In the Vineyard: February 4, 2025: Volume 25, Issue 1
A Reflection on the Role of Prayerful Voice
By Margaret Roylance
VOICE OF THE FAITHFUL, together we pray:
For all victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests,
We pray always for you.
We mean to be agents of your healing.
Response: We are the Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Hear us, Christ our strength and salvation,
Help us all.
For all our brothers and sisters in faith,
As we struggle to become the Spirit-filled Church we are called to be,
Move us to accept the challenges of reform that are demanded by today’s injustices.
Response: We are the Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Hear us, Christ our truth and salvation,
Help us all.
For all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church,
That their hearts and minds be opened to the Church’s call to genuine holiness and truth,
A call to inclusion and collaboration with the faithful.
Response: We are the Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Hear us, Christ our hope and salvation,
Help us all.
For all who minister in the name of Jesus Christ,
and especially for our Roman Catholic priests.
We pray for your continued faithfulness to the Gospel and to the voice of the faithful.
Response: We are the Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Hear us, Christ our strength and salvation,
Help us all.
We are the Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Strengthen us, fill us with wisdom,
Lead us to holy action in building up your reign.
Help us to respect our voice and the voices of all the faithful.
Response: We are your Church; we are the Body of Christ.
Hear us, Christ our true life and salvation.
Amen.
We are the Church; we are the body of Christ. Those words begin the response to the
prayer that opened each weekly meeting of the Voice of the Faithful in the
increasingly crowded gym at St. John the Evangelist school in Wellesley
Massachusetts back in 2002. As we repeated those words together after each
invocation, with more voices raised every week, we lived our mission statement as a
prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit. We prayed with one voice for help to become
the Spirit-filled Church we were and are called to be.
Saying this prayer again after all these years brought me back to that moment in an
unexpected rush of response in mind, body and spirit. I remembered feeling that,
led and strengthened by the Spirit, together we could accomplish the impossible.
We could build up the reign of God though holy action and accept the challenges of
reform that were demanded by the injustices that were coming to light.
We prayed for survivors of sexual abuse, for ourselves, for our bishops and for all
who minister in Jesus’ name, especially our priests. In many ways our prayers have
been answered. Our Roman Catholic Church in 2025 reflects changes that could
only have come through action of the Spirit. In Francis, we have a Pope who has
articulated a synodal vision of the church that would have amazed all of us in that
gym.
But we understand more fully in 2025 that even the authority of the Pope cannot
bring the reforms throughout the church that we still long for and that justice
demands. In the face of a soft schism in the church in the U.S., we know that holy
action by the faithful is still the only road to real reform and renewal. Through
synodal listening and mutual discernment, the Spirit is leading us to accept the
challenges of holy action demanded by today’s injustices. And praying together is
still the essential first step.
Sister Simona Brambilla Appointed to Head a Vatican Dicastery
Sister Simona Brambilla’s recent appointment as Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life marks a significant milestone for women in the Vatican. Pope Francis’s decision, announced on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, makes Sister Brambilla the first woman to lead a Dicastery of the Holy See. This appointment follows her service as Secretary of the same Dicastery since October 2023, a role she assumed after serving as Superior General of the Consolata Missionaries from 2011 to 2023.
Pope Francis has consistently increased the presence of women in Vatican positions. Since his pontificate began, the percentage of women working in the Holy See and Vatican City State has risen from 19.3% to 23.4%. He has also appointed women to other key roles, including the Director of the Vatican Museums and the Secretary General of the Governorate. Many women now serve as Undersecretaries and in other leadership positions across various Dicasteries and Vatican bodies.
Sister Brambilla’s background includes missionary work in Mozambique and a prior career as a nurse before joining the Consolata Missionary Sisters. This experience, coupled with her leadership within the order, positions her well for this new role.
According to the Vatican, the appointment of Sister Brambilla as Prefect underscores the Pope’s commitment to empowering women within the Church and reflects the pathways outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which allows lay individuals, including women, to lead Dicasteries. This move signifies a continued shift towards greater inclusivity and representation within the Vatican’s leadership structures.
But in a recent article by Professor Phyllis Zagano, it is only management, not ministry Pope Francis is allowing for women. Read her article on Religion News Service, here.
To learn more about Sister Brambilla, read more:
Here’s What to Know About the First Female Vatican Prefect in the Catholic Church’s History
Pope Francis has marked another milestone in his pontificate by appointing, for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, a woman to head a Vatican dicastery. She is Italian nun Sister Simona Brambilla, the new prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. National Catholic Register. Read more here.
Italian diocese’s abuse report, a first for country, seen as hopeful sign for tackling crisis
The Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone in Italy made history Jan. 20 by publishing the country’s first diocesan abuse report, titled “The Courage to Look.”
Experts called it a hopeful sign in a country where the Catholic Church has yet to tackle the abuse crisis and seek answers on the scale and scope of clergy abuse. OSV News, Read more here.
Pope Francis’ January Prayer Intention – Education
“Today we’re experiencing an “educational catastrophe. This is no exaggeration. Due to wars, migration, and poverty, some 250 million boys and girls lack education.
All children and youth have the right to go to school, regardless of their immigration status.
Education is a hope for everyone – it can save migrants and refugees from discrimination, criminal networks, and exploitation….
Watch the Pope’s video, here.
Letter to the Editor
A couple of weeks ago, I shared these thoughts with a bishop. I have not received a reply.
How is it that we’re still dithering about deacons, when the Anglicans, Methodists and Lutherans have women bishops?
I worked in universities for 40 years and served under three female and three male presidents, alongside both female and male deans and vice presidents. Including women expanded the talent pool while increasing the depth and quality of our decision-making. The universities were better for it.
Forty-five years ago, as a grad student, I lived in a United Church of Christ seminary that was part of a cluster of seven denominational seminaries, including two Catholic, surrounding the University of Chicago Divinity School. Seminary students of various denominations studied at each seminary, drawn by their particular strengths. The UCC seminary was strong at pastoral theology. I got to know several Catholic students there, including one missionary priest and two women who wanted to be ordained. More than half of the students at the Jesuit School of Theology were women. And, of course, many of the Protestant students were married.
This note was prompted by a BBC story this morning:
‘We owe first generation of women priests so much’
B. Murphy
Comments?
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