Pope Francis’ process of reforming the Catholic church ends without giving more equity to women

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ years-long trial for reformation of the Catholic Church ended Saturday with recommendations that failed to give women more equity as hoped, but reflected the pope’s goals for a church that at least listens more to its followers.

In a significant move, the pope said he would not issue a teaching document from the recommendations, which calls for women to be allowed all the opportunities Church law already provides, leaving open the controversial issue of allowing women to be ordained as deacons.

As a result, it remains unclear what authority or impact the synod’s final recommendations will have, given that the purpose of the exercise was to provide the pope with specific proposals for reform.

“In this time of war, we must be witnesses of peace” and set an example of living with differences, the Pope said in explaining his decision.

Francis said he would continue to listen to the advice of the bishops, adding that “this is not a classic way of endlessly delaying decisions.”

Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals, but they cannot celebrate Mass. Advocates say allowing women to become deacons would help offset the shortage of priests. Opponents say it would signal the start of a slippery slope toward ordination of women to the all-male priesthood, which Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed.

Earlier this week, the Vatican’s top doctrinal officer, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, told the extraordinary assembly of 368 bishops and lay people that Francis had said the time was “not propitious” to allow the ordination of women as deacons. He did not directly respond to a request to define what would determine “maturity” for a greater role for women.

The multi-year synodal process has raised high hopes for change, particularly for women, who have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens in the church. Women are excluded from the church’s highest ministerial positions, but do the lion’s share of the work of running Catholic hospitals and schools and passing on the faith to future generations.

Speaking at Thursday’s synod, Fernandez explained that a special task force would continue after the meeting, but would focus on discussing the role of women in the church — not in the diaconate or in the office of deacon. He added that while working with women in previous pastoral roles, “most did not ask for or want the diaconate, which would be burdensome for their lay work.”

The meeting called for “the full implementation of all the opportunities already provided by Canon Law regarding the role of women, especially in those places where they remain underexplored.” It leaves open “the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry”.

It was the most contested paragraph of the final document, with 258 votes in favor and 97 against. It was unclear whether the “no” votes were because the language went too far or not enough.

The result is a disappointment to Catholics who have campaigned for the recognition that women share a spiritual calling that is no different from that of men. They also noted that, despite the inclusion of women in the synodal process, the working group guiding discussions on the role of women is led by the Roman Curia, which operates outside the synod.

“I think the final document will be met with a lot of disappointment and frustration by many women around the world who are hoping for concrete change,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference.

While she acknowledged a “cultural shift”, she said “the pace of this change is perhaps too slow for many women”.

The the first phase of the synodal process concluded last year by concluding that it was “urgent” to guarantee the fuller participation of women in church governance functions and calling for theological and pastoral research to continue to enable women to become deacons.

If before the synod the idea of ​​allowing women to become deacons was a marginal proposal pushed by Western progressives, the idea gained attention during the debate. It became something of a litmus test of how far the church would go, or not, to meet women’s demands for greater equality and representation in the highest ranks of the church.

Francis, however, had other ideas, insisting that ordaining women would “clericalize” them and that there are plenty of other ways to empower women in the church, even leading Catholic communities, without resorting to ordination.