Monsignor Castellucci and the heretical “prophecy” of liturgical co-presidency: a frontal attack on the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the Catholic Mass

In the Diocesan bulletin "Notizie" dated 24 May 2026, the Archbishop of Modena and Nonantola and Bishop of Carpi, Msgr. Erio Castellucci—who is the Vice-President of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), President of the National Committee for the Synodal Path, and even a rumored candidate for the See of Milan—put forward a grave and unacceptable hypothesis at a CIF conference in Carpi: liturgical co-presidency, wherein women would handle the Liturgy of the Word (proclaiming Easter “like Mary Magdalene”) and men would handle the consecration.

A gift of Pope Francis to the Church

This proposal oversteps every boundary of the Church’s perennial Magisterium and deserves unequivocal and uncompromising condemnation.

“Beyond the Stalemate”: the ruse to bypass the female diaconate

In the section titled “Beyond the Stalemate,” Castellucci suggests avoiding getting bogged down in the debate over the female diaconate—knowing full well that it faces firm opposition from the Orthodox world and is not permitted by traditional Catholic theology—and instead “shifting gears” by focusing on daily co-responsibility. He proposes making the opinions of councils “binding” following a “maturation of consensus” and creating “lay teams” that would “bear the responsibility of leadership together—co-responsibility—by effectively sharing in decision-making.”

This constitutes a distortion of Catholic doctrine regarding the hierarchy.

The Church is hierarchical by divine institution, not democratic. The power to govern (potestas regendi) belongs to the pastors by virtue of Apostolic Succession. Pastoral councils are consultative, not deliberative. Making their opinions "binding" means overturning the order willed by Christ, who entrusted the leadership of the Church to the keys of Peter and the successors of the Apostles—not to the laity.

Both the Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium) and the Code of Canon Law maintain a clear distinction between the clergy and the laity. Castellucci effectively erases this distinction, realizing the modernist dream of a Church "from below," where the priest becomes a mere "facilitator" among equals. This is the same spirit we denounced HERE when the summary from the commission on the female diaconate was released.

“The prophecy of co-presidency”: a genuine liturgical heresy

However, it is in the section titled “The prophecy of co-presidency” that Castellucci makes the most dangerous and doctrinally heretical leap.

He states verbatim:

"We ought to identify a role for women that involves co-presidency of the assembly. […] Women could specifically oversee the first part—the Liturgy of the Word—proclaiming the Lord’s Passover, just as Mary Magdalene did to the Apostles. And men could assume the presidency for the second part, which entails the consecration".

He adds that this would avoid «theological issues regarding the male representation of Christ during the act of the bread and wine».

This is a heretical proposal.

The Eucharist is a single sacrificial act celebrated by the priest *in persona Christi*. One cannot "split" the presidency between the Liturgy of the Word (feminine/Marian) and the Eucharistic Liturgy (masculine/Petrine). It is an invention with no foundation in Tradition, Scripture, or the Magisterium.

Mary Magdalene announced the Resurrection privately to the Apostles. She never presided over any liturgical assembly, never proclaimed the Word in a solemn assembly, and held no cultic role. Using her as a "model" for female co-presidency is an act of exegetical abuse and a betrayal of Tradition.

The priest represents Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church (a masculine role). This is the reason why only a man can receive Holy Orders. Saint John Paul II solemnly taught this in *Ordinatio Sacerdotalis* (1994), defining it as a definitive teaching to be held by all the faithful. Castellucci sidesteps this with a ruse: "after all, it is men who perform the consecration..." Yet the Liturgy of the Word is not neutral: there, too, the ordained minister presides in the name of Christ. Separating the two parts means destroying the unity of the Mass.

Von Balthasar is cited out of context. The great Swiss theologian spoke of the complementarity of the Marian and Petrine principles within the Church as a whole—not of a division of liturgical presidency, let alone of women "co-presiding" over the Eucharistic assembly. Castellucci misrepresents von Balthasar to legitimize a Protestant and feminist innovation.

If implemented, this proposal would render the celebration of Mass according to the traditional Catholic form illegitimate and pave the way for a female priesthood through a loophole. It is modernism in its purest form, masked as "prophecy" and the "courage of reciprocity." It is the same modernist spirit that already permeated the final document of the Synod on Synodality, with its attack on "rigidity" and its openness to women in leadership roles.

The precedent: the blasphemous "Gratia Plena" exhibition in Carpi

This is not the first time Castellucci has blundered and scandalized the faithful. In March 2024, the *Gratia Plena* exhibition by artist Andrea Saltini was staged in the church of the Diocesan Museum in Carpi, featuring works that depicted Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene in ambiguous and sexualized poses. The faithful protested; there was an email-bombing campaign against the Curia and formal complaints were filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office for the crime of religious vilification.

Castellucci did not close the exhibition. He publicly defended it, going so far as to say that "malice lies in the eye of the beholder." It was not until 2025 that the preliminary investigations judge in Modena dismissed the criminal proceedings (not because the exhibition was not provocative, but due to a lack of criminally relevant intent). The bishop remained unmoved by the scandal among the faithful.

Anyone who defends blasphemous paintings in a sacred space and then proposes "co-presiding" at Mass with women displays a disturbing consistency: contempt for Tradition and for the sanctity of worship. It is an attitude we had already highlighted on these pages.

Monsignor Erio Castellucci is not a "courageous prophet." He is a bishop who, following the spirit of the Synod on Synodality and the openings made by Pope Francis (whom he cites with satisfaction), is pushing the local Church toward a liturgical and ministerial Protestantization disguised as "reciprocity" and "co-responsibility."

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