Amazonian Synod: Bishops Enter Into New Catacomb Pact; Affirm the Diakonia of Women, Need for Lay People to Have Voice and Vote; Women as "Synod Mothers" Sign as Well, Future Church

Catacomb of Domitilla A=

It is ironic that this New Catacomb Pact was signed in the Catacomb of Domitilla where you can find a fourth-century fresco that portrays two women, Veneranda and Petronilla, with a codex and scrolls, a sign of their authority in the Early Church. The Synod should have named the sinful sexism at the heart of the institutional church's abuse of women because women bear authoritative witness to the Gospels, yet do not have voice of vote in decisions that impact their lives and faith communities. While their words of praise for women's diaconal ministry are affirming, yet, ironic. What was/is needed is  a revolution! Synod Bishops should have ordained the women leaders deacons and priests at the Catacomb of Domitilla. Now that action on behalf of justice and equality would have rocked the Roman Catholic Church. As Martin Luther King reminds us injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.The Church cannot preach Gospel economic equality for the poor, when women and children are two-thirds of the world's poor and the Bishops refuse to give equal voice, vote, and office in the Church. Instead their message to women continues to be through the ages:  "pay, pray, obey, and thank you for doing most of the work in long hours of devoted service!" Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

Day Thirteen of the Amazon Synod October 20, 2019 It is Sunday. The streets are relatively quiet.  But underneath the streets there is a holy revolution taking place in the Basilica at the Catacombs of Domitilla. Today, more than 150 bishops gathered with indigenous leaders as witnesses from the Amazonian synod to renew the Catacombs Pact. If you have ever traveled with FutureChurch to Rome on a pilgrimage exploring the evidence of women's leadership and ministry in early Christianity, you are familiar with the Catacombs of Domitilla. The site where thousands of early Christians, some of them martyrs were buried. There you can find a fourth-century fresco that portrays two women, Veneranda and Petronilla, with a codex and scrolls, a sign of their authority in the Early Church. Nearby in the same catacomb, is a fresco of Paul also pictured with scrolls signifying his authority.  This morning, as the bishops and indigenous leaders from the Amazonian synod gathered on this sacred ground, the bishops signed their names to the Catacombs Pact, a document that was signed (in secret) in 1965 by more than 40 bishops. During the Second Vatican Council these bishops felt an urgency to help make the Catholic Church a "church for the poor." They knew the call to holiness, solidarity, and action resided in their willingness to live simply and without the riches that came with their status. They knew they needed to model the Gospel call. The new pact is different and extraordinary in a number of ways. First of all, it was not done in secret.  Secondly, it affirms women's diakonia and the need to have women's voices and votes. Thirdly, women signed the Pact. Ines San Martin reported that women signed along with other lay people and that, "As one woman went up to sign, she referred to herself as a 'synod mother,' a parallel to bishops participating in the Oct. 6-27 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon who are called 'synod fathers.'” The new pact contains fourteen points. Thanks to Austen Ivereigh who captured the English version, the document is pictured below.  Number 12 is of great importance for women. To recognize the services and the real diakonia of a great number of women today who direct communities in the Amazon and seek to consolidate them with an adequate ministry of women leaders of the community.