“Women see through the Catholic church’s lip service on equality” and their “second-class treatment”, according to an organiser of a Dublin protest calling for the ordination of women as priests..
Soline Humbert, a ‘spiritual director’ who has felt called to the priesthood since she was 17, said the church’s stance on women was one of the main reasons why there had been “a huge exodus” from the pews in Ireland.
The protest took place at the Spire and outside the Pro Cathedral in Dublin at the weekend, with members of Catholic group We Are Church Ireland calling for change in the church’s “patriarchal structures”.
The Catholic church has ruled out ordaining women as priests and, though evidence suggests that women were ordained as deacons in the early church, it has consistently stalled on calls for the female diaconate to be reintroduced.
During the recent two-year global synod gatherings in Rome, female ordination was removed from the discussion by Pope Francis despite being one of the main issues identified by Catholics around the world as an area they would like to see changed.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ms Humbert urged the church to look to the example of St Brigid, Ireland’s co-patron saint, who was ordained a bishop in the fifth century.
“The story of St Brigid’s ordination was recorded and persisted through centuries when women were deemed not capable of receiving ordination. I think it is a message which is right for our times.”
She explained that protesters wore green St Brigid cloaks to highlight their message.
“Passers-by were supportive of our protest,” she said. “Many had walked away from the church because of abuse and misogyny. They see that equality for women is just lip service.”
“The story of St Brigid tells us that the Holy Spirit wants women to be ordained, and it is up to the male bishops to listen to what the Spirit wants and not squash it or ignore it as it has been doing for centuries. The message is loud and clear: the patriarchal church has to go.”
Another protester, Colm Holmes, who is chair of We Are Church International, said he was very disappointed by the global synod’s final report and the removal of the issue of women priests from the discussion while “the can was kicked down the road on women deacons”.
However, he noted that the Irish Synodal Pathway, which is discussing reform in the Irish church and has been ongoing since before the global synod, is once again holding a consultation period among Irish Catholics up to May 31 this year.
“The focus of this process will be a national synthesis which was produced in 2023 from all the consultations here in Ireland. The 17 themes which emerged in the summary focused much more on women and their role in the church including the ordination of women,” Mr Holmes said.
Whatever emerges would still be referred back to the Irish bishops, who must have “the backbone” to move this issue forward, he added.