This year the Catholic Church is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (The Dignity of Women). In it the Pontiff refers to “the genius of women” and so, two decades later, several seminars in different parts of the Roman Catholic Church are studying how (whether?) “this genius” is being celebrated.
Several developments have been recorded and, depending on perspective of course, they are being viewed as major or minor ones in which either real progress is made or tokenism simply affirmed.
A Fateful Leap
I don’t think that this anniversary or its 'genius' reference played any role in the controversial decision of the General Synod of the Church of England in favour of making women eligible to become bishops.
While the Catholic Church is studying the steps it took in the last twenty years, the Anglican Church decided to take a veritable plunge. Those in favour are calling it a leap forward. Several women groups – and not just women groups - are lauding this decision for it recognises the dignity and equality of women. In a certain sense the decision is the logical consequence of another controversial one taken by the Anglican community ten years ago: the ordination of women priests.
Those against call it a fall into the chasm. The vote came in spite of the fact that more than a thousand clergymen threatened to leave the Church of England unless sufficient safeguards were put in place for those who objected to women bishops. One has got to see now whether the compromise reached will accommodate the dissenters and manage to keep them within the fold. The compromise will take the form of a "national code of practice," which could include suggesting a woman bishop delegate her duty of care towards objectors to a "complementary bishop" who would be male.
Final legislation that would lead to the ordination of a woman bishop within the Anglican congregation is considered to be about two or three years away from completion.
Four hundred and eighty clergymen had left the Church of England, mostly for the Roman Catholic Church, when women were allowed to be ordained. Seventy subsequently returned.
Regret or condemnation?
According to Reuters the ”Vatican condemns Anglicans on women bishops.” On reading the communiqué issued by the Vatican the word “condemnation” is nowhere to be seen. The Vatican uses the word “regret”. Quite a difference, isn’t it?
In a statement the Vatican said that "such a decision signifies a break with the apostolic tradition maintained by all of the Churches since the first millennium and is, therefore, a further obstacle to reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England. … This decision will have consequences on the future of dialogue, which had up until now borne fruit.”
Before that vote, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist, had told top members of the Church of England that ordaining women bishops would mean that the goal of restoring full communion between Catholics and Anglicans "would realistically no longer exist" because it could not exist "without full communion in the episcopal office." He had said a further consequence of a resolution in favour of women bishops would be that the Catholic Church would inevitably continue to refuse to recognize the validity of Anglican orders.
Some fire in the debate
Archbishop Cremona set up an ad hoc committee to organise activities marking the 20th anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem too. The committee was set up to raise awareness. More than half the year has passed by and not many have been made aware. So let me put forward a couple of suggestions that, perhaps, can put some fire into the debate.
This committee should put forward for discussion a manifesto proposing concrete actions that should be taken by the Church in Malta to raise the status of women and could start by circulating a request for topics to go on the agenda. Mine are the following:
- a proposal for the introduction of a quota system establishing the minimum number of women that should be members and/or chairpersons of Church commissions;
- the minimum number of Bishop’s delegates who should be women.
- The adoption of an advanced family friendly policy that will be followed rigorously by all places of work owned by the Church.
Over to you now, women and men of the Church.
Female Theologians
A lecture course I taught earlier this year in the Faculty of Theology was attended by seven females, one layman and two seminarians – also males. When I studied theology – more moons back than I care to remember – the class was solidly made of seminarians. To-day it’s a totally different story.
More and more lay persons are interested in studying theology. Some are students from other faculties who top their core credits with a number of credits from the Faculty of Theology. Others study the subject part time but a good number – males and females – are studying it full time. Several continue with post graduate studies and one or two female students are completing their doctorate in theology in universities overseas.
The Faculty offers certificates, diplomas, undergraduate and post graduate courses in a subjects varying from youth ministry, to pastoral theology and bio-ethics. Doubters and seekers are finding such studies stimulating, enriching and interesting.
One expects that the female theologians graduating from the Faculty will help the church shed a lot of the clerical and male chauvinistic mentalities that exist so that we can finally discover and appreciate the genius of women.
(The website of the Faculty of Theology can be accessed at http://www.um.edu.mt/theology)