Move to give women larger role at Mass is welcomed
Pope’s change to Church law a step forward, says equality campaigner
A CAMPAIGN group seeking a greater role for women in the Catholic Church has said “a door has been opened” after Pope Francis changed Church law to allow females to contribute more during Mass.
He did, though, continue to affirm that women cannot be priests.
Pope Francis amended the law to formalise what is common practice in many parts of the world: that women can read the Gospel and serve on the altar as eucharistic ministers.
The UK and Ireland representative of Women’s Ordination Worldwide (WOW), Miriam Duignan, said even a small step in the right direction is a welcome one.
“This change means t hat women will now officially stand shoulder to shoulder with lay men as ministers of communion and lectors at Mass and girls can be altar servers,” she said.
“Until now official installation in these roles has been reserved for men, and any instances where women have been lectors and acolytes and girls serving on the altar, they have done so because it was permitted as an exception, and always at the sole discretion of the local bishop or priest.
“Therefore, while this may not seem like a change of substance in places where women have, for several decades, been permitted to serve in these roles in many parishes, this has not been the case and women and girls have remained essentially banned from the altar at the say-so of a misogynist man.”
She added: “It means that bishops and pastors around the world can no longer refuse women the right to these ministries on account of Canon Law.
“Bishops can now be held accountable and not given impunity to discriminate against women even more than the wider Church already does.
“This contributes to a slow chipping away at the wall of anti-women exclusion that still lingers and corrupts the official Church. It signals a growing awareness of what has been the rejection of women’s baptism in Christ.
“Women are one step closer to being part of officially mediating the sacred. Slowly but surely, we will keep pushing for full equality and WOW is confident more change must come.”
The Pope said he was making the change to increase recognition of the “precious contribution” women make in the Church, while emphasising that all baptised Catholics have a role to play in its mission. But he also noted that doing so further makes a distinction between “ordained” ministries such as the priesthood and diaconate, and ministries open to qualified laity.
The change comes as Francis remains under pressure to allow women to be deacons — ministers who perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding at weddings, baptisms and funerals.
Currently, the ministry is reserved for men even though historians say the ministry was performed by women in the early Church. Francis has created a second commission of experts to study whether women could be deacons, after a first one failed to reach a consensus.
Advocates for expanding the role to include women say it would give them greater say in the ministry and governance of the Church and address priest shortages. But opponents say it would be a move towards ordaining women to the priesthood.
‘It contributes to a slow chipping away at the wall of anti-women exclusion that still lingers and corrupts the official Church’