordain women priests.

The first woman ordained an Anglican priest was Li Tim Oi, ordained extra-canonically in 1944 in Hong Kong.

32 years later, in 1974, 11 women were ordained (defying canon law) in the Episcopal Church USA.

Canada gained its first women priests in 1976, the Church of North India in 1984, and Brazil in 1985.

The remainder of the 16 provinces which have now ordained women did not do so until the 1990s or later.

In 1990, former Bishop of Dunedin Penny Jamieson became the first female diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion.

In 1989 Bishop Barbara Harris had become the first female Anglican bishop in history, on her appointment as a Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Massachusetts.

To help parishes and ministry units celebrate the anniversary, Archdeacon of Auckland Carole Hughes has worked with a three-Tikanga group of advisers to prepare a commemorative liturgy of the Eucharist for use on 3 December.

The Reverend Jean Brookes was one of those ordained in 1977.

She thinks it is good to use milestones such as this year's anniversary to recognise all women who have ministered in this Church.

"There are stories that we need occasions like this to retell - to prevent them being lost," she said. "There is an enormous variety and richness in the ministries women have exercised.

"For example, we cannot forget the remarkable ministry of many women who chose to remain as deaconesses, who were in ordained ministry already and valued the continuity of that special ministry, even as others moved into the priesthood."

Brookes has also been impressed at how many women in these islands have taken up ministry as priests.

Source

• Anglican Taonga
• Anglican Communion News Service
• Image: Librarian J Bright from the Howick parish history, When all the Saints by Robert Hattaway and Margaret Willis.

The world is finding it hard to adjust to a Pope who speaks off the cuff. He has been dubbed "the Pope of the incomplete thought."

So the experts and commentators get to work on what he said... and they all come up with different answers about what his words actually mean, usually depending on their own ideological preferences.

One thing is for sure it was not an ex cathedra statement; he was standing up!

Here is the text of the exchange - without commentary.

Kristina Kappellin: Good morning. The Sweden that hosted this important ecumenical encounter has a woman as head of it's own Church.

What do you think: is it realistic to think of women priests also in the Catholic Church in the coming decades? And if not, why are Catholic priests afraid of competition?

Pope Francis: Reading the history a bit in the area where we were, I saw that there was a queen who was widowed three times. And I said: but, this woman is strong, and they told me: Swedish women are very strong, very good.

And because of this some Swedish man looks for a woman from another nationality...I don't know if it's true, but...on the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, the final word is clear, it was said by St. John Paul II and this remains.

On competition, I don't know...

Kristina Kappellin: Her question was inaudible to most... Some say the journalist asked, "But really forever? Never?"

Pope Francis: If we read well the declaration made by St. John Paul II, it goes along this line, yes.

Greg Burke: Thank you, Holy Father. ( He is the diretor of the Holy See Press Office)

Pope Francis: But women can do so many things better than men, even in the dogmatic field: to clarify, to perhaps give some clarity, not to say only a reference to a document.

In Catholic ecclesiology there are two dimensions to think about. The Petrine dimension, which is from the Apostle Peter, and the Apostolic College, which is the pastoral activity of the bishops, as well as the Marian dimension, which is the feminine dimension of the Church, and this I have said more than one.

I ask myself: who is most important in theology and in the mystic of the Church: the apostles or Mary on the day of Pentecost? It's Mary! ...the Church is a woman!

It's "la Chiesa" (in Italian), not "il Chiesa"...it's "la Chiesa" and the Church is the spouse of Christ. It's a spousal mystery.

And in light of this mystery you will understand the reason for these two dimensions.

The Petrine dimension, which is the bishops, and the Marian dimension, which is the maternity of the Church...but in the most profound sense.

A Church doesn't exist without this feminine dimension, because she herself is feminine.

Source

• www.catholicnewsagency.com
• yimg.com