Women's role in Catholic Church tops agenda as Pope Francis opens second phase of big reform project

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis opened the second phase of his big Catholic reform project Wednesday, with widespread calls for women to take up more positions of responsibility in the church topping the agenda but ordained ministry still ruled out.

Francis presided over an opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square with the 368 bishops and laypeople who will meet behind closed doors for the next three weeks to discuss the future of the church and how to make it more responsive to the needs of Catholics today.

Several of the most contentious issues are officially off the table, after they encountered resistance and objections during the first session of the synod, or meeting, last year. They include ministering to LGBTQ+ Catholics and allowing women to serve as deacons.

Francis has entrusted these topics to 10 study groups that are working in parallel to the synod, raising questions about what exactly will come out of the gathering when it concludes Oct. 26 with a final set of proposals for Francis to consider.

Francis launched the reform process in 2021 to put in practice his goal of creating a church that is more inclusive, humble and welcoming, where ordinary Catholics have a greater say in decision making than the all-male priestly hierarchy.

The process, and the two-year canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics that informed it, sparked both hopes and fears that real change was afoot.

In his marching orders Wednesday, Francis urged delegates to leave aside their long-held and self-interested positions and truly listen to one another to “give life to something new.”

“Otherwise, we will end up locking ourselves into dialogues among the deaf, where participants seek to advance their own causes or agendas without listening to others and, above all, without listening to the voice of the Lord,” he said in his homily.

The first phase of the synod process ended last year by concluding it was “urgent” to guarantee fuller participation by women in church governance positions, and calling for theological and pastoral research to continue about allowing women to be deacons.

Deacons perform many of the same functions as priests, such as presiding over baptisms, weddings and funerals, but they cannot celebrate Mass.

Advocates say allowing women to be deacons would help offset the Catholic priest shortage and address longstanding complaints that women have a second-class status in the church: barred from the priesthood yet responsible for the lion’s share of the work educating the young, caring for the sick and passing the faith onto next generations.

Opponents say ordaining women to the deaconate would signal the start of a slippery slope toward ordaining women to the priesthood. The Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men, saying Christ chose only men as his 12 apostles.

Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed the all-male priesthood and as recently as this weekend sharply criticized “obtuse” agitators pressing for a female diaconate. After a contentious visit to Belgium where he was challenged by female students, Francis said such calls were an attempt to “make women masculine.”

His arguments have outraged proponents of women’s ordination, who have organized a series of events outside the synod this month in Rome to press their case.

“It’s so insulting to keep on saying that the only valid role that will get the approval of this pope is to be nurturing, is to be a mother, while you can be nurturing and mothering and be a priest,” said Miriam Duignan, a trustee at the Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research.

“He is putting a spiritual stamp of approval on sexism,” she said at a prayer event this week co-organized by the Women’s Ordination Conference. “It is so irresponsible and dangerous for him to constantly criticize, belittle, dismiss and demonize women who are just saying ‘Stop lying. Stop hiding and stop trying to relegate us to second-class citizenship.’”

While ordained ministry for women is out of the question, a host of other proposals are being discussed, including calls for women to have greater positions of responsibility in seminaries and sit as judges on canonical courts that decide everything from marriage annulments to priest discipline cases.

There are 368 members of the synod, including 272 bishops and 96 non-bishops. In all, 85 women are participating, including 54 with the right to vote.

In addition to delegates who were selected by their respective bishops conferences, Francis named a few members himself to participate, including two bishops from mainland China, many of his closest cardinal advisers and the exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Jose Alvarez.

Also on the list of pontifically nominated members is the retired prefect of the Vatican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who has been critical of the synod process and Francis’ pontificate as a whole.

In an essay this week on German Catholic site kath.net, Mueller took particular aim at the penitential liturgy that Francis celebrated Tuesday during which he begged forgiveness for a host of sins as a way to atone for the church’s transgressions before the start of the meeting.

Mueller blasted what he called “newly invented sins” -– including sins against the synod itself and the sin “of using doctrine as stones to be hurled,” a reference to how conservatives have criticized Francis’ reform efforts as undermining traditional church doctrine.

Mueller said such a laundry list of invented sins “reads like a checklist of woke and gender ideology, somewhat laboriously disguised as Christianity.”

Non-bishop members named by the pope include the Rev. James Martin, an American Jesuit who runs an LGBTQ+ outreach ministry. Martin has a sympathetic ear in both Francis, who approved same-sex blessings unilaterally after the first session of the synod ended, and the Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, who is one of the “spiritual assistants” for the synod.

In an essay this week in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Radcliffe argued strongly for even doubters in the church to recognize the good in LGBTQ+ Catholics and their relationships, and why the church ought to welcome them.

“The acceptance of gay people is seen in some parts of the church as evidence of Western decadence,” he wrote. “But the church must fight for the lives and dignity of gay people, still liable to capital punishment in 10 countries and criminal prosecution in 70. They have the right to live,” he said.

At the same time, those opposed to a pastoral approach to gays have gifts the Western church should appreciate, including a deep sense of the divine life in all of creation, he said.

“The Body of Christ needs all our gifts,” he concluded.

AP visual journalist Silvia Stellacci contributed to this report.

Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A view of St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis presides over a mass at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A view of St. Peter's Square as Pope Francis presides over a mass at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A bishop uses a smartphone as Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis presides over a mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, for the opening of the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

World shares were mixed on Wednesday, with European benchmarks mostly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared more than 6% while other Asian markets retreated as tensions escalated in the Middle East.

Oil prices extended gains after Iran fired dozens of missiles into Israel, potentially raising the risk of disruptions to supplies. That news overshadowed an upbeat report showing U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in August as the American labor market continued to show resilience.

A debate Tuesday night between vice presidential candidates Democratic Gov. of Minnesota Tim Walz and Republican senator JD Vance likewise drew scant market attention, analysts said.

“The market’s muted reaction says it all — traders are far more focused on pressing economic concerns and geopolitical risks than on the vice presidential showdown,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Germany's DAX edged 0.1% higher to 19,232.74 and the FTSE 100 in London advanced 0.4% to 8,311.82. In Paris, the CAC 40 picked up 0.5% to 7,611.12.

The future for the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.2%.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 2.2% to 37,808.76. It has retreated since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose Shigeru Ishiba to lead the government, replacing Fumio Kishida, who stepped aside on Tuesday. Higher energy prices in Japan, which relies heavily on imported oil, gas and coal to power its industries, would add to Ishiba's burdens as he works to pep up the economy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng roared 6.2% higher to 22,443.73, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm over recent moves by Beijing to rev up the Chinese economy with policies aimed at reviving the ailing property sector and supporting financial markets.

With Shanghai and other markets in China closed, trading crowded into Hong Kong. Hong Kong-traded shares in China Vanke, one of many real estate developers squeezed by a crackdown on borrowing that pushed the industry into a slump, jumped 10%. Longfor Holdings Group rocketed nearly 25% and appliance maker Midea surged 4.2%.

The Hong Kong benchmark is trading at its highest level since early 2023.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,198.20 and the Kospi in Seoul lost 1.2% to 2,561.69.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks retreated from their records, with the S&P 500 dropping 0.9%. The Dow dropped 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.5%.

Israel is not a major producer of oil, but Iran is, and the potential for a wider conflict could affect other, neighboring producers of crude. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose as much as 5% on Tuesday before settling 2.4% higher. Brent crude, the international standard, rallied 2.6%.

Early Wednesday, U.S. crude was up $1.51 at $71.34 per barrel. Brent crude climbed $1.45 to $75.01 per barrel.

The all-time high that the S&P 500 set on Monday was its 43rd of the year so far. Stocks had been jumping on hopes the U.S. economy can continue to grow despite a slowdown in the job market, as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years, and it’s indicated it will deliver more cuts through next year.

The dominant question hanging over Wall Street is whether the cuts will ultimately prove to be too little, too late after the Fed earlier kept rates at a two-decade high in hopes of braking on the economy enough to stamp out high inflation.

A discouraging report arrived Tuesday, showing U.S. manufacturing weakened by more in September than economists expected.

Another threat to the economy could lie in a strike by dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern United States that could snarl supply chains and drive up inflation.

The workers are asking for a labor contract that doesn’t allow automation to take their jobs, among other things. Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact because most retailers have stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.

The dollar was trading at 144.03 yen, up from 143.57 yen late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.077 from $1.1070.

The New York Stock Exchange, right, is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People watch an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)