German Bishop Calls for Women’s Ordination and Full Equality in the Catholic Church

My Response;

The courageous witness of this German bishop reflects the growing movement of the Spirit throughout the global Church calling for the full equality of women in every dimension of ministry, including ordination. Like the women priests of Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and the broader Roman Catholic Women Priests movement, he recognizes that the exclusion of women from ordained ministry is not only a justice issue, but a Gospel issue. Across the world, faithful Catholics are listening to the cries and gifts of women whose vocations have long been affirmed by their communities and empowered by the Holy Spirit. His prophetic voice joins a growing chorus within the Church calling for a renewed model of ministry rooted in baptismal equality, shared leadership, and the inclusive love of Christ.

Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP 

GERMAN BISHOP CALLS FOR FULL EQUALITY OF WOMEN[Translation from German original presented at Catholic Day 15 May 2026 in Würzburg, Germany]

Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers

Stand up for women’s rights: The denied vocation – A plea for full justice

I. A new beginning: No more excuses

I know that many of you are tired of hearing this phrase:

‘The role of women is a central concern of our Church.’

For in recent decades, this phrase has become a rhetorical sedative, whilst in reality hardly anything has changed in the rigid power structures.

I stand before you today as a bishop at this Catholic Day because I sense the deep alienation that pervades our halls here, our Church, our society. We must stop pretending that we need even more working groups or theological reports. We do not have a problem of understanding. We have a problem of implementation. When we speak today of women’s rights in the Church, we are speaking of the viability of Catholicism in a free society. Anyone who denies women full participation in ministries, ordination and decision-making undermines the sacramental credibility of the Church at its very roots.

II. Official Documents: The Architecture of Exclusion

Let us take an unbiased look at our documents. The Second Vatican Council gave us in Gaudium et Spes (Art. 29) a clear task: All discrimination based on sex must be overcome as “contrary to God’s plan.” This has been stated there since 1965.

But let us look at current canon law: The Codex Iuris Canonici still functions as a bulwark of clerical privileges.

• The Monopoly of Power: As long as the “final decision-making power” (can. 129 §1) remains exclusively tied to male ordination, any promotion of women in the Church is merely “participation on demand.”

• The Statistics Trap: The latest figures from the German Bishops' Conference (March 2025) do show an increase in women in leadership positions to 32.5%. But as a member of the Women's Commission, I tell you: statistics are not justice. A woman who heads a diocese but has no sacramentally secured vote in theological or disciplinary decisions remains structurally inferior. We are legally cementing a "doctrine of inequality" that we can no longer afford theologically.

III. Theological Depth: God Became Human, Not Male

The theological resistance to women's ordination often rests on an argument that the dogmatic theologian Julia Knop aptly describes as "sacramental biologism." It is claimed that the priest must be a man to make the "masculinity of Jesus" visible.

To this I say: This is a dangerous oversimplification of the event of salvation.

1. Anthropology of Wholeness: If we claim that only the male body can represent Christ, we are de facto declaring women incapable of fully reflecting the image of God. This contradicts the biblical truth of Genesis 1:27. Women are not "less capable of Christ." God became human, not merely male.

2. Sin Against the Spirit: The theologian Johanna Rahner speaks of a systemic "forgetfulness of the Spirit." When women feel an authentic calling and we reject them uncritically because of their gender, we as an institution claim to know better than the Holy Spirit. This is a form of hubris that we can no longer afford.

3. The Apostle to the Apostles: Mary Magdalene was not a silent helper. She was the first proclaimer of the Resurrection. A Church that celebrates Mary Magdalene but forbids her female successors from speaking at the altar is acting against its own founding story (Apostle Junia).

IV. Sociological Analysis: The Price of Exclusion

From a sociological perspective, the Church is currently undergoing a kind of "identity retreat."

• The exodus of women who carry meaning: The latest data from the Church Membership Survey (CMS) is a warning sign. We are currently losing women under 50 on a massive scale. These are the women who used to provide religious socialization within families. When they leave, the social foundation of our Church collapses. They are not leaving because they no longer believe, but because they can no longer maintain their integrity within a discriminatory structure.

• Abuse of power and homogeneity: The MHG study and its successors have demonstrated that purely male, celibate power circles are susceptible to abuse of power and cover-ups. The full integration of women into leadership positions is not a matter of courtesy, but a vital measure for the separation of powers. We need correction by women as equal decision-makers with their own right to vote – not as “maternal accessories”.

V. Concluding Remarks: The Hour of Truth

This Catholic Congress is marked by a new beginning. But a new beginning means conversion – metanoia.

I am not calling for adaptation to a fleeting spirit of the age. We are calling for a return to the radical nature of the Gospel, which knows no privilege. As a bishop, I say to you: The Catholic Church will only have a future if it stops sorting God's gifts according to gender.

We must liberate the ordained ministry from male exclusivity in order to reclaim it as a service to the unity of all the baptized. Justice is not a topic for the next synodal report. Justice is the litmus test for the seriousness of our faith.

Let us stand up together – for a Church that finally becomes what it is meant to be: A community of brothers and sisters of equals. Now.

Song: Holy Spirit Move Over Me/ Us, Prayer by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Holy Spirit Move Me Now…

Holy Spirit Move Over Us Now…

Happy Pentecost!

https://youtu.be/fFJvpNik9r0?si=NGJAYEl4fUbcfGrC

Holy Spirit,
move me now.
Move through the quiet places within me
where fear still lingers
and hope grows weary.

Breathe into my heart again
the fire of compassion,
the courage to speak truth with love,
and the wisdom to listen deeply
to the cries of the world.

Holy Wisdom-Sophia,
move us now.
Move through our communities,
our churches,
our homes,
and our aching world
with your healing presence.

Break open every wall
that divides your people.
Shatter the chains of exclusion,
patriarchy,
violence,
and fear.

Awaken in us
the vision of a Church renewed—
a community of equals
where every voice is honored,
every gift welcomed,
and every table open.

Spirit of Pentecost,
dance among us
like wind and flame.
Set our hearts ablaze
with Gospel equality,
radical hospitality,
and compassionate justice.

Move through women and men, all genders-
young and old,
through prophets, dreamers, and seekers,
through all who long
for a more loving world.

Holy Spirit,
move me now
so that I may become
an instrument of your peace.

Move us now
so together
we may rise in love,
walk in hope,
and co-create
the Beloved Community
Jesus dreamed into being.

Amen.

—Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

How Roman Catholic Women Priests’ Liturgies Are Renewing the Church - Expanding the Participation of the Gathered Community in the Eucharist by Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

The Roman Catholic Women Priests movement is renewing the Church by reclaiming an ancient understanding of Eucharist as the sacred action of the whole community, not the performance of one ordained person standing above the people. In our inclusive Catholic communities, liturgy is not something done to the faithful; it is something created with and by the gathered community as the People of God.

This renewal flows directly from the vision of the early Christian communities and from the promise of the Second Vatican Council, which called for the “full, conscious, and active participation” of all the baptized in the liturgy. Yet, in many parish settings, participation often remains limited to responses and ritual gestures while the priest remains the central actor. In contrast, Roman Catholic Women Priests communities are living a renewed ecclesiology in which all are invited to share their gifts, voices, wisdom, and leadership in the celebration of Eucharist.

In our communities, people do not merely “attend Mass.” Together, we create liturgy through shared preaching, dialogue homilies, communal Eucharistic prayer, creative ritual, music, silence, storytelling, and participatory leadership. The Spirit speaks through the entire assembly. This reflects our belief that the Church is a community of baptized equals in which every person bears the image of the Holy One and carries the Spirit within them.

The Eucharist becomes a living experience of Gospel equality. During the Eucharistic Prayer, the gathered community often joins in praying the words of consecration and remembrance together. This shared prayer reflects the theological conviction that Eucharist is the prayer of the People of God. The presider serves within the community, not above it. In this model of priestly ministry, the priest is a sacramental presence of servant leadership and communal love rather than an isolated sacred authority.

This renewed participation transforms consciousness. Many people who come to our liturgies describe profound healing after years of exclusion, silence, or spiritual marginalization within the institutional Church. Women, LGBTQ+ persons, divorced Catholics, seekers, and those wounded by clericalism often discover, sometimes for the first time, that they are truly welcome at Christ’s table.

Inclusive language also plays an important role in renewing the Church’s liturgical life. Language shapes spirituality and theology. For centuries, almost exclusively masculine imagery for God reinforced patriarchal understandings of authority and holiness. In our liturgies, we pray to the Holy One, Sophia, Shekinah, Creator, Loving God, and Spirit of Life. These images expand our awareness of the Divine Mystery beyond male domination and affirm that women, too, reflect the fullness of the image of God.

As feminist theologian Elizabeth A. Johnson reminds us, if women are fully created in the image of God, then female imagery for God is necessary for spiritual balance and theological wholeness. Inclusive language is not simply about changing words; it is about transforming consciousness and healing distorted images of God that have harmed countless people.

Women priests’ led liturgies also reflect a shift from atonement theology toward a theology of blessing, healing, liberation, and radical compassion. Jesus is not presented as a sacrifice demanded by an angry God, but as the embodiment of divine love who reveals our sacred worth and calls us into compassionate relationships with one another and with all creation.

This renewed theology shapes our preaching and liturgical life. Dialogue homilies invite everyone to reflect on Scripture and share how the Gospel speaks to their lived experience. Feminist biblical scholarship helps communities recover the voices of women in the early Church such as Mary Magdalene, Phoebe, Junia, Lydia, and the Samaritan woman. These women were leaders, apostles, teachers, evangelizers, and proclaimers of resurrection faith. Their stories challenge centuries of patriarchal interpretation and remind us that women have always exercised spiritual leadership in the Jesus movement.

The very presence of women presiding at Eucharist is itself a sacramental sign of renewal. When communities witness women preaching, consecrating Eucharist, baptizing, anointing, and leading worship, many experience a profound transformation in their understanding of priesthood and Church. Women priests embody a renewed image of ordained ministry rooted not in power or clerical privilege, but in service, compassion, collaboration, and Gospel equality.

Of course, inclusive communities continue to discern the balance between creativity and faithfulness to the Gospel tradition. Liturgical renewal must remain grounded in communal discernment, pastoral wisdom, and the liberating message of Jesus. Yet authentic renewal has always required courage. Throughout Church history, the Spirit has continually called communities beyond rigid structures toward deeper inclusion, justice, and compassion.

The inclusive communities began by ordained members of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and Roman Catholic Womenpriests may be small mustard seeds today, but they are offering the wider Church a living model of renewed priestly ministry and participatory Eucharistic community.

In our liturgies, we glimpse what the Church can become:

a community of equals gathered around an open table,

where all are welcome,

all are valued,

all are heard,

and all are invited to help break open the Bread of Life together.

From Phoebe to the Synod: Women Deacons and Priests Are Already Here — “What Comes from the Spirit Cannot Be Stopped” by Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Deacon Loan Rocher ARCWP  and Priest Mary Kay Daniels ARCWP - Ordination October 2024 in Rome
 

Phoebe’s witness in Romans 16:1-2, the Synod on Synodality’s affirmation of women’s leadership, and the prophetic ministries of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP) and Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP) together reveal the Holy Spirit calling the Church toward the fullness of Gospel equality. In the Synod’s Final Document, paragraph 60 affirmed that “there is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church” and acknowledged that discernment on women in the diaconate must continue. 

These words echo the reality of the early Church where women like Phoebe served openly as deacons, leaders, benefactors, and trusted ministers within Christian communities. Today, ARCWP and RCWP continue this prophetic witness by embodying a synodal model of Church rooted in baptismal equality, shared leadership, and inclusive sacramental ministry where women serve as deacons, priests, and bishops in communities of equals.

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Holy One as is fitting among the saints, and assist her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor and leader of many, including myself.”²

Phoebe stands as a luminous witness to the leadership of women in the earliest Christian communities. Paul does not describe her merely as a helper or servant, but as a deacon (diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae. The same Greek word is used elsewhere for ordained ministers, including Paul himself and other male leaders in the early Church. Paul also calls Phoebe a prostatis—a patron, protector, and leader of many, including Paul himself.³ These titles reveal that women exercised recognized ministerial authority, pastoral leadership, and missionary responsibility in the apostolic Church.

For me, Phoebe is not simply a figure from the past. She is a mirror reflecting the future to which the Spirit is calling the Church today. The Synod on Synodality has invited Catholics into deeper listening, shared discernment, and co-responsibility in the life of the Church. In many ways, inclusive Catholic communities led by deacons and priests in ARCWP and RCWP are already living this synodal vision through collaborative leadership, dialogue homilies, open-table Eucharist, and communities where all the baptized are recognized as equal in dignity and giftedness.

Yet, while affirming women’s leadership is an important step, genuine equality in the Church cannot stop short of ordination. Women cannot be fully equal while remaining excluded from sacramental and ordained ministry solely because of gender. Baptismal equality must lead to sacramental equality. Anything less leaves women in a subordinate place within the institutional Church and contradicts the Gospel vision proclaimed by Jesus, who called women and men alike to discipleship, leadership, and service.

The women priests movement witnesses publicly that the Spirit continues to call women to ordained ministry today. Like Phoebe, women priests and deacons carry the Gospel across boundaries of exclusion and injustice. We serve inclusive communities where all are welcome—married or single, LGBTQ+, divorced and remarried, believers and seekers. Around our Eucharistic tables, leadership is shared and the community prays together as a people of equals. In these communities, we experience what the Church can become when hierarchy gives way to partnership and domination yields to mutual service.

Phoebe’s ministry is not an isolated historical footnote hidden in Scripture. She is a prophetic sign for our time. As the Synod calls the Church to become more synodal, participatory, and inclusive, Phoebe reminds us that the future of the Church may actually be a return to the Spirit-filled inclusivity of its beginnings. For the fullness of Gospel equality to flourish, women must be ordained and welcomed fully into every dimension of ecclesial life and sacramental ministry. Only then can the Church truly become the community of equals envisioned by Jesus—rooted in justice, mutual service, compassion, and the liberating love of Christ.

¹ Synod on Synodality, Final Document, Paragraph 60, 2024.
² Romans 16:1-2, inclusive translation.
³ See Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination; Phyllis Zagano, Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future.

Vatican Statement Supports Women’s Leadership in the Church

 #womenpriestsnow

#ordainwomen

Romans 16:1-2 –

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Holy One as is fitting among the saints, and assist her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor and leader of many, including myself.”
—Romans 16:1-2 (inclusive translation)

Phoebe stands as a luminous witness to the leadership of women in the early Christian communities. Paul does not describe her merely as a helper or servant, but as a deacon (διάκονος) of the church at Cenchreae. The same Greek word is used elsewhere for ordained ministers, including Paul himself and other male leaders in the early Church. Phoebe was also called a prostatis—a patron, benefactor, and leader—indicating that she exercised authority, pastoral care, and spiritual leadership within the community.

For women deacons and priests today, Phoebe’s witness is both affirming and prophetic. She reminds us that women’s ordained ministry is not a modern invention but is rooted in the Gospel and in the lived experience of the early Church. Long before institutional barriers excluded women from holy orders, women like Phoebe preached the Good News, led house churches, offered pastoral care, and served as trusted emissaries of the apostolic community.

Phoebe’s story challenges the Church to remember its own origins. The Spirit called women and men alike to ministry through baptism and gifted them for service according to their charisms, not according to gender. In our own time, women deacons and priests continue Phoebe’s legacy by serving inclusive communities where all are welcome at the Eucharistic table and where leadership is shared in a community of equals.

Like Phoebe, women in ordained ministry today carry the Gospel across boundaries of exclusion and injustice. We proclaim through our lives that the Holy One calls women fully and equally to preach, preside, and serve the People of God. Phoebe’s ministry is not an exception hidden in Scripture—it is a signpost pointing toward the Church’s future: a renewed Church rooted in Gospel equality, mutual service, and the liberating love of Christ.