‘Sick of it’: Catholic women vent frustration over
sex, power and abuse
By
Jordan Baker
March 6, 2023 — 5.00am
Key
points
A new study about to be presented to the Vatican is the
largest-ever to study the views of Catholic women.The study says that 69 per cent of females think women
should be eligible for the priesthood, while 72 per cent said remarriage
after divorce should be allowed.Pope Francis has opened the door to women deacons and
more say in church governance but has ruled out ordaining them to the
priesthood.
The largest study of Catholic women
in the church’s 2000-year history has found they are hungry for reform. They
resent their lack of decision-making power, want to follow their consciences on
sex and contraception, and think the church should be more inclusive of the
diverse and the divorced.
Australian researchers led the
global study, to be presented at the Vatican on International Women’s Day,
which also found women want to be allowed to preach, dislike priests promoting
political agendas, and are concerned about a lack of transparency in church
governance.
Theologian and sociologist of
religion at the University of Newcastle Tracy McEwan co-authored the study,
which surveyed 17,200 women from 14 countries.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
“There was this underlying sense of
hurt, and certainly this feeling of being voiceless and ignored,” said
co-author Tracy McEwan, a theologian and sociologist of religion at the
University of Newcastle. “These are not women on the edge. These are women in
the church. Being Catholic is important to them, and they are struggling.”
The study, which surveyed 17,200
women from 140 countries, comes as Pope Francis leads the church in a
discussion about whether women should have a greater role in its governance and
ceremonies. He has ruled out female priests, but the deaconate – someone who
assists priests during mass and can preach the homily – is a possibility.
McEwan will present the findings to
female ambassadors to the Holy See on Wednesday. They will include Australia’s
representative, Chiara Porro, who helped organise the presentation. The first
woman ever to be allowed to vote with the Vatican’s synod of bishops, Xaviere
sister Nathalie Becquart, has also been briefed on the research.
The survey results show 84 per cent
of women supported reform in the church, and two-thirds wanted radical reform.
Almost three in 10 said there would be no place for them without it. There was
significant concern about abuses of power and spiritual harm, particularly by
male clerics. “I cling on to the church by my fingernails,” said one
respondent.
Almost eight in 10 agreed women
should be fully included at all levels of church leadership, and more than
three-quarters agreed that women should be able to give the homily, a
commentary on the gospel during services. Two-thirds said women should be
eligible for the priesthood. “I’m ashamed of my church when I see only men in
procession,” said one respondent.
More than four in five said LGBTQ
people should be included in all activities, and just over half strongly agreed
same-sex couples were entitled to a religious marriage. Seven in 10 said
remarriage should be allowed after civil divorce, and three-quarters agreed
that women should have freedom of conscience on their sexual and reproductive
decisions.
Some respondents pointed out that
they do much of the work in the church, but get no recognition or say. “If
every woman in every parish stopped cleaning, cooking, dusting, typing,
directing ... for just one week, every parish would have to close,” said one.
“Yet, why do women have so little real power?”
Co-author Kathleen McPhillips, a
sociologist at the University of Newcastle, said she was surprised at the
enthusiasm with which women embraced the survey. “What it showed is they’re
really sick of it,” she said. “They want to be there, but they’re sick of not
being able to contribute. In their secular lives, they can do so much more.
Study co-author Kathleen McPhillips,
a sociologist at the University of Newcastle, said she was surprised at the
enthusiasm with which women embraced the survey.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
“It’s still the largest religion in
the world. It’s hugely important we understand it. The church itself hasn’t
been interested in studying its own population.”
The results varied between
countries. Australia was more conservative than the global average on some of
the indicators; 74 per cent of women said they wanted reform, compared with the
global average of 84. Appetite for change was strongest in the Catholic
strongholds of Ireland and Spain, as well as Germany.
But the tension has been evident in
the Australian church and boiled over at a historic plenary council meeting
last year, at which bishops failed to pass two motions aimed at empowering
women in the church. About 60 delegates staged a silent protest. The motions
were re-worded and passed.
Younger women were also more
conservative than older ones, with the 18- to 25-year-old age group least
likely to want reform, according to the survey, and the over 70-year-olds most
likely. The eldest women were also more likely to support same-sex marriage and
the homily being preached by women.
Pope Francis has ruled out female
priests.Credit:AFP
But even among conservative women,
there was concern about having their contribution respected. “They were
articulating the idea that you want women to be a certain way, that’s OK, but
give us our due, give us our voice,” said McEwan.
The church is a hierarchical
patriarchy, but McEwan hopes the results will get through to those who will
ultimately make the decisions. “I’m hoping that presenting this major report to
the women ambassadors and to the more senior women in the Vatican will have an
impact, and it will feed through,” she said.