The story of women’s participation in the Christian church in the two millennia since the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been one of ambivalence. Scholars have written widely about the role women have played in establishing the early church but who were silenced before the end of the first century of the Common era. Through Read more
Pope Francis’s little document Spiritus Domini is a most welcome development and a very interesting small brick in his larger pastoral edifice dedicated to implementing the reforms mandated over half a century ago by Vatican II. While some have presented Spiritus Domini as no more than giving formality to what has been common practice in some Read more
Ordaining women is not okay, over 200 Australian Catholic students have told the country’s bishops in an open letter. The letter, sent ahead of the upcoming Fifth Plenary Council of the Church in the country, urges the bishops to remain committed to the Church’s teaching. Ordaining women should therefore be rejected. “Many submissions to the Read more
Can you say where in the Gospels Jesus institutes the presbyterate (priesthood) and the deaconate? Hint: nowhere. St. Paul mentions deacons along with bishops in his letter to the Christians of Philippi. Later, in the first epistle to Timothy, Paul (or more likely someone writing in his name) talks of the qualifications for those ministries. Read more
Women have legitimate claims to seek more equality in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis says. The Church has to acknowledge a history of male domination and sexual abuse of women and children and it must repair its reputation among young people or risk becoming “a museum”, he says. Francis made these comments in the 50-page Read more
Female leaders from the secular world and some of the highest-ranking women in the Vatican spoke positively of the pope and the church at International Women’s Day events in Rome last week. One of those women, Australian journalist Geraldine Doogue, lent her support to major institutions including the Catholic Church. Speaking at an event organised Read more
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd took the occasion of his triumphant visits to Cuba and the United States to refer to His Holiness as “the perfect 19th-century pope”, largely because he seems disinterested in creating female priests. In her piece, Dowd’s assertions often lack context and the column itself is not particularly interesting, but it was Read more
Rocío Figueroa has been appointed as a lecturer in Systematic Theology at Good Shepherd. She will begin lecturing at the beginning of 2017 Rocío, a Peruvian married to a New Zealander, holds a doctorate in Systematic Theology with a specialisation in Christology from the Gregorian University. She lectured in Spiritual Theology for five years at Read more
Women advocates at a recent roundtable discussion in Nuku’alofa perceived that their main antagonists are the church ministers, the faifekau, who propagate fear of the future. There were at least four faifekau in the room. One of them shouted, “You women should know your place!” The roundtable meeting was called to discuss the Tonga’s ratification of Read more
Statements by Pope Francis that he wants to see greater roles for women in the Church have sparked speculation that he might appoint a woman cardinal. After an unnamed Jesuit was quoted in Spain as saying “It’s something that Pope Francis has thought about before”, Italian and American media picked up the idea. Cardinal Timothy Read more