Miriam DuignanOn the morning of the start of the Conclave in Rome, pink smoke billowed above one of the hills in Rome accompanied by song and prayer. Global advocates including Miriam Duignan, Executive Director of Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research, called for the cardinals gathering together to heed the voices, vocations, and longing of women of the Catholic Church who are denied ordination, leadership and decision-making roles .
An American Peruvian Cardinal, Archbishop of Chiclayo Robert Prevost was elected and chose to became Pope Leo XIV. Francis’ Legacy continues. In one of his early pronouncements to his fellow cardinals, he promises to be a bridge of peace, guided by the Holy Spirit, opening hearts through dialogue and healing the wounds of a divided world.
Interestingly enough when the then Robert Prevost was studying for his Masters of Divinity at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, he chose Sister Lyn Osiek RSCJ as his spiritual director. Osiek is a leading authority on the role of women in the early church, she is co-author of two books on the subject: A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity and Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History. Pope Leo should be comfortable with working with women in ministry though he has expressed scepticism about ordaining women as Catholic clergy, repeating a line Francis often used about the risk of “clericalizing women”. One of the CTU’s slogans is ‘bold and faithful’ and their comment on one of their alumni being elected pope was that ‘Pope Leo would have been grounded in faithfulness to the Catholic tradition but bold in bridging the Catholic tradition into the future.’
It is this future that Dr John Wijngaards, known to his friends as Hans, was most concerned about. He fought for equality and justice in the Catholic Church, creating websites full of well researched information and shortly before his death in January 2025, his last book and testament ‘Why Christ Rejects all Church Prejudice Against Women’ was published. To order https://www.equalityforwomen.org/how-to-order/.
In an online session organised by Root and Branch group and hosted by Miriam, Dr Luca Badini Confalonieri (Director of Research, Wijngaards Institute) and Dr Kocurani Abraham, a theologian working in India, called ‘What would Hans say to Leo’, Miriam’s opening comment was that Hans would have said in his forthright Dutch way ‘For God’s sake do it now!’ She envisaged 7 discussions points that Hans would have wanted to stress - He would have heartily agreed with Pope Leo when he said ‘An indispensable commitment for all those in the Church who exercise a ministry of authority is to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that He may be known and glorified, to spend oneself to the ultimate so that all may have the opportunity to know and love Him’. Hans was very adamant that the focus should be switched away from clericalism and focused on Jesus and what he taught.
- Hans would have emphasised that both men and women have an equal capacity for exercising authority in the church, so that women’s equality must include their sacramental authority.
- Hans was a fellow missionary and he was keen that the focus should be on a global church. The role that women play in keeping the Church flourishing should be recognized, as should the impact that denying women their priestly ministry makes on a local level.
- Hans would urge the Church to tell the truth about the leadership role of women in tradition and the teaching of Jesus
- Canon Law 10.24 (Only a baptised man can validly receive sacred ordination) hides the long history of women’s ministry in the Church and is a mediaeval and unjust law and should be scrapped.
- Misogyny could be described as an illness and Professor Thomas O’ Loughlin describes Hans’ book as being a course of therapy for the dysfunctional church.
- Finally, Hans would challenge Leo to be brave and be bold as he was throughout his ministry.
Kochurani contributed an article for Hans’ last book to reflected on the pain and frustration that Hans felt about the injustices in the Church and described Hans as a prophet. Hans wrote in the forward to the section of the book that the church is far from getting rid of ancient prejudices. Undoubtedly Pope Leo comes across to the world a man committed to peace and social justice. Kochurani said she thinks Hans would remind Leo that true peace is founded on justice, justice that cannot be complete if women remain on the periphery only. Further she commented on Leo’s acknowledged intention to continue Francis’ commitment to a synodal church, but this cannot be a reality if the ecclesiastical clerical nature of the current church remains.
Luca in his contribution said ‘In order to survive as a force for good in the world, the Roman Catholic Church needs to update herself. Human rights – which official Catholic teaching encourage states to respect – should be fully incorporated in Canon Law. “Synodality”, co-responsibility, and democratic accountability should be implemented at all levels of church decision-making. Women should be restored to full equality, including access to ordained ministry. Sexual ethics must be stripped of ancient misunderstandings.’ Hans would challenge Leo to be brave and bold.
The full recording of the evening is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIDq7KgLxRY
We hope and pray that Pope Leo remains open and listens to the people in the pews.
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