Nothing new on the topic of women's ordination from the Vatican
From the German by Martin Schockenhoff
At the first session of the World Synod in October 2023, the topic of women's ordination was discussed intensively. In particular, it was decided to examine the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate and to put it on the agenda for the second session. Some, including the Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Bätzing, considered the diaconate for women to be achievable in the foreseeable future.
In March 2024, Pope Francis surprisingly removed the topic from the agenda of the World Synod. He explained that this topic still required further theological clarification and set up a working group outside the World Synod for this, as well as for other issues such as priestly forms of life.
This caused disappointment and indignation among many. It became apparent that, contrary to the Pope's wishes, the topic of women's ordination would be discussed at the World Synod after all. On the first day of the second session, Cardinal Manuel Fernández, Chairman of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the astonished delegates that his dicastery was preparing a document on the ordination of women. This would contain statements on the charisms of women, including the possibility of their assistance in sacramental acts. However, the document will not contain a positive decision on the admission of women to the diaconate.
This announcement right at the beginning of the second session was clearly intended to make it clear to the delegates that they had better not even deal with the topic of women's ordination, because any announcements from the World Synod would in any case be outdated by the document announced by his dicastery. In the further course of the second session, the delegates were presented with the interim results of the external commissions appointed by the Pope, including the interim result of Working Group 5 concerning the possibility of ordaining women. The original Italian version of the interim report, which consists of just under two pages, is also available in English translation. The content of this interim report confirms the fears of all those who had hoped for progress. Right at the beginning, the topic is limited to the ‘participation in decision-making processes and the leadership of communities’ of women. By ‘decision-making’, the Pope and the Vatican mean the stage of mutual listening, consideration and discussion that precedes the actual decision. The participation of women in the decisions themselves is not up for discussion from the outset.
The admission of women to the diaconate was obviously not dealt with independently in Working Group 5. Rather, the interim report unequivocally refers to the statements of the competent Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith:
‘Regarding the latter topic [the question of the admission of women to the diaconate] we would like to share from the outset ... that the Dicastery judges that there is still no room for a positive decision by the Magisterium regarding the access of women to the diaconate.’
In the following, it is explained that some important women in early church history and also today would have possessed significant authority and exercised influence even without ordination to the diaconate. Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, Maria Montessori, Dorothy Day and Madeleine Delbrêl are cited as examples.
The interim report ends with the words:
‘In the light of these beautiful testimonies, the question of women's access to the diaconate takes on a different perspective. Meanwhile, the in-depth study of their multifacited Christian witness can help today imagine new forms of minis-try that can create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church (Evangelii Gaudium, 103).’
To summarise,
it should be noted that Working Group 5, whose members were not made known to the delegates of the World Synod, has not yet undertaken an independent examination of the question of the ordination of women.
It has limited itself to reproducing the statements of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the work programme announced by it.
This working group, if it exists at all, will not undertake an independent examination.
On the basis of the interim report, it can be assumed that its final report will be limited to confirming the content of the paper on the ordination of women announced by Cardinal Fernández.
In other words: Working Group 5 is a Vatican echo chamber.
Group 5
Some Theological and Canonical Matters
Regarding Specific Ministerial Forms (SR 8 and 9)