I try to imagine what my granddaughters might one day tell their children — how in 2025 their great-grandmother was nominated as papabile, as a candidate for Pope.
Alas, yet again, we watched an all-male conclave of cardinals select one of their own.
Maybe, by 2075, the idea of women in leadership and ministry will be so normal that the exclusion of women will seem absurd — even laughable.
But today, it is no joke.
Root and Branch compiled a striking list of extraordinary women who could easily be considered papabile:
- Sr Joan Chittister (USA),
- Mary McAleese (Ireland),
- Dr Nontando Hadebe (South Africa),
- Christina Reymer (New Zealand), among others.
Yet Root and Branch did so knowing none of these women would ever be considered, let alone allowed into the conclave that elects the Pope.
“Gentile or Jew,
Galatians 3:28–29
slave or free,
woman or man, no more”.
It’s hard to understand why the Church continues to squander the gifts and skills of women.
Mary McAleese once described it as a bird trying to fly with one wing — it goes nowhere, or at best, in circles.
This is more than a denial of human rights. It’s a rejection of women’s full equality as human beings.
Worse still, it is a waste of half the God-given gifts entrusted to humanity; it’s as if we’re throwing those gifts back at God, saying, “Thanks, but no thanks. We’ll do it our way.”
Patriarchy still persists.
It’s time to name it for what it is. It’s sexism, and sexism is a sin.
It’s time for a different kind of leadership — one that welcomes the full spectrum of human gifts and reflects the diversity of the people of God: “Gentile or Jew, slave or free, woman or man, no more” (Galatians 3:28–29).
And maybe, just maybe, then the Church will have a future — one with meaning and relevance beyond this generation.
- Christina Reymer is a member of Be the Change. This group views itself as a safe, supportive, nourishing, and hope-filled space, journeying towards a radical, new, and inclusive model of the Catholic Church that reflects our faithfulness to the Gospel message and God’s wondrous wholeness.