Hubristic self-serving study supports stealth priestesses
Study Shows: Women in leadership positively change the Church
A new joint study by Catholic women's organizations in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria shows that where women lead parishes, the Church changes. Women focus on participation, dialogue, and new pastoral ideas – but continue to struggle with limited rights within the Church system.
Catholic women's associations have presented a study on the pastoral leadership of parishes by women. The study shows that women in leadership positions shape church life through greater participation, dialogical leadership, and new pastoral impulses.
Survey of women in parish leadership
"This survey is a start. It reveals the potential that pastoral leadership by women holds for the future of the Church," the women's associations from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland declared on Thursday in Cologne.
The survey included both volunteer and full-time staff from parishes in the three countries that are led by women according to canon law. The survey examined various dimensions of pastoral leadership, including participatory, communicative, and pastoral leadership styles. The initial analysis is based on 54 completed questionnaires.
Increased participatory leadership
The results show that women in pastoral leadership are changing the image of the Church. They are placing greater emphasis on participatory leadership, promoting participation, and strengthening shared responsibility.
At the same time, structural challenges are becoming apparent, such as limited rights within the clerical leadership model, dependence on ordained men, and the size of many pastoral areas and the associated workload.
Greater Synodality
According to the study, female leadership is often perceived as an asset – as credible, dialogical, relevant to everyday life, and future-oriented. Overall, the study confirms that women in leadership positions are shaping the Church through greater synodality, stronger participation, and a consciously restrained exercise of power.
In response to an inquiry from kath.ch, Katharina Jost Graf, co-president of the Swiss Catholic Women's Association, stated: "Women are not required to prove themselves. The results of the survey of the German-speaking umbrella organizations for women's ministry are not new, but rather confirm what many women have long known: women are equally capable of leading parishes."
The study was initiated by the Catholic women's associations: the German Catholic Women's Association (KDFB), the Catholic Women's Community of Germany (kfd), the Catholic Women's Movement of Austria (kfbö), the Swiss Catholic Women's Association, and the Catholic Women's Movement of South Tyrol (kfb).
The idea originated at the associations' annual meeting in April 2025. The impetus was the question of the impact of women leading parishes. The discussion was sparked by the French nun Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the Vatican Synod Secretariat. A cross-association working group subsequently developed the survey.
The results of the study seem only available as a press release
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