Women and the Catholic Church: Voices and Challenges from the Global Consultation

Abstract

This article examines how the issues regarding the role of women in the life and mission of the Catholic Church are addressed, chronologically and geographically, in the various documents of the synodal process For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, 2021–2024. A detailed outline of the discussion of women in each of the documents is presented, including the documents which emerged from the seven continental meetings of Africa and Madagascar, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. It also includes a close examination of the document which emerged from the unique and important Maronite Special Synod for Women (2022–2023). The aim is to record the breadth and complexity of the discussion, identifying common concerns, key theological themes, and issues of divergence, including the contested issues of the female diaconate and the ordination of women to the priesthood. Concerns about the role of women in the Church have often been dismissed as solely the concerns of the Global North or of a liberal elite, but the results of the global consultation show that this is not the case. Addressing the lack of full and equal participation of women in the Catholic Church will be one of the core issues upon which the credibility of the Church in the world hinges.

1. “The Church of God Is Convoked in Synod”

“The Church of God is convoked in Synod.” There is an awesome solemnity to this opening sentence of the Preparatory Document (PD) marking the beginning of a unique and unprecedented convocation of the worldwide Catholic Church by Pope Francis, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, Synod 2021–2024 (Synod of Bishops 2021). The significance of the global nature of this event cannot be overestimated. The “entire Church worldwide” (PD, §1) is invited on a multi-level journey—from the local to the universal—which follows on the renewal of the Church proposed by Vatican II, the purpose of which is two-fold: ad extra, more effective proclamation of the Gospel in our time and, ad intra, listening to the Spirit’s guidance regarding the concrete steps needed to become a synodal Church. Thus “the quality of ecclesial life” (PD, § 2) and greater evangelical efficacy are interrelated in the synodal concerns and objectives from the very beginning of the process. The topic of women in the life and mission of the Catholic Church is one of the core issues at the intersection of concerns related to the quality of ecclesial life and evangelical efficacy, concerns upon which the credibility of the Church in the world hinges. The relationship between the quality of ecclesial life, evangelical efficacy, and external credibility is specifically mentioned in one of the objectives of the synodal process outlined in the PD (§2) and will be discussed below.

This article surveys how the topics of the experience of women and their role in the life and mission of the Catholic Church are addressed, chronologically and geographically, in the various documents of the synodal process of 2021–2024. A detailed outline of the discussion of women in each of the synodal documents is presented, and particular attention is paid to the documents which emerged from the seven continental meetings of Africa and Madagascar, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. The article also includes a close examination of the document which emerged from the unique Maronite Special Synod for Women (2022–2023), an important contribution, not just for a consideration of the role of women in the Maronite Church, but for the Catholic Church worldwide. The aim is to record the breadth and complexity of the discussion of women across the synodal process, chronologically and geographically, identifying common concerns, key theological themes, and issues of divergence, including the contested issues of the female diaconate and the ordination of women to the priesthood.

The hope is that this record, this “patrimony of memory”, will stand as (a) a reminder that grave concerns about the lack of full and equal participation of women in the Catholic Church were expressed universally, albeit with some divergences as to what this participation might involve,1 (b) a counter-argument to those who dismiss concerns about women in the Church as concerns only of the global North and of liberal, feminist elites, and (c) a constructive contribution to the ongoing discussions about women in the Church which the implementation of the synodal recommendations will necessitate.

2. Preparatory Document

The PD was a working tool for the first phase (October 2021–April 2022) of “listening to and consulting the People of God in the particular Churches” (PD, §3). Among the eight objectives that are described as “of great importance” and which “manifest synodality as the form, the style, and the structure of the Church” (PD, §2), two are particularly relevant in relation to the issue of women, the first is about the synodal process itself and the second about outcomes. One objective describes the scope and manner of the synodal process as “a participative and inclusive process” in which all, especially those on the margins, can speak, be heard, and “contribute to the edification of the People of God”. Another objective specifically addresses the question of being a credible witness of justice, using the unusual—for ecclesial documents—language of accreditation: “accrediting the Christian community as a credible subject and reliable partner in paths of social dialogue, healing, reconciliation, inclusion and participation, the reconstruction of democracy, the promotion of fraternity and social friendship”. This second objective is a very ambitious and complex one in terms of the Church being a credible subject and reliable partner in a wide range of social, political, and cultural endeavours. And it is here that the disjunction between the rich theological discourse about the dignity of women and their actual role in leadership and decision-making in the Church renders it vulnerable in terms of credibility and partnership.2

The complexity of the contemporary context, the locus of the synodal journey, is briefly outlined (PD, §5). Globally, there are the ongoing inequalities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tragic conditions of migrants, and the related issues of poverty and ecological justice. The ecclesial challenges outlined include corruption within the Church, and the continual challenge of responding to the deep wounds, “for which forgiveness can never be asked for enough”, caused by sexual abuse, abuse of power, and abuse of conscience (PD, §6). The document states that it is precisely out of these “furrows” of suffering that “new languages of faith and new paths are flourishing”, thus offering reasons for hope. In this context, the desire of young people “to be protagonists within the Church and the request for a greater appreciation of women and spaces for participation in the mission of the Church … are also confirmed” (PD, §7). While the PD is clearly addressed to the global Church, male and female, this is the only specific reference to the issue of women in its life and mission in the document. Listening to the laity, “especially young people and women … minorities, the discarded, and the excluded” and to the socio-cultural context of particular churches, is then identified as one of the ten thematic nuclei to be explored in the consultation (PD, §30).

The next nucleus is the invitation to all to speak out “with courage and parrhesia”. The Greek word parrhesia—meaning to speak boldly, frankly, without fear—has political roots in Athenian democracy. It is used in the New Testament to refer to speaking boldly about the Gospel in the face of opposition and persecution, such as in Ephesians 6:20. Pope Francis understood parrhesia as one of the pneumatological gifts essential for the practice of synodality. He directed bishops at the 2014 Synod of Bishops to speak with parrhesia and to listen with humility. He also counselled the participants at the 2019 meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church to move forward with “great parrhesia, courage and concreteness” (Francis 2019). However, it must be noted that, for many decades, speaking with parrhesia on a number of challenging issues in Catholic theology, including the role of women in the Church, particularly the restricted question of the ordination of women, often led to scrutiny, investigation, or disciplining by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (pre-2022 called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, CDF) or by doctrinal committees of national episcopal conferences (see Hinze 2010). Even engagement with feminist theology on a range of theological issues could result in theologians not being taken seriously or, particularly in the cases of female theologians, being sidelined in favour of women theologians deemed more acceptable in their views on gender and sexuality (see Imperatori-Lee 2015). Reflecting on the subsequent documents emerging from the worldwide consultation, it is clear that the invitation to speak with courage and parrhesia, “that is integrating freedom, truth, and charity” (PD, §30), was accepted. On the specific topic of women in the life and mission of the Church, it will be interesting to assess if and how bold speech is reflected in the outcomes of the synodal process.

The PD makes it clear that this global consultation of the People of God “does not imply the assumption within the Church of the dynamics of democracy based on the principle of majority” but can only take place “at the heart of a hierarchically structured community” (PD, §14). Of course, it must be acknowledged that distinguishing between the democratic principle of the majority and the pneumatological significance of widely-held convictions from the consultation of the global Church within a hierarchically structured community—particularly convictions that may challenge not just ecclesial practice but aspects of doctrine—requires a profound understanding of discernment and decision-making that challenges all involved. The PD concludes by stating that the purpose of the Synod, including the worldwide consultation, is not to produce documents but “to plant dreams … allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds … learn from one another”, in order to “enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands” (PD, §32). While the overall purpose is formative in the beautiful terms expressed in this conclusion, it is nonetheless essential to closely examine the synodal documents from this global consultation in order to understand the mind and heart of the worldwide Church, to ensure that the move from broad cross-cultural consultation to synthesis does not eradiate those diverse voices, and to move forward towards authentic implementation from this solemn convocation.

3. Document for the Continental Stage

Launched in late October 2022, the Working Document for the Continental Stage (DCS), entitled Enlarge the Space of your Tent (Is 54:2), draws on the extensive, highly innovative consultative phase which involved millions of people from across the globe who participated in meetings and other forms of collaboration (General Secretariat of the Synod 2022). We are told that these participatory experiences were “translated into words” and sent to the relevant Dioceses. These local submissions were synthesised and transmitted to the Episcopal Conferences and, following the outline contained in the PD, “the Episcopal Conferences drafted a report that was sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod” (DCS, §4). The Introduction notes: “Globally, participation exceeded all expectations” (DCS, §5). There were contributions from 112 of 114 Episcopal Conferences, from all 15 Oriental Catholic Churches, as well as from dicasteries of the Roman Curia, from religious and lay movements, and insights gleaned from the “Digital Synod”.3 Over one thousand individuals and groups chose to send contributions directly to the synod secretariat rather than via their local churches. Notwithstanding the redaction that would have been an inevitable part of moving from this multi-faceted listening and reflection process to acceptable synthesis, particularly as synthesised and transmitted by episcopal conferences, the global reach and complexity of this first part of the consultative phase of the synodal journey is extraordinary.

An interesting development in Pope Francis’ encyclicals and other major documents is his citation of documents by episcopal conferences worldwide in a way his predecessors generally did not. For example, in his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (Francis 2020), he weaves the social teaching of local churches into the encyclical with quotations from documents of the bishops of Australia, Columbia, India, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Mexico, and the United States. This subtle, but important, expansion of sources was indicative of a move towards a greater sense of the richness of the global Church, and also indicative of a kind of reciprocity of learning between the local and the universal, both of which become key dimensions of the synodal process.

However, here in the DCS we probably have the first portrait—in an official Church document—of the topography of the worldwide Church. Never before in an official document, albeit a working one, have so many local churches been named and cited. The expert group who drafted the DCS—probably the most challenging of the drafting tasks of the entire synod—punctuated the document with quotations from the breadth of the material received, allowing the insights of participants from across the world to be cited, including voices from Bangladesh, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Korea, Latvia, and the Maronite Church. The rationale for the choice of quotations is that “they express in a particularly powerful, beautiful or precise way sentiments expressed more generally in many reports” (DCS, §6). This is an important observation when examining citations about women in the Church throughout the whole synodal process.

Chapter one outlines the narrative of the experience of synodality in this first part of the consultative phase and the “joys, hopes, sufferings and wounds of Christ’s disciples” given voice to in the various reports (DCS, §15). Something that emerged from these global voices is “a profound re-appropriation of the common dignity of all the baptized” (DCS, §9). This becomes a recurring theme across all documents and stages of the synodal process, and this re-appropriation shapes the discussion of the role of men and women in the Church. The second chapter is a reflection on the image of the tent drawn from Isaiah 54, a tent being a place of communion, participation, and a foundation for mission. This biblical icon captured the imagination of many people—although criticisms of the tent metaphor were articulated in the African and Oceanian assemblies—particularly the need to enlarge the tent for a church that is more welcoming and inclusive. It is in the third chapter, which “articulates the key words of the synodal journey connecting them with the fruits of listening to the People of God” (DCS, §11), that we find specific discussion of the role of women in the Church. The positive impact of the initial listening, consultative phase on a range of people who previously felt that “the institutional Church was not interested in their faith experience or their opinions” is observed (DCS, §32). The “defence of fragile and threatened life at all its stages” is noted as another prominent theme emerging from the global listening process. Citing the Ukrainian Catholic Church, there is a call to “’study the phenomenon of female migration’”, and the need for multi-faceted support for women who may decide to have abortions due to poverty or fear of rejection, are mentioned (DCS, §37).4 The reports from the worldwide Church indicate a clear sense that synodality involves listening to those who feel neglected and excluded. “The groups who feel a sense of exile are diverse, beginning with women and young people who do not feel that their gifts and abilities are recognised” (DCS, §38).

Before turning to the specific discussion of women in the DCS, it is important to note that the topic of clericalism is also addressed in the third chapter, as this emerged as a major concern across the global consultative phase. Here, clericalism is defined as “a form of spiritual impoverishment, a deprivation of the true goods of ordained ministry, and a culture that isolates clergy and harms the laity … producing rigidity, attachment to legalistic power and an exercise of authority that is power rather than service. Clericalism can be as much a temptation for lay people as clergy …” (DCS, §58). While the focus of this article is on women in the Catholic Church, it must be emphasised that the culture of clericalism harms the laity, male and female, and concerns about this were articulated by both men and women across the worldwide Church.

The issue of the role of women in the Catholic Church was highlighted in all the synthesis reports sent from the episcopal conferences worldwide. The DCS has a section in the third chapter called “Rethinking women’s participation” (DCS, §§60–65). It is significant because it is not just reflective of the voices of women, but of the worldwide consultation of the people of God and is striking for what it includes. It presents the concern about the role and vocation of women—registered all over the world”—as “a critical and urgent area” related to the conversion of the culture of the Church and renewal of its practices and structures, but that conversion is presented in soteriological terms (DCS, §60). The appeal for valuing Catholic women primarily as “baptised and equal members of the People of God”, is described as coming from “all continents”. That women love the Church deeply, was almost unanimously affirmed, yet “many feel sadness” at the lack of understanding and overlooking of their contributions (DCS, §61). The quotations from the Holy Land report and the Korean report represent a common theme that emerges across the synodal process, that is, the disjunction between the number of women active in the Church worldwide, in many cases being the majority of practising members, and their near exclusion from leadership and decision-making. Thus, the Church faces “two related challenges”: women are the majority of participants in liturgy and other aspects of the Church’s life, while men are usually a minority, but “most decision-making and governance roles are held by men” (DCS, §61). These challenges are found across differences in culture and geography. The Holy Land report, interestingly, suggests that the marginality of women can also have “‘a prophetic edge’” in terms of their ability to “‘observe what is happening in the life of the Church’” (DCS, §61). This prophetic edge of marginality has, however, given birth to several decades of a rich body of theological writing by women about their role and vocation in the Church, a body of work that remains largely unmined in official discussions about the issue.

As well as addressing the issue of women within the Church, women have expressed the wish for the Church to stand at their side as an “ally”, particularly in combating “impoverishment, violence and diminishment”. “Some reports” note that the Church could learn from the way the cultures of their countries have made progress in terms of the participation of women, ‘’and the New Zealand report is cited as a reminder that the “‘lack of equality for women within the Church is seen as a stumbling block for the Church in the modern world ’”(DCS, §62). The question of accrediting the Church to speak on matters of gender, violence, or justice is raised, as it is a number of times across the synodal process.

The prevalence of “sexism in decision-making and Church language” is noted in a quotation from the report from the Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Life, which also mentions women religious sometimes being treated as cheap labour, undervaluing “religious life without the habit”, and the tendency “in some churches” to give preference to permanent deacons in the entrusting of ecclesial roles that could be carried out by women. The problem of the participation and recognition of women, lay and religious, “is present across cultural contexts” (DCS, §63). “Almost all reports raise the issue of the full and equal participation of women”, but there is no single recommended response agreed across the reports (DCS, §64). Many reports call on the Church to continue to discern the following: “the active role of women in the governing structures of Church bodies, the possibility of women with adequate training to preach in parish settings, and a female diaconate”. Unsurprisingly, it was recorded that “much greater diversity of opinion was expressed on the subject of priestly ordination for women, which some reports call for, while others consider a closed issue” (DCS, §64). The section on rethinking women’s participation concludes with a paragraph noting the ways in which women, particularly women religious, “are already at the forefront of synodal practices in some of the most challenging social situations we face” and thus can be “teachers of synodality within wider Church processes” (DCS, §65). While there remain issues upon which there is no agreement, there is strong agreement across the worldwide Church on many important questions and proposals about women.

This synthesis, drawing on the extensive consultative phase which involved millions of people from across the globe, has significance broadly for the issue of women in the life and mission of the Church. There are, however, two particular points of significance worth mentioning. Prior to the initiation of the synodal process, concerns about women in the Church were often dismissed as concerns solely of the global North and of liberal, feminist elites. This, despite the fact that feminist theology has always recognised the way in which the question of the role of women in the Church and society intersects with critical concerns about war, poverty, and the state of our planet. The relationship between concerns about justice in the Church, ad intra, and the Church’s proclamations on justice in the world, ad extra, has been a key dimension of feminist theology for the past sixty years.5 The emergence of concerns from the worldwide Church about the limited participation of women in leadership and decision-making gives lie to the argument heretofore that these are limited concerns of a privileged minority.

The second point is about the issue of the priestly ordination of women, upon which there is no agreement. Nonetheless, the fact that the DCS acknowledges that the issue was discussed in the global listening phase is very significant, especially since, at the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, stated: “The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion …” (Francis 2013, §104).

The DCS is the fruit of a broad and experimental listening phase. The metaphors of listening and accompanying were used very much in this phase. Listening can be an end in itself, and there is much to be proud of in terms of the sheer number of those listened to, but listening is not just a therapeutic exercise. Listening and accompanying are only authentic if one is open to being transformed by listening to and walking with. This is the challenge of the next stage. The DCS became the focus of the listening, dialogue, and discernment of the Continental Synodal Assemblies which took place between January and March 2023 and whose final continental documents are examined in the next section.

4. Final Documents of the Continental Assemblies

The final documents of the Continental Assemblies were published by the General Secretariat of the Synod in a collection called The Synodal Journey, Documents (General Secretariat of the Synod 2023a), described as “the most verifiable testimony of the listening process” of the Synodal journey. We are told that “they constitute a patrimony of memory that allows us to reread the action of the Spirit during this blessed time” (Preface to the collection). What is particularly striking for an official Church publication is the diversity of locations and traditions out of which these documents emerge. With documents drafted from across the globe and specific mention of meetings in locations from Addis Ababa, Bangkok, and Beirut to Prague, Quito, and Suva, this is the first “official” Vatican publication which gives voice to Karl Rahner’s concept of a world-Church (Weltkirche). Rahner argued that Vatican II marked “the beginning of a tentative approach by the Church to the discovery and official realization of itself as a world-Church” (Rahner 1981, p. 78). The intentional breadth of the consultation involved in the synodal process, whatever its limitations, is indicative of the Church seeking to realize this self-understanding.

Significantly, in a world dominated by economically powerful nations, the document of each continental assembly carries the same weight in the collection, an eschatological counter-logic to contemporary geopolitics. Not only have people listened to each other within regions and continents, but this diversity of voices can now be heard by the Catholic Church worldwide. The following sections will briefly introduce the document of each continental assembly, its operative ecclesiology, any notable features, and outline in detail its treatment of the role of women in the life and mission of the Church.

4.1. Africa and Madagascar

The Continental Assembly for Africa and Madagascar was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in March 2023. There were two preparatory working sessions on the draft continental document in 2022, in Accra, Ghana, and in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 200 participants from across the continent, Madagascar, and the Islands (with the exception of Egypt, which was part of the Assembly for the Middle East) were present at the assembly in Addis Ababa, an assembly where the discernment was marked by the traditional cultural values of palaver, ubuntu, and ujamaa, with the aim of preparing a document that “represents the authentic voice of Africa” (SECAM 2023).

The shortest of the continental documents, it lists twenty intuitions (insights, or new or illuminating experiences) in Chapter Two: “The Synodal Experience at the Continental Stage” that “generally resonate from one country to another”, the first of which is a reminder that the Church in Africa has been living synodality since Vatican II. This is evidenced in the work of the regional episcopal conferences, the dynamic grassroot ecclesial communities, and the 1994 and 2009 Special Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, held in Rome (2, §1). The second intuition indicates the operative ecclesiology for the African continental assembly, the Church as the Family of God, an image of the Church developed in those synods of 1994 and 2009. Pope John Paul II’s Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclesia in Africa (John Paul II 1995), for example, refers to the local and the universal levels of the Church as the Family of God in Africa and the Family of God all over the world. It is not surprising, then, that the Family of God was the operative ecclesiology of the Continental Assembly in Africa, but two reasons are identified for the preference: firstly, the image of the tent in the DCS was “heavily contested by many, who associate the image with warfare, displacement and refugee situations”; secondly, the image of the Family of God is one where “everyone has his or her place and responsibilities according to ‘family values’”. However, the document also notes that there is no homogeneity across the continent on what family values actually are (2, §2). No doubt that brief sentence carries the weight of much discussion and debate! This operative ecclesiology has strengths and weaknesses when it is operative in discussions about the role and mission of women. As the Nigerian theologian Teresa Okure observes, it “carries with it the need to reassess the values we assign to the diverse activities of members of this family all of which contribute to the building up of this body. Without such reassessment … [T]he church will continue to wear its old cloak of patriarchy, but as a concession, will simply spread a part of this cloak over women without itself being evangelized and transformed substantially (in depths and to the roots) by God’s gospel, Jesus Christ” (Okure 2001, p. 270).

The fourth intuition “that comes out strongly” is the need for the participation of “women, youth and physically challenged persons” in the life of the Church. A woman, of course, could be a young, disabled, and poor woman of the Church. Here, it must be noted that the documents that emerged across the synodal process are often insufficiently attentive to the intersectional nature of marginalities and vulnerabilities experienced especially by women. Women, the intuition continues, constitute “a greater percentage” of active Church members and contribute meaningfully to “the life and mission of the church”. However, “many of them feel” insufficiently involved in decision-making structures. The specific synodal call here is for the creation of more “opportunities and structures” for women (2, §4).

There are other general references in this continental document which include women in particular situations, for example, in reflections on “irregular” family situations, including polygamous marriage (2, §12; 3, §7).

This theme of enhanced inclusion and participation of all members of the Church, particularly women, youth, and persons living with disability, is returned to in the Conclusion, as one of eight points recommended as “recurrent and urgent priorities” for ongoing discernment at the level of the universal Church. The imbalance between women’s active membership in the Church’s life and mission and the paucity of structures to encourage their participation in the decision-making processes and platforms of the Church is again noted. “The Church in Africa wishes [the only time this formal and direct tone is used in the continental document] that, following the principle of subsidiarity, formal forums for women participation in the Church be enhanced.” (3, §6). While this core principle of Catholic social teaching, subsidiarity, is appealed to as grounds for the expanded participation of all the people of God in the DCS (DCS, §68, citing a document from the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and subsidiarity is also invoked similarly in the continental documents from Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean, this African continental document is the only one which links the principle of subsidiarity specifically with a practical proposal for the enhancement of the participation of women.

4.2. North America

Different from the other continental assemblies, a virtual format was chosen for the North American Continental Stage in order to maximize participation and to minimize expense. There were twelve virtual assemblies attended by over 900 delegates, with seven assemblies in English, three in Spanish, and two in French, most held in January 2023. Representatives from each assembly then met with the North American Synod Team who were tasked with writing the Continental Document. When the draft of the final document was ready, comments were sought from 25 delegates each from Canada and the United States. The North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021–2024 Synod, which contains citations from the assemblies, was released in April 2023. While there does not seem to be a chosen operative ecclesiology (there are eight references to the People of God model), what is communicated is a sense of the Church striving to be synodal, a kind of teleological ecclesiology that is responsive to failure, fragmentation, and wounds.

The section “Called and Gifted Through Baptism” notes that “over and over” in the Continental Assembly the need to grow into a more synodal Church was expressed, “starting with the recognition of the dignity of all the baptized” (§14). This egalitarian baptismal dignity issues not just a call to personal holiness but a call to ecclesial co-responsibility which must be manifest in “greater collaboration and communication among the People of God” (18). It then cites one of the groups from the virtual assemblies who said that a co-responsible Church sees the responsibility for ministry “not just for priests” and is a “real space where we can allow women and some of the more marginalized folks in the Church to really take up leadership roles” (§18).

This section on baptism is the location for the document’s specific paragraph on women in the Church. It begins by stating that there cannot be true ecclesial co-responsibility “without fully honoring the inherent dignity of women” (§19). As in the documents from other continental assemblies, women are identified as simultaneously doing crucial work for the Church and being a marginalised group within it. The idea of opening “more space” for women “especially at decision-making tables” is identified as a “frequently heard call” from delegates (§19). While acknowledging that clarity is needed as to what a co-responsible church would fully involve, North American “delegates proposed the examination” of a number of issues, including “decision-making roles, leadership, and ordination” (§19). Unlike in other continental documents, there is no qualification of “some”, “many”, or “a minority” of participants being supportive of examining the contested issue of ordination.

A section on “Communion with Christ and One Another” flows from what was heard “over and over again” in the Continental Assembly about the importance of the synodal process focusing on “the centrality of Christ, with whom are all united by baptism” (§23). It says that the vulnerability of this ecclesial communion to fragmentation and polarization was a “major theme throughout the diocesan, national, and continental stages” of the synodal process (§24). Among the threats to communion identified by the virtual assemblies was the undermining of trust and credibility resulting from the sexual abuse crisis and the historical injustice towards Indigenous children (§25). As part of this emphasis on communion, the document notes that, in the Continental Assembly, reflecting what was in the national reports, there was a “deep desire for greater inclusivity and welcome within the Church”. Women among others—immigrants, young people, LGBTQ+ persons, persons with disabilities, people who are divorced and remarried—were those named during the Continental Stage as groups who may find the Church an “inhospitable” place (§26). Women and men can, of course, experience such inhospitality in multiple and intersectional ways. The suffering experienced by those prevented from receiving Eucharist, especially those who are divorced and remarried without an annulment and “others whose objective situation in life contradicts the beliefs and teaching of the Church”, was raised by “some participants”. Interestingly, “some delegates” raised the fact that some Catholics are wounded “by the limitations placed on the pre-conciliar Latin rite” (§27). Thus, the document presents a latitudinal perspective on the ways in which people can feel unwelcome in the Church.

The themes of a being a welcoming Church and of ecclesial co-responsibility are two of the five North American priorities directed towards the 2023 Synodal Assembly in Rome (§54). The challenge of authentically welcoming those who feel excluded from participation in the life of the Church, that is, of being hospitable in a way that is “faithful to the Gospel and to the Catholic faith” is described as weighing heavily on the people of God in North America. The priority directed to the Synodal Assembly in Rome is posed as a question about the meaning and the pastoral and doctrinal implications of “radical inclusion”, noting “widely divergent reactions” to the term during the consultation phase (§54.II). At a time when the concept of “inclusivity” has become a politically charged one—and not wishing to minimize the challenges involved in its practical implementation beyond words of welcome, as clearly stated in the priority sent to Rome—it is nonetheless significant that this continental document states clearly: “The desire to be a more inclusive Church resonated throughout all the virtual assemblies” (§28).

The priority of ecclesial co-responsibility is identified due to the frequency of the “plea for renewed consideration of the mission of all the baptized, with specific attention given to particular vocations” (§54. III), although the question of the ordination of women proposed for examination as part of the issue of ecclesial co-responsibility (§19) is not specified here. A “demand” for a better understanding of the role of laity, and “of women and young people in particular”, is presented as a constitutive dimension of the discernment of baptismal dignity and responsibility. This priority, it notes, also relates to the “frequently raised” issues of shared decision making and transparency, and proposes that the practical implementation of ecclesial co-responsibility will require both formation and “a consideration of current canonical norms and ecclesial structures”. The fifth priority, “A Church that goes out to the peripheries”, is a reminder to the Church in North America that “there is always a danger of forgetfulness of, and indifference to, those who are poor and ostracized” (§54.V). During the assemblies, people were asking “for more robust formation” in reaching out to the peripheries. Thus, the balance between justice, ad intra, and the ad extra concern for the peripheries is woven into the priorities of the North American Church proposed for consideration at the level of the universal Church.

In the cover letter to this Continental Document from Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Texas and Canadian Bishop Raymond Poisson, there is an interesting reflection on the hopes the North American Church had in advance of their continental assemblies for “more robust participation” of the voices of those who have been “relegated to the margins” of society and the Church. “The absence of those voices is not easily interpreted but was palpably felt.” Specifically on the topic of the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, this North American continental document, while offering clear proposals, does seem to indicate a less robust engagement with these issues than might be expected on a continent where, at least in the United States, the topic of women is one of the neuralgic topics shaped by the so-called “culture wars”. This is the only one of the continental documents which so explicitly laments the paucity of participation by those relegated to the margins and identifies this as a lesson to be learned from to encourage more robust participation of the ecclesiastically and socially marginalised in the ongoing implementation of synodality.

4.3. Latin America and the Caribbean

At the heart of the Continental Stage of the synodal process in Latin America and the Caribbean were four regional assemblies, with the participation of twenty-two episcopal conferences and a total of over four hundred participants, held in San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Quito, and Brasilia in February and March 2023. This was the chosen format to facilitate greater participation that would reflect the social and cultural diversity of the continent. A team was selected to then draft a continental synthesis based on the contributions of the four assemblies. The clear operative ecclesiology of the document is that of the People of God. The synodal implications of this model have already been engaged with by the Latin American and Caribbean Church which, the document notes, “has a long history of participatory experiences” (§3). From the assemblies of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM)—Medellin (1968), Puebla (1979), Santo Domingo (1992), and Aparecida (2007)—to the Special Synodal Assembly on the Pan-Amazon (2019), the Church on this continent has “welcomed the power of the Holy Spirit who always rejuvenates the Church through significant synodal processes” (§19). Thus, the Church on this continent presents itself as well-poised through these participatory experiences to learn from and contribute to the Synod on the Synodal Church. Together with the participatory ecclesiology, another distinctive feature of this continental document is the spirituality and missiology shaped by a Guadalupan Mariology (§18,107).

The contributions of the continental stage are synthesised in eight main themes, four of which specifically discuss women. Reflecting on the theme “Synodality of the People of God”, all four assemblies reaffirmed Vatican II’s emphasis on “the common dignity and fundamental equality of all the baptized, women and men” (§35). It is reported that audible in all the assemblies was “a deep cry to be treated well, respected as equals” (§38). A specific challenge is then identified: “to open spaces, provide the means and generate ways for the effective participation of women” in discernment and decision-making, with one assembly describing women’s participation as “a prophecy, a factor of hope”. The deepening of these themes was a mandate sent to the October 2023 Assembly in Rome (§39).

The theme of a “Missionary Synodal Church” addresses the role of the laity “especially of women” in the transmission of faith and the leadership of communities, “in distant places and difficult contexts”, something which was emphasised across the gatherings. Here, it notes the mention of perceived tensions when some clergy “arrogate to themselves the responsibility for directing all evangelizing action in the community” (§62).

The ad extra implications of the mission are reflected on in the theme “Synodality: socio-environmental commitment in a fragmented world” (§§63–72). Although the term “liberation” is not used in this document we can, nonetheless, see the integration of a liberationist perspective, broadly conceived, including its feminist and ecological dimensions, particularly in this section on synodality’s socio-environmental commitment. This is the fruit of the patient work of a generation of Latin American and Caribbean theologians and the rapprochement with liberation theology that occurred with Pope Francis. There is an unequivocal call for the Church “to renew its preferential option for the poor and to highlight the social dimensions of evangelization” (§63). The distancing of the local churches from the peripheries—geographical, social, or existential—was discussed at the assemblies, as were the many faces of the poor on the continent, including women, indigenous peoples, people of African descent, and those living in vulnerable conditions, such as children, migrants, refugees, and people with disabilities (§64). This socio-environmental commitment calls on the Church to go out to the “geographical and existential peripheries”, and to listen to both the cry of the poor and the cry of creation. It also necessitates having the “audacity” to raise and discern forgotten and ignored topics and reaching out in a spirit of inclusivity to those considered “other”. Women who have had abortions “out of fear” and others, including LGBTQ+ communities and couples in second unions, are listed among the ecclesiastically othered and exiled (§65). Confronting the many forms of violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, including human trafficking and the abuse of children and women, is identified as a task of synodal missiology, a challenge in which the Church is discovering different ways of being synodal in alliances with other people, movements and institutions (§66).

There is specific attention to women in the theme “Vocations, Charisms and Ministries in a Synodal Key” (§§82–94). Encouragement of greater participation of the laity, especially women and young people, “in decision-making scenarios” is described as a “central issue”. Expressed across the assemblies is a sense of women being a majority presence and key supporters of the mission of the Church, with some local churches saying that there are already spaces for women to participate in decision-making spheres, while others feel that women are viewed as “cheap labor” within the Church. The exclusion of women and the minimisation of their roles is linked with both ecclesial clericalism and cultural machismo from which, it argues, a conversion is needed within the Church (§87). The creation and institution of new ministries, especially for women, is described as necessary, with specific reference to the female diaconate, the institution of which “many voices” consider “an urgent need” (§86). The discussion of this theme concludes by sending a special request to the October General Assembly to address the issue of ministry, to promote the revision of the theology and forms of a ministerial Church, and the opening of some ministries to women, although the female diaconate mentioned above is not specified here (§92).

4.4. Asia

The Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality took place in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2023. Organised by the Federation of Asian Conferences (FABC), an Asian Task Force was established in October 2022 to coordinate the entire Asian synodal process. This body was then appointed to be the Discernment and Writing Team tasked with producing a Draft Framework for the final continental document for discernment and discussion at the February 2023 Assembly in Bangkok. This Assembly gathered Catholics from across the largest of the continents in landmass and population, one “blessed with diverse cultures, religions, languages, and ethnicities” (§1), where Christianity remains a small minority in most parts, with the exception of the Philippines. The continental document gives witness to the Church in Asia being mindful of both the challenges and enrichments of living out its mission in this diverse and pluralistic context. The distinctive operative ecclesiology is two-fold, the Church as Mother and the Church as a bridge-builder between cultures, religions, and peoples (e.g., §14, 77, 154).

The Church as Mother “needs to extend her loving embrace”, especially around the youth and “reach out to those who are lost, confused, and have disconnected themselves from the Church” (§99). This continental document is notable for the frequency of references to and concern expressed for young people. The Church in Asia, which struggles to embrace the great numbers of poor and marginalised people on the continent, is likened to “a mother in a poor Asian family” struggling to care for her many children (§103). Catholics in Asia, it says, mindful of living in diversity, need to “enhance the quality of our friendship with one another”, so that “we can be a good mother and an example to bring peace and unity to the world” (§58). It also calls on the Church as Mother to “be at the forefront” of protecting and healing Mother Earth (§178). Alone among the continental documents, this one has a female image of Church as an operative ecclesiology, one with strong ethical resonances.

The specific topic of women in the Church is first addressed as one of the “Asian resonances” in response to the DCS, specifically in the section reflecting on the vulnerabilities and wounds of the Church in Asia. “Among the many wounds of the Church are abuses related to finance, jurisdiction, conscience, authority, and sex” (§63). Following on this reflection on abuses, and “a lack of transparency and accountability” in governance that undermines the credibility of the Church (§63), the specific resonance about the lack of inclusion of women in governance and decision-making is articulated. “[D]eep concern” is expressed about this, and there is particular mention of the “sense of alienation” of women religious in Asia who are actively involved in the mission of the Church without their voices being sufficiently heard in policy decisions (§65). The section continues with reference to the call from the Asian synodal conversations for a “rethinking” of women’s participation—citing the important role women have in the Bible—and a “renewal of governance structures that will allow the meaningful participation of women in all aspects of the Church” (§66).

In the section on “Asian tensions”, substantial tensions or issues of divergence in the Churches in Asia are recommended for ongoing consideration in the next stage of the synodal process. The section “Tensions in Living Synodality” (§§86–89) calls for a more participatory Church, with a model of servant leadership, and a reconfiguration of the role of the laity which “includes expanding spaces for possible lay ministry through a variety of charisms”, although the examples listed—including counselling, care of the sick, education and protection of children—would seem to be areas in which many lay individuals and groups are already exercising ministry on behalf of the Church (§87).

Three specific “Tensions in Women’s Involvement” are listed for consideration. The first tension refers to the fact that women are highly participative in the everyday life of the local churches in Asia, but are not visible in leadership roles and, in some places, “their voices are hardly heard” (§95). However, there is no mention of ministerial roles for women, no reference to the female diaconate, nor to the issue of ordaining women to the priesthood. (Ordained Ministry, in general, is not a major focus of this continental document, and the permanent diaconate is not mentioned at all.) In the second tension, there is an acknowledgement that some of this invisibility of women in leadership roles is due to “cultural differences and the traditional patriarchal structures of Asian societies”, whereby women may not be welcomed in leadership and decision-making (§96). This marginalisation, it says, affects both lay and religious women. The third notes that in some countries “the men are not in the Church” and therefore “it is women take on leadership roles effectively” (§97). There is one further women-specific reference in the section on “Gaps identified in the Asian responses”, where the FABC General Conference identified concerns not captured or insufficiently covered in the responses to the DCS by local churches. Listed in the gaps related to family and marriage is a reference to abortion “masquerading”, in some countries, as a “women’s rights issue” or “promoted as a means of population control and eugenics” (§141).

The document directs six priorities to the Assembly in Rome, hoping that these “reflect the desires of Asian hearts” (§165). These include formation, inclusivity and hospitality, missionary disciples, accountability and transparency, prayer and worship, and the environment (§§166–179). Women are included, of course, in all these important concerns and recommendations of the Church in Asia but, despite listing tensions in women’s involvement among issues to be considered in the next steps of the process, this is the only continental document which does not, in some way, explicitly mention women’s role in the life and mission of the Church as a priority for the synodal process going forward from Bangkok.

4.5. Europe

The European Continental Assembly took place in Prague in February 2023, with 200 participants and five working languages. A total of 269 others participated online, contributing to online working groups and then in a special session of the Assembly. Interestingly, all the plenary sessions of the Prague Assembly were livestreamed, with the recordings made available. A Redactional Committee was tasked with drafting the Continental Document, which drew from the assembly contributions and included quotations “chosen because they express in a concise, powerful or precise way sentiments expressed in a number of contributions” (§8). The document gives a sense of an Assembly very sensitive to the European context: the war in Ukraine, the wounds caused by clerical sexual abuse, migration, the phenomenon of secularisation, and the catastrophic impact of the powerful Turkey–Syria earthquake which occurred during the Prague assembly. Following Jesus’ “kenotic existence in the service of humanity” (§21), the proposed ecclesiology is a “kenotic ecclesiology, so as not to be afraid of the death of certain forms of Church” (§44).

The Assembly discussions arising from the DCS led to the identification of seven points of reference or intuitions imperative for building a synodal Church in a European perspective (§20). While these are interrelated intuitions, two refer specifically to women: the rediscovery of the common baptismal dignity and its implications, and preferential attention to families, women, and young people. With quotations from national synodal documents from Italy, Scotland, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, there is a call for a rediscovery of common baptismal dignity and the shared responsibility that flows from this (§25, 26). This rediscovery “takes on a more concrete and urgent dimension when it prompts us to reflect on the place and role of women in the Church”, urgent not as “a substitution for male scarcity” but as a “responsible implementation” of the theology of baptism. It also notes that this challenge is “even more crucial” in relation to young people (§26). In the intuition “Attending to Families, Women and Young People” the document notes, with citations from churches in Ireland and Belarus, that “practically all the delegations devoted space to the topic of the participation of women and their role in the church”. Women playing crucial roles in the life of the Church and simultaneously experiencing the pain of exclusion and discrimination was “one of the most frequently recurring” points, raised by both male and female delegates (§46).

In terms of the internal dynamics of the Church in Europe, the document articulates seven substantial tensions which were to the fore in the Assembly, including the tension between truth and mercy, and liturgy as a locus of tensions. Another is the tension around the meaning and structure of co-responsibility in the context of diverse charisms and ministries. Unsurprisingly, the question of women and ministry is part of this particular tension. It begins by noting that, while the Assembly reaffirmed the importance and gift of priestly ministry for the Church, there is insufficient reflection on the ordained diaconate, except in relation to envisaging opening it to women (§74). “Some contributions also point to the existence of questions concerning the limits of access to ordained ministry” (§75). The Portuguese national document is then cited as describing women’s access to the sacrament of Orders and the ordination of married men as “so-called divisive issues”, with the former particularly dividing opinions. It notes Luxemburg’s recommendation of an in-depth study into the question of women’s access to ordained ministries. The broader question of the place of women in the exercise of authority and decision-making within the Church arose “in many delegations”, and it is noted that for “several groups it is even a condition for a more fruitful Church” (§76). Overall, the convergence is located in the call for real and effective co-responsibility which overcomes clericalism, and the formation of a more synodal Church (§77).

In conclusion, the European Churches proposed eight priorities to be addressed at the October 2023 Synodal Assembly, many of which have implicit implications for women in the Church and one of which is specific to women: “take concrete and courageous decisions on the role of women within the Church and on their greater involvement at all levels, including in decision-making and taking processes” (§92).

4.6. Middle East—Oriental Catholic Churches

The Continental Synodal Assembly for the Middle East took place in Beirut in February 2023, with participants from Egypt, the Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and the Arabian Gulf. It was the continental assembly marked by the most ecclesial and liturgical diversity, with delegates from the seven Catholic Churches in the Middle East: Coptic, Maronite, Greek–Melkite, Syriac, Chaldean, Armenian, and Latin. What is theologically distinctive about this document is the emphasis on synodality in the Eastern Theological Tradition. The Eastern Catholic Churches, with the exception of the Latin Church, “have been established according to a patriarchal and synodal structure” (§13), with origins in “the regional councils or synods which, according to historians, appeared in the region of Asia Minor in the second half of the 2nd century” (§14). Over the centuries, “the interference of politics and personal interests led to the exclusion of the lay faithful from the synods” leading to “a form of clericalism that emphasised the grip on power and authoritarianism in the process of promulgating decisions” (§14). They attribute to Pope Francis a restoration of “the decisive role of all the members of the same ecclesial body” (§14). It is synodality that has been “indispensable for the management of plurality in all its forms”, internal and external. It has shaped the ecumenical engagement of the Eastern Catholic Churches and their “common dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other parts of Middle East society” (§15). There is a profound sense that the Eastern Catholic Churches view themselves as both “nourished” by the universal Church and communion with the pope as well as enriching the catholicity of the Church (§16).

Before the document’s dedicated section on women, there is an interesting note that the synodal process, “where its directives have been observed”, enabled all members to experience “mutual listening and freedom of expression, especially on the part of women and young people” (§17). Women are a part of a paragraph referring to an increase in separated couples who change their denomination or religion to attain a divorce and an increase in the number of women “who resort to abortion” (§39).

The section “Vocation and role of women” (§41–42) notes that participants in the continental Assembly confirmed women as “constitutive, active and pioneer members of the synodal process”. The participation of women in the synodal process and their commitment to the Church’s mission, “despite their distance from decision-making bodies”, led the Office for the Pastoral Care of Women in the Maronite Church to the novel suggestion of a special Synod for Women. This suggestion is described as “a first in our Eastern Churches in its theological, academic, pastoral and social implications and approaches” (§41), but it also a first in the global Catholic Church.

Out of the discussion and debate about the vocation and role of women, the participants called on the Church “to take clear and uncompromising initiatives” in relation to their participation in administration and governance, initiatives that require “prophetic courage” (§42). The necessity of formation for women who will assume administrative roles or receive ecclesial ministry is emphasised, with specific mention of the ministry of “deaconess in works of charity”. The document outlines a series of twelve proposals (§48) which would enable the Church to become more synodal, one of which deals specifically with women: “To abandon any form of exclusion of women from participation in the life of the Church, especially in making ecclesial decisions” (§48h). It then calls on the Church to “reflect seriously on the re-establishment of the diaconate for women”. The proposal concludes by saying that the conclusions of the Maronite Synod for Women are “eagerly awaited”, for the purpose of “enabling women to be more active and present in the life of the Eastern Catholic Churches”. The document emerging from the Maronite Synod for Women will be discussed after this section on the final continental documents.

4.7. Oceania

The Synodal Continental Assembly of Oceania took place in Suva, Fiji, in February 2023. Oceania occupies one-third of the planet. It is vast and culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse. Its 21 countries include small islands and large land masses, developed and developing countries. In late 2022, the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO), comprised of four episcopal conferences and representatives of the Eastern Catholic Churches, created the Oceania Taskforce for the Continental Stage and the Suva Assembly Taskforce. A Discernment and Writing Group (DWG), “a diverse range of people from across ecclesial, geographic, age, sex and experiential backgrounds”, was also created and tasked with synthesizing the reports from the local churches responding to the DCS (§28). The final continental document for Oceania clarifies that it is neither a magisterial nor a catechetical document but “more like a postcard at this point in our journey, showing where we are now” (§145). Due to the fact that the ecological crisis “preoccupies the political, economic, social and ecclesial discourse” of all the countries in Oceania (§2), this is the continental document most attuned to the ecclesiological implications and ethical challenges of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’ (Francis 2015).

The section “Fruits of Discernment” outlines eleven common themes, issues, and insights emerging from the Continental Stage in Oceania. The first theme takes up the metaphor of the tent (§§39–46). In the larger countries in the region, it was “received with enthusiasm and joy” as it represented a humbler edifice for a church “deeply wounded by the abuse crisis” (§39). However, the metaphor did not have the same resonance for members of the Eastern Catholic Churches in Oceania, as these include people who had to flee their countries due to war for whom the tent was a reminder of displacement and refugee camps (§40). Nor did the tent metaphor resonate with Pacific islanders who live on small islands, people of the sea who have moved through the region historically in boats (§41). Advice is given for the ongoing synodal process that “continuing with the image of the tent” could exclude those for whom the tent has “little resonance” or may be an “unwelcome image because of their life experiences” (§42). This is an example of the reciprocity of learning that needs to characterise the relationship between local churches and the universal Church.

In the section on the theme of baptism and sacraments (§§47–58), the responses indicated a strong sense of baptism as a common identity and a source of dignity, but that somehow the possibilities for “full, active, and equal participation” of all the baptised remain largely unrealised (§§47–48). “Some” argued that greater participation of the laity, especially women, is needed (§49). “A number of participants” called on the Church to re-examine its position on married priests. It was noted that only in the Australian response was the issue of women’s ordination to the priesthood raised and, although there was no request for this to be considered from New Zealand, “one group” there asked for the female diaconate (§58). In the discussion of marriage, the need for attention to the reality of polygamous marriages was highlighted by Papua New Guinea (PNG), an issue that is also mentioned in the African Continental Document.

The theme of Inclusion is reflected upon as one of the fruits of discernment (§§59–65). “All the responses supported calls for the Church to be more inclusive, particularly of those whose relationships present challenges to participation in the Eucharist” (§59). The delegates also desired a more inclusive attitude to a range of persons, with particular emphasis from the Pacific region on the inclusion of the poor (§60), and the First Nations a priority in the Australian Church (§63). Persons with “diverse experiences of sexuality and gender” were also mentioned in relation to lack of inclusion, with a dissenting voice from PNG (§62).

The issue of women in the Church is addressed in the theme of Church Teaching. While there was consensus on the need for “an enhanced role for women”, it is again noted that only one submission explicitly raised the issue of women’s ordination (§68). This theme is followed by that of “Authority and Governance”. Across Oceania there is a unanimous conviction that a synodal church “needs a cultural and structural change in Church leadership” (§70), a conviction that reflects “deep concerns” about governance and decision-making at all levels of the Church (§72). It refers to the distrust towards the hierarchy “triggered” by the abuse crisis, the negative effects of clericalism, and the “power imbalance” between bishops, priests, and lay people created by canon law.

Women are also treated as a distinct theme (§§99–102). The section begins by stating that the theme of the role and participation of women in the Church “resonated strongly across Oceania, though women’s experiences varied across the region” (§99). The DCS is praised “for naming global concerns” about the role of women in the Church. It is noted that concern was expressed by “many groups” in Australia and New Zealand about the lack of women’s participation in leadership and governance, with specific reference to diocesan marriage tribunals. Their exclusion from the permanent diaconate and ordained ministry is identified as a “minority concern” (§99).

It is also noted that, while women do participate in roles that do not require ordination, the overall lack of participation of women remains a significant issue, although this view was not unanimous. A group of young lay women stated that they do not experience a lack of equality in the Church, but it is not clear if this is an observation reflecting one local church or the Church in Oceania more broadly. Do these young women reflect what is sometimes called the “new feminism” in Catholic theology which is influenced by Pope John Paul II’s theological anthropology of gender? (See Schumacher 2004; Beattie 2006). Have younger women different experiences of the Church and greater opportunities to engage intentionally in aspects of their choosing? Or have young lay women who share similar concerns with an older generation shaped by feminist theology simply walked away from the Church? This is an important question about generational convergences and divergences that merits further exploration in the future.

A group of priests described their experiences of women as “present and influential” in parish life and ministry. PNG identified women as very active in the life of the Church and were positive about developments in “equal participation in Church work” (§100). However, “some responses” referred to women being treated as “cheap labour” in the Church. Briefly mentioned were other issues affecting women in the region, including violence, abuse and sorcery, divorce and remarriage, alienation due to church teachings on sexuality, and misogyny and sexism perpetrated by clergy (§101). “Many responses reaffirmed the call for Catholic women to be valued as equal members of God’s people”, and the call for greater listening to “the realities and needs of poor, marginalised, and neglected women” (§102).

These reflections on women in the Church from across the vast region of Oceania show the areas of consensus and disagreement. The role of women in the Church is listed as one of the “tensions” in the region, that is, “an area of differing views that need further discernment and attention” (§116). Another of the eight listed tensions, and one that affects women, is “[d]ifferent attitudes toward those with diverse experiences of sexuality and gender”. A third tension worth mentioning here is related to the “wounds of sexual abuse within the church”, which have been “clear and public” scandals in some parts of Oceania and, while “a growing concern” in other parts, have not yet had the same impact on the faith of members of the Church (§117). It is worth noting that this Continental Document also criticises the DCS (in a section on Gaps and Omissions) for not giving adequate attention to the “ongoing effects of the sexual abuse crisis” (§122). Voices not heard or underrepresented in the synodal process is another gap identified in the DCS, with advocacy needed for these unheard and overlooked people in the Church and in wider society. The response from PNG named people with disabilities, the elderly, street children, widows, and women engaged in prostitution among those unheard and underrepresented voices (§123).

The issue of women is a specific priority listed among the eight priorities and calls to action which “the People of God in Oceania” deemed appropriate for consideration at the Synod Assembly in October 2023. The role of women is identified clearly as “a uniform concern in Oceania”, and therefore the Synod Assembly “should consider the experience of women in the church” under these very specific points: (a) “Hearing directly from women on all matters under consideration at Synod Assemblies”; (b) “Ensuring the spirit of synodality continues to cause the Church to listen to those women who do not feel sufficiently recognised in the Church”; (c) “Change the perception of women in the Church as being homogenous in their views”; (d) “Full and just participation of women in Church governance, decision-making, mission and ministry; (e) ”A just remuneration”; (f) ”A greater involvement of women in the formation of seminarians and priests” (§136).

The conclusion to this continental document states: “Not every bishop found every part of the document wholly convincing or complete, and some had doubts and concerns about where this might be leading us” (§149). Although the most neuralgic issue of women’s ordination is identified as a minority concern in Oceania, no doubt the question of women in the Church was one of those which raised some episcopal doubts and concerns. Nonetheless the various references to women in this Oceanian “postcard” document are reflective of the tensions and possibilities discussed globally.

5. Maronite Special Synod for Women

This is one of the most interesting initiatives within the broader synodal process, one that does not seem to have received sufficient attention in the Latin Church. Although an extensive analysis of the role of women in the Maronite Church is not possible here, this section will focus on the document which emerged from the Maronite Special Synod on Women, a significant document not just for the Middle East but also for the wider Catholic Church.

Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, inaugurated in the Maronite Patriarchate the Special Synod on Women’s Presence and Mission in the Church and Society on 5 March 2022. Led by the Office for the Pastoral Care of Women of the Patriarchate, the three objectives of the Synod were: “Shedding light on the Bible and the Church’s teaching regarding women; Encouraging women’s effective commitment in the Church and society and achieving partnership and complementary responsibility in education, ministries, leadership, and decision-making; Empowering and educating women to enhance their role and mission” (Maronite Patriarchate 2023, Appendix 1).6 The methodology consisted of a range of dialogue, brainstorming, and reflection groups “representing the constitutive categories of the Church”, both in Lebanon and with the Maronite diaspora elsewhere. The ideas and statements emerging from these gatherings shaped “the construction of a set of qualitative questions” which were then directed at individuals and groups, not just in the Church, but in broader society. The document outlines in detail the synodal methodology across 2022–2023, which included a field study with women, not just from the Maronite tradition, but also women from the Eastern Catholic Churches “who participated in the synodal process in their Churches and at the continental stage” (Appendix 1). It is very interesting that this particular input was built into the process, firstly, because of the involvement of the other Eastern Churches, and secondly, the inclusion of the perspectives of women who could reflect back on their experience of the synodal process at the local and continental levels and further refine their views on women in the Church based on these assemblies.

An ecumenical and interdisciplinary committee of experts prepared a draft document, shaped by feedback from a consultative meeting, by May 2023. They then met with a Bishops’ Committee, some amendments were made, and The Vocation and Mission of Women in the Economy of God, the Life of the Church, and Society (Maronite Patriarchate 2023), described as a Foundational Document for the Synodal Journey in the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church, was officially released in September 2023.

The document begins by reflecting on the context in which the synodal process proceeds. The increase in women’s involvement “in all fields of knowledge and work” in the second half of the twentieth century is noted, yet “women in our churches still occupy a marginal role in leadership and administration, despite their strong presence in prayer and liturgical services” (§2). The second chapter outlines the anthropological, social, ecclesiastical, and legal challenges related to the role of women in the Church and in society. It observes that “in some ecclesiastical circles, the body, especially the female body, is subject to marginalization and demonization which stem from a misinterpretation of the narrative of Adam and Eve” (§9) and calls on the Church to address this in a new theological anthropology (§10). It notes the dialectical relationship between the Church and society. While this reciprocal influence can be beneficial, aspects of male domination and monopoly on power in society can negatively influence the Church, and selective interpretations of biblical passages can then be used to justify male authoritarianism (§11). The ecclesiastical challenge is described, firstly, as realizing the meaning and importance of women as living members of the Body of Christ, membership which is described in pneumatological terms and, secondly, “eliminating all the factors—be they ecclesiastical, societal, cultural, psychological, or educational—undermining their position” (§13). It notes, “with much joy”, the increase of female theologians and scholars of related disciplines in university departments but, interestingly, describes as “the bigger challenge” extending “the presence of working women” to “the depth of Church life, leading to women’s participation in ecclesiastical decision-making” (§14). The outline of challenges concludes with reference to specific legal challenges. While the Particular Law of the Maronite Church respects the equality between men and women in marriage and family, there is a call for the amendment of Personal Status Laws of Catholic Churches in Lebanon, which are unjust toward women, so that they are more in accordance with the dignity of women.

The second chapter explores the scriptural and theological foundations of the vocation of women. Gender difference is presented as “an invitation to mutual complementarity” which coexists with the affirmation of full and absolute equality in dignity. “Every belief system that views the woman as subordinate to the man or merely an instrument for his use should be exposed” (§43). The question of the distinctiveness of women is explored, and specific reference is made to their “biological and psychological structure which enables them to be entrusted with life”, and to their “remarkable skills”, such as compassion and sacrificial self-giving. Although this approach to the distinctiveness of women is sometimes used in a reductive way, it is stated here that this is not something for the domestic sphere alone but a distinctiveness that is also active in social, cultural, and political life (§47). The final section of the chapter on ordained and non-ordained gifts and ministries discusses the question of the ordination of deaconesses, a practice which continued in the Syriac and Armenian Church traditions after the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) stipulated that deaconesses should no longer be considered part of the clergy. It observes that the issue of the diaconate of women has “returned to the fore”, especially due to the special commission established by Pope Francis to study its theological and historical merits. It is also noted that “some theologians” (§57) have criticised the shutting down of discussion about the ordination of women to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (John Paul II 1994). Whatever the difficulties with this neuralgic issue of women’s ordination, the document affirms that “the participation of baptized women in the priesthood of Christ means their participation in his three offices” (§58). Based on this fundamental baptismal equality, both the global synodal process and this specific Maronite synod, “require women to be more actively involved in ecclesiastical decision-making and to use their talents and abilities to promote transparency and sound governance in ecclesiastical institutions” (§58).

This synodal document concludes by outlining a series of policies and orientations in Chapter Three. The Introduction stated that this synodal document draws upon the “extensive fieldwork undertaken between 2021 and 2023”, especially in the chapter on context and in this chapter on policies and orientations. This indicates that the concrete proposals contained here reflect broad consultation of and shared concerns of women in the Maronite Church about the role of women in church and society, including the following:

• A “profound shift in mentality and practice” which acknowledges the unique value of women in the eyes of God, their “complete equality” with men in baptism, and the diversity of gifts (§59);
• “Intelligent and well-studied programs and taking bold initiatives that affirm the respect for women’s dignity, talents, and abilities” (§60);
• An in-depth study by the Maronite Church “to rediscover the Eastern heritage and theology pertaining to the diaconate of women” (§61);
• Take “vigorous steps towards encouraging women to study theology”, including offering scholarships (§62);
• A call for the greater participation of women in Church leadership, administration, and decision-making, for “it is unconscionable for the role of women to remain largely confined to logistics” (§63);
• Increased cooperation among women in the Maronite Church (§64).

Finally, the Pastoral Office for Women in the Maronite Patriarchate was tasked with drawing up a strategic plan “to implement the directives of this document” (§73).

When this synodal process was formally inaugurated in March 2022, a news item reported a desire by those involved that the Maronite synod not be “an adaptation to feminist demands and cultural models imported from the West”, but a “rediscovery of the synodal features of one’s own ecclesial tradition” (Agenzia Fides 2022). This important assertion of cultural and ecclesial identity shapes the final Maronite document. This specific, albeit unattributed, reference to feminism should not be read through the lens of the so-called “culture wars” operative in some parts of the Catholic Church—influenced by a variety of factors, both internal and external—but is probably indicative of how different perspectives on feminism would be expressed when local churches and other ecclesial traditions shape their own philosophical and theological justifications for advocacy for the greater participation of women. Although there is no reference to feminism in the final document, it is nonetheless a document shaped by core issues of feminist theology shared across the global church and expressed here in the synodal features of the Maronite tradition. This document is an important contribution, not only to the Maronite Church, but to the broader global discussion about the role and vocation of women in the Catholic Church.

It was released in a solemn Church ceremony at the Patriarchal Palace in Bkerke, Lebanon, on 9 September 2023 (Middle East Council of Churches 2023). The ceremony was presided over by Patriarch Al-Rai. Following readings from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Patriarch Al-Rahi gave a reflection on the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John’s Gospel. Professor Mirna Abboud Mzawak, Coordinator of the Women’s Pastoral Office in the Patriarchal Department, gave an address outlining the synodal process, the content of the document and, in particular, the recommended policies and orientations. At the end of the ceremony, the Patriarch presented copies of the document to various Christian and other religious leaders, women leaders in the Maronite Church, and to leaders of civil society who were present. It is, I think, safe to argue that this is the only synodal document focused on the role of women in the Church and in society that has ever been launched in a solemn Church ceremony.

6. Instrumentum Laboris for the First Session of the XVI Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 2023)

The publication of this Instrumentum Laboris (IL23) marked the closure of the first phase of the Synod and opened the second phase, consisting of two sessions (October 2023 and October 2024), of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (General Secretariat of the Synod 2023b). It identifies the basis of this “working tool” as “all the material gathered during the listening phase, and in particular the final documents of the Continental Assemblies” (IL23, §3). Thus, it attempts to synthesize the insights, tensions, convergences, and divergences that emerged from the synodal assemblies which reflect the ecclesial, cultural, geo-political, and economic diversity of local churches throughout the world. It is noteworthy, however, that there are no citations in the IL from the final continental documents.

The IL is divided into two sections, corresponding to the tasks entrusted to the Continental Assemblies and the contents of the Final Documents (IL23, §13). The first part, “For a Synodal Church”, attempts to “gather the insights of the path travelled so far” (Il23, §14). It contains a beautiful reflection on the characteristics of a synodal church (Il23, §§19–31), characteristics that should shape the ongoing engagement with the important and sometimes difficult issues, including gender issues, raised during the global listening phase. These characteristics, and the particular pneumatological way of proceeding, identified in (IL23, §§32–42), also offer principles for the development of an ecclesial ethic essential for the ongoing task of the reform of the Church.

The second part of the IL, “Communion, mission, participation”, “articulates, in the form of three questions, the priorities that most strongly emerge from the work of all the continents, thus placing them before the Assembly for discernment” (IL23, §14). Five worksheets—not intended as questionnaires—are provided to guide the process, especially the group work, and to facilitate a multi-perspective and integrative approach to discernment. “Above all, they recall the particularity of the faces of the members of the People of God, their charisms and ministries, and the questions they expressed during the listening phase” (Introduction to the Worksheets for the Synodal Assembly). The specific topic of women in the Church is addressed as one of five topics in the “Co-responsibility in Mission” priority, with its guiding question: “How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?”

The question is posed using the acknowledged unifying theological principle of all the continental documents, the egalitarian nature of baptismal dignity (B.2.3): “How can the Church of our time better fulfil its mission through greater recognition and promotion of the baptismal dignity of women?” It notes that the listening phase highlighted that this baptismal dignity must be expressed through “relationships of mutuality, reciprocity and complementarity between men and women”. Four particular calls of the Continental Assemblies are noted, identified as “unanimous” or expressed by “the women who participated in the first phase”: (a) a call for attention to the “experience, status and role of women”, while also recognizing that women are not homogenous either globally or within each continent; (b) a call for “deeper reflection on ecclesial relational failures, which are also structural failures affecting the lives of women in the Church”; (c) a call for the greater presence of women in positions of responsibility and governance as crucial for a synodal church on mission, and for the Church and society to “be places of growth, active participation and healthy belonging for all women”, rejecting all forms of discrimination and exclusion faced by women; (d) a call to recognize the plurality and diversity of women’s experiences highlighted in the Continental Assemblies, and that discussions in the Synodal Assembly avoid either negating this plurality or treating women as “an abstract or ideological subject of debate”.

The key question for discernment on this topic in B.2.3 moves from reflection on experience to the implications for ecclesial praxis: “What concrete steps can the Church take to renew and reform its procedures, institutional arrangements and structures to enable greater recognition and participation of women, including in governance, decision-making processes and in the taking of decisions, in a spirit of communion and with a view to mission?” The suggestions for prayer and reflection flowing from this question include a reminder that all Continental Assemblies called on the Synod to address the participation of women “in governance, decision-making, mission and ministries at all levels of the Church” and that this participation does not remain a “general aspiration” but be given the support of “appropriate structures” (B.2.3:3). It is significant that there is no mention of the ordination of women to the priesthood in the IL, despite the question being raised in some continental documents, but the suggestions make specific reference to women and the diaconate: “Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered. Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” (B.2.3:4)7

The section in the IL that introduces the Worksheets for the Synodal Assembly concludes with a significant and nuanced reflection on the questions that emerged from the global consultation “on which there is already magisterial and theological teaching to be considered”. It advises that questions which continue to emerge, e.g., the acceptance of remarried divorcees, “should not be hastily dismissed”, and identifies the Synodal Assembly as a “privileged forum” for ongoing discernment of these unresolved questions. Such discernment involves reflecting on whether the lack of resolution is caused by lack of or poorly communicated information about a doctrinal position, by inability to grasp the meaning of a teaching, or an incapacity to live out the teaching in the challenges and contingencies of real life. However, the section concludes with reference to the ongoing reappearance of a question as “a sign of a changed reality or situations where there is a need for an ‘overflow’ of Grace”, stating that this “requires further reflection on the Deposit of Faith and the living Tradition of the Church”. Some of the challenging issues emerging from the global consultation of Catholics, including some relating to women, may, indeed, need that “‘overflow’ of Grace”.

7. Synthesis Report of the First Session of the XVI Assembly (2023)

While the term Synod of Bishops remains, at the First Session of the XVI Assembly, 4–29 October 2023, there were seventy “non-bishop” participants all of whom had the right to vote. This change was possible because synods are considered consultative, not deliberative (i.e., legislative) bodies. The decision of Pope Francis to declare the final document in October 2024 part of the ordinary magisterium was, perhaps, not envisaged when this change was made. Fifty-four women had voting rights at the Assembly. It is important to state that this significant development is the fruit of the efforts of many individuals and groups, from the work of theologians whose writings have consistently, with varying degrees of anger and radicality, challenged the Catholic Church on its view of women, to the advocacy of groups like the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO) and the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), to public campaigns like Votes for Catholic Women, and the behind-the-scenes advocacy by men and women across the Church.

The Synthesis Report (SR) of the October 2023 Assembly, entitled A Synodal Church in Mission (General Secretariat of the Synod 2023c), is described as “an instrument at the service of ongoing discernment” which, rather than repeating all of the contents of the IL, “gives new impetus” to the questions and themes considered to be priorities” (Introduction). The SR consists of three parts: Part I, “The Face of the Synodal Church”, outlines the understanding and practice of synodality and its theological foundations; Part II, “All Disciples, All Missionaries”, explores the roles and relationships in the life and mission of the Church; Part III, “Weaving Bonds, Building Communities”, explores the complex processes and networks of synodality which enable “exchange between the Churches and dialogue with the world”. Each part is structured into thematic sections which are presented in terms of convergences, matters for consideration, and proposals emerging from dialogue about the themes at the Assembly. While women are explicitly mentioned among the many faces of poverty reflected upon in the Part I, and are implicitly present in the references to exploitation, racism, trafficking, and persons living on the peripheries, the key section on women in the life and mission of the Church is found in Part II “All Disciples, All Missionaries” (Chapter 9, “Women in the Life and Mission of the Church”). The convergences, considerations, and proposals relating to women emerging from this SR will be outlined here.

7.1. Convergences

Eight principles of convergence are presented, beginning with the unity and difference manifest in creation (SR, §9a). Women and men are equally Imago Dei, thus sharing a common nature and destiny, but the principle also refers to “two distinct experiences of being human”. The “complementarity and reciprocity of men and women” is presented as testified to by Scripture. The concept of male–female complementarity has become a highly charged one in Catholic theological anthropology since John Paul II. If we take embodiment seriously in theology, as the ancient theological tradition of the Church teaches—and feminist theology has enriched with particular reference to female embodiment—then gender complementarity is part of the complex issues related to bodies and incarnation that must be engaged with. However, the concept of complementarity has sometimes been weaponised in Catholic theology, being used to out-narrate the shared dimensions of human experience and thus to consolidate male dominance and patriarchy.8

The second principle of convergence is our common baptismal dignity, our shared reception of the gifts of the Spirit, and the kinds of relationships that should flow from this conviction, i.e., “loving, non-competitive relationships in Christ” (SR, §9b). While this is an important ideal for all ecclesial relationships, it is interesting that it is only in relation to the question of women in the Church that there is reference to competitiveness. Feminist theologians’ advocacy for greater equality for women in the Church is often presented as a form of competitiveness, without acknowledging that clericalism and hierarchicalism are the pervasive forms of competitiveness that have most damaged the Church. Nonetheless, common baptismal dignity is the theological principle at the heart of all that was said about the role of women in the Church across the global consultation, despite different understandings of the practical implications of that shared dignity and pneumatological giftedness.

The third convergence (SR, §9c) begins by noting the “very positive experience” of reciprocity between men and women during the Assembly. It continues by saying that “together” (men and women) “echo the call made in the previous phases of the synodal process, that the Church adopt a more decisive commitment to understand women from a pastoral and sacramental point of view.” This may reflect discussions about women during this First Session, but a more decisive commitment to “understand” women does not seem to have been a key call in the previous documents emerging from the global listening phase. There is a reference to women as advocates for justice in societies “still marked by sexual violence, economic inequality and the tendency to treat them as objects”, concluding: “Pastoral accompaniment and vigorous advocacy for women should go hand in hand.” The fourth convergence (SR, §9d) focuses on the often-repeated theme of women’s high participation in the life of the Church, as evangelists in family life, and as missionaries, saints, and theologians. The fifth convergence (SR, §9e) notes—in a very rounded Mariological statement—the global convergence about the ecclesial, spiritual, and theological significance of Mary of Nazareth.

The sixth area of convergence (SR, §9f) draws on the numerous references across the listening phases to “the Church that wounds”. The Report acknowledges that “many women expressed deep gratitude for the work of priests and bishops”, but also names the clericalism, sexual abuse, and the abuse of power and authority that “continue to scar the face of the Church and damage its communion”. In the face of this ongoing situation, it states that a “profound spiritual conversion” must be “the foundation of any effective change”. The relationship between power and abuse, “especially of women”, is also addressed in the next chapter of this section which refers to “a problem in the exercise of authority” the cases of which “demand decisive and appropriate interventions” (SR, §10d).

The seventh convergence (SR, §9g) relates to the weakening of the Church’s ability to proclaim the Gospel, ad extra, when “dignity and justice are undermined in relationships between men and women”, ad intra. There is a clear statement here about agreement on the need for the Church to undergo both “relational renewal and structural changes”.

The final area of convergence (SR, §9h) is a request from the Assembly to avoid the error of “talking about women as an issue or a problem”, and an expressed desire for a Church in which men and women engage in dialogue—“without subordination, exclusion and competition”—the purpose of which, expressed here beautifully, is “to understand more deeply the horizon of God’s project”.

7.2. Considerations

Three matters are presented for consideration consisting of two substantive issues. The first (SR, §9i) notes that Churches “all over the world have expressed a clear request” in relation to the recognition and valuing of the active contribution of women and the expansion of their pastoral leadership in all areas. The SR thus emphasises both the universality and the clarity of the request. The Church is asked to consider how this expansion is possible within existing ministries and, where new ministries are required, by whom and how these should be discerned.

The second issue for consideration is that of women’s access to the diaconal ministry (SR, §9j). It notes the different views which emerged across the synodal process (and other theological discussions of the question) thus far, with “some” deeming it an unacceptable break with Tradition, and “others” viewing it as a restoration of the practice of the Early Church. “Others still” discerned it as a necessary response to the signs of the times, while concern was expressed by “some” that ordaining women as deacons would reflect “a worrying anthropological confusion” and an inappropriate ecclesial adaptation to “the spirit of the age”. The discussion of this question, the third consideration (SR, §9k) notes, is related to the wider consideration of the theology of the diaconate which was ongoing during the synodal process. Later in this second part of the SR, there is a reference to “uncertainties surrounding the theology of the diaconate” and a note that “deeper study” will illumine the question of the access of women to the diaconate (SR, §11i).

7.3. Proposals

Seven proposals in relation to women in the life and mission of the Church are then presented by the Assembly. The first (SR, §9l) encourages local churches to extend their ministry of “listening, accompaniment and care” to the “most marginalised women” in their contexts. This emphasis on listening to marginality is developed further in one of the convergences listed in Part III, Chapter 16, “Towards a Listening and Accompanying Church”. It notes that, in some parts of the world, for cultural and social reasons, members of certain groups, including women and minorities, “may find it more difficult to express themselves freely in public or ecclesial spaces.” It refers, too, to the erosion of freedom of expression under oppressive and dictatorial regimes and, quite surprisingly, concludes this convergence by saying that the same can happen “when the exercise of authority within the Christian community becomes oppressive rather than liberating” (SR, §16k).

The second proposal (SR, §9m) states that it is “urgent” that women participate in decision-making processes and assume greater responsibility in pastoral care and ministry. It notes Pope Francis’ appointment of more women to positions of responsibility in the Roman Curia but says that this “should happen” at other levels of Church life. It further states that Canon Law needs to make provisions for this to happen. Given the way in which ecclesial communities across the world, especially poor communities in many parts of the Global South, are dependent on lay leaders, many of whom are women, it is a case of Canon Law providing for a reality that is already ahead of it.

The third proposal (SR, §9n) stipulates the continuance of “theological and pastoral research” into women’s access to diaconal ministry. It recommends that, if possible, the results of this research should be available for the October 2024 session of the Assembly. The question of the ordination of women to the priesthood is omitted, despite the fact that it was discussed during the Assembly, but it could be argued that it remains alive through this ongoing research on the diaconate, or it could be the unspoken question which stymies research into the female diaconate.

“Cases of labour injustice and unfair remuneration within the Church”—especially for women religious—are the topic of the fourth proposal (SR, §9o). Other than proposing that these need to be addressed, no further comment is proffered.

The fifth (SR, §9p) proposes the “considerable” expansion of women’s access to formation programmes and theological study, and of women’s integration into seminary teaching. Women have been teachers and formators in seminaries in many parts of the world for decades, but this integration is now mandated as essential. The “particular importance” of women is reiterated in the section on a Synodal Approach to Formation in Part III, which also proposes a consultation, in preparation for the October 2024 session, on the formation of priests for “the exercise of authority in a style appropriate to a synodal Church”.

The sixth proposal (SR, §9q) relates to the issue of inclusive language in liturgical texts and Church documents which many Catholics have been advocating for over many decades. The proposal also touches on something broader than inclusive language, that is, the use of “words, images and narratives that draw more widely on women’s experience”. The seventh and final proposal in this area (SR, §9r) calls for the “appropriate formation” of women to be judges in the canonical process.

The Report proposes an intercontinental special commission of theological and canonical experts to clarify the “canonical implications of synodality” (SR, §1q). It also proposes the development of a range of initiatives, to be “set in motion before the next Session of the Assembly”, to enable “shared discernment on controversial doctrinal, pastoral and ethical issues”. Given that the question of ensuring greater participation of women in decision-making processes and roles of responsibility in pastoral care and ministry is marked “urgent” in this Report, it can only be hoped that the intercontinental commission, the proposed initiatives on controversial issues, and the Synod’s call to episcopal conferences and the hierarchical structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches “to focus on the questions and proposals that are considered most urgent” (SR, Introduction) will result in significant progress on these urgent issues.

8. Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (October 2024)

The Instrumentum Laboris (General Secretariat of the Synod 2024b), the working tool for the Second Session of the Assembly, was shaped by further consultation after the First Session and its Synthesis Report (SR). The guiding question for this consultation and for the October 2024 assembly was, “How to be a synodal Church in mission?” This IL (IL24) was drafted in light of the answers received from a global and diverse consultative group, including Episcopal Conferences and their continental groupings, the observations of over two hundred groups and individuals, and the material produced by the five working groups set up by the General Secretariat of the Synod. The contributions and material received were then interpreted and synthesised by an expert group. Parallel to the preparatory work for the second session, ten Study Groups began their work on the themes emerging from the SR with a view to submitting a brief report by September 2024 for presentation to the Second Session of the Synodal Assembly, and completion of the studies by June 2025, if possible (General Secretariat of the Synod 2024a). The names of the members of nine of the ten Study Groups were made public by the Vatican on July 9th, the same day as the release of this IL. The names of Study Group 5 were not published, but the study was entrusted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The remit of this secretive group, “Some theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms (SR 8 and 9)”, includes the role of women in the Church and their participation in decision-making/taking processes and community leadership, and the question of women’s possible access to the diaconate. This group was tasked with continuing the theological and pastoral research on this question and with responding to the Synodal Assembly’s desire for a greater appreciation of the contribution of women and expansion of their pastoral responsibilities in all areas of the life and mission of the Church (General Secretariat of the Synod 2024a).

The IL opens with a section on a foundational perspective on synodality, the fruit of the refining practice of the synodal journey thus far. Here, it is noted that “at every stage” of the process, a desire emerged “to broaden the possibilities of participation and the exercise of co-responsibility” by all the baptised, men and women (IL24, §12). There is a reference to recognizing and transforming “the sorrow evoked by the non-participation of so many”, but it is interesting that specific reference to the pain of exclusion experienced by women articulated across the global consultation is omitted here. In a section titled, “Sisters and Brothers in Christ: a renewed reciprocity”, the opening sentence refers to the first difference which humans encounter as that between men and women and then states that the Christian vocation “is to honour this God-given difference by living within the Church a dynamic relational reciprocity as a sign for the world” (IL24, §13). As discussed in the analysis of the SR for the October 2023 Assembly, aspects of this theological anthropology can be problematic: what difference does this primordial difference make? is difference used to undermine the fundamental equality of male and female as Imago Dei? how does this difference reinforce hierarchical concepts which contribute to violence against women? (See Anuth 2022).

The paragraph continues with an acknowledgement that “the contributions received at all stages” highlighted the need for greater recognition of women in the life of the Church. Added to the foundational theological principle of equal baptismal dignity are two further “theological reference points to guide discernment”: our call to use our shared gifts of the Spirit for the good of all, and the complementary nature of these gifts to be exercised in a co-responsible way. The biblical testimony to women as the first witnesses and heralds of the Resurrection is noted (IL24, §13). The IL indicates that the first change needed is a “change of mentality” for any conversion of the relationships between men and women to occur (IL24, §14). It records that the contributions of episcopal conferences worldwide include recognition of the broad participation of women in the life of the Church, the acknowledgment that such participation often remains “untapped”, and the suggestion from the bishops that the October 2024 Session examine this (IL24, §15). The bishops also call for “further exploration of ministerial and pastoral modalities” that better express “the charisms and gifts the Spirit pours out on women in response to the pastoral needs of our time”.

The document then lists the concrete requests emerging from the contributions of the episcopal conferences, most of which have already been raised in the synodal process thus far: dialogue with women so that they can share their experiences, gifts, and pastoral insights; wider participation of women in ecclesial discernment and decision-making processes (and here both drafting and decision-making are specified); wider access to positions of responsibility, clarified by reference to “in line with existing provisions”; greater recognition of and support for consecrated women; women in positions of responsibility as formators and teachers of theology; and an increase in female judges in all canonical processes. It concludes by mentioning that the “reports received also continue to call for greater attention to be paid” to the use of more inclusive language and a more inclusive range of texts and images from Scripture and Tradition in church documents, preaching, and teaching (IL24, §16).

The ongoing issue of women’s admission to diaconal ministry is raised, again noting that while “some local Churches” support this call, “others reiterate their opposition”. It states unequivocally that this issue will not be included in the work of the Second Session, but “it is good that theological reflection should continue, on an appropriate timescale and in the appropriate ways”, the maturation of which will be contributed to by the fruits of Study Group 5 (IL24, §17). The section concludes by observing that many of these “demands” also highlight the lack of participation of laymen in the life of the Church which “is often lamented” (IL24, §18).

Each of the three main and interwoven sections of the IL—Relations, Pathways, and Places—will be the focus of a module of the work of the Second Session. In the section on Relations, there is a strong paragraph outlining the variety of ministries exercised by the baptised in the global Church, including those who coordinate small church communities. The contribution of lay people who hold communities together, often in the combined contexts of a shortage of ordained ministers, conflict, and poverty, is not sufficiently acknowledged across the synodal documents. Rendering lay ministries—including the episcopal delegation of lay men and women to assist at weddings—in a “more stable form”, the expansion of such ministries “outside the liturgical sphere”, and the instituted ministry of catechist are specifically mentioned (IL24, §29, 30). The document notes again that theological and canonical questions about specific forms of ministry, particularly “the question of the necessary participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church”, have been “entrusted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in dialogue with the General Secretariat of the Synod (Study Group No. 5)” (IL24, §30).

Part II, Pathways, which explores the processes that support the development and growth of relationships defined by synodality, again addresses the need for a communal and shared formation. It repeats the call that “special attention” be paid to the “crucially important” participation of women as teachers and learners. The only new suggestion is that formation be offered to “priests, bishops, and the laity”, to make them aware of what roles women can already play in the Church and to encourage “an evaluation of the effective use of these opportunities” (IL24, §57).

The issue of ecclesial credibility, in this case, ad intra, is raised, specifically in relation to the responsibility of the local churches who have the important and urgent task of successfully implementing the Synod, with “synodal decision-making processes” that are both authentic and context specific. “Without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible”, especially to those who drew “strength and hope from the synodal journey” (IL24, §71). This is one of the few references to a concern that has been raised since the beginning of the whole process, that is, alienating people due to lack of authentic and concrete implementation. Here, the IL specifies those “who have drawn strength and hope from the synodal journey”, but the potentially alienated could also be those who were listened to attentively at the beginning but seemed to elude explicit mention as the process unfolded, such as, for example, LGBTQ+ Catholics, those who invested time and energy into the local and continental gatherings and assemblies, and those who, wounded by the Church for a variety of reasons, observed the synod with hope, even if not active participants in the process. This paragraph concludes by referring specifically to the alienation “that applies most especially” to inadequate implementation of “the effective participation of women in drafting and decision-making and taking processes, as called for in many of the contributions received from the Episcopal Conferences.”

The relationship between credibility and implementation also concludes the section in Part II on the culture and practice of transparency, accountability, and evaluation in a synodal Church (IL24, §§73–79). There is an unequivocal acknowledgement that demands for transparency and accountability in and by the Church have arisen “as a result of the loss of credibility due to financial scandals and, even more so, sexual abuse and other abuses of minors and vulnerable persons” (IL24, §75). Transparency and accountability, it argues, are not limited to dealing with sexual and financial abuse but should be constitutive features of the practice of authority in all aspects of Church life (IL24, §76). This requires “structures and forms of regular evaluation” of ministerial responsibilities, broadly conceived (IL24, §77). In “forms appropriate to each context”, evaluation should include, among other “points of great importance and urgency”, an annual statement on “the performance of the mission” which reports on initiatives in relation to safeguarding of minors and vulnerable persons, and on initiatives relating to the promotion of women to positions of authority and their participation in decision-making and taking processes (IL24, §79). Thus, this IL places the issue of the role of women in the life and mission of the Church at the nexus of the core issues upon which conversion is needed and an intentional evaluative ethic must be developed.

9. Final Document of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly

Pope Francis handed over to the whole Church the Final Document of the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (2–27 October 2024) (FD), the fruit of the listening and discernment of the synodal process (Francis 2024). Breaking with the papal practice of issuing a post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis presents this FD as “an authoritative orientation for the Church’s life and mission”, and part of “the ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter” (Accompanying Note). He notes that many of the proposals contained here are a matter of “effectively implementing what is already provided for in existing law, both Latin and Eastern”, while others may involve “the creative activation of new forms of ministeriality and missionary action”. The implementation of these proposals will also be part of the bishops’ reports for future ad limina visits.

Much of the FD is drawn from the Synthesis Report of the First Session in October 2023. There are five parts to the document: (1) Part I reflects on the Church as the People of God, on the meaning of synodality, as refined over the course of the synodal process, and the implications of a synodal way of living in the world today; (2) Part II reflects on the call for new relationships which emerged throughout the synodal journey, the kind of conversion of relationships needed within the Church, and the implications for ministry; (3) Part III focuses on the conversion of processes needed, including decision-making processes, expansion of participation, and the need for robust transparency, accountability, and evaluation across all levels of the Church; (4) Part IV discusses the bonds of communion in a synodal Church and “the need to cultivate new forms of the exchange of gifts and the network of bonds that unite us” (FD, §109); (5) Part V focuses on the formation—integral, ongoing, and shared—of members of the Church for mission.

Many of the neuralgic issues raised in the global consultation of the Church are not mentioned in this final document of the synodal process. For example, there is no specific reference to LGBTQ+ members of the Church. One of the main objectives of the whole Synod was to have “a participative and inclusive ecclesial process that offers everyone—especially those who for various reasons find themselves on the margins—the opportunity to express themselves and to be heard in order to contribute to the edification of the People of God” (PD, §2). The assemblies did offer that opportunity to be heard, and many marginalised persons are referred to specifically in this final document, but ecclesial marginalisation due to sexual orientation is omitted. Given that, in some parts of the worldwide Church, there were negative attitudes towards persons with diverse experiences of sexuality, at the very least a stronger commitment to supporting these persons should have been included in the final document. There are, of course, other evasions and minimizations in this final document, including a very weak response to the ecological crisis raised in the continental documents, a crisis which disproportionately affects the poorest, but one where women are at the forefront of advocacy and activism for climate justice. The African document sent an urgent priority to the Synodal Assemblies: ”ecological justice and stewardship should become a way of life of the synodal Church” (§3.8). While victims of climate justice are mentioned once, and integral ecology is mentioned twice, the issues are not referred to in a way that embeds them firmly in the ecclesiology emerging from the Synod. However, the explicit focus here is on how this final document of the synodal journey 2021–2024 addresses the question of the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, a topic that has been discussed and debated throughout the process globally.

The Introduction to the FD includes a reminder of the penitential vigil which took place at the beginning of the Second Session of the Assembly, when sins against women were among the ecclesial sins identified (also against children, indigenous peoples, migrants, those who are poor, against peace, and against Creation) and for which forgiveness was sought. So, the first mention of women is in a list of those acknowledged as sinned against by the Church (FD, §6). The Introduction recalls the international thematic Study Groups arising out of the Synthesis Report whose work marks the beginning of the implementation stage and “enriched the work of the Second Session”. It also mentions the discernment regarding “the pastoral accompaniment of people in polygamous marriages” being undertaken by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, and although women are not specifically mentioned in this context, we know that these marriages often impact women in very particular ways (FD, §8).

It is clear that the whole synodal process led to a rediscovery of the foundational, egalitarian, and ecumenical nature of baptismal dignity. This motif was found in the documents from every place and stage of the synodal process and is reflected upon here in Part One. The Church as the People of God is at the heart of the reflections, and there is reference to an expressed desire “to expand possibilities for participation and for the exercise of differentiated co-responsibility by all the Baptised, men and women” (FD, §36). It notes a “sense of sadness expressed at the widespread difficulty within the Church in living flourishing relationships between men and women, between different generations …”. When difficulties in relationships between women and men in the Church are mentioned, it is often implied that the failure is primarily one of reciprocity—as can be the case, of course—but rarely is the influence of patriarchy in the Church addressed as a contribution to the difficulties.

The second part of this final document explores the Conversion of Relationships and it notes that from every locale and stage of the synodal process there was a call for “a Church with a greater capacity to nurture relationships: with the Lord, between men and women …” (FD, §50). While asserting that “inequality between men and women is not part of God’s design”, it nonetheless prioritizes difference rather than equality as foundational: “difference between the sexes constitutes the basis of human relationships” (FD, §52). As discussed earlier, while sexual difference is written into the creation narratives of Genesis, and is essential for the generation of human life, there is ambiguity in the theological tradition’s treatment of the relationship between equality and difference, with the latter often used to qualify the former. Nonetheless, the document makes it clear that only relationships which respect the equal dignity and reciprocity between men and women bear witness to the Gospel. This paragraph ends by noting that the “widely expressed pain and suffering on the part of many women from every region and continent, both lay and consecrated, during the synodal process” reveals to the Church how often we fail to witness to that equal dignity and reciprocity. This is an important sentence as it acknowledges that the experience of ecclesial exclusion, in a variety of—albeit not always agreed upon—forms, has been shown through the synodal process to be a common and grave concern for the global Church.

In a section on charisms, vocations, and ministries for mission (FD, §§57–67), the role of women is addressed in one dedicated but, for some at the October 2024 Assembly, controversial paragraph (FD, §60). It notes that, despite the egalitarian nature of baptism, a pervasive motif of the entire synodal process, women “continue to encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation and place in all the various areas of the Church’s life.” This obstruction of women, it says, is detrimental to the mission of the Church. Scripture testifies to the “the prominent role of many women in the history of salvation”, and therefore these texts should “find adequate space inside liturgical lectionaries”. There is also a request that Church documents be more inclusive of texts by “female saints, theologians and mystics”. The paragraph notes the essential contribution of women at crucial “turning points in Church history”, their majority position in the contemporary church, and their active roles in its mission. The call from the Assembly is for “full implementation” of all the opportunities for roles for women already provided for in Canon Law, “particularly in those places where they remain underutilised”. What follows is one of the most direct statements in this final document: “There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.”

Directly following this pneumatological affirmation of expanded women’s leadership is the statement that the question of women’s diaconal ministry “remains open” and that discernment about this “needs to continue”. It is important to recall here that a worksheet in the IL for October 2023 offered a clear statement about the geographical scope of interest in this issue (B.2.3:4): “Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered. Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” Further, the 2023 Synthesis Report stipulated that theological and pastoral research into women’s access to diaconal ministry continue, with the recommendation that, if possible, the results of this research should be available for the October 2024 Session. A brief report, issued by the unnamed members of Study Group 5, was presented on the first day of the October Assembly. It stated that the “judgement” of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is “that there is still no room for a positive decision by the Magisterium regarding the access of women to the diaconate, understood as a degree of the Sacrament of Holy Orders … the Dicastery judges that the opportunity to continue the work of in-depth study remains open” (General Secretariat of the Synod 2024c). Somewhat immodestly, the Dicastery suggests that it has found “a particularly interesting way forward: to analyze in depth the lives of some women who—in both the early and recent history of the Church—have exercised authority and power in support of the Church’s mission”, authority that was “not tied to sacramental consecration, as would be in the case, at least today, with diaconal ordination”. It argues that in light of “these beautiful testimonies, the question of women’s access to the diaconate takes on a different perspective.” The report overlooks the fact that theological reflection on the lives and writings of key women in Church history, including many of the women mentioned by the Study Group, has been part of feminist scholarship for many decades (see, for example: Dreyer 2014; Ruether 2012; Gonzalez 2003). The report is not wholly faithful to the mandate given to the group to continue theological and pastoral research into the access of women to the diaconate, even though it says that the possibility of this in-depth study remains open.

There already exists, of course, a serious body of research, academic and ecclesial, on the topic of women and the diaconate. As Phyllis Zagano observed in relation to the post-Vatican II period: “The question of women in the ordained diaconate arose in the early 1970s at a Synod of Bishops; it was then considered by three iterations of the International Theological Commission and two pontifical commissions” (Zagano 2024, p. 490; see also Zagano and Pottier 2022). While the question remaining open, and a commitment to ongoing discernment may seem an inconclusive and unsatisfactory position in this final document, the words “open” and “closed” have particular resonance since Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful” (John Paul II 1994, §4), thus no longer permitting discussion of the issue (see Halter 2004). It is unfortunate that paragraph 60, declaring that the question of women’s diaconal ministry remains open, is the one which met with most resistance in the voting and the one which received the highest number of “no” votes, with 27% of delegates voting against continuing the discernment about it.

Although the issue of the ordination of women to the priesthood was raised during the worldwide consultation, it became erased as the synthesis progressed. This is, and has been for several decades, a neuralgic theological issue because, as many theologians argue, ordination is a central, symbolic issue. It is a point of convergence for key theological questions about images of God, about Christology and who can act in persona Christi, and about sacramental theology and embodiment, among others (see, for example, Groppe 2009). While the diaconate is not part of the priesthood, the fact that more than a quarter of the voting members were opposed even to ongoing discernment about the female diaconate is indicative of just how neuralgic any consideration of holy orders for women remains. Nonetheless, the question of the institution—or restoration—of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open and discernment will continue, so there is hope.

From conversion of relationships, Part III turns to the conversion of processes. This places discernment at the heart of everything, not as “an organisational technique but rather as a spiritual practice grounded in a living faith” (FD, §82). It advocates for the broadest participation possible for the “more everyone is heard, the richer the discernment”. It is outside the scope of this article to examine the discernment in detail, but it must be noted here that there is a tension in the approach to discernment throughout the process. It is the participation of the entire People of God that qualifies discernment as “ecclesial”, but elsewhere discernment is associated primarily with pastors. The relationship between discernment, consultation, and authoritative decision-making grounded in the hierarchical structure of the Church is a complex and often fraught one. At the very least, this document reminds us that those in authority are “obligated by current law to conduct consultation before taking a decision” (FD, §91). This involves both the obligation to listen to those involved in the consultation and “not act as if the consultation had not taken place”. Expanding the role of women and men in ecclesial decision-making will be a challenge to ecclesial praxis, and the document recommends “a revision of Canon Law from a synodal perspective, clarifying the distinction and relation between consultation and deliberation and shedding light on the responsibilities of those who play different roles in the decision-making process” (FD, §92).

Following this call for an appropriate revision of the canons, there is a reflection on the importance of transparency, accountability, and evaluation (FD, §§95–102). While these themes have been raised many times since the emergence of the child sexual abuse crimes and sins, the document argues that these should not only be invoked in the context of forms of abuse (financial, sexual, and other) but should be part of the modus vivendi of the Church more broadly. Also, structures and methods for regular evaluation of the exercise of ministry are deemed imperative, with local churches responsible for developing these “in a synodal way” in addition to those “already established by canonical norms” (FD, §101). Anna Abram argues for “ecclesial ethics” as a branch of moral theology which is willing to engage with professional ethics, with the aim of developing a more participatory Church. The areas which this ecclesial ethics would address include the development of good processes and practice at all levels of the Church, “the handling of tensions and disagreements”, and testing and applying “the Church’s own teaching, such as Catholic social teaching, to the structures of the Church” (Abram 2020, p. 153). This section of the FD, with its focus on transparency, consultation, and evaluation, contains recommended principles and practices that would form part of a body of ecclesial ethics concerned with the quality of ecclesial life and practice, a development essential for the relational renewal and structural reform called for by the Synod.

Part III concludes with a section on synodality and membership of participatory bodies (FD, §103–108), with these bodies proposed as “one of the most promising areas” in which changes recommended by synodal guidelines can be implemented speedily (FD, §103). The Church, it says, needs to be attentive to membership of these bodies in order to “encourage greater involvement by women, young people, and those living in poverty or on the margins” (FD, §106). While this is an important mandate for broader participation, it also indicates how far the Church has to go on the issue of women, for gender balance is already a legal or quasi-legal requirement in other institutions, even as it must be acknowledged that attention to quotas and gender-balance does not necessarily eliminate the root causes of the continuum of chauvinism and misogyny in secular and religious institutions.

There are no specific references to the role and vocation of women in Part IV on the conversion of bonds, but there is a note on the importance of the seven continental ecclesial assemblies. They are described as being “both a relevant innovation and a legacy that we must treasure”, a practice to be sustained, with their theological and canonical status needing further clarity (FD, §126). Part V deals with the issue of the formation of the People of God, specifically formation in synodality. It notes that “one of the requests that emerged most strongly and from all contexts during the synodal process” is for formation that is “integral, ongoing and shared”, in which men and women, ordained ministers, and candidates for ordained ministry participate together, “thus enabling them to grow together in knowledge and mutual esteem and in the ability to collaborate” (FD, §143). The training of candidates for ordained ministry should involve “a significant presence of women” so that they are formed to be able to collaborate with everyone in the Church and to practice ecclesial discernment (FD, §148).

In the Conclusion to this final document of the synodal process, the Church’s synodality is described as “a social prophecy for today’s world, inspiring new paths in the political and economic spheres, as well as collaborating with all those who believe in fellowship and peace in an exchange of gifts with the world” (FD, §153). If the Church presents itself as offering to the world “a social prophecy”, there is much that must be done in terms of ecclesial reform if it is to be perceived as an inspiring, authentic example of this synodal style.

10. Conclusions

These documents, articulating the voices and challenges from the largest ever global consultation, “constitute a patrimony of memory that allows us to reread the action of the Spirit during this blessed time” (General Secretariat of the Synod 2023a, Preface). Universally, the global Church has articulated a concern about the lack of full and equal participation of women in all aspects of its life, especially their absence from leadership and decision-making processes, with some overlapping consensus on the question of their access to diaconal ministry, and less consensus on the issue of priesthood. A commitment to an ecclesial ethic shaped by consultation, transparency, and evaluation will be essential for the implementation of many of the synodal recommendations, both those concerned with relational renewal and those focused on structural reform. On the more neuralgic and controversial issues, such as that of holy orders for women, an “‘overflow’ of Grace” for ongoing discernment on unresolved questions will be needed (General Secretariat of the Synod 2023b). The topic of women in the life and mission of the Catholic Church, with all the complexities outlined, is one of the core issues at the intersection of the concerns of the synodal process, namely, the quality of ecclesial life, evangelical efficacy, and external credibility.