Letter: What Are We Waiting For?

New Hall School

It was a delight to be present at The Tablet/New Hall School Festival 2026 at Chelmsford last weekend.

This two day Catholic festival brought together people from the UK and beyond to pray, reflect and act for justice, peace and human dignity. The event was informative, uplifting, challenging, sad, prophetic, hopeful and encouraging.

In dealing with Human Dignity, we focused on the role of Women in the Church; what militates against women playing a serious role in Church leadership and basically, why women are treated as second-class citizens in the Church?

Professor Tina Beattie, Theologian, writer and former Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Roehampton gave the opening address. She spoke of the Gospel in Public Life: Catholic Social Teaching in contemporary society; what does it mean to be human; discovering God in all things. A panel of six very active members on Social Justice gave their input on the topic.

In the afternoon there were a series of workshops on practical actions and how we could participate as Church members;
Catholic Social Teaching; Peace and Reconciliation; Economic Justice; Synodality and Participation; Survivor Justice; Pax Christi; and International Church Voices.

Building on the themes of justice, participation and human dignity explored on Day one, Day two considered Women, Leadership and the Future of Ministry.

How does the question of women's ordination sit within the Church's mission and development?

Miriam Duignan, Executive Director, Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research spoke on the contribution made by women in the Church but with little recognition. She told us of the pink smoke over the Vatican at the time of the last Conclave; how she studied alongside seminarians and yet no possibility of Ordination. She helped us unravel some of the myths and rulings which do not allow for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church.

Do I hear some tut tutting? If so, we all need to examine the threadbare arguments, assumptions, mis-information that abounds. While we're at it, we can look Jesus's ministry and how he treated and respected women; texts from St Paul like Gal 3,27-28; attitudes from St.Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and parts of the Old Testament to begin with.

Take a peek at the Code of Canon Law -Can. 1752. I claim it doesn't refer only to the transfer of parish priests, but to all of Canon Law..... "always observing canonical equity and keeping in mind the salvation of souls, which in the Church must always be the supreme law".

With all that done, we can have a sensible debate.

Meanwhile Catholics are deprived of the greatest gift we have in the Catholic Church, the Eucharist, because we have less and less male priests.

As indicated at the Festival: What are we waiting for? Why, in God's name, are we not ordaining women?

Father Joe Ryan