The question of the women’s diaconate now returns to Pope Leo for further discernment.
Women in the Church
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Vatican report says no to ordaining women deacons—for now
“The purely historical perspective does not allow us to arrive at any definitive certainty,” a Vatican report concluded. “In the final analysis, the question must be decided on the doctrinal level.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
What the synod interim reports said about women
This week’s interim reports from the synod’s study groups, tasked with examining controversial issues that arose at the synod and required deeper study, provide some new details about what the role of women in a synodal church may look like.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Not your typical academic: Monica Hellwig and a theologian’s vocation
In a long and distinguished career as a theologian, Monika Hellwig made significant contributions in sacramental theology, the history of Christianity, Eucharistic theology, eschatology, ecumenism, Scripture studies, environmental theology and more.
Posted inFaith, Short Take
‘Why do you stay Catholic?’ my student asked. Because of my parish—and the Gospel’s radical love.
I have questioned the ethical implications of belonging to an institution with so many members sympathetic to MAGA politics. But I can still rediscover the hope of the Eucharist in my parish.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Anne Carr, the ‘founding mother’ of Catholic feminism in academia
A leading figure in academic Catholic feminism after the Second Vatican Council, Anne E. Carr was also a renowned scholar and an inspiration to generations of theologians.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The Catholic nun who brought faith and social justice to New York’s airwaves for over 50 years
Sister Camille D’Arienzo “didn’t toe the line. She said what she believed. She is a progressive woman who had a very big pulpit, which was over three million listeners a week.”
Posted inFaith, Last Take
Pope Leo and valuing the work of women in the church
Pope Francis honored women’s contributions to the life of the church. I trust Pope Leo XIV to do the same.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Mission and vision: Stephen Bevans and Catholic theology
Among those recognized at two theology conferences in June was Stephen Bevans, S.V.D., to whom the Catholic Theological Society of America gave its highest honor, the John Courtney Murray Award.
Posted inFaith, Faith and Reason
As a ‘son of Augustine,’ Leo XIV does not demand certainty, but instead encounter and dialogue
By following the tradition of Augustine, the new pope can promote stability that is not rooted in hierarchical dominance or exclusion, but in communal support, service and humility.