Our Message to Pope Francis on the Installation of Women Lectors and Catechists

On Sunday, January 23, Pope Francis conferred—for the first time—the ministries of lector and catechist upon lay women and men in St. Peter’s Basilica. As it recognized their sincere vocations and formation, the ceremony was rich with symbolism and meaning for the global church as it was live-streamed around the world.  

It was just a year ago when Pope Francis changed canon 230 to include “all lay people” in the ministries of acolyte and lector, and it was just in May 2021 when he issued his Apostolic Letter, Antiquum Ministerium, creating the Ministry of Catechist, open to all laypeople. 

The impact of these ministries will be most felt locally. To the faithful in “priest-less parishes” and those on the margins of their dioceses, these women will be pastors in so many ways, except in their title. (And they probably already are!)

If you read closely the mandate of the catechist, as explained by Archbishop Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, it is expansive, including leading Sunday liturgies, coordinating pastoral initiatives, and fostering relationships within the community.

However, we at the Women’s Ordination Conference know that this is not enough.

The continued exclusion of women from ordained ministries not only contributes to sacramental scarcity and clericalism, it reinforces cultural and social discrimination. This step does not remedy the vast inequalities women face within the Catholic church.

It benefits patriarchal systems to embrace the labor of women while maintaining their exclusion from positions of institutional authority. And yet, it also benefits the local church to experience women in ministry, and it benefits women to have their gifts recognized.

Our message to Pope Francis: it is the same Spirit that calls women to the ministries of lector and catechist that calls women to the diaconate and priesthood. Listen to their experiences and embrace them as equal partners in faith.