Synod participants emphasise role of women in Church mustn’t eclipse need to involve all laity

Those taking part in the Synod of Bishops have emphasised that despite women’s ordination being removed from this year’s discussion there are plenty of important roles that women can fulfil in the Church. But they have also cautioned that there is an important need to discern potential ways to improve involving all the laity and not to overly focus on the role of women.

Participants were asked on 7 October what other possibilities they saw for women assuming leadership and governance roles that did not involve Holy Orders. It followed Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), taking the women’s diaconate off the table and saying “there is still no room for a positive decision by the Magisterium regarding the access of women to the diaconate”.

RELATED: Synod opens with a ‘No’ to women deacons

Sister Mary Teresa Barron, president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), a global leadership body of women religious, told journalists that “there are many good practices from all around the world” which involve women in leadership roles. She noted that one of the members of her Synod group was a woman who served as chancellor for her local diocese.

“We’re actually quite ignorant of what’s possible at the moment,” the Sister said. “There’s a list of the possibilities that exist, and we should share that good practice and learn from each other.”

While she acknowledged that it is easier for women in some cultures to assume leadership roles than it is in other cultures, she emphasised: “I do think within this synod, though, that there is a call to explore more possibilities; what are the other options that are available, even if, for the moment, we might not be looking at ordained ministry.”

She noted that discussion on the issue is often pigeonholed as “can women or can they not be ordained”, and voiced her belief that the question should instead be approached in terms of, “is the spirit calling women?”, and then discerning the best approach from that point.

“Some women do sense a call to the priesthood or the diaconate,” Barron said, adding that discussion must then focus on “the spirit calling to ministry today and in terms of the needs of mission today; are those calls there, and can we continue the discussion?”

Sheila Leocádia Pires, who serves as Communications Officer for the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and secretary of the synod’s information commission, said she also believes the discussion should be broader, including focusing on laypeople generally and not just women.

“If you look at our discussions today, it has to do with relations, how we look at the different charisms, for example, how do we use our charisms not for my own personal gain, for the unity of the Church,” she said.

What participants in the synod are looking into, Pires said, are “the different gifts that laypeople have, not necessarily just women, but laypeople”.

“There’s a lot more to be addressed instead of just looking at the diaconate of women or the ordination of women. All of that is being discussed under the title of the laity, what sort of ministries can the Church offer to the laity,” she said.

Likewise, Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, and president of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), warned that “there’s a danger of focusing on one section”.

He explained: “The role of women is important, and we have to be careful that it doesn’t shut out a lot of other important topics and charisms and ministries,” while noting that at one point in the synod’s official working document, a section dedicated to women ends saying, “basically this all applies to laymen as well”.

There have been comments within the synod assembly on the role of laypeople generally, including laymen, as well as comments on how the work of laypeople generally in families and in whatever jobs they hold “must be correctly valued”.

“One or another part of the discourse should not skew that vocational call,” Grušas said.

Participants in the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality have said that while questions surrounding the role of women in the Church are important, they can be distracting from other key issues on the agenda.

Currently 368 bishops, clergy, religious and laypeople from around the world are gathered in Rome for the 2-27 October closing session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, a multi-year process of consultation aimed at making the Church a more collaborative and welcoming place for its members.

RELATED: Randazzo from the Synod: “niche issues” like women’s ordination are a Western obsession

Photo: Participants in the assembly of the Synod of Bishops gather in the Paul VI Audience Hall to pray before the opening session, Vatican, Vatican City State, 2 October 2024. (Credit: Lola Gomez/CNS, via Crux.)

The post Synod participants emphasise role of women in Church mustn’t eclipse need to involve all laity appeared first on Catholic Herald.