Vatican Event to Highlight key Role of Women in Peace-Building, Time for Decision on Women Deacons

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-event-to-highlight-key-role-of-women-in-peace-building-44897/

 Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Bridget Mary's Response: There is no way of sugar-coating Vatican resistance to the full equality of women in the church.The foot dragging must stop.  A church that preaches justice for all must treat women as equals in all areas including ordination. Women deacons would be a first step.  Now is the time to move ahead!. There are thousands of Catholic women who are ready. 

Our international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is leading the way! to a renewed priestly ministry in an inclusive community of equals. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

..."When it comes to women, she said one of the “signature motivations” for work of the roundtable is to ensure that their daughters and other young women have more of a voice and a stronger place in the future.

However, she said the push for women’s priestly ordination (which continues to be advocated for despite the fact that Pope Francis has already definitively closed the door) can be distracting from other initiatives that actually help women.“The ordination question stops every other creative idea that could be implemented right away and nothing happens,” she said, explaining that “unless we bracket it,” none of the ideas for how to enhance the role of women in the present will be possible.

In her comments, Gotz said that finding ways to highlight the role of women and build them up within the Church is something that everyone should be responsible for, nott just Pope Francis.

“We expect a lot from just from one person, from Pope Francis, and he was calling to all of us to bring in ideas of new initiatives,” she said, and pointed to VoF as an example.

The organization has not only enjoyed strong success, but also has the support of the Pope, she said, stressing that “we have to trust and we can support him in bringing in new ideas and not expecting that he has to change all of it by himself.”