Former Irish PM affirms Pope Francis' encouragement of women in Church

Professor Mary McAleese

The former President of Ireland, Professor Mary McAleese, has affirmed the way in which Pope Francis has been encouraging an increased participation of women in the life of the Church.

Speaking on Saturday, 1 March to around two hundred people who had gathered for the Mary Ward Lecture in Cambridge, which had been organised by the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, she said: “Until Pope Francis we did not have a space in the Church, a forum in which we could speak… Under Francis it is easier and what he seems, to me, to be doing is inviting people into a space that he is creating. Now, if he is doing that, I think we have to take it. That’s the important thing, that we don’t all just stand back cynically, and bring the same old cynicism from before to it. I think we have to acknowledge that Francis has changed things. He’s changed tone, he’s changed the temper, but very importantly he’s raised the issue of developing a new theology for women.”

She added: “We need to take advantage of this moment and use it well. I think we have to take Francis really at face value, that he means what he says, as a frank and very straight talking man… He has learnt from experience. He himself talks about collaboration, and he talks about wanting real collaboration with, not just bishops, but with the entire faithful. I think we take him at his word. I think we bombard this man with letters, just bombard him with our views, because we are being invited to do that now.”

Professor McAleese, a former Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin and now Professor Emerita at Queen’s University Belfast, delivered her address at the Law Faculty of Cambridge University. The theme of her address was ”Women in the Church and Academy”.

The Margaret Beaufort Institute was founded in 1993, with the aim to offer theological education and formation of lay Catholics, and more especially women, for Christian discipleship and ministry. Professor Eilis Ferran, a member of the Law Faculty and Director of the Institute said: “The topic of this year’s Lecture goes to the heart of the mission of the Margaret Beaufort Institute, which exists to provide: transforming experiences for women, pastoral guidance and practice and personal formation. Students come from all over the world to study here and many take up roles in supporting the work of the church in parishes, schools, colleges, hospitals, prisons and beyond. Professor McAleese’s thoughtful and challenging reflections, drawn from her own life experiences, make for a fascinating corpus of material, that could be used in support of ongoing discernment. As Pope Francis affirmed last year, the role of women in the Church is an area of theological reflection that ‘requires assiduousness and perseverance in prayer, as well as reflection on the reality of women within society,’ supported by our Lady.”

Sr Hilary White RLR a current student at the Institute commented: “I found it enormously inspiring to hear about the Professor’s life experiences and her current research interests. I feel really blessed to have the opportunity to study at the Institute and hope my time here will enhance my service of the Church and my future mission.”

The lecture is inspired by the legacy of Mary Ward, a pioneer of active religious life for women and a firm believer in the rights of women in the seventeenth century.

A recording of the Lecture will shortly be available at: www.margaretbeaufort.cam.ac.uk