Women, Church and Diaconate

May 20, 2016

By Andrea Tornielli
Pope Francis’ willingness to dig deeper into the question of the female diaconate is in tune with what he has said on other occasions in the first three years of his pontificate about the importance of valuing the role of women in the Church. The Pope has often talked about what his grandmother, Rosa Vasallo, taught him about faith and devotion. “Mothers and grandmothers are the ones who (in primis) transmit the faith. The one who brought us Jesus is a woman. He wanted to have a mother. The gift of faith comes to us through women.”

The most powerful message Francis pronounced on the role of women in the Church was on the return flight from Rio de Janeiro in July 2013, in his interview with journalists. “A Church without women is like the college of the Apostles without Mary. The role of women in the Church is not simply that of maternity, being mothers, but much greater: it is precisely to be the icon of the Virgin, of Our Lady, what helps make the Church grow! But think about it, Our Lady is more important than the Apostles! She is more important! The Church is feminine. She is Church, she is bride, she is mother. The role of women in the Church must not be limited to being mothers, workers … No! It is something else! We can’t imagine a Church without women, but women active in the Church, with the distinctive role that they play.”

“I believe,” he added, “that we have not yet come up with a profound theology of womanhood in the Church. All we say is: they can do this, they can do that, now they are altar servers, now they do the readings, they are in charge of Caritas (Catholic charities). But there is more!” This said, the Pope also reiterated John Paul II’s definitive “no” to the possibility of ordaining female priests. “That door is closed, but on this issue I want to tell you something. I have said it, but I repeat it. Our Lady, Mary, was more important than the Apostles, than bishops and deacons and priests.

In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, which outlines Francis’ agenda for his papacy, the Pope emphasises, “The Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women make to society through the sensitivity, intuition and other distinctive skill sets which they, more than men, tend to possess. I think, for example, of the special concern which women show to others.

“We need to create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church,” the Pope explained. Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded.” Francis concluded by calling for greater female participation in the various other settings where important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social structures.”

“The Pope is a man, the Pope also needs to hear the thoughts of women,” he said on the return flight from Mexico last February. “Women are still rather ... not well thought of, not completely.... We have not understood the good that a woman can do in the life of a priest and of the Church, in the sense of advice, of help, of healthy friendship.”

A concrete sign of the attention Bergoglio reserves for women, was the decision he took as Cardinal of Buenos Aires — and continued to implement as Pope — to include women in the Holy Thursday foot washing ritual and to amend liturgical norms, making this possible throughout the entire Church. In July 2014, when new members of the international theological commission were appointed, the number of female theologians increased from two to five out of a total of 30 members.

These signs of appreciation for the role of females are still faint. --Vatican Insider