Washington Times: Pope Francis urges unity as advocates for women’s ordination press cause at Vatican gathering
Pope Francis kicked off the next phase of a closely watched Vatican reform synod on Wednesday by urging delegates to focus on unity and avoid pushing personal agendas so “each person feels welcomed,” but advocates for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church say they feel anything but welcomed.
Female Catholic priest Angela Meyer and Kate McElwee have traveled to Rome expressly to demand that the synod directly confront the issue of women in the clergy. They said the issue has been continually silenced.
The momentous synod, launched by Pope Francis in 2021, is a two-part process that the Argentine-born pontiff says is aimed at making the church more inclusive and responsive to the needs of its members. The National Catholic Reporter says millions of Catholics from around the globe participated in consultations, with last year’s first session diving into heated discussions on issues such as clergy abuse, the role of women and LGBTQ rights.
Despite the buildup, allowing women to be ordained as priests remains largely off the table.
Instead, Pope Francis has directed the synod to focus on restructuring Church governance and fostering greater participation among Catholics while allowing for “legitimate diversity” among local churches, The Associated Press reported. Whether that will be enough to satisfy the pope’s critics on the left and the right is another question.
In his homily at the opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square, the pope called for dialogue over division. “Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” he said. He warned that such behavior would lead to “dialogues among the deaf,” according to the National Catholic Reporter.
Ms. McElwee, executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, is leading an international delegation of advocates for an expanded role for women in the church.
“We are here with an international delegation of advocates who are calling the synod to take seriously the voices of women around the world who are calling for greater participation in the life of the church,” Ms. McElwee said in an interview from Rome.