Pope Francis opens up Ministries of Lector and Acolyte to women. Closing the Stable Door after the Horse has Bolted

Table of content

1. Introduction

2. A Potted History of the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte

3. How much did Pope Francis Modify Canon 230 §1?

4. Why this Decision is Significant

5. There will always be Naysayers

6. Conclusion

7. References

1. Introduction

According to the Lexico Online Dictionary, the idiom “to close the stable door after the horse has bolted” has the popular meaning of trying “to avoid or prevent something undesirable when it is already too late to do so.” This idiom is an apt description of the reaction of the Catholic right of centre, such as Peter Stravinskas, Carlo Maria Viganò, Peter Kwasniewski mentioned below, to the news that “With a Motu proprio [of his own accord] released on Monday [11 January 2021], Pope Francis established that henceforth “the ministries of Lector and Acolyte are to be open to women, in a stable and institutionalised form through a specific mandate.”ⁱ The only silver lining is that the left of centre is not talking about preventing “something undesirable when it is already too late to do so.” In fact, as far as they are concerned, the door has just opened some more, if not yanked from its hinges, unless you are a Benedict XVI or a Robert Sarah. It is the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, especially of the Benedict XVI and John Paul II ilk, assisted by the Vatican deep state and Vatican Lavender Mafia as well as people like Carlo Maria Viganò, Peter Stravinskas and Peter Kwasniewski who have behaved as if the ordination of married men and admission of women to holy orders would spell Armageddon or doomsday.

Before we take out our harps, drums and tambourines and intone the Psalmist’s chorus “Alleluia,” let us take a quick reality check. That stable door was stormed open already in 1965 by the tsunami otherwise known as Vatican II. Some would go further. It was breached by an almost octogenarian Pope John XXIII, who, on 25 January 1959, as John Paul II acknowledged, “initiated the revision of the Code.”ⁱⁱ The decision to officially allow women to be lectors and acolytes is 62 years too late. But something revolutionary happened with this Johnny-come-lately pontifical decision. We are talking about no less than the revision of the Code of Canon Law. This was achieved without a commission or a Synod. As the title of the Motu Proprio, Spiritus Domini announces, “Apostolic Letter issued ‘ Motu Proprio ’ Spiritus Domini by the Supreme Pontiff Francis Modifying Canon 230 §1 of the Code of Canon Law Regarding Access of Women to the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte.”ⁱⁱⁱ Casual readers can be forgiven for missing to read the breaking news tea leaves. This article is an attempt to do just that. Put differently, for those open to the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, this is nothing short of a welcome dog whistle.

The breaking news on 11 January 2021 was not “Access of Women to the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte” but “Modifying Canon 230 §1 of the Code of Canon Law” (Spiritus Domini 2021). This article explores why this is significant and whether ultimately it could lead to the full Monty of the ordination of women to the Catholic diaconate, presbyterate and episcopate. Sylvester Mubengwa, a friend of mine and a former priest like me thought so. Two days after the news, he telephoned me, asking “Do you think Pope Francis is opening the door to the ordination of women?” I told him about the dog whistle — one used to train dogs, with a very high sound that humans cannot hear — and we both laughed and agreed that the modification of Canon 230 §1 may be destined towards that end. But I am not going to allow myself to get too excited about the prospect. For me, the ordination of women can’t come too soon as I have argued in “Female Ordination in the Catholic Church: The Peeing While Standing Hypothesis” (2021: forthcoming). With the new Papal modification of Canon 230 §1, canonical legislation which has a bearing on gender, has now caught up with what has been everyday practice in many parts of the Catholic Church. Some can be forgiven for wondering what the big deal is. This is the case, especially in so-called outstations in mission territories where it is pretty much run of the mill stuff for a parish priest of an urban parish to have as many as 30 outstations. In some of these outstations, the prayer leader or Catechist, male or female, can cycle up to 30 kilometres ferrying consecrated hosts on two wheels for the following Sunday. What is still lacking in some of these outstations is full female access to the ministry of Acolyte, which thanks to Spiritus Domini, is now par for the course from now onwards.

Although coming 62 years after the decision to renew the Code of Canon Law by Pope John XXIII, the recent decision by Pope Francis to modify the Code of Canon Law regarding female access to the ministries of lector and acolyte is a significant step — nothing short of a dog whistle — in Bergoglian reforms allowing women to access what Sacrosanctum Concilium described as “that fully conscious and active participation” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 1963: par 14) of the people of God in the evangelising mission of the Church. It was a pity that when Pope Francis had the opportunity to rule on married priests and women deacons in the context of the Amazonian Synod, he buckled at the knees and completely side-lined the two critical issues, thanks in large measure to Benedict XVI and Robert Sarah’s passive-aggressive publication From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church (2020). With Spiritus Domini, Pope Francis may be making amends. In an interview for La Civiltà Cattolica, Pope Francis revealed his “real” reasons why he “rejected” the proposal by the Amazonian Synod to ordain married men and women deacons. It sounded like a man ruing his decision and trying to walk it back, ever so slowly.

Facendo riferimento al Sinodo per l’Amazzonia, riguardo all’ordinazione sacerdotale di viri probati, Francesco scrive: « C’è stata una discussione … una discussione ricca … una discussione ben fondata, ma nessun discernimento, che è qualcosa di diverso dall’arrivare a un buono e giustificato consenso o a maggioranze relative ». E prosegue: « Dobbiamo capire che il Sinodo è più di un Parlamento; e in questo caso specifico non poteva sfuggire a questa dinamica. Su questo argomento è stato un Parlamento ricco, produttivo e persino necessario; ma non più di questo. Per me questo è stato decisivo nel discernimento finale, quando ho pensato a come fare l’Esortazione.»

Referring to the Synod for the Amazon, regarding the priestly ordination of viri probati, Francis writes: “There was a discussion ... a rich discussion ... a well-founded discussion, but no discernment, which is something more than arriving at a good and justified consent or relative majorities.” And he continues: “We must understand that the Synod is more than a Parliament; and in this specific case it could not escape this dynamic. On this subject it was a rich, productive and even necessary Parliament; but not more than that. For me this was decisive in the final discernment, when I thought about how to do the Exhortation [ Querida Amazonia ].”^iv

As to whether the Pope can modify Canon Law, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Cathy Caridi, an American Canon Lawyer has the following answer, “Making changes to the Code of Canon Law is an uncommon event, but it certainly does happen! Sometimes a Pope may wish to resolve an ambiguity; other times he might want to change a law that has proven to be problematic. Regardless of his reasons for changing the code, the new laws are always made public, together with an explanation as to why the Pope feels they are necessary.”^v Think of it, the first codification of Canon Law came in 1917. It was not until 42 years that John XIII decided this monument needed bringing back into the twentieth century. Even then, it was another 24 years that this was realised by John Paul II.

In the few days after I posted on Facebook the Vatican News report^vi on Pope Francis’ decision to tinker with Canon Law, I have received very little feedback — a small barometer of interest in the news or lack thereof. My former Vice Principal at St Mary’s University, Mary Eaton, to whom I am forever indebted for facilitating research funding for my doctoral research^vii responded with a like. My erstwhile Colleague from the same university, Kevin Cook breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness for common sense,” he wrote in reply to my Facebook post (Facebook, 12 January 2021). My conclusion is that either you are passionate about this or you are not. There seems to be no in-betweeners. My impression is that, apart from Media houses accredited to the Vatican and Catholic newspapers or giants like BBC News, New York Times, this did not catch fire and may already be yesterday’s news or yesterday’s dinner and a symptom of Catholic women’s ordination fatigue. Maybe I am just too theologically combustible.

There are at least four reactions to Spiritus Domini. First, the full-glass enthusiasts for whom this decision is the biggest of Pope Francis’ pontificate. Second, the empty-glass nihilists who see the decision as meaningless, a nothingburger, as the Americans would say. Third, the glass half-empty sceptics whose reaction is “too little too late.” Fourth, the glass half-full optimists whose mantra is “better late than never” or “give me an inch and I will take a mile.” I am in the latter camp. This article argues why. But first, a bit of historical context.

2. A Potted History of the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte

Lay ministries — once known as minor orders — of lector and acolyte were established by Pope Paul VI in 1972 with the apostolic letter “Ministeria Quaedam.”^viii They were to be given to all candidates destined for Holy Orders after the abolition of the other two minor orders of exorcist and porter. The 1983 Code of Canon Law promulgated on 25 January 1983 by Pope John Paul II opened up the ministries of lector and acolyte to laymen not necessarily destined for holy orders. But in practice, these ministries have been open to women as well, just not officially. Later, there was an attempt to avoid this confusion by referring to lay lectors as readers and lay acolytes as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and were not de facto transferable or permanent. This was compounded by the reference to altar servers as acolytes — first boys only and later girls — whose ministry was anything but transferable and permanent. My son gave up being acolyte because it was no longer cool at his age — fourteen going fifteen. As a follow-up to Pope Paul VI’s Ministeria Quaedam, the 1983 Code of Canon Law decreed that “Lay men who possess the age and qualifications established by decree of the conference of bishops can be admitted on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite to the ministries of lector and acolyte” (Canon 230 §1). At that time, I had already received the two ministries with the diaconate to boot and was waiting for the gold medal of ordination to the priesthood in August that year. Just in case there was any confusion with the lector or acolyte destined for Holy Orders, the Code of Canon Law introduced caveat emptor, “Nevertheless, the conferral of these ministries does not grant them the right to obtain support or remuneration from the Church.” In my case, in a twist of irony, after I had been laicised in 2002, my UK parish priest appointed me as lay lector and acolyte, complete with a ceremony and for my sins I was asked to train my new fellow lectors and acolytes. Quite an achievement right smack in the middle of the United Kingdom. The only question from my tutees was where I got all this knowledge which was the preserve of ordained priests.

My former theology classmate from the Maynooth University class of 1981, Professor Tom O’Loughlin rightly factors into this history a 1955 decree. “Since the 1955 decree on the reform of Holy Week (Liturgicus Hebdomadae Sanctae Ordo instauratur), down to our own, there has been one constant theme: to enable the whole People of God to have ownership of the liturgy, to take part in the liturgy as their vocation and to see themselves as ministers within the Church.” Tom O’Loughlin concludes that Spiritus Domini is “a nail in the coffin of clericalism.”^ix

With the 1983 Code of Canon Law, a man could thus be instituted lector without necessarily aspiring to become an acolyte or the major orders. But it does not appear that one may become an acolyte without first becoming a lector. An often-forgotten canon is 1035 which says that “Before anyone is promoted to the permanent or transitional diaconate, he is required to have received the ministries of lector and acolyte and to have exercised them for a suitable period of time” (Canon 1035 §1). The important point is the reservation of the permanent or transitional diaconate to men. The transitional diaconate’s reservation to men was understandable but not the permanent. We know that women were ordained to the permanent diaconate, at least according to canon 15 of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, “A woman shall not receive the laying on of hands [ordination] as a deaconess under forty years of age, and then only after searching examination. And if, after she has had hands laid on her and has continued for a time to minister, she shall despise the grace of God and give herself in marriage, she shall be anathematised and the man united to her.^x The permanent diaconate for women is too close to the presbyterate to be opened up to women, even for the reforming — or as his detractors would describe him, iconoclastic — Pope Francis. On women deacons, Pope Francis appears open to it. I think he is just not sure the rest of the hierarchy are singing from the same hymn book as he is on this. Some, like, Robert Sarah, the Pope already suspects that they are singing not only from a different hymn book but also in a different language and tune and therefore cannot count on them. This is compounded by an almost centenarian emeritus Pope within howling distance.

3. How much did Pope Francis Modify Canon 230 §1?

It all depends on who you ask. Not much, the left of centre would say. Too much, the right of centre would retort. I am not going to get caught up in answering that question. I would rather ask: how significant is this modification, whether small or big? And my answer is, quite significant. I attempt an answer to this question in the next section. For now, I want to let Pope Francis speak for himself. He begins by laying the theological ground for the decision.

Accepting these recommendations, a doctrinal development has taken place in recent years which has highlighted how certain ministries instituted by the Church are based on the common condition of being baptised and the regal priesthood received in the Sacrament of Baptism; they are essentially distinct from the ordained ministry received in the Sacrament of Orders. A consolidated practice in the Latin Church has also confirmed, in fact, that these lay ministries, since they are based on the Sacrament of Baptism, may be entrusted to all suitable faithful, whether male or female, in accordance with what is already implicitly provided for by Canon 230 § 2 (Spiritus Domini 2021).

I am not sure about the Pope’s “essentially distinct from the ordained ministry received in the Sacrament of Orders” spiel. It is typically Thomistic ontological change malarkey that comes with the sacrament of Holy Orders. This language has been responsible for male-gendered clericalism and patriarchy, the two-headed monster, which ironically the Pope wants to kill. On that score, Pope Francis is still swimming in the same Thomistic sacramental swamp as his predecessors. He is careful not to upset them. They seem to believe that they have the nuclear option to impeach him. Two of them are within shouting distance, the ex-Pontiff and his African megaphone, Cardinal Robert Sarah, as I have mentioned. But what Pope Francis says next is the real breaking news. I suspect it involves changing only one word: “men” to “persons.” I am also not sure or even agree that “a doctrinal development has taken place in recent years.” That doctrinal development took place already 56 years ago. I think it is a matter of theology or more like it, Canon Law catching up with practice in many Catholic dioceses where men and women are already serving as lectors and acolytes. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. We are looking at a permanent assignment and one that is transferable to boot. Who knows, should the call for married priests and women priests attract more fire power, we would already have candidates galore to draw who will be only two steps away. In practice only one step away if the diaconate is the decisive entry into the triumvirate of the holy orders of deacon, priest and bishop.

Consequently, after having heard the opinion of the competent Dicasteries, I have decided to modify canon 230 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law. I therefore decree that canon 230 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law shall in future have the following wording: “Lay persons of suitable age and with the gifts determined by decree of the Episcopal Conference may be permanently assigned, by means of the established liturgical rite, to the ministries of lectors and acolytes; however, the conferment of such a role does not entitle them to support or remuneration from the Church” (Spiritus Domini 2021).

Here is a comparison in table form between the 1983 (Pope John Paul II) and 2021 (Pope Francis) forms of Canon 230 § 1. I have italicised the difference in language, the major one being the semantic shift from “Lay men” to “Lay persons.”

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Effectively, what has happened is that the Pope has changed the first clause of canon 230 § 1 from reading “lay men” to “lay persons,” specifying that they can perform “the ministries of lector and acolyte” permanently in Catholic services such as holy communion services without priests. What this means, and in many places is already the practice, a lector in the Catholic Church can lead prayers and read biblical texts such as psalms, first and second reading, even Gospel during services of the word, but Gospel readings are still reserved to the priest or deacon at Mass. An acolyte may assist the priest or deacon at the altar and may distribute the consecrated species of bread and wine during Mass, purify the chalice, paten and ciborium, reserve the eucharist in the tabernacle, take holy communion to the sick and expose the holy eucharist during adoration but not give the final blessing. The latter is the unique prerogative of the priest and deacon or bishop, when he is available as a bonus. What I find a novelty is that the ministry of lector or acolyte can be permanent and transferable. My understanding previously, rightly or wrongly was that the ministries of reader and extraordinary minister of the eucharist were not necessarily transferable or even permanent, at least in practice. Now it appears they can be both. Small steps but well worth writing home about. As Tom O’Loughlin rightly points out in an article for La Croix International, “‘ Spiritus Domini ’ is the latest moment in a long-term process to de-clericalize the Catholic Church.”^xi

4. Why this Decision is Significant

The announcement of this breaking news needed to be accompanied by a reality check of sorts. “There is nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers. In many communities throughout the world these practices are already authorised by local bishops.”^xii But in the very next paragraph, Vatican News puts the decision into magisterial and historical context. “However, up to this point, this has occurred without a true and proper institutional mandate, as an exception to what Pope St Paul VI had established when, in 1972,^xiii even while abolishing the so-called ‘minor orders,’ he decided to maintain that access to these ministries be granted only to men because both were considered to be preparatory to the eventual admission to holy orders.”^xiv

Now, there-in lies the significance of the decision. The decision to amend Canon 230 §1 is a positive dog whistle to all lobby groups advocating for the ordination of women such as the Women’s Ordination Council. It was like opening a frozen fizzy drink. You do not do it in one fell swoop. Easy does it. If you were thinking of allowing women to be admitted to holy orders, the plan is to go easy. First, get rid of the obstacles. In our case, there are two: male-gendered clericalism and patriarchy. The idea is to avoid going gung-ho by removing the gender bias in lower ministries shared by those destined for the priesthood. The next step is surely the permanent diaconate dropping the gender-bias. As my friend Sylvester Mubengwa, who as Chancellor of the archdiocese of Lusaka during the removal of archbishop Emmanuel Milingo in 1982, now says of Spiritus Domini, “I think that Pope Francis is starting to fine tune subtly a clear possibility of eventual admission of ‘stable’ women to major orders of the diaconate and the ministerial priesthood. Why not? Indeed, let common sense prevail at long last” (Facebook, 14 January 2021). I am sure Sylvester Mubengwa is also aware how uncommon common sense is in an institution as male-gendered and patriarchal as the Catholic Church. He also knows how from first-hand experience how slow the wheels of change turn in the Catholic Church and that there is still a huge chasm — analogous to the chasm separating Dives and Lazarus (cf. Luke 16. 19‒31) — separating Canon 230 and Canon 1024. And just a quick reminder of the two canons, the first of which has just been amended (Canon 230 §1). Perhaps or ultimately, the end game will be the amendment of Canon 1024.

Can. 230 §1. Lay persons [originally: Laymen] who possess the age and qualifications established by decree of the Conference of bishops can be admitted on a stable basis through the prescribed liturgical rite to the ministries of lector and acolyte. Nevertheless, the conferral of these ministries does not grant them the right to obtain support or remuneration from the Church. §2. Lay persons can fulfil the function of lector in liturgical actions by temporary designation. All lay persons can also perform the functions of commentator or cantor, or other functions, according to the norm of law.

[...]

ⁱ Vatican News (11 January 2021), “Pope Francis: Ministries of lector and acolyte to be open to women,” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-01/pope-francis-opens-ministries-lector-acolyte-women.html (Accessed on 12.01.2021)

ⁱⁱ Pope John Paul II (25 January 1983), “Apostolic Constitution Sacrae Disciplinae Leges of the Supreme Pontiff Pope John Paul II for the Promulgation of the New Code of Canon Law,” http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_25011983_sacrae-disciplinae-leges.html (Accessed on 14.01.2021)

ⁱⁱⁱ Pope Francis (11 January 2021), “Apostolic Letter issued ‘ Motu Proprio ’ Spiritus Domini by the Supreme Pontiff Francis Modifying Canon 230 §1 of The Code of Canon Law Regarding Access of Women to the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte,” http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/papa-francesco-motu-proprio-20210110_spiritus-domini.html

^iv Antonio Spadaro (5 September 2020), “Il Governo di Francesco: È ancora attiva la spinta propulsiva del pontificato ?” La Civiltà Cattolica, https://www.laciviltacattolica.it/articolo/il-governo-di-francesco/ (Accessed on 23.01.2021)

^v Cathy Caridi (1 October 2015), “How often does the Pope change Canon Law?” Canon Law Made Easy, https://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2015/10/01/how-often-pope-change-canon-law/ (Accessed on 15.01.2021)

^vi Vatican News (11 January 2021), “Pope Francis: Ministries of lector and acolyte to be open to women,” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-01/pope-francis-opens-ministries-lector-acolyte-women.html (Accessed on 12.01.2021)

^vii Tarcisius Mukuka (2014), Orality as Casualty: Contextual and Postcolonial Analysis of Biblical Hermeneutics in Bembaland, Guildford: University of Surrey [PhD thesis] (ISNI: 0000 0004 5924 2901), https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.682550 (Accessed on 14.01.2021)

^viii Pope Paul VI (1972), Ministeria Quaedam, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ministeria-quaedam-9006 Accessed on (12.01.2021)

^ix Tom O’Loughlin (21 January 2021), “The larger dimension of the Pope’s new document on women and ministry,” La Croix International, https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/the-larger-dimension-of-the-popes-new-document-on-women-and-ministry/13651 (Accessed on 21.01.2021)

^x Early Church Texts, “The Canons of the Council of Chalcedon (451) — the original Greek text with English Translation and Latin version,” https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/chalcedon_canons.htm(Accessed on 27.12.2020)

^xi Tom O’Loughlin (21 January 2021), “The larger dimension of the Pope’s new document on women and ministry,” La Croix International, https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/the-larger-dimension-of-the-popes-new-document-on-women-and-ministry/13651 (Accessed on 21.01.2021)

^xii Vatican News (11 January 2021), “Pope Francis: Ministries of lector and acolyte to be open to women,” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-01/pope-francis-opens-ministries-lector-acolyte-women.html (Accessed on 12.01.2021)

^xiii Pope Paul VI (1972), Ministeria Quaedam, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/ministeria-quaedam-9006 Accessed on (12.01.2021)

^xiv Vatican News (11 January 2021), “Pope Francis: Ministries of lector and acolyte to be open to women,” https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-01/pope-francis-opens-ministries-lector-acolyte-women.html (Accessed on 12.01.2021)