What’s Important?

When Frank DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry and I first discussed expanding this blog to be more regular, we joked that not much is happening about women’s ordination – not like the many bishops leaping into the fray to condemn, fire, and otherwise attack LGBTQ people. Well, the latter has not abated and Bondings 2.0 continues to publish every day. We are in awe.

But guess what? A lot happens about women’s ordination, not to mention women in the church and other issues that I take as my purview. Ellie Harty, who also writes regularly for this blog, is less tied to events and more to experience and introspection. We are a good pair.

Last week I wrote about “Gender Theory.” Important? Of course. But understanding that it came from a Vatican Dicastory that is to be eliminated in the new curial reforms makes me breathe more easily. It’s just another salvo in the culture wars. I have a whole file on the changes proposed for the curia that I haven’t gotten to write about yet – too much else is happening.

I do not want to leave gender theory without mentioning gender science. As Craig A. Ford says in a Commonweal article excerpted in the latest Bondings 1.0, “And for an understanding of what gender and sexuality is like, we need to turn to scientists (though, of course, not exclusively to them) who study the phenomena we are interested in.” After I wrote the blog, I tried to explain natural law theology to a friend who teaches genetics as the University of Pennsylvania. “Huh?” is an inelegant way of characterizing his response. “Male and Female He Created Them” is so far from the current understanding of sexuality that we owe ourselves a foray into the relevant chapter of The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukerjee, an excellent summary of the science.

Leave gender theory I will, however, for the Amazon. Or the Amazonian synod, which is more important because it’s closer to the Pope’s heart. The working document for the Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region, which will take place in Rome from October 6-27, is what is happening this week. Here are some choice excerpts from the document, which was widely reported to include in ministry to indigenous communities not only married priests, “elders [with] a stable family,” but also women:

Today, unfortunately, traces still exist of the colonizing project, which gave rise to attitudes that belittle and demonize indigenous cultures.

Indigenous peoples possess a rich tradition of social organization where authority is in rotation and with a profound sense of service

instead of leaving the communities without the Eucharist, the criteria of selection and preparation of the ministers authorized to celebrate it should be changed. …

the voice of women [must] be heard, that they be consulted and participate in decision-making processes, and that they can thus contribute with their sensitivity to ecclesial synodality.

it is necessary to identify the type of official ministry that can be conferred on women, taking into account the central role which women play today in the Amazonian Church.

increasingly broad and relevant space in the field of formation: theology, catechesis, liturgy and schools of faith and politics

OK. Exactly how far do those preparing the synod plan to take the official ministry of women? Well, not to be ordained deacons, as America reported: Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, the secretary general of the synod, made clear that this did not include the women’s diaconate since, as the pope told the plenary assembly of the Union of Superiors Generals, there is no agreement on this question.”

I do not want to suggest that big changes will happen without controversy; this is only a preparatory document, after all. Nicholas Seneze in La Croix International has written about what might happen, as does Austen Ivereigh in Commonweal. Ivereigh stresses the broad consultation that preceded this document; I stress that that’s the way the truth of the church can be discovered. The centrality of Word and Eucharist together inspired this document, he says; I say, like the youth synod preparatory document, it is not dependent on ossified teachings (ie, gender theory) that do not serve the people, but on their own articulation of their needs. WOC’s statement is positive:

There is hope in this document, and moreover, a challenge for the institutional Church to recognize what is already happening on the ground: Women are ministering to the People of God.  If we are to “look for the helpers,” as Mister Rogers liked to say, amidst the failures and disasters of our institution, we must look for and empower women. And as the Synod prepares to convene in October, we say: Give them a vote, too. 

I love the way American popular culture informs our consciousness! Know that Mr. Rogers is not in the document, which could almost be Laudato Si, Volume II in its presentation of environmental concerns, in this case rising from the cultures of the Amazon region. Stay tuned for WOC’s follow up, based in the hint above: who participates in the synod will be the next important topic of discussion!