Michael KellyIt’s an idea worthy of consideration, writes Michael Kelly
Bishop Leo O’Reilly is liaising with other bishops about the setting up of a commission to study the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood as well as appointing female deacons.
It’s an idea worthy of consideration and one that I am sure many Catholics – regardless about whether they support married priests or female deacons – will be in favour of.
Such a commission was established in Brazil last year following a discussion between Pope Francis and Bishop Erwin Krautler, an Austrian-born bishop who heads a sprawling diocese in the Brazilian rain forest.
As Bishop Krautler recounts the meeting, he and the Pope were comparing notes on how the shortage of priests affects the Church. Bishop Krautler’s diocese has just 27 priests for 700,000 Catholics – that’s about one priest for every 26,000 people. In reality, most Catholics in the diocese only have the opportunity to attend Mass a few times a year.
Bishop Krautler takes up the story: “The Pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be corajudos, that is ‘courageous’ in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions.”
Consensus
The Pope, Bishop Krautler claims, wanted national bishops’ conferences to “seek and find consensus on reform and we should then bring up our suggestions for reform in Rome…it was up to the bishops to make suggestions, the Pope said again.”
Now, Bishop O’Reilly – in response to the new pastoral plan for the Diocese of Kilmore – has pledged to liaise with his fellow bishops on the issue.
The Church in Ireland has often been slow to embrace discussions about Church life. Where discussions have taken place, people have too often adopted ideological stances and turned what could be a debate in to a battle to hammer those who demur or raise questions. I’ve attended meetings across the spectrum in the Church in Ireland where self-described liberals shout down those they view as not liberal enough. Similarly, I’ve been at meetings where self-described conservatives hiss and boo at those they perceive as not holding the Church’s line on a particular issue.
Irish Catholics need to become better at listening – and that means listening to voices one may disagree with. Unfortunately, often when people speak of a ‘listening Church’ they mean that everyone ought to listen to them, whereas, the heart of Christian discipleship is listening together attentively to the Word of God and where the Holy Spirit is leading us.
On the face of it, a discussion about whether or not it is a good idea to ordain married men shouldn’t be controversial. We already have married former Protestant ministers who have embraced Catholicism and been ordained as priests. There’s also the fact that everyone is in agreement that mandatory celibacy is a matter of law and tradition, not doctrine or dogma.
The issue of female deacons is more complex. Currently, the Church permits only men to be ordained as deacons. Permanent deacons can preach and preside at baptisms, funerals and weddings, but may not celebrate Mass or hear confessions.
Some historians say women deacons existed as a special category in the early Church. However, a 2002 study by the International Theological Commission concluded that the role of female deacons in the early Church cannot be considered equivalent to that of ordained male deacons. It also concluded that the permanent diaconate belongs to the sacrament of orders – which the Church believes is limited to men alone.
The International Theological Commission called for discernment on the issue. And discernment – as well as prayer – involves debate, discussion and scholarship. So the conversation continues and Ireland should play an active role in that conversation.