Forty-five years ago, I wrote a parody of a then-popular Catholic hymn. The same parody works today: Be not ordained Priesthood is for men only Don’t follow me, for they will give you grief. We laughed then, but decades later, it is not very funny. In fact, it is rather tragic. What is tragic is Read more
Pope Francis recently announced that he would remove the phrase “lay men” from Canon 230 and replace it with “lay persons”. This change to the church’s legal code means that women can now be permanently installed as lectors or acolytes – essentially, readers, distributors of Communion and assistants at Mass and the sacraments. Although not Read more
A Swiss bishop who recently warned of a potential schism caused by different opinions about ordaining women in the Catholic church has resigned unexpectedly. Denis Theurillat, who was the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Basel cited “the increasing burdens of his office” as his reason for resigning five years before the customary retirement age Read more
Being prepared to consider ordaining women – and saying so – has seen a priest continue to be suspended from ministry while more senior clergy are not even smacked on the wrist. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, recently admitted that he is “open” to the idea of ordaining women to the Catholic priesthood. “I am not Read more
University of Chicago Divinity School student Rebecca MacMaster entered seminary out of a desire to make the Catholic Church “the best it can be” and to answer a calling to teach and work in college or parish ministry. “My Catholic identity is so important to me, and it informs so much of how I interact Read more
An open debate on women’s ordination in the Catholic Church is necessary, says Hamburg’s archbishop, Stefan Hesse. “One has to be permitted to think about and discuss the issue.” Hesse says “Ordinatio sacerdotalis,” John Paul II’s 1994 letter stating the church cannot ordain women as priests, was positioned as a response to those who considered Read more
Papal nuncio Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Vatican ambassador to France, plans to meet the female candidates individually at the beginning of the new school year. Marie-Automne Thepot’s mobile phone rang on the morning of July 27th and, to her surprise, the call was from the papal nuncio’s office. The 42-year-old project manager at the Paris City 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
Panel members at a conference organised by women’s ordination supporters have different views on conjectured future female deacons. The five-person panel met as part of the “Open to the Door to Dialogue” conference held in Rome earlier this month. Last month, Pope Francis said he would create a commission to study the history of female Read more
A priest who spoke at a US women’s ordination conference has been told he can no longer celebrate Mass in a San Francisco parish. Fr Jack McClure joined three inactive priests on a panel at a Women’s Ordination Conference in Philadelphia this month. Precious Blood Fr McClure said that he felt called to break his Read more