Father Anne: A Resilient Voice for Women in the Catholic Church

Father Anne is not only a highly recognized woman within the movement for women’s equality in the Catholic Church but also a favorite among listeners of the Your Radical Truth Podcast, hosted by Margaret Mary O’Connor. Back by popular demand, Father Anne delves even deeper into the pressing issues surrounding women’s roles in the clergy, offering candid insights and powerful perspectives.

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Synodality and the Future of the Catholic Church

Father Anne offers a compelling analysis of Pope Francis’s efforts to implement Vatican II’s synodality. While acknowledging the historical significance of the synod process, she highlights its shortcomings. Synodality’s promise to include the global church in meaningful discussions has often faltered due to resistance from bishops, leaving many Catholics unaware of its existence.

According to Father Anne, the next Pope will play a pivotal role in determining whether synodality takes root or fades back into the hierarchical, monarchical model of the past. For true progress, the Church must openly acknowledge unresolved doctrines, particularly regarding the ordination of women.

The Doctrine of Ordination: A Fact Unsettled

A central theme in Father Anne’s discussion is the Church’s refusal to acknowledge the unsettled nature of the doctrine of women’s ordination. She points out the glaring contradictions: if the issue were truly resolved, there would be no need for repeated documents explaining why women cannot be priests. This ongoing denial, she argues, is not only a disservice to the laity but also a betrayal of historical and biblical truths.

Father Anne emphasizes that historical evidence—from biblical texts to archaeological findings—demonstrates that women once held roles equivalent to ordination. Yet, the Church continues to suppress this truth, leaving many Catholics unaware of the deep betrayal of their own history.

Symbolic vs. Incremental Change

While Pope Francis has made strides by appointing women to leadership positions, Father Anne critiques these actions as superficial. She views these appointments as crumbs from the table, masking the deeper systemic issue: women’s exclusion from the sacramental and symbolic life of the Church.

According to Father Anne, true progress lies not in incremental changes but in granting women full participation as equals in the Church’s symbolic and sacramental roles. Without this, leadership appointments remain a hollow gesture.

Gaslighting and Reality Denialism

Father Anne candidly calls out the gaslighting perpetuated by Church leaders who dismiss the need for women’s ordination. She critiques arguments rooted in outdated logic, such as the claim that Jesus’s selection of male apostles excludes women from priesthood. Such reasoning, she argues, is both irrelevant and absurd in modern contexts.

The refusal to confront reality, she states, is a form of denialism. The Church must move beyond outdated cultural norms and engage honestly with the historical and theological evidence supporting women’s ordination.

A Call to Action for the Laity

For Father Anne, the path to change begins with the laity. She urges Catholics to educate themselves about the Church’s history and to demand accountability. Only when the laity fully understand how they have been betrayed can they push for the systemic reforms necessary to include women in the priesthood.

A Hopeful Vision

Despite her frustrations, Father Anne remains steadfast in her belief that God desires the full participation of women in all aspects of the Church. She emphasizes that while progress may be slow, the vision of equality is worth preserving and striving for.

Margaret Mary O’Connor concludes the episode with a reminder that conversations like these stem from a deep love for the Church. Together with Father Anne, she holds onto the hope that one day, women will be fully recognized as co-partners in faith and leadership.

Father Anne’s courage and resilience serve as an inspiration for Catholics worldwide to carry the torch for equality and justice. As she says, “It’s not a matter of if but when women will be fully integrated into the Church. Until then, the faithful must remain committed to the vision of a more inclusive and just Catholic community.”

About Father Anne

Father Anne was ordained on October 16, 2021, in Albuquerque, New Mexico through the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests and is now an independent Roman Catholic priest.

She has a deep love of the Society of Jesus and Ignatian spirituality, which blossomed over twelve years of ministering with Jesuits.

Father Anne earned a Master of Divinity from Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and has worked in several Jesuit parishes.

In addition to her formation in the Catholic Church, Father Anne has a master’s degree in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University and 25 years of experience in strategic communications.

Deeply grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, Father Anne has a passionate interest in the discernment of what the next era of the Church will look like.

While many have understandably walked away from the Roman Catholic Church, Father Anne obeys the call of the Holy Spirit to collaborate with God on the project of equality in one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

www.FatherAnne.com

About Margaret Mary O’Connor

Margaret Mary O’Connor, as a member of the Catholic Laity, thought she knew everything about the Catholic Church, at least until she came upon a centuries-old Scandal of lies and cover-up by the Hierarchy of that Church. Frankly, she was fed up being lied to by her own Church, about its own past Church’s History on Women priests. With that realization, she truly felt in that moment, the monumental feeling of betrayal by her own Church.

Follow Margaret, as she travels down this Highway of Radical Truth where lies and outright coverup will be disclosed. Millions of Catholics are unaware of that past presence of Women Bishop’s, Women Deacons, as well as Women Priests, all there hiding in plain sight, in Early Church History.

As the complicity of this centuries-old Scandal continues, Margaret wants her fellow Catholics to learn the actual truth of this matter for themselves. She strongly believes, at minimal, any Catholic deserves the actual truth of this matter. To say that change is needed is hardly an understatement. She doesn’t let the Church’s betrayal stop her from uncovering some very fascinating Church Skeleton’s – one which very well might help solve our current priest shortage issue today.

Margaret Mary O’Connor has been called, “The Modern Day David” on many occasions. On a mission to reveal carefully guarded secrets of the Catholic Church, she unveils the truth through her well-researched writings.

Author of Scandal in the Shadows and Journey of a Celiac’s Soul, Margaret Mary is a force to be reckoned with.