Women cardinals could help ease vocations crisis

Sarah Mac Donald

Catholic Ireland News

August 25, 2012

If the church is serious about addressing its, “catastrophic,” shortage of clergy, it should appoint loyal Catholic women as Cardinals, a spokesman for the Association of Catholic Priests has said. 

In his new book, Where Do We Go From Here: The Crisis in Irish Catholicism, Fr Brendan Hoban argues that women such as Sr Stan Kennedy, founder of the homeless agency Focus Ireland, or Dame Nuala O’Loan, or former Irish president, Mary McAleese, would be ideal to hold such an office in the Church.

“If the Church wants to be creative and prophetic and give a message of solidarity to women around the world it needs to do something dramatic to show women that they are at the heart of the Church,” he said.

Speaking to ciNews, Fr Hoban said he believes a development such as women Cardinals would help those women hanging on to their faith by their fingertips and it would also stem some of the, “ferocious criticism,” levelled at the Church over its refusal to ordain women as priests.

According to Fr Hoban, there is no reason why women should not be made Cardinals and participate in a consistory.  He also believes women could bring huge experience to the Church and some could run Vatican departments, freeing up prelates for pastoral work.

So far the reaction to his suggestion has been, “one of surprise as most people think you have to be a bishop or archbishop in order to be appointed as a Cardinal,” he said.

Fr Hoban has warned that the Irish Church is facing, “a Eucharistic famine,” unless it realistically addresses the shortage of priests that is starting to make itself felt and will be particularly noticeable over the next ten to fifteen years.  If current trends continue, the diocese of Killala, where he serves, will have just eight priests in 2032, all of whom will be in their 60s or 70s.

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