Mary McAleese accuses Pope Francis of undermining the Synodality Synod

Former Irish head of state Professor Mary McAleese accused Pope Francis of undermining the Synodality Synod by removing issues such as the participation of women in church decision-making processes and the ban on the ordination of women to the priesthood and diaconate from the table.

Addressing the Root and Branch Reform Assembly in Leeds, which had the theme “Strengthening Ourselves: Thriving and Prospering”, McAleese said the Synod on Synodality “was and remains” a Synod of Bishops.

The results of the synod at the diocesan and continental levels showed that there was still energy in the people of God, but that it had been “taken away” in Rome, she said.

Pope Francis' approach to the sensitive issues has “destroyed the illusion of inclusion and the illusion of freedom of expression and an open agenda,” she added, criticizing the “shrill interventions of the Pope” both before and during the Synod, whose final curtain falls in October.

The 72-year-old law professor emeritus also criticized Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich's warning against lobby groups on sensitive issues. She said the process had “led us back to papal and magisterial autocracy in a happy three-year synodal dance.” She added: “We reserve the right and will use that right to form lobby groups to say so.”

Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister said the response to synodality was being delayed by some bishops who feared losing their power. She warned that passive congregations would dampen the spirit of the Church and extinguish the fire of Pentecost, and said Vatican II had given the laity the responsibility to “bring the Church back to life”.

Another speaker at the meeting, Redemptorist Father Tony Flannery, warned that if the synod did not make progress on the women's issue, it would be “very difficult for any of us to take it seriously.”

Separately, Kevin Doran, Bishop of Elphin, has stated that as a synodal church, the church is not limited to what happens in the church building.

In a statement, he said a synodal church is about “how we share responsibility for carrying on the mission of Jesus in the world. Our prayer sends us out together to build community and serve one another in our professional lives with generosity and integrity.”