A couple of weeks ago, I was a visitor celebrating a parish Mass. I was introduced to the congregation by the choir leader who had sung at my diaconate ordination 36 years ago. After mass, she expressed her displeasure that Pope Francis had announced changes to the Code of Canon Law, lumping together the issues Read more
Legions of female church workers at every level in parishes and chanceries, at episcopal conferences — and even at the Vatican — welcomed and welcome Pope Francis’ efforts to eliminate clericalism. The general perception that “they” (clerics) do not need “us” (women) seems to be fading. Or is it? The great diversity of the “church Read more
Sometimes you need to catch your breath when a Vatican official’s speaking echoes a theologian’s writings. Which way is this going to go? Not long ago, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, echoed a 50-year-old passage from a book by … wait for it … Swiss theologian Hans Küng. Speaking on Spain’s church-owned Read more
The Vatican seems poised to publish a theological investigation into the diaconate that does not look kindly on women deacons. On the other hand, reports that the Vatican has outlawed women deacons are not true—at least not yet. The International Theological Commission approved a study on the diaconate during its meeting in Rome from Sept. Read more
The action of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in taking the US LCWR to task has resulted in vast public support for women religious, while the US Catholic bishops look foolish. This is the opinion of Phyllis Zagano, writing in National Catholic Reporter. She says that according to the CDF, the “women religious Read more