By Gussie Coulter
Growing up in a vicarage as the son of a female priest, I have been acutely aware of the joys of – and the issues surrounding – women’s ordination. This likely motivated my keen interest in Latin American Liberation Theology and theologies of gender and sexuality throughout my Religious Studies A-level.
Through a secular lens, religious institutions may appear to be necessarily regressive; the patriarchal dimension to the Catholic magisterium has been in the limelight recently following the political thriller Conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV shortly after. As reported by the National Catholic Reporter, a letter dated 4th of December by a Vatican commission revealed a “7-1 vote in favor of a statement concluding that the church cannot currently move toward admitting women to the third degree of holy orders, the diaconate”.
Joining me today in this personally meaningful and potent interview is Professor Tina Beattie: writer, broadcaster and theologian, whose wide-ranging work includes research into the relationship between the Catholic tradition and contemporary culture, particularly with regards to gender, sexuality and reproductive ethics. Whilst retaining an element of scepticism towards secular progressive approaches, Beattie’s feminist theology challenges some Catholic teachings about gender and sexuality, and she sees theological grounds for a more prominent role for women, including ordination.”
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