A newly released Vatican document on women deacons has sparked anger among Catholic reformers, revealing deep resistance to change, clericalism, and the marginalisation of women in church leadership.

Advocacy for female ordination in the Catholic Church has been building for decades as a poultice on the body of the church. The reinstatement of female deacons was seen as a somewhat easier option due to the clear biblical evidence of that office in the early church. Pope Francis danced around it somewhat but in his final days – as part of the Synod on Synodality, he pushed the issue of female deacons off to one of several study groups spawned by the Synod. Now the report of that group has landed in the hands of Pope Leo, and the boil seems to have burst.

The situation has become curious and potentially very messy. The first problem is the relative secrecy and obscurity of the proceedings of the study group and indeed the actual text of its report. All that has been released is a ‘synthesis’ of the report, and that has come to light as Pope Leo has himself apparently authorised that this text be released shortly after he received the report.

To add further mystery, the document was released only in the Italian language. While it is commendable that the synthesis has been released quickly by Pope Leo (given the glacial speed that this matter has been afforded in the Vatican up to this point), its contents scream clericalism and thinly veiled offence to women.

Based on the synthesis the report represents an offensive and demoralising rejection of the Catholic Church’s glaring need for the role and authority of women to be recognised and supported. Arguments in the report are presented in archaic language that smacks of sophistry, intended to confuse and sow doubt. Indeed, it borders on being seen as offensive and deceitful nonsense.

An example is the report’s depiction that appointing women deacons would amount to “a rupture of the nuptial meaning of salvation.” It is hard to decipher how such a statement could be contrived as it goes beyond the language and lines of argument that have previously been proffered by those opposed to change. It would appear to be attempting to stake out new ground in the defence arguments, namely that one descriptor used to explain Christ’s role and relationship to the church, as the bridesmaid to the church as bride, should be treated as a statement of ontological reality, not as a metaphor like many other biblical references to Christ.

The perceived logic of the argument then becomes that a woman cannot assume any role in the order of priesthood as it would effectively mean that a female deacon or priest would be in some kind of lesbian relationship. This beggars belief, but in the absence of any official clarification, that is the only interpretation of the argument that the average reader could discern. The fact that the synthesis contains reference to the doctrine of Salvation in this context is perverse, novel and of no authentic theological standing in the Church. This can only be seen as an unintended insight into the perverse and twisted theology and sexuality that prevails in parts of the Vatican system.

It is in this context that local Catholic reform groups, such as Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn, have called out the synthesis document, and the regrettably withheld final report, as offensive, objectionable and should be dismissed as early as possible.

While the arguments presented are arcane and indeed weird, it could fairly be said that they betray a sense of desperation, as if they have reached for the ‘last gasp’ option in a desperate attempt to derail further progress on this matter. At the same time, it makes the somewhat cute observation that it is not ruling out female deaconate, suggesting once again more study is required.

In commissioning the study group Pope Francis noted that “what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.” In reality that may depend on who operates the franchise. And unfortunately, in a clericalist church we know the answer to that question.

For Australians it is not just Catholics who need to be concerned by all this. The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to the Sexual Abuse scandals made various pointed observations and recommendations about the church’s approaches to transparency, accountability, clericalism and the treatment of women. Any stated commitment by the local church to the full implementation of the Royal Commission findings will look qualified and problematic, if there is no effective repudiation of this document from the local hierarchy.

There is now an urgent need to explain and repudiate the spurious line of argument advanced in the synthesis. In a truly synodal church that would be the expectation and the practice. All of which teases out the reality of the current situation, the mystery surrounding it and its release. Could it be that its line of reasoning is so irregular that the Pope himself has sought to deftly distance himself from it and perhaps leave it to others in the wider church community to prick its bubble.

It has been noted that Pope Leo is the first Pope in modern times to have had a mother who held a professional career, equivalent to that of her husband. Leo is seemingly unencumbered by the perverted theological misogyny that characterises this document. For the sake of women, his own credibility and the prospects for a synodal church, Pope Leo needs to get this matter sorted promptly.

Terry Fewtrell is Chairperson of Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn a leading Australian lay organisation calling for reform in the Catholic Church