The Discerning Deacons project, dedicated to engaging Catholics about the role of women and the diaconate, has been active in the synodal process. The group has led some 350 synod consultations with over 8,800 people.
Book review: If the Catholic Church continues to ignore insights from Scripture, reason and experience in favor of tradition, Wijngaards argues, it perpetuates a cultural prejudice that has held back millions of women.
Just Catholic: There was lots of talking together and walking together at the recent Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region. Some 230 men and 35 women met, but on the interrelated questions of married priests and women deacons, the talking and the walking fell short.
Although survey respondents overwhelmingly described their Catholic identity as "extremely important," they described a lack of leadership opportunities, financial insecurity and clericalism as barriers to ministry.
Commentary: It was only in 1917 that the "new" Code of Canon Law decreed that cardinals had to be ordained, but the sacrament of orders does not bestow any particular competence. If Pope Francis is looking for competent judgment, could there not be women in his Council of Cardinals?
Just Catholic: The good news is 15 new cardinals seem to be on the Roman horizon. The bad news is they are all men. And the fact of the matter is, if you are not at the table, you are not part of the discussion.
Just Catholic: The cult of personality is a very scary thing. No matter where or how it forms, it usually crashes and burns with the death or diminishment of the individual who gained a following.
Maybe our questions out of quarantine — a pope and people in place, captive to the unseen and unheard — are too small, too much about mechanics and organizational strategies.
Simply Spirit: We remembered Jesus as we broke bread and raised our cups of wine in front of our webcams. No one could accuse us of attempting to say Mass. But there were many priests around our virtual table.
