The Catholic Church is bedeviled by gender…the female gender. Church men who claim to have a privileged understanding of the mind of God take serious pains about what women can be and do. Mostly things they can’t and won’t do. Obstat sexus: “her gender hinders her”. It is omnipresent and overrides Christ’s great commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.”

Three years ago the worldwide Catholic Church began what it calls a synodal journey, described as the largest ever consultative process, involving, at least in theory, every church member. This led to two meetings in Rome, one last year and the last last weekend.

A 520-page document was the fruit of this process. Each of the 155 paragraphs was voted on by members, mostly bishops, but also some “non-bishops,” including 14 percent of women. Women waged long and difficult campaigns to get this small number of votes.

In September’s obituary of American Sr. Teresa Kane, she was killed in World War II in 1979. He recalled how he made world news when he publicly pleaded with John Paul: “The Church, in its struggle to remain faithful to the call to respect and dignity for all people, must respond.” By providing the opportunity for women to be included as individuals in all ministries in our church.” Not only did this fall on deaf ears, but the closed doors were locked even tighter, and woe to those who dared to raise this issue.

Throughout his papacy, Pope Francis has reaffirmed: “This door is closed.” Not just to the priesthood. When asked if a young girl could dream of becoming a deacon, her short answer was “No.”

Therefore, it is hardly news that the 2024 Synodal Document states: “By baptism, men and women have equal dignity as members of the People of God. But women continue to face obstacles to better recognition of their charisma, vocation, and role in various areas of Church life. This is to the detriment of serving the common mission of the Church.”

The issue of the generally second-class status of women and their appointment to deacons and priests was raised in earlier consultation stages in many countries, including Ireland, but was filtered out. Any mention of female priests was carefully removed. Out of sight, out of mind.

Female deacons will continue to be examined “forever” by the Vatican commission. This is the 4th and second commission under Pope Francis; The first, established in 2016, never published its findings, and this one, established in 2020, still has not produced an interim report. There is no need to rush, because in any case the female diaconate is considered “immature”.

Women are half the church, but they end up becoming a category, a problem, a problem in a patriarchal institution where misogyny is ingrained.

In fact, this women’s issue was deemed too controversial to be tabled at last month’s synodal meeting. Pope Francis has entrusted this to the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), which will report next June, if possible.

The DDF is an all-male clerical body consisting of 28 advisors, most of whom are Italian priest-theologians and six women. They study female saints, mystics, church doctors. Dead women, who are safely considered sacred, are easier to deal with than living ones, especially those whose occupation is deemed impossible because “their gender precludes it.”

It does not matter whether a person has the same mind as Christ Jesus; the person must be of the same gender.

Coinciding with the opening of the Synod last month, Pope Francis published a book on women: Sei Unica (You are unique), subtitled: A Hymn to Feminine Genius. The seven specific talents he lists are clearly not needed in appointed ministries. It’s hard not to feel embarrassed in the face of stereotyping. All the papal plaques in the world cannot replace equality, justice and the end of discrimination.

When I read the document’s recommendation that more women participate in training men for the priesthood, I thought of another woman who had recently died. Patricia Fresen bravely fought against apartheid as a Dominican Nun in South Africa.

Later, when she trained seminarians to preach, she realized that as a woman she could never preach in services, and it opened her eyes to gender discrimination in the church that was no more godly than racial discrimination. To answer her calling, she was appointed to the Order of Roman Catholic Women Priests and served as a priest and bishop.

No more walking down the synodal road desperately kicking cans on the road. Gender discrimination needs to be eliminated now. The gospel requires this, and the Spirit shows the way.

Soline Humbert He is a spiritual director and author of the upcoming memoir God Calls, Rome Stalls.