Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496720
5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 APRIL 2023 question of if or when? evolving. On various issues the Church keeps failing miserably to be faithful to this living tradition opting instead to perpetuate a dead tradition," he says. Fr Jimmy Bonnici: Context is cru- cial According to Fr Jimmy Bonn- ici the main question facing the church is not whether the debate on these two issues will continue but what shape it will take. "A key shift is already taking place through the listening pro- cess of the current synodal pro- cess," he says. Bonnici welcomes the fact that these issues are no longer dis- cussed in separate echo chambers (be it media, groups of theologi- ans and bishops) but in a conver- sation involving men, women the laity and the clergy. He cites the- ologian Dr Gemma Simmonds who affirms that "change starts when we open ourselves to being changed by what we hear when we listen to one another. And when we have the courage to tell one another the truth." A case in point is precisely "a better recognition of the hopes and aspirations of women". "Embracing these positive de- velopments in society and the Church entails a greater respon- sibility by all in the Church, in- cluding bishops who have a man- date by the Church to teach and lead, to challenge those struc- tures and attitudes that perpet- uate a patriarchal mindset and exclude women from meaningful roles in the life of the Church. The discussion will need to give specific attention to what fosters a more mutual and collaborative relationship." He also puts the debate on priestly celibacy in a context of changing demographic and social realities. "Especially in the West, less people are opting for a lifelong commitment in marriage while many are longing for connection and belonging. Will this mean that society and the Church will discuss commitment and rela- tionships besides married priest- hood?" He also asks whether there should be a fresh look on the spe- cific contribution of celibate love "when priests embrace their frag- ile humanity and offer spaces of disinterested love". But he also refers to other reali- ties like that of "vast regions with few priests like the Amazon", where it is estimated that at least 85% of villages are unable to cele- brate Mass every week as a result of a shortage of priests. In this context Bonnici expects the discussion on whether to ordain married men to remain high on the agenda "because the Eucharist is essential for the Church to be". But given the developments taking place on a wider social and ecclesial level – people's changed relation to territorial parishes, the decrease in the number of priests, active participation of the laity – the debate has to go be- yond a "functionalist approach to a more imaginative one". "What style of leadership and what kind of structures will en- able the Church to avoid the pitfalls of clericalism, promote a more diversified and ministerial Church, and liberate energies for reaching out to others?" he asks. In view of the celebration of Easter he exhorts Christians not to look at the Risen Lord "as a re- suscitation of the past" but as an invitation "to collaborate with the Risen Lord who makes all things new." In this way the Church can remain "faithful to its essential nature while open to express her- self in new ways". A history of celibacy and female ordination Celibacy was not always a re- quirement for Catholic clergy. In the early Church, many priests were married and had families. However, over time, the Church began to place more emphasis on the spiritual purity of its clergy, reinforcing the idea of a separate priestly caste completely dedicat- ed to the church. In the 11th century, the Church officially declared that priests should be celibate, although there were still some exceptions. The Second Lateran Council in 1139 reinforced this rule, stating that priests who were already married should be separated from their wives. But it was not until the Council of Trent in the sixteenth centu- ry-that the rule was strictly en- forced in the face of the protes- tant reformation which rejected clerical celibacy. Even in Malta it was common for priests to have mistresses as amply documented by the late Prof. Godfrey Wettinger in his 'Concubinage among the Clergy of Malta, 1420-1550'. Evidence from notarial archives cited by Wettinger showed "that concubinate clergymen abound- ed in Malta and Gozo during the fifteenth and early sixteenth cen- turies at all levels of the (church) hierarchy" In 1575 Mgr. Pietro Dusina, the Apostolic visitor and inquisitor reported that the parish priest of Birkirkara Dun Giuseppe Bel- lia had two concubines, one of whom lived at Birgu. Dusina de- scribed her as a fat woman 'una grassa' with whom Bellia spent four days of the week to the detri- ment of his parish. But in subsequent centuries, celibacy became a defining char- acteristic of Catholic clergy, al- though there have been some notable exceptions. For example, in the Eastern Catholic Church, priests (but not bishops) are al- lowed to marry. Today, the Catholic Church maintains the requirement of celibacy for most of its clergy, although there have been calls for the Church to reconsider this rule, particularly in light of the shortage of priests in some parts of the world. In October 2019, a synod of 184 bishops from the Amazon region met at the Vatican to discuss the future of the Church in the region. The bishops suggested that older, married men should be allowed to become priests to address the shortage of priests but their call was later rejected by Pope Francis. Just a few weeks ago the Ger- man Synod approved a resolution to ask Pope Francis "to reconsid- er the link between the conferral of ordinations and the obligation to be celibate." The resolution received support from 44 bishops out of 60. Eleven abstained, while only five voted no. While there is evidence of mar- ried priests in the early church no such evidence exists for ordained women although there are refer- ences to women serving in lead- ership roles. The issue of female ordination came to the forefront after sev- eral Protestant denominations started to ordain women in the 1950s and 1960s. In response, some Catholic the- ologians and laypeople began to advocate for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church. In 1976, the Pontifical Biblical Commission issued a report on the question of women in the Church, which stated that there was no biblical or theological reason why women could not be ordained as priests. However, the report was not endorsed by the Vatican and did not lead to any changes in Church teaching. In 1994, Pope John Paul II is- sued an apostolic letter entitled Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, which de- clared that the Church's teaching that only men can be ordained as priests was a matter of "divine law" and could not be changed. This statement officially closed the door on any possibility of fe- male ordination in the Catholic Church. But debate on this issue has picked up in the past decade with the Vatican trying to side- step the issue by opening new po- sitions for women serving in the church. In 2022 Pope Francis appointed three women as members of the Dicastery for Bishops –the body which oversees the selection of new bishops. It was the first time ever that women have been given this role. Women are now being appointed to Vatican positions without even making headlines, cardinals and bishops are openly discussing the question of women's ordination and voices of women are at least being heard Fr Jimmy Bonnici