Dear Pope Leo & Members of the Dicastery,

It is with great disappointment that we read that the Vatican has once again denied women and lay people full equality, as gifted to us by virtue of our Baptism, by excluding us from giving sermons at a Catholic Mass.

A fundamental principle of becoming a synodal church, as discerned by the Synod on Synodality, is the primacy of Baptism, and equality of us all. Encapsulated in this principle is the belief that the Spirit speaks to and through us all, and therefore, it behoves us as church, to be listening to all, “todos todos, todos”, not just to the ordained.

There are many lay people qualified in theology and biblical studies who also have extensive pastoral experience, all of which gives them the ability to break open the word for their communities. Also, given the difference in life styles, lay people are closer to the reality and challenges of the lives of communities than their celibate clergy.

The feast day of Mary Magdalene, Apostle of the Apostles, and the first to witness Christ’s resurrection, is coming up. It took centuries before she was finally recognised for who she really was. We shudder to think that her witness could not have been proclaimed in this day and age, just because she is a woman! We urge you to open your hearts and minds to the voice of the Spirit as proclaimed by the 99% of the faithful who are not ordained, to go as Christ did to the margins and hear the voice of the voiceless, the marginalized.

In the Spirit of Synodality,

Yours sincerely,
Christina Reymer
Fiona McLean
Jo Ayers
Louise Shanly
Mary Thorne
And members of Be The Change, Catholic Church, Aotearoa

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Website: https://bethechangecatholicchurchaotearoa.wordpress.com/

Sent to:

Pope Leo XIV
Secretariat Of The Pope
00120
Vatican City

Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Members
Level 1
Piazza Pio XII 10
00120
Vatican City