Women in the church

The Synod of bishops in the Vatican ended last week with a final document that was voted on paragraph by paragraph.

So what was the most controversial paragraph? It may not come as a surprise to many, that it was para 60 on the role of women, which attracted 97 dissenting votes (ie 27+% bishops against).

It is very roughly translated from Italian as follows: (official English version has not yet been released)

“By virtue of Baptism, men and women enjoy equal dignity in the People of God. Yet, women continue to find obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, their vocation and their place in the different areas of the life of the Church, to the detriment of service to the common mission. The Scriptures attest to the leading role of many women in the history of salvation. A woman, Mary of Magdala, was entrusted with the first announcement of the Resurrection; on the day of Pentecost, Mary, the Mother of God, was present at the Last Supper, along with many other women who had followed the Lord. It is important that the relative passages of Scripture find adequate space within the liturgical lectionaries. Some crucial junctions in the history of the Church confirm the essential contribution of women moved by the Spirit. Women make up the majority of those who attend churches and are often the first witnesses of faith in families. They are active in the life of small Christian communities and in the parishes; they manage schools, hospitals and reception centres; they are at the head of initiatives to reconcile and promote human dignity and social justice. Women contribute to theological research and are present in positions of responsibility in institutions linked to the Church, in the diocesan Curies and in the Roman Curia. There are women who play roles of authority or are community leaders. This House calls for full implementation of all the opportunities already provided for by existing law with regard to the role of women, in particular in places where they remain unimplemented. There are no reasons that prevent women from assuming leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped. The question of women’s access to the diaconal ministry also remains open. We need to continue discernment in this regard. The Assembly also invites to pay more attention to the language and images used in preaching, teaching, catechesis and in the drafting of official documents of the Church, giving more space to the contribution of holy, theological and mystical women.”