WOC Responds to Appointment of Sr. Nathalie Becquart as Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops

For Immediate Release: 8 February 2021

The Women’s Ordination Conference congratulates Sr. Nathalie Becquart on her Feb. 6 appointment as one of two new undersecretaries of the Synod of Bishops. She is the first woman to be appointed to this office, and she joins a small but slowly growing number of women undersecretaries in the Vatican. 

When she is named a voting member of the Synod in 2022—as is traditional for those holding her role—we will be the first to applaud. If the other women religious present at the meeting are also allowed to vote alongside their brothers, on a permanent basis, we will breathe a sigh of relief. If there is gender parity in the Synod Hall, we will cry with joy.

Indeed, these would be significant cracks in the foundations of clericalism and misogyny, and would be the results of sustained advocacy, activism, and witness of the collaborative #VotesForCatholicWomen campaign, of which WOC played a founding role.

In the meantime, we have questions:

Why should Fr. Luis Marin de San Martin’s appointment automatically elevate him to the status of bishop, and Sr. Nathalie Becquart’s appointment to the same position not? 

Could there be a more stark example of the unequal treatment of men and women in the Church that one undersecretary gets made a bishop, while for the other, it is an impossibility?

As the saying goes: Ordain women, or stop baptizing them.

We sincerely celebrate this milestone for Sr. Becquart — she is eminently qualified and deserves recognition for the barrier she is breaking.

We also celebrate this step with those who supported the Votes for Catholic Women campaign over the past few years and carried it forward. Doors at the Vatican do not open on their own, but because of those knocking from the outside. That’s you, and that’s us!

In the meantime, we will continue our persistent efforts to work for lasting structural changes and gender equity in the Church. One step at a time.

Contact: Kate McElwee, Executive Director