Women Need Bigger Role in Church

By M L Satyan.

The role of women in the Catholic Church has not been clearly specified even today. In the recent past, young girls have been permitted to be ‘Altar Girls.’ Women were allowed to be in choir group, do readings during Mass. Some dioceses (like Bombay Archdiocese) allowed lay women to distribute Holy Communion after giving them due training. Maybe some other dioceses do the same.

From 2020 the Pope has been including women in the Roman Curia offering them admin level positions. Last year the Pope appointed Sister Raffaella Petrini, to the number two position in the Vatican City Governorate, making her the first woman to hold the position.

Some years ago, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the president of German bishops’ conference, called for the creation of a new, specific office for women deacons. That stirred the anger of the doctrinal scholars and conservative theologians who vehemently stated that the office of deacon was inseparably bound to that of priest and bishop and the sacrament of ordination.

In this context, I wish to mention two incidents that occurred in 2013. Rev. Eggoni Pushpalalitha of the Nandyal diocese of Andhra Pradesh became the first woman bishop of South Asia’s Anglican community. Her appointment as a bishop of the Church of South India had silenced critics who believed only men can play the leadership roles in the church.

The Church of South India, successor of the Church of England in India, has been ordaining women as priests since 1976, but Pushpalalitha was the first woman bishop. This Christian group has nearly 5 million members in India and Sri Lanka. One of the 38 member churches of the Anglican Communion, the CSI is a union of varying traditions, including Anglican, Methodist, Congregational, Presbyterian and Reformed. The CSI constitution mandates that 25 percent of all statutory bodies be made up of women. In this way CSI has been leading in revolutionary thinking from women’s education to empowerment.

At the time of episcopal ordination, Pushpalalitha felt that her election was very much in line with Indian values. “Numerous goddesses are worshipped, and women are highly valued in India,” she said. She made a vow of celibacy when she was in college. She said her parents dedicated her to God’s service before her birth.

The bishop said she believed God created men and women as equals, though she agreed that in some cases, men and women have different roles. “We’re first humans and then male or female,” she said. “Some of their roles can be different, but in God’s mission there is no difference at all.” A day before her consecration, she told a newspaper: “Be it any institution, women are always given second-class treatment. We need to change that by promoting values that teach us not to discriminate but treat all humans the same.”

In similar line, there was good and encouraging news from Karnataka in the same year. Women’s emancipation got a big boost when two widows assumed the role of priests at the century old Gokarnatheshwara temple near Mangaluru. From October 6, 2013, they started performing pujas in the sanctum sanctorum of the shrines of God Shiva and Goddess Annapoorneshwari. The temple allowed widows to participate in rituals and offer worship during Dasara celebrations, putting an end to the practice of keeping them away from religious ceremonies.

Years ago, senior Congress leader B Janardhana Poojary, the man behind the temple’s reformist agenda, said that the decision to allow widows to work as priests was in continuation of putting into practice the philosophy of reformer Shree Narayana Guru, who believed that all are children of God. Allowing these women to work as priests is a step forward from the previous initiative to allow them to perform Chandika Homa (a ritual) and pull the temple chariot. The two women were duly trained for four months.

Later 5,000 married women took a resolution that they would not live as widows after the death of their life partners. They also declared that they would take a leading role in religious and other auspicious rituals. The maxim – “Matru Devo Bhavah”– will find true resonance at the temple with this new social engineering concept.

Has the Catholic Church got to learn anything from the above mentioned two incidents (woman bishop and widow priests)? Yes, it has to learn a lot. Why? because even after many centuries, the Catholic Church has not realized the potentials of women and the true role they need to play in the church. Today many TV channels show women evangelists conducting prayers. Their number is ever-growing. They pray so fervently, sing so sweetly and preach meaningfully. Their preaching is far better than many priests and bishops.

A study reveals that most of these women evangelists formerly belonged to the Catholic Church. If they had continued to be Catholics, they would not have become powerful and charismatic evangelists. Is it not clear evidence that women can function as meaningful ministers? Moreover, women religious are found serving the needy people in every field, even in the most difficult places of the country/world. They reach the unreached areas with zeal. They work with more commitment than the male ministers. This is a proven fact.

Today in every field, be it science, art, architecture, engineering, automobile, computer software/hardware, information technology, fashion designing, teaching, business, writing, acting, politics, religion, driving (two-wheeler, three-wheeler, four-wheeler, train, plane, ship), medical and hospitality women have made entry and proved to be more efficient than men. Across all sectors and in many parts of the world, diverse women’s leadership is ascendant, and women are redefining the nature of leadership. Studies reveal that as women’s equity improves, ecological sustainability, economic development, public health, social stability and education also improve.

In this scenario, some women groups in US and other European countries have started demanding openly for women priesthood. But it is sad to note that the vast majority of the Catholic women is in a “deep-sleep-mode”. The women associations and activists must constantly and continuously create awareness among women to arise, awake and demand dignified positions for themselves in the church.

It is heartening to note that in his recent interview with the Reuters News Agency, Pope Francis shared his plans to expand the role of women in the Roman Curia, and announced his intention to appoint two women to the Dicastery that assists the Pontiff in the selection of bishops. Pope Francis mentioned that in the future he sees the possibility of lay people being appointed to lead certain Vatican departments such as the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, or the Vatican Apostolic Library.

Considering the fast-changing trend, the prophetic Pope needs to move beyond offering admin/clerical positions to women. The time is ripe for the Pope and his Curia members to do a sincere introspection by shedding their ‘male-dominated conservative mindset’ and welcome women into “ministries” open-heartedly. Let us all look forward to that historical day.