Ordination of German women priests on a boat on the Tiber in November 2024

Catholic women from Bavaria fight for more rights and positions

Catholic women repeatedly have high expectations of the Pope and the bishops in Rome. Even though they are repeatedly disappointed. Nevertheless, they never stop working for their church. And fighting for change.

The Catholic Church's reform project has been underway for three years. For the first time, women and non-ordained men also voted at the worldwide Synod of Bishops in Rome in October. Things are happening in the Catholic Church, albeit in very small steps. Three women from Bavaria, whose employers are the church, are not giving up hope that things will change, despite disappointments.

Suspended from the Church for Pregnancy

Waltraud Jetz-Deser is a parish minister and works as a chaplain in a nursing home in Waging am See. She's no stranger to setbacks: More than 30 years ago, the church suspended her from altar service. The reason: She became pregnant a few months before her wedding. Jetz-Deser is committed to advocating for more rights for women. This is one of the reasons why she is subjected to sexist comments, and a priest refuses to allow her daughter to make the sign of the cross. More than 20 years later, in August 2023, she receives a letter from Cardinal Reinhard Marx. In it, he expresses regret for how she was treated because of her pregnancy and the lack of support from other leaders. These lines touch her. She has remained loyal to the Catholic Church and fought for reforms.

I cared for a centenarian here in the nursing home. He always said to me: 'You're just as good a priest as a man.'

Because in her work as a chaplain in a nursing home, she has found that the residents don't care whether she, as a woman, or the priest provides pastoral care: "Most say: It's great that you were here today. Or it's great that the priest was here. It's about proclaiming the message in such a way that it resonates with others. And that it can be a source of strength for others." And it doesn't matter whether a woman or a man proclaims Jesus' message.

No approval from the bishops for a woman in office

Viola Kohlberger is a theologian and Girl Scout. She applied to be Federal Curator, the highest spiritual leadership position of the Catholic Girl Scouts Saint George in Germany. Before she could be elected by the association, however, the bishops had to approve it. And she didn't receive this approval, even though she met all the formal criteria for the new job. She received no explanation. For Kohlberger, this is a sign of the exercise of power in the Catholic Church: "I felt an enormous powerlessness. It's like a glass ceiling that I'm hitting and I feel like I can't get through it."

"It's not a democratic system. The Church isn't currently living off of participation."

Viola Kohlberger is committed to reforms in the Catholic Church, for example in the Synodal Path reform process, and isn't afraid to openly criticize bishops. She has also criticized Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki for his treatment of victims of abuse. This makes her unpopular with conservative bishops. And she suspects that this is also why her application for the position in the Boy Scouts failed.

Ordination of women priests on a boat on the Tiber

Gisela Forster from Starnberg is a theologian and has "no more hope" that positive progress will be made on the issue of women's ordination at the World Synod in Rome. Even during the first session, a majority of around 80 percent of participants were in favor of the diaconate for women, she says. Therefore, the Pope "quickly separated it into a working group."

"Doing, not talking" is the 78-year-old's motto. That's why she was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2002 and a bishop in 2003 – contrary to canon law. Since then, she has repeatedly ordained women priests herself, something the Church, of course, does not recognize. She was also active in Rome on a boat on the Tiber during the World Synod. Three women from Spain, France, and Portugal were ordained. The Vatican should not believe "that it can continue with its position," Forster says, describing the goal of the action.

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