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What might the Catholic Church learn if Pope Leo sat down in conversation with women priests and the inclusive communities we serve?
Pope Leo, I write this reflection as an invitation to such a conversation. In the spirit of the synodal journey encouraged by Pope Francis, many Catholics hope that the Church will continue to grow as a community that listens deeply to the Holy Spirit speaking through all the baptized.
Roman Catholic Women Priests and the inclusive communities we serve would welcome the opportunity to share our experiences with you. In our ministries we strive—imperfectly but faithfully—to embody the Gospel vision of a Church where all are welcomed, leadership is shared, and the sacraments are celebrated as gifts for the entire People of God.
If you were to hear these stories, you might discover that the synodal Church you hope to lead is already taking root in communities around the world.
Here are several lessons that women priests and our communities can offer as the Church continues its journey of renewal.
1. Radical Welcome Must Be Embodied, Not Just Preached
In women-led inclusive Catholic communities, radical welcome is not simply a theological ideal. It is a lived reality.
All are welcomed—not conditionally, not partially, but fully.
- • LGBTQ+ persons are not merely tolerated but celebrated as beloved members of the Body of Christ.
- • Divorced and remarried Catholics participate fully in sacramental life without barriers.
- • People of all races, genders, cultures, and backgrounds gather as equals around the Eucharistic table.
This kind of welcome reflects the radical hospitality of Jesus, who consistently crossed boundaries and welcomed those excluded by religious authorities.
Radical welcome cannot remain only pastoral language. It must be embodied in the Church’s structures, sacramental practices, and leadership models.
Pope Francis often spoke of the Church as a “field hospital.” Women priests and inclusive communities show how that field hospital actually operates—where healing, belonging, and dignity are offered to everyone without exception.
2. Inclusive Leadership Heals Wounds
Many Catholics today carry deep wounds caused by clericalism, exclusion, and the abuse of authority. Inclusive communities led by women priests offer a different model of leadership—one grounded in mutuality, collaboration, and shared responsibility.
In these communities:
- • Decisions are made collectively through prayerful discernment.
- • Listening circles and dialogue guide pastoral decisions.
- • Leadership emerges from gifts and call rather than status or hierarchy.
- • Titles matter less than relationships and service.
This model echoes the vision of the early Christian communities described in the Acts of the Apostles, where leadership developed through the discernment of the community.
A truly synodal Church must move beyond clericalism toward co-responsibility among all the baptized.
Leadership in the Church should reflect the Gospel model of Jesus, who washed the feet of his disciples and taught that “whoever wishes to be first must be servant of all.”
3. Sacramental Life Belongs to the People of God
Women priests serving inclusive communities often emphasize a profound truth: the sacraments are gifts of grace for the People of God, not privileges controlled by a clerical class.
In many of our communities:
- • Eucharist is celebrated as a shared meal of justice, equality, and remembrance of Jesus’ inclusive love.
- • No one is denied Communion because of marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or perceived “worthiness.”
- • The community participates actively in prayer, preaching, and sacramental life.
This reflects the ancient understanding that the Eucharist is the sacrament of unity for the entire Body of Christ.
Pope Francis wrote in Evangelii Gaudium (§47) that the Church is called to be “a mother with open doors.”
This vision becomes fully real when sacramental life is truly accessible to all who seek Christ and hunger for the Bread of Life.
4. The Margins Become the Center of the Gospel
In many communities led by women priests, the voices of those on the margins shape the life and mission of the Church.
Our preaching, liturgy, and outreach are deeply connected to:
- • immigrant justice
- • racial equity
- • LGBTQ+ dignity
- • ecological care
- • economic justice
- • healing from abuse and exclusion
This reflects the central message of Jesus, who consistently stood with those marginalized by society and religion.
Liberation theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez once said:
“So you say you love the poor? Name them.”
Women priests and inclusive communities attempt to do exactly that—to center the lives and struggles of those whom society and the Church have too often ignored.
A Church truly “for everyone” must allow the experiences of the marginalized to shape its priorities, theology, and pastoral mission.
5. The Spirit Speaks Through Those Long Silenced
Women priests are living signs that the Holy Spirit often moves beyond official institutional structures.
Despite:
- • excommunication
- • dismissal
- • ridicule
- • and invisibility within official Church discourse
women priests continue to serve vibrant communities where the Gospel is proclaimed, sacraments are celebrated, and lives are transformed.
These communities are bearing fruit—the fruit of compassion, justice, healing, and spiritual renewal.
As Pope Francis wrote in Amoris Laetitia:
“No one can be condemned forever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel.”
Listening to women called to priesthood could reveal that the Spirit’s voice sometimes comes most clearly through those whom the institutional Church has not yet fully heard.
6. Synodality Means Listening to the Whole People of God — Including Women Priests
Pope Francis reminded the Church that the Holy Spirit speaks through the sensus fidelium, the wisdom of the faithful.
Women priests and inclusive Catholic communities embody this principle by:
- • encouraging dialogue and shared discernment
- • valuing the spiritual insights of lay people
- • recognizing diverse ministries within the community
- • affirming that baptism—not ordination alone—is the foundation of Christian dignity and mission
A truly synodal Church must trust that the Spirit speaks through women, lay people, LGBTQ+ Catholics, theologians, young people, and those at the margins.
The future of the Church depends on listening to the whole Body of Christ.
And so, Pope Leo, we extend this respectful invitation: will you listen to and accompany those whom previous popes have condemned and excluded—your sisters in the international Roman Catholic Women Priests movement?
A New Beginning
Roman Catholic Women Priests and our inclusive Catholic communities are not seeking division within the Church. Our deepest desire is renewal.
We believe the Spirit is inviting the Church into a new moment of courage—a moment when long-standing exclusions can be reconsidered in light of the Gospel’s radical inclusivity.
Women priests are not a threat to the Church’s unity.
Rather, we are a prophetic sign that the Spirit of God continues to call women and men alike to serve the People of God in priestly ministry.
Conclusion
If Pope Leo were to listen to the stories of women priests and the communities we serve, he might discover something remarkable.
The Church he hopes to build—a synodal, humble, welcoming Church—is already taking root in many places around the world.
The Spirit is moving.
The People of God are ready.
And the future of the Church may well depend on our willingness to listen to voices that have too long been unheard- including Roman Catholic Women Priests who are fostering the vision of God’s all-embracing love in inclusive communities where all are welcome!
Rev. Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan
Bishop, Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests (ARCWP)
Co-founder, People’s Catholic Seminary
Author of Living Gospel Equality Now, The Healing Power of Prayer, and other works on inclusive theology and ministry.
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