A sign from the Synod

In approaching the Instrumentum Laboris, which is guiding the work of the second Synodal Assembly (October 2024), the reader is instantly struck by the return of the phrase “men and women”. In fact, it is used 22 times to define the identity of the disciples of Christ, the recipients of the evangelizing announcement, the missionaries, the baptized, the saints, and those involved in pastoral life. This is a clear signal of the recognition of gender subjectivity and the specific contributions of each. In addition, this expresses a now mature awareness that the language we use, the words we choose to describe ourselves, shape our identity and our relationships. Thus, the document attests to a deliberate overcoming of the temptation of neutrality in thinking about human beings, believers in Christ, and members of the ecclesial body. Moreover, there is a recognition of a constitutive canon of differentiated plurality, without which synodality cannot exist. With the repeated use of this phrase, a space of anthropological truth and free ecclesial co-responsibility is created for both women and men. This generates new possible “compositions”; for example, for women, a space to emerge from the condition of “invisible ecclesial partner”; while, for men, a pathway and a new perspective to finally articulate themselves in their specific partiality, and find words to understand masculinity.

Re/Recognizing to Re-compose

The awareness of the centrality of the gender issue for the life and mission of the Church also emerges from the placement of the reflection in this second Instrumentum Laboris. This is found in the first part, which is dedicated to the “Foundations” of the vision of synodality. In particular, the first two paragraphs outline a relational model of “dynamic reciprocity,” of “relationality, interdependence, reciprocity”. Therefore, here, there is a going beyond the limitations of the logics of “complementarity” between male and female. In addition, the essentialist perspectives that have anchored so much ecclesial reflection in recent decades, has presented an “abstract nature” inherent to every Man and Woman, regardless of cultural dynamics and historical developments; instead, this is so “essential” to human subjectivity. The following three paragraphs, which are specifically dedicated to the contribution of women to a synodal and missionary Church, are rooted in this new comprehensive vision. The lines here are a reflection on the future of the Church as a missionary communion that entails giving space for the active participation of every christifidelis. In addition, there is a recognition that through baptism we have all become “part” of the ecclesial body and are called – wthout exception – to “take part” actively in the life of the people of God. The Synod on synodality ultimately aims to develop a new ecclesial “composition,” a set of more components in this mutual relationship.

A Musical Composition: Plurality in Dynamic Unity

The vision outlined in the second Instrumentum Laboris represents a significant milestone in this direction, particularly for the anthropological and ecclesiological model it adopts on this theme (Brothers and Sisters in Christ: A Renewed Reciprocity). It does not focus so much on the Genesis narratives but rather on the contribution of women in the Church, starting from their condition as disciples of Jesus and proclaimers of the resurrection. However, the emergence of the theme of women has been gradual throughout the synodal work; in fact, to some extent, this is already one of the fruits of synodal dialogue. The preparatory document surprisingly did not include any questions about women in the Church; instead, it referenced two women – the Canaanite and the Samaritan – to highlight Jesus’ willingness to include everyone. The theme of women’s participation has emerged strongly in all the Summaries sent by the episcopal conferences. Where women can speak in the first person, they call on the Church to recognize their irreplaceable contribution but also highlight the “gender imbalance” that marks – albeit in very different forms in different ecclesial contexts – pastoral life. Women are the “unexpected partners” of Vatican II, and they are the “primary partners” for the reception of the Council. With the richness of their proclamation of the Gospel and their ministerial and pastoral service, they have shaped the face of the Catholic Church worldwide. The document for the continental stage, Broaden the Space of Your Tent, has dedicated a thorough reflection to the reasons for the undervaluation of women’s contributions to the mission of the Church, the reasons for the exclusion of women from leadership roles, and the possible factors for a change regarding the thought processes and ecclesial structures. The document allows us to grasp that the truly decisive issue is not so much that of women’s participation (which is self-evident) but rather that of female leadership as a function of guiding and animating collective and community processes within the Church at different levels, which includes the assumption of roles of authority in and for the institutionalized ecclesial “We”.

The summaries of the seven continental assemblies convey the omnipresence and pervasiveness of the demand for the recognition of women’s subjectivity in the Church, as well as the existing cultural and social differences among the various local churches around the world regarding the issue of leadership. In particular, it should be noted that the theme of leadership in Latin America, North America, Europe, and the Middle East is expressed in a dual form. The first, a request for broader leadership exercised by laypeople and religious women (even at the highest levels in national churches or Vatican dicasteries); the second, the demand for the ministerial ordination of women, often to the diaconate, though more rarely to all levels of ministry. In Africa, the theme of women’s leadership is linked to the pastoral and ecclesial contributions of religious women, but without a clear demand for ministerial ordination. For all, the Magna Carta of ecclesial relations remains significant: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28-30). The re/composition of ecclesial relationships from this foundational “core theme” must be developed.

Comporre insieme
La redazione dell’Instrumentum laboris per l’Assemblea di ottobre 2023 correla il riconoscimento dell’apporto delle donne e la loro partecipazione alla vita della Chiesa, anche «in ruoli di autorità e di governo», al tema della eguale dignità delle donne e al loro specifico apporto, mentre nella Relazione di sintesi pubblicata alla fine della Assemblea si denuncia con chiarezza clericalismo, maschilismo, «discriminazione lavorativa e remunerazione iniqua», si fa appello a una «corresponsabilità non competitiva», si afferma «è urgente garantire che le donne possano partecipare ai processi decisionali e assumere ruoli di responsabilità nella pastorale e nel ministero», citando al riguardo l’esempio dato da Papa Francesco che ha operato per un significativo aumento delle donne «in posizioni di responsabilità nella curia romana». In tutti questi documenti è evidente che non si tratta solo di riconoscere il fatto che le donne siano impegnate e «discepole corresponsabili nella missione» ecclesiale: si devono aprire anche per le donne spazi di azione nei contesti in cui vengono prese decisioni per la vita e l’attività pastorale e definire «cambiamenti strutturali» che diano la effettiva possibilità alle donne di assumere ruoli di autorità nelle chiese locali, a livello nazionale e di chiesa universale.

Composing Together

The drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris for the October 2023 Assembly correlates the recognition of women’s contributions and their participation in the life of the Church, including “in roles of authority and governance”, to the theme of equal dignity for women and their specific contributions. Meanwhile, the summary report published at the end of the Assembly clearly denounces clericalism, chauvinism, “workplace discrimination, and unfair remuneration”, calls for “non-competitive co-responsibility”, and asserts that “it is urgent to ensure that women can participate in decision-making processes and assume leadership roles in pastoral care and ministry”. In addition, it cites the example set by Pope Francis, who has worked to significantly increase the number of women “in positions of responsibility in the Roman Curia”.

In all these documents, it is evident that the goal is not only to recognize that women are engaged and “co-responsible disciples in the ecclesial mission,” but also to open spaces for action for women in the contexts where decisions regarding pastoral life and activities are made. Additionally, it is necessary to define “structural changes” that provide women with the effective opportunity to assume roles of authority in local churches, at the national level, and within the universal Church.

New Compositions

The cultural, legislative, political, and economic transformations that have accompanied the maturation and empowerment of women and have modified the models of male-female relationships in Western societies have positively influenced the condition of Catholic women and ecclesial practices. However, there are countless instances of resistance, and mechanisms, which block progress. A persistent glass ceiling continues to hinder women’s access to contexts where strategies for pastoral action and educational priorities are determined, even in settings where women are the majority of pastoral workers and where the role does not inherently require the presence of an ordained minister. Stereotypical readings of femininity and masculinity remain widespread; in fact, there are established and unquestioned pastoral practices that relegate women to the role of effective collaborators while precluding roles of authority, with the exception of a few women co-opted by the hierarchy without effecting a change in ecclesial culture and structures. These experiences show that change is possible, but there is a risk that the reference to these women “present at the highest levels” may delay comprehensive and structural reforms from a gender perspective, as it shifts the focus to opportunities granted to individuals rather than working on transforming the clerical, often patriarchal, ecclesial culture.

Nonetheless, we must recognize that the issue of leadership in the Church is also linked to the ordained ministry. The topic of the diaconal ordination of women is not under discussion at the assembly in October. Instead, this issue has been entrusted to a study group coordinated by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Even regarding this delicate research topic, it is evident that the issue of women is revealing and central. The way it has been addressed shows, in fact, what the ecclesiological and ministerial model truly referenced is, how the relationship between the Gospel, Tradition, Culture, and History is conceived, and how relevant the reading of the signs of the times is for considering the life and mission of the Church today.

The question of women’s participation in ecclesial leadership (including in ministerial forms) is a central issue for the hoped-for process of missionary-synodal reform. Anyone who, in an essential overall process, does not recognize one of the partners, who in fact is the most active at the grassroots level and the most significant for the socio-cultural changes that have occurred, weaken, slows down, and complicates any transformative dynamic. Moreover, it removes from the “musical composition” the strength of an irreplaceable voice and deprives the becoming of the ecclesial body of the creativity that arises only from the encounter between different worlds. 

by Serena Noceti
Theologian, professor of Ecclesiology, Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of Tuscany