Campaigners for the ordination of women priests have responded coolly to comments made by the Coadjutor Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, about the role of women within the Catholic Church.
Mr Colm Holmes, a committee member of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, said the Archbishop had given women "a pat on the head" by acknowledging their involvement in the church. "But the message is still the same. It's the message from the Vatican."
Theologian Dr Mary Condren said the Archbishop's address, given at All Hallows College, Dublin, on Monday night, was "a step in the right direction". But as to whether it would produce reforms, she said, "I am not holding my breath".
Calling for "a listening, compassionate and humble church", Dr Martin said a Catholic Church without a feminine presence "is not a church after the manner of Jesus Christ". In defending the status quo on the ordination of priests, however, he remarked: "Jesus did not ordain women."
But Dr Condren, director of the Dublin-based Institute for Feminism and Religion, pointed out: "Jesus did not ordain anyone." She said the church's stance on the issue had no biblical foundation and could only be defended on traditionalist grounds. But "something is not right simply because it goes on for 2,000 years," she added.
Dr Condren, who holds a doctorate in theology from Harvard University, said the lecture also raised questions about how the church would engage with dissenting voices, noting people who had spoken out before had "paid a heavy price". She asked: "What consultation process is he [the Archbishop] going to enter into with people who are theologically qualified?"
Mr Holmes, referring to the church's failure to act on recommendations from its Women's Forum, said Dr Martin "couches a lot in diplomatic language but the message the same as that from Des Connell. I don't see any real move forward."
In what was one of his first major lectures since taking up the post, Dr Martin said he was "acutely aware of the expectations of so many women in the church today, of their impatience and at times of their anger at promises not being fulfilled".
He said: "It is easy to say that all other offices in the Church except ministerial priesthood are open to women, and then to remain blocked in a closed, male clerical system. There is still a long way to go here.
"A church deprived of the evangelising contribution of women is working on less than one cylinder.
