WILL POPE LEO ADDRESS A PERENNIAL QUESTION?

With American-born Cardinal Robert Prevost's elevation to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV, elected to lead the 1.46 billion Catholics world-wide, a number of significant reemerging questions are bound to surface. The first, and presumably significant indicator of the new pope's predilection on how to guide the Church's religious and political policy was about the selection of the new pontiff's choice of by what namesake he will be known going forward. Popes are not required to change their name. However, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor him and signal their intention to emulate his example. Cardinal Prevost's selection of Leo XIV was significant because it indicated that the newly elected pontiff's policies appeared to promise to stick fairly closely to those of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Historically, many observers tend to focus on the reputation of Pope Leo XIII, who was known for producing his 1891 encyclical "Rerum Novarum," translated as "new things," or "revolutionary change." His document addressed the social and economic conditions of the Industrial Revolution, affirming the rights of the poor and obligations for those more fortunate. Pope Leo's adopted namesakes developed impressive historical notoriety for other reasons as well. Pope Leo I - "The Great" - became known for meeting face to face with Attila the Hun in 452, and persuaded him to turn back from his invasion of Italy. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, King of the Franks, as Emperor of the Romans - a symbolic act that significantly impacted the relationship between the papacy and the emerging Western empire. In 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther as a heretic, excluding him from participating in the sacraments and services of the Church. While this historic legacy will be much to live up to for the new pontiff, one of the contemporary issues that will again confront the new Papal administration is the perennial topic of female priests in the Church. A year or two before my mother passed, she adamantly, and perhaps proudly, pronounced that The Netherlands now had female priests - "priestesses" - running the symbolic rituals of Catholic worship celebrations. I was not terrifically surprised. After all, the Dutch Church had shown its independence for years. One of my brothers had even been appointed to a committee assigned to confirm the suitability of new bishops the Vatican proposed to select for the country. Eventually, my mother's funeral was officiated by this "priestess" who I addressed as "pastor" during my eulogy. When I discussed this turn of events with friends who identified with "Opus Dei," a conservative Apostolate in the Catholic Church, I was told that there existed no such thing as female priests. Upon reflection, it may well be that my mom's "priestess" was essentially a Deacon ordained to serve her bishop and perform multiple procedures, including assisting at Mass, baptisms, funerals, and witnessing marriages, but not intended to lead a parish or religious order focusing on sacramental celebrations. While Pope Leo XIV's predecessor Pope Francis appeared to crack open the door for LGBTQ+ people, allowing them to be baptized under the same conditions as other believers, he continued to reaffirm the "men-only" rule for the priesthood. He confirmed the veracity of the declaration issued after the "Congregation for the doctrine of the faith" was issued in 1976, which for doctrinal, theological and historic reasons, the Church did "not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination." This ruling was reinforced by Pope John Paul II in May of 1994 in his apostolic letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis." Nevertheless, a growing movement, focused on changing the Vatican's edict on women priests, seems to be very much alive. With the advent of new papal leadership, this movement appears to sense an opportunity to push for their voices to be heard. Just recently, in a podcast, they received support from Swiss Bishop Markus Buchel of Saint Gallen, who openly advocated for the inclusion of female priests, arguing that the Church has a "consecration emergency." More and more women in this movement are defying Catholic Church tradition by actually becoming priests. Many of these are not part of the institutional Roman Catholic Church, but rather subscribe to the Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP) organization. On July 29, 2002, a group of seven women from Germany, Austria, and the U.S. were ordained to the priesthood by a Roman Catholic bishop, Romulo Antonio Braschi, on a ship cruising the Danube. The seven women were not recognized as valid by the Vatican, and Bishop Braschi and some of the women were excommunicated. However, the movement continues to ordain women to the priesthood, and it has expanded internationally. The Vatican continues to forbid the process, citing the Bible's record that Jesus only chose male apostles and almost 2,000 years of precedent. Nevertheless, research done by the "New Yorker" and "The Nation" identified almost 200 women that have been ordained in various unauthorized ways, considering themselves legitimate priests. Unless he chooses to hide behind centuries of tradition, Pope Leo XIV will likely, at some point, be forced to address this perennial question again. Theo Wierdsma