I Hope the absolute decision-maker will disappear

I don’t know if the priest (diocesan) I would like still exists: the ecclesial reality is changing a lot, even if not everyone is clear about the direction in which it is heading. I believe the priest who does everything and represents everything in ecclesial activities and ministries will disappear. I believe (and hope) that the celibate priest who lives alone will disappear (the current social context risks making him ill, not to mention cases of abuse or excesses). In addition, I believe (and hope) that the absolute decision-maker priest will disappear, which is mostly a vice stemming from the training they have received, but is often also a necessity: who else can take on the responsibility for decisions without having the qualifications?

I have met many wise priests, with a marvellous humanity, but I do not think any of them represents the future. Once, I did not believe that the sacred order should be open to women; today, however, I believe it may be necessary.

It is becoming increasingly clear to me that the altar (but not only) entirely “occupied” by men is at odds—lex orandi, lex credendi—with what is becoming ever more evident to our eyes. This fact is that  together, men and women, we are called to respond to the decisive question of whether there will still be faith when the Son of God returns to earth.

by Maria Elisabetta Gandolfi
Editor-in-Chief of Current Affairs at “Il Regno”