Colm Holmes, We Are Chrch International: No Support for Women Priests at National Assembly
No support for Women Priests at National Assembly
Bishops control Irish Synodal Pathway
Patriarchy has dominated the Catholic Church for several centuries, summarised as “Pay, Pray and Obey”. Pope Francis sought to change this by introducing “Synodality” where we all walk together, share together and decide together.
In Ireland there was an enthusiastic take up of Synodality with all 26 dioceses submitting syntheses and a further 29 submissions were received from other groups to be included in the National Synthesis in 2022:
· across the various submissions and syntheses many issues emerge consistently, including a strong desire for women’s involvement in leadership and ministries – ordained and non-ordained (Page 24, National Synthesis 2022)
· There were calls from both young and older participants for optional celibacy, married priests, female priests, and the return of those who had left the priesthood to marry. (Page 8, National Synthesis 2022)
But in the Working Document for the Irish National Synod on 17 October 2026 there is
· no mention of women priests;
· no mention of optional celibacy
· no mention of married priest
Why have these 3 important issues disappeared completely since 2022? When in general opinion polls over the past decade the ordination of women priests and married priests have shown a two-thirds majority in favour of both these issues?
To me the answer is simple: Patriarchy is deeply engrained in Ireland. And our bishops exercise their patriarchal control over the Synodal process. They do this by approving all the delegates for the Kilkenny meeting and for the National Assembly in October 2026. Some reform minded groups (like We Are Church Ireland and the Association of Catholics in Ireland) were invited to send a small number of delegates. But the largest majority by far of delegates were selected by our bishops from the 15% of Catholics actively involved in their church. Those on the margins received token representation.
Yet those on the margins represent the large majority of those who identify as Roman Catholic: While 69% of the population of Ireland identify as Romen Catholic in the census, only some 15% are actively involved in their church.
So while Women Priests were mentioned in the 2022 National Synthesis, they receive no mention in the 2026 Working Document. The Women’s Working Group states: “In respect of diaconal ordination there was a lack of consensus in the group.” So the feeble proposal offered is to “advocate for on-going exploration of women’s ministry, including the diaconate.”
The issue of Women Priests remains a key criteria in the patriarchy. Remember in 2021 when Ger Nash was selected to be the new Bishop of Ferns? He gave an interview in which he said he was in favour of women priests. But within a week he then confirmed to the Irish Catholic that he “absolutely” agrees with rulings by Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis that the Church has no authority to introduce ordination for women.
Many thanks to Colm Holmes for his clear exposition of the shortcomings in the working Document for the Synodal Gathering on October 17th. Those who compiled that Document, clearly chose to omit the topics he names. I sincerely hope that nonetheless participants in the Gathering will not allow these topics to be dropped.
Do those responsible for these omissions not realise that they have gravely undermined the credibility of – and also interest in – whatever may be the outcome of the Gathering? And not only the credibility of the Gathering, but that of the Synodal Process itself?
It is with profound anger & upset that I read your headline. I’m afraid that if my anger does not go into my loving, it will end up in my hating. I actually believe we are going backwards in the institutional church. There has been what I call a veneer of progress. Despite noises to the contrary about women’s equality and in the Catholic LGBT Community, I honestly believe that ‘good’ people and many of my friends are deluding themselves. There is little if any integrity. Honesty is such a lonely word. Until we are honest about our sexualities, there is no hope. We worship by omission or commission the god of lies. Women and gay men in particular are collapsed into this sewer of denial. There will never be true progress until women are treated as equal and women’s sexuality is celebrated in all its incarnational fullness.
Dairne Mc Henry has succinctly stated my view on the upcoming meeting. What is the point of taking part in this white wash?
I think there’s a difference between being listened to and being given authority to redefine Church teaching. As laypeople, our experiences and concerns matter, and bishops should hear them. But if Catholic teaching is true because it comes through Sacred Tradition and the authority Christ gave the Church, then its truth isn’t determined by opinion polls. So if someone believes the Catholic Church is the true Church precisely because of its teaching authority and tradition, I don’t understand why they would expect or want the Church to change foundational teaching. And if those teachings and traditions are ultimately negotiable, then I’m not sure what would distinguish Catholicism from any number of other Christian communities.
As Bernárd reminds us, the lgbt questions were also among those mentioned early on in the synodal process. Pope Leo says such questions are divisive and not as important as the issues of Justice, Equality, and Freedom. But surely it is obvious that the lgbt issues are precisly ones of Justice, Equality, and Freedom? Strolling around Rome this morning, I hear that a major Vatican meeting of heads of episcopal conferences accompanied by lay people will seek to enact the findings of the two synods on Family and the document Amoris Laetitia. I got the impression from one or two people that they hope this will end the confusion caused by Pope Francis’s footnote about communion for the divorced. I fear that synodality will end up as a brilliant construction of Canon Law but one without teeth.
Colm mentions three important issues that have been totally omitted from the Working Document. I feel that, while there is a proposal that mentions LGBT+, it verges on being insulting. The proposal seeks only that we ask the universal church to develop a more respectful and life-giving vocabulary when speaking about LGBT+ people! Nothing short of a development in the teachings of the church, in the light of deeper understandings of the human condition that are constantly being discovered by experts in the various fields of study, is what the Catholic Church needs. It upsets me when people think that any exploration of the continuing validity of current teachings in such light is just malcontents seeking to impose their own will on what is already perfectly formed truth. If such were the case, we’d still believe that the earth was the centre of the universe.
It saddens me greatly to see that sincere, deeply committed Catholics have almost lost all credibility in the Synodal Assembly. I can’t fault them for that – I’m probably only a step or two behind them. I hold on to the fact that a great number of other hard-working, equally committed people have put an enormous amount of work into this process. I can’t give up now. I will continue to try and keep cynicism at bay, and trust that, somehow or other, the voices that are crying out for those issues that have been omitted from the preparatory paperwork to be heard, will be listened to.
Women who are called by the Spirit to ordained ministry are not power-hungry, they seek to serve.
Celibacy/ single status is not essential as a requisite to serve as good and true priests.
Sexuality and gender identity is not a choice or a passing fad, it is part of God’s gift to humanity and needs to be recognised and integrated as such.
Unless and until such issues are openly and honestly explored, all the positive proposals in the Working Document will only be of relevance to the minority of people in the country who are happy with things as they are.
” if Catholic teaching is true because it comes through Sacred Tradition and the authority Christ gave the Church,” — yes, but what of the cases where Catholic teaching was false (as in the infamous magisterial documents against the Jews) or the case where the laity were the bulwark of doctrine when the bishops had wavered (Arianism, cited by Newman)? Stand-offs between bishops and laity, and stonewalling, are not the path to true churchhood.
Thanks to ACP and Colm Holmes of WAC International for once again keeping us abreast of the Working Document for the Irish National Synodal Assembly. It is so disappointing that after all the work that has gone into making recommendations for reforms in our church that the important issues of equality for men and woman, optional celibacy, ordination of married men to the priesthood, ordination for women to the deaconate and priesthood have been dropped from discussion at the Synodal Assembly on 17th October 2026 in Gormanston, County Meath. Is not equality for all the baptised people of God given to us? Jesus’ last words on the cross were ‘It is Accomplished’ – the ‘It’ is Redemption and we are a redeemed People of God. The Risen Lord is incarnate in us and we are incarnate in Christ! What a wondrous blessing, so what is all the arguing and rivalling about? There is a shortage of vocations to the ordained priesthood today with an abundance of holy men and women blocked from fulfilling their divine calling to serve God in the poor and lonely people who have multiple charisms of the Holy Spirit, for whom the doors of the church are closed. Please let us respect each ones dignity and calling.