I attended a conference recently where I was constantly tempted to stand up and say, ‘Excuse me, my name is Mrs Elephant and I am the elephant in this room.’
One of the morning’s discussions had to do with the absolutely egalitarian nature of Trinitarian relationships, of Father, Son, and male Holy Spirit, and the quality of absolute intimacy that prevailed in this three-fold community. I am accustomed to closing down part of my mind as this kind of discourse happens, but on this occasion, I realised with a new certainty that if females are absolutely excluded from this absolutely egalitarian and intimate male relationship then the whole metaphor makes absolutely no sense except as an idolatrous construct. I am, of course, aware of the usual response about metaphorical phrases, but this language is usually used, even by professional theologians, as if it literally denoted three male persons.
I use the word ‘females’ intentionally in the above paragraph. It is perfectly possible to add ‘feminine’ traits to these male characters, thus making them nicer and perhaps more merciful men, but they are still men. On the other hand, it is absolutely impossible – that word again – to interpose a full-blooded female anywhere into this relationship, because females still remain at the furthest remove from the traditional Christian image of God. So the whole system works perfectly as long as women’s persons, voices and contributions are completely ignored.
All the commentaries on the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council studiously avoid the issue of women. In recent interviews, women are the topic on which Pope Francis has least to say, except to indicate that he is fearful of feminists, or ‘female machismo’ as he terms it. It is a wholly male discussion of a male church, with a male conciliar tradition and also a male-dominant renewal. There is an occasional nod towards the generic laity and the ordination of women. The full realisation that this is not going to happen is widely articulated, as also by Pope Francis, and even if it did, it would simply result in women being admitted to the patriarchate in their customary subordinate and invisible role. So women remain as the elephant in the church, even though it is obvious to all that the men’s church is in deep trouble and in danger of lurching back to the safety of the Tridentine Church of the sixteenth century. Even if the Catholic Church lurched back to the sixties and Vatican II, it would still be a woman-free zone in terms of leadership, ministry and theological input. It is well to remember the words of Pope John XXIII, to whom the words ‘blessed’ and ‘beloved’ are customarily added. When, as pope, he described the influences on his priestly life, he remarked that the most important advice came from his bishop, who told him to live ‘as if there were no women in the world’, and that he had studiously followed this advice all his life. It is a true template for church practice then and now. Actually, one might remark that the Catholic Church would do itself a huge favour by ordaining women, because then, as is the case with the male clergy, women would be controlled and subject to obedience and just as fearful as their ordained brothers.
Ordination, however, is not the answer for women. It has absolutely nothing to do with the current situation which reaches far back into the teaching of Christian anthropology. Women cannot be admitted to a priesthood which is a male construct. The priesthood, as we know it, was designed by men, inhabited by men, theologised by men, liturgised by men and experienced by men. It was designed by men, for men. As such it has produced men of great holiness and brilliant pastoral awareness, as well as men who were profligate and utterly unworthy of the positions they occupied.
The situation of contemporary women in a patriarchal hierarchy is completely anomalous. Later chapters will explore the levels of exclusion developed through history in order to keep women in their place at the bottom, but for the moment it is sufficient to say that women are left to live lives of complete ambiguity in the Church. Every document, every biblical text, every liturgical rubric, every papal and episcopal pronouncement, every word from the hierarchy leaves women wondering whether or not they are included. Usually they are not, and if they are, it is usually by a kind of generic implication.
So what are women to do? Sandra Schneiders, professor emerita in the Jesuit School of Theology at the Graduate Theological union in Berkeley, California, once pointed out that the opening words of the American Constitution, ‘all men are created equal …’ included, at the time they were written, only white propertied males. All women and all people of colour and all the poor were explicitly excluded and deemed not to be full human persons. Nevertheless, she remarks, this document gave rise to a thirst for equality as those excluded ones seized the notion and grew to believe that they should be included. Thus the notion of equality expanded gradually to include more and more people in the ‘land of the free’. a similar but not identical situation arises within the Christian church. The Good News has been heard at all levels of the male hierarchical structure. It has enriched and liberated people of all classes, women and men, and opened imaginations to the endless possibilities of freedom before God, following the call of Jesus. The Good News has not led to an expansion of the patriarchy. It has not led to inclusion. it has not led to a respect for the contribution of the poor. Women are still the permanently silenced members of the Roman Catholic Church, nothing they think or say is of interest when it comes to formulating teaching, or revising the public prayer of the Church. But the Good News has penetrated the imaginations of people, and the open horizons offered by Jesus continue to inspire people to move beyond the imposed spiritual and theological restrictions.
This reflection applies entirely to the Roman Catholic Church. It is the church of my childhood, and the Church of my present marginal – by patriarchal intent – participation. I will try to outline some of the steps that women have taken to survive in this institution, and some of the riches they have experienced, as an inheritance from the community of the early women followers of Jesus, as disciples and apostles.
Mary T. Malone’s The Elephant in the Church (Revised Edition) was first published by Columba Books in 2014. This revised edition includes a foreword by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese, as well as an interview with the author Mary T. Malone on what has changed, or not changed, since the first edition of the book.
