[ French Original ]
A first question about the new pope-elect is to ask whether we can embody tradition and modernity at the same time...
Immediately, one said to oneself that this was a return to wooden language in the Church in order to spare all sensitivities with the risk of avoiding schism, that all the space would be taken by the traditionalists, but did not the beauty of the rites serve only the elite without clearly stating it? Is not the introduction of the fleur-de-lis in the coat of arms of Leo XIV also likely to reinforce theocratic and monarchical ideology, this is a concern...
Certainly, we can privilege the Way of Love for all, united in Christ. To love the traditional and the progressive at the same time without responding to their hopes, because to love is first and foremost to do justice to the existence of the other. But is loving in itself enough to dodge reforms: such is the challenge of the new pope. Will he protect tradition by immobility to the point of not taking any decision on the place of women in the Church?
Are global geopolitics and diplomacy, so necessary, more important than the 50% of women's humanity that has been a priority topic for many years because they continue to be despised and relegated to menial tasks all over the world?
The current collapse of vocations to the priesthood, of baptisms and of the faith, carried by women, is certainly a response to the impossibility of dodging a reform in favor of women without increasing the crisis of the Church.
The ambition to become a great pope in reference to Leo the Great and Leo XIII, capable of solving the world's problems in favor of peace and the poor, must therefore take into account this crucial question.
Finally, the ideology that is also a prelude to the establishment of any institution, including religious institutions, cannot be a pretext for refusing a dialogue with women: when will there be a synod or a council strictly dedicated to women to find the way to the inclusion of women in the Catholic Church?
Annick Guillou 11/05/2025