This past week, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady to a group of shepherd children near the Portuguese town of Fatima. The series of Fatima appearances – lasting from May until October of 1917 – is one of the most extraordinary in the history of the Church. It has also beguiled political and cultural commentators outside the ambit of the Church, and it is this wider implication that I would like to explore.
What we think is the right road
The Catholic priesthood is temporarily closed to women, but we can still make a progressive change in holy orders. There are male deacons, so why can’t there be female deacons? Women deacons would be a good start on the path, after a few more years, to a priesthood that does not discriminate against women. They have a right to holy orders, too.