Mary Thorne writes that the questions raised in the working document for the October Synod offer a glimmer of hope for women in the Church.

There is a long history of Catholic women’s struggle to communicate their perspective to the institutional Church. The Church’s unwillingness to listen has led to disillusionment and weariness. Some women have formed new communities in which they worship God and live their faith. Because they take care in the way they image God, use inclusive language and create meaningful liturgies, these communities are nourishing the spiritual hunger of many women and men. So, when Pope Francis convened the whole Catholic Church in Synod, and spoke of “journeying together” and being “a listening Church”, many women felt cautious hope that the promise of the Second Vatican Council might come alive again.

Diocesan Stage of Synod

Be the Change Catholic Church Aotearoa, with communities in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, was one of the groups which responded to the invitation to participate in the Synod gatherings. Members met face-to-face and on-line over many months to formulate a submission for the first diocesan phase of the synodal journey. They described their vision of a renewed, inclusive Church, keen to work for social and ecological justice in this place at this time.

From the outset, many women were concerned that the strength of community submissions would be diluted in the synthesising processes during the preparation for the Synod in Rome. We were pleased, therefore, to see that the submission from the Catholic people of Aotearoa New Zealand contained the statement: “This lack of equality for women within the Church is seen as a stumbling block for the Church in the modern world. There is a collective feeling that the institutional Church has failed to recognise the level of alienation of women that has taken place” (National Synod Synthesis, NZCBC par 45).

Working Document Published

The synodal journey has continued around the world and the syntheses of submissions have been drawn together at diocesan, national and continental assemblies. The General Secretariat of the Synod, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, has used this material and drafted its third document, a working document for the Synod, Instrumentum Laboris. Its publication marks the end of the first “listening” phase and it opens the second phase which will be composed of two sessions, the first in October 2023 and the second in October 2024.

Lay People at Synod

This XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place in Rome. Pope Francis has extended the membership of the assemblies from exclusively bishops, to include some leaders of women’s and men’s religious congregations and 70 non-bishop members, which will include lay people. The Pope asked that 50 per cent of the non-bishop members be women and that young people be included. This group will have voting rights. Manuel Beazley, Vicar for Māori in the Auckland diocese, and Dennis Nacorda, parish priest in Levin, Wellington Archdiocese, will go from Aotearoa. There is no woman representative in this group from New Zealand.

Instrumentum Laboris Asks Questions

Instrumentum Laboris (IL) is designed as a practical aid for the conduct of the first Synodal Assembly in October. It contains insights, tensions and priorities that have emerged from listening to the People of God and, skilfully, expresses them as questions addressed to the assembly.

IL at 63 pages begins by reflecting on what the synodal journey to date reveals about synodality as an identity and mode of being Church. It identifies characteristic signs and describes “conversation in the Spirit” as a way to draw closer to one another and discern what action is to be taken as the Church moves into the future. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can move from “cacophony to symphony”.

It is encouraging for those who long for renewal in the Church. It recognises that a synodal Church must be humble and penitential. It celebrates the catholicity of the combined response and sees “the synodal dynamic as a way to appreciate and enhance this rich diversity without flattening it into uniformity”.

Significantly, IL is not the first draft of a final document. Rather it presents the distillation of the worldwide conversation as questions and “an opportunity to walk together as a Church capable of welcoming and accompanying, accepting the necessary changes in rules, structures and procedures” (IL par 15).

Prime Questions

The first questions in the document concern care of Earth and care for the most vulnerable in Earth. These are the big questions of our age, encompassing issues like poverty, migration and ending colonisation.

Questions Concerning Women

There is the slightest glimmer of hope for women that IL will open conversations leading to a pathway of genuine equality for them in the Church. But, even though the document says “numerous contributions highlight the need … to renew the language used by the Church” (par 60), there is no effort in IL to image God differently— God is “Father”, Jesus is “Lord” and the Holy Spirit is “He”. This is discouraging.

The second section is “Co-Responsibility in Mission”. Highlighting that the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the Synod and the baptismal dignity of the whole People of God, the questions refer to the relationship between ordained and baptismal ministries and eligibility to enter the permanent diaconate.

A further question in this section asks: “How can the Church of our time better fulfil its mission through greater recognition and promotion of the baptismal dignity of women?” (IL, B2.3) It notes: “The Continental Assemblies call for deeper reflection on the ecclesial relational failures, which are also structural failures affecting the lives of women in the Church.” There is “desire for a greater presence of women in positions of responsibility and governance as crucial elements in the search for more synodal ways to live the Church’s mission.”

Because women have different experiences and perspectives around the world — they are not a homogenous group — we hope there are enough women at the Synod to promote women’s increased participation in the Church.

Hold Fast to a Glimmer of Hope

The long story of God’s people contains challenge, restructuring and renewal. For many women feeling worn out by the Church, a glimmer of hope is better than none.

I can’t help but think of Black, lesbian feminist writer Audre Lorde’s question: “What does it mean when the tools of a racist patriarchy are used to examine the fruits of that same patriarchy?” She responds: ”It means that only the most narrow parameters of change are possible and allowed.”

More than ever women and all those in the Church who resist patriarchy and clericalism, need to hold to the Gospel and our hope that this walking together will bring real reform.

Our Judeo-Christian tradition urges us to prioritise care of the most vulnerable, welcome the stranger and live gently in Earth. We, women and men, must commit our energy to this work. And we want to trust that the Holy Spirit, spurring on prophetic voices, will rattle the ecclesiology of the Church enough for women to have full participation in our time.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 284 August 2023: 6-7