My Response:
Like Kate, I believe that one of the steps forward is to listen to women who have discerned calls to ordained ministry. Pope Francis could initiate a special listening session with women priests and our inclusive communities. Now this would really ignite the revolution for a "big tent" Church!
Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP
Outside the consistory of cardinals convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican in late August, women call for greater inclusion of women at all levels of the church. (Courtesy of Women's Ordination Conference)
Often Vatican documents have a single "women's paragraph," one section that pays lip service to one of the most pressing issues in our church. This report, however, weaves narratives from around the world throughout the document, noting the tensions women experience within the church they love, their baptismal equality, and the reality of structures and systems that prevent their full participation in the life of the church.
The Vatican's admittance that the teaching on women's ordination is not a consistently held belief among Catholics reveals a spirit of openness and accountability to the people of God.
...The document calls for further discernment on the near-universal calls for women in governance and decision-making, women's preaching and "a female diaconate." The next sentence acknowledges a "diversity of opinions" on women's priestly ordination, noting some national reports called for it, while others consider it a "closed issue."
The acknowledgment of global calls for women's priestly ordination is significant for many reasons.
To start, this is a stark contrast from Francis' 2013 comments on women's ordination: "The Church has spoken and says no … that door is closed."
Now, the church is speaking through the synodal process and saying: This is part of our discernment. "
BY KATE MCELWEE
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