In March 2026, the Vatican’s doctrine office released its final report on women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Catholic Church. The report brings to a close the two-year work of Study Group 5, which, as part of the Synod on Synodality, was tasked with studying women’s ministries and leadership. In this special roundtable conversation, editors at America magazine discuss the report’s content and proposals, and ask if the document changes the status quo for women in the Catholic Church.
Women in the Church
Posted inNews
Top Vatican diplomat tells UN that justice for women and girls demands ‘holistic’ approach
“Ensuring access to justice for women and girls requires more than just formal legal protections. It also involves addressing the root causes that put them at risk, prevent them from seeking justice and ultimately undermine their God-given human dignity,” said Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Where the women deacons question stands at the Vatican
Plus: The first full English translation of the ‘Petrocchi Commission’ report on women deacons.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
The final synod report on women: what it says, what it means and what’s next
The report denounces “male chauvinism” and “clericalism,” making the case that in his brief pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has continued down Francis’ path of appointing women to positions of leadership in the Curia.
Posted inNews
Final synod report on women’s leadership does not address female diaconate
The Vatican has published the final report of the synod study group examining women’s participation in the Church, which calls for expanded roles for women in Church governance and leadership in roles not including ordained ministry.
Posted inFaith in Focus
Rediscovering the fiery and forgotten women of the Old Testament
As the class explored the stories of the fiery, intelligent, brave women of the Old Testament, I saw the hand of God in these stories of bold women and individuals on the margins.
Posted inFaith and Reason
‘Dilexi Te’ and the witness of African women
As an African woman theologian, I read “Dilexi Te” not as an abstract ecclesial document, but as a reflection of the spiritual wisdom and lived theology of African women.
Posted inShort Take
The Vatican tabled women deacons again. Did they take women’s discernment seriously?
If the church approaches women’s discernment with condescension instead of curiosity, it risks undermining the process of synodality.
Posted inExplainer
Explainer: Everything you need to know about the Vatican’s women deacons report
The question of the women’s diaconate now returns to Pope Leo for further discernment.
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.”