Vatican accused of the `spiritual abuse' of women

Nobel Prize winner Ms Mairead Corrigan Maguire has said the Vatican's stance on the ordination of women "is dehumanising, demoralising, and is a form of spiritual abuse". "Does the Vatican not realise how deeply offensive it is to women to be told that because of their `biological' make-up they cannot be ordained?"

In Dublin last night at the opening of the Women`s Ordination Worldwide conference, she said "many Catholics are coming to see that this kind of theological argument based on `biology' is nonsense."

One nun said this came home to her "when she realised she could read the epistle, but not the gospel", she said. And this "spiritual violence is experienced not only by women, but also by theologians, priests, religious and laity. We are all aware of the Vatican's practice of `silencing' those whose opinions differ.

"In a time when `dialogue' is being called for by both secular, state, and church bodies, Irish society is permeated with fear amongst clergy and religious, of speaking out on issues such as women's ordination. Indeed they have tragically been forbidden from doing so," she said.

She believed "this kind of attempt to control by the Vatican is an abuse of power". It was "an assault on the sanctity of a person's conscience, and the removal of the right to freedom of thought and speech". This "spiritual abuse is causing very grave damage to many priests and religious who love their faith, but feel torn between conscience and church rules and regulations".

The Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkins, keynote speaker at the conference, explained how as vicar of two London, East End Anglican congregations, she "faced rejections along with the welcomes. It's been a double whammy - woman - and black!".

"In every denomination there are women who know deep in their hearts that they are being called before God to live out their baptismal call. Yet there are those in authority who are apparently safeguarding the faith, so-called gate keepers, who know more than God and who dare to say that they know the will of God, and women play no significant part in that," she said.

"It took a war to help society realise that women can do more than cook, clean and look after the children but that God had endowed them too with brains, gifts and skills so that they could be a real partnership to their male counterparts. Today we have the best of secular culture as an example," she said. Women were "quietly forging ahead" where once the old boys' network would have "stayed firmly closed".