Stephen D'Agata

In my previous blog post, I conveyed my fears that the next Pope may not be as progressive and tolerant as Pope Francis. So, with the election of American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to the papacy late last week, have my fears been realised?

On the face of it, I’ll have to say no. Pope Leo XIV, or Pope Bob as I’d like to call him, appears to be moulded in a similar vein to Pope Francis. Yes, he has a history of upholding conservative church doctrine, but, as I outlined in my previous post, Pope Francis did nothing to change the longstanding doctrines of the church. He just implored the clergy to be more tolerant of those for whom the doctrines appear to exclude by acknowledging that church congregations include members of the LGBTQ+ community, and divorced couples. Such tolerance is most welcome, but outlawing these communities in official doctrine, really isn’t making the church more relevant to the modern world.

So, what can Pope Bob do to turn this around. Well, there are some minor reforms that I think are achievable and will go a long way to legitimising the Catholics who are already active members of church congregations, as well as addressing the clergy shortage.

Now, restrictions on birth control have openly been ignored by Catholic Communities for decades. I mean, you don’t see families with 12 to 14 kids rocking up to church anymore, do you? And, as far as I know, no one has been excommunicated or even denied communion for being on The Pill or having a vasectomy. Although, no one has gone out of their way to inform their priest about their birth control methods either. It has been very much a, don’t ask, don’t tell, situation. Which is sadly the sort of behaviour that has led to many of the atrocities attributable to clergy. That said, endorsing the use of birth control in official Catholic doctrine is a nice to have, but not a have to have. Let’s save the doctrinal changes to more important stuff.

So, number one on my list of doctrinal reform is… allowing priests to marry. Now, before you say, ‘That will never happen’, it is important to note, that in the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church, married men can become priests. Sadly though, if an unmarried main is ordained as a Priest in the Eastern Rite, they are not then permitted to take on a wife. So, this reform will require a tweak to the current doctrine applicable to the Eastern Rite to: a) extend the right of married men to become priests to the Latin church, and b) allow all ordained priests to marry. This tweak could be extended to allow men who left the priesthood to marry, to be welcomed back to active ministry, thus resulting in an immediate boost to priest numbers.

I know you’re thinking I’m really pushing the boundaries. But how many priests out there are already in relationships. In many parishes in most parts of the world, there are priests who are known to have a significant other, and to have children with that significant other, and so long as no one makes a big deal about it, they are allowed to maintain those relationships. Again, a don’t ask, don’t tell situation. The only thing they can’t do, is legitimise their relationships by getting married.

On to doctrinal reform number two, which is… female deacons. Women priests would be good, but even the most progressive of progressive popes would have trouble getting that through.

At a grass roots level, women run the church. They are the ones who are organising the liturgies, preparing people for sacraments, organising outreach ministries, and most pastoral associates in parishes are women. Therefore, it is not a great stretch to acknowledge the work these women are doing by elevating some of them to the diaconate. For those who are unaware, a deacon in the Catholic Church, can perform many of the tasks ordinarily undertaken by a Priest that don’t involve the Eucharist.

The women are there, they are qualified, and they are ready to step up. So, Pope Bob, it’s up to you to make it happen.

Lastly, the restriction on divorced people and those in the LGBTQ+ community being denied sacraments is as wrong as it is cruel. This cohort includes people who have devoted their lives to the church, and they must be accepted as full church members.

In conclusion, there are also some of you out there who may be thinking, hey Steve, as a widower, you are an unmarried man, so why don’t you join the priesthood. Well, sadly, although I am qualified, like many Catholic males with a brood of children, I did have a vasectomy in my early 40s. And even though the priesthood currently demands celibacy, it also requires a candidate to be entire. So, that rules me out. It is also a complication for the main protagonist in my novel. But he has divine intervention on his side whereas I, sadly, do not.