A prominent Irish Jesuit has publicly urged bishops, including those in Ireland, to ask Rome to place the question of women’s priestly ordination on the agenda of the study groups accompanying the Synod.
“I repeat my proposal,” Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ writes in February edition of The Furrow, “that bishops, including Irish bishops, who have qualms about the current Church teaching on female ordination (including priestly ordination), ask Rome that this issue be included in the study groups accompanying the synodal process.”
Fr O’Hanlon argues that such a move would be a modest but concrete way to break what he describes as a “seeming impasse” and “seemingly interminable postponement”. He insists the approach would be in continuity with Catholic tradition, noting that where tension arises between non-dogmatic teaching and the “sense of faith of the faithful”, teaching may be clarified or reformulated “or with the help of theologians, to ‘revise’ it.”
While acknowledging that the “first and most obvious approach” for bishops is “to do nothing” and continue expanding “prominent, visible and decision making roles to women in the Church, based on our human equality, men and women, through baptism,” he contends that ordination remains “a totemic issue with serious consequences for mission.”
At major liturgies, he writes, “the serried rows of male clerics send out a strong signal around the seeming overwhelmingly male nature and identity of the Church.” For many, especially younger people, the issue “has powerful symbolic power and is a major ‘turn-off’ for many.” He describes “the failure to tackle the issue head-on” as “a scandal… an obstacle to mission.”
Fr O’Hanlon also questions the strength of the theological case as currently presented. “The reasons given for limiting priestly ordination to men have been unpersuasive,” he writes, recalling that the Pontifical Biblical Commission in the 1970’s “did not agree” that the Church lacked authority to ordain women. He notes that Pope Francis, while reaffirming current teaching, has “called into question its ‘definitive’ nature, noting that it required further theological enquiry.”
Central to his appeal is a call for episcopal courage and discernment. Bishops, he writes, are not “simply delegates of the Pope, kind of national CEO’s or branch managers of a multi-national body,” but share responsibility for the universal Church. He suggests some may find that “intuitively… they would have no objection to the ordination of women, in fact they would quite welcome it,” and asks: “if tomorrow the Pope came out with a decree permitting the ordination of women, would you be upset, would you object?”
He concludes with a direct challenge: “I invite bishops into this space of discernment: what is the Holy Spirit asking you to do?”
