Your Holiness, Pope Leo,
Peace and grace to you as you begin your ministry of leadership in the Catholic Church.
I write this reflection as an invitation to 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.
Allow me to share several lessons that women priests and our communities believe may help the Church as it continues its journey of renewal.
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 social and religious boundaries and welcomed those excluded by the authorities of his time.
Radical welcome cannot remain only pastoral language. It must be embodied in the Church’s structures, sacramental practices, and leadership models.
Pope Francis often described the Church as a “field hospital.” Women priests and inclusive communities offer living examples of how that field hospital operates—places where healing, belonging, and dignity are offered to everyone without exception.
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.”
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 that the Church is called to be “a mother with open doors.” When sacramental life is truly accessible to all who seek Christ and hunger for the Bread of Life, this vision becomes real.
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, and healing from abuse and exclusion.
This reflects the heart of Jesus’ ministry. Again and again in the Gospels, he stands with those pushed to the edges of society.
Liberation theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez once wrote, “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.
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 reminded the Church, “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.
With prayer for you and for the Church we both love,
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
