A newly released Catholic Women's Council report makes that message clear.

A delegation from the Council (CWC) presented the report to Sister Nathalie Becquart in Rome last week. She is the undersecretary at the general secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

The CWC is the umbrella group for over 60 organisations from across the globe. All the organisations contributed to the 18-page report, which is based on interviews with Catholic women on five continents.

"Despite the differences in the cultures and lives of the women interviewed, one word continually comes up: frustration," says Carmen Chaumet, a CWC-group member from France.

"Women are frustrated by the abuse of power, clericalism, discrimination, sexism and fear they feel in Church circles," the report says.

Women are treated as assistants

The report begins by reviewing the issues raised on each continent.

"Women are treated as assistants and are moving away from the Church to form groups that offer spaces for sharing and prayer," it quotes.

The Church's sexual abuse crisis is another concern the report raises.

Another is the "purely male Catholic networks" that "censor" reports and documentation on "issues of abuse, exploitation and the position of women in the Church".

The report also reflects that the sacraments, including the Eucharist and its language "denies, excludes, or symbolically diminishes the metaphor of the female face of God".

The CWC report suggests a number of recommendations for bishops to consider. These include action to:

• facilitate women's full participation in the life of the Church
• build "communities that are inclusive, participative, and welcoming of all people at the celebration of the Eucharist
• open all ordained ministries to women.

Very frank words

The document is intended for the bishops.

"We wanted to participate in the ongoing synodal process," says Chaumet. She conducted "listening sessions" in France when helping prepare the report.

A delegation from the Catholic Women's Council was in Rome on Tuesday and presented the report to Becquart.

"We had very frank words, but Nathalie Becquart was completely attentive," says Chaumet.

Last Pope Francis received the continental synthesis's first draft for the "Synod on Synodality". The draft text includes syntheses from national espicopal conferences from around the world.

Chaumet says several episcopal conference syntheses raise similar issues to the CWC document.

"Nevertheless, our document has stronger words, because the women we interviewed didn't take a backseat," she says.

Source

• La Croix

The Vatican published a heavily revised set of laws on June 1.

The change promoted the investigation of allegations of clerical sexual abuse, particularly of minors, and to establish punishment for offenders.

"While the changes and clarification regarding abuse against minors are a step in the right direction, the absence of any mention of the abuse of women that is equally widespread is a glaring omission," said a statement from the CWC.

"Sad that the revised canon law does not explicitly consider the clerical sexual abuse of women as a crime in the Church," said Virginia Saldanha, the CWC chairperson and a theologian based in Mumbai, India.

The CWC, a global umbrella group of around 50 Catholic networks and organizations, said the changes in laws also show the patriarchal leanings of the church leadership.

The Women's Ordination Conference, which is part of CWC based in the USA, described the revision as "a painful reminder of the Vatican's patriarchal machinery and its far-reaching attempts to subordinate women."

Clerical sexual violations often include the abuse of adults, particularly women.

The abuse takes place when a person with superior power exploits and takes advantage of a vulnerable person and causes physical and psychological harm to that person, Saldanha explained.

The laws say a priest who solicits a penitent to commit a "sin against the sixth commandment" under the pretext of confession should also be punished.

Saldanha said Catholic women often seek priests' counselling and guidance for issues including marital problems, even outside confession. "Is it not a crime if priests solicit women outside confession?"

"The Church has been dominated by the thoughts, words and decisions of men for centuries. It is time that we break out of this culture of male supremacy and return to the equality that Jesus created for women," Saldanha said.

Sources

UCA News