A brief note on going too far

 These past weeks have involved intense discussions, prayer, and thinking on a topic close to the hearts of all of my fellow discussants. Our concern, pain, and confusion is clear. St Catherine of Siena comes up regularly. Watch this space if you are interested in some weeks or a few months you might want to find out more.

Independent of them and only briefly publicly saying what I think on one topic specifically, I write this very brief note.

The role of women is one of those topics that has become a ‘hot’ topic for Catholics and one can be easily misunderstood if one is too diplomatic. It has happened to me as a theology student in Cambridge and being amongst anglican ordinands I was diplomatic and wholly misunderstood. The way I, a Catholic, think about this topic is radically different from theirs and I wanted to spare their already confused and frayed spirits. BUT being misunderstood on this important topic did no one any favours.

As a Church we have some wonderful sources for thinking through these things but have chosen to ignore them. On repeated occasions Pope Benedict reminded us that we needed to return to the sources. There are many excellent women theologians working at some of the top universities in the world working precisely on the sources of our faith who have thought thoroughly about the role of women in the Church. It is time we turn to them particularly when thinking about the role of women in the Church. We do not and should not turn to women in other Churches, let alone the in-crisis, crumbling Anglican Church, with its very different anthropology and ecclesiology. 

The question thus arises: Why has an anglican bishop been invited rather than the many women catholic theologians?  (We could add why have only two women catholic theologians been invited that are not systematic theologians- ie deeply knowledgable about doctrine? But maybe its best to leave that for another day?)

Dear Holy Father,

Why, with all the lay and religious women theologians the Church counts with, have you invited an Anglican Bishop to discuss our role in OUR church? WHY?

And I emphasise OUR Church, we are all the Church, and it is OUR Church. Yesterday I was having lunch with a few friends, amongst them was a seminarian from Uruguay. He, like I, and yourself, are from the same region, with him being culturally closer to Argentina than El Salvador. We both agreed that many of your words remind us of concerns that are latent in Latin America, where the majority of people live poorly, education levels are low, and religion is used to justify discrimination. We also agreed, however, that many of your words also reveal a particularly Argentine Church problem and that, now has centre stage. While it is natural to be influenced by one’s personal experiences we hope for a successor of Peter to also take into account that not everyone will understand the nuances of our language that are so very particular to one country - one region- and society in the world. This means that on the topic of women we are encountering something similar like only asking a Salesian sister (with the respect they have in the eyes of all Latin Americans for help, when there are so many other charisms in the Church). 

Don’t misunderstand me, I have welcomed the appointment of women to positions in the Vatican. I welcome the discussions and searching. However, it would be great if more Catholic, faithful women of more charisms, were included in the discussions and development of a theology of woman if that is the plan.

You say you are discussing the role of women in the Church but have failed to invite some of the top women theologians in the Western, Latin Church. Some of them living and working in your own backyard.

Just to refresh your memory and that of those who may read this:

Catherine Alford OP (Angelicum)

Sr Ann Swailes OP (Cambridge)

Janet Soskice (Cambridge)

Anna Abram (Cambridge) 

Mary Katherine Hilkert OP (Notre Dame)

Sr Magdalene Eitenmiller OP (Cambridge)

Francesca Murphy (Notre Dame)

Renee Kohler-Ryan (Notre Dame Australia)

Sr Ann Astell (Notre Dame)

Jean Porter (Notre Dame)

Isabel Leon (Navarra)

Maria Jesus Soto (Navarra)

The three Rossi sisters (Angelicum) 

These are just the ones I know or have taught me or have supervised friends. They don’t include many of the excellent women theologians I know that have in the past year finished their PhDs. I am also aware there are several others I am not listing because I am totally unfamiliar with their work. 

WHY are they not being consulted? WHY are they not invited to the discussions? WHY is an Anglican considered wiser on this topic than the very Catholic women you are meant to be supporting and thinking about?

Respectfully, Holy Father you have gone too far. Not that you haven’t gone too far before with your particular vision of OUR Church, but this time you have managed to surprise even me and I can no longer remain silent about it.