Recommended: Journal of Moral Theology - Women at the Synod on Synodality
The Journal of Moral Theology is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international scholarly journal focused on Catholic moral theology.
This special issue (15, 2026) marks an historic moment: the participation of women in a synod of the Roman Catholic Church. Our Director Avril Baigent, along with other women who participated in the synod, offer essays that engages the work of the Synod on Synodality (2021–24), offering an account of women’s role in the synodal process and of the textual development of the theme of women in key documents.
Introduction: Approaching the Role of Women as a Fully and Integrally Synodal Matter
- Anna F. Rowlands
Women: Protagonists in a Synodal Church?
- Catherine E. Clifford
The presence of women at the Synod of Bishops, and its renewed attention to their participation in the life of the Church, reopens a conversation that has languished for decades.
The Role of Women in a Synodal Church: Cultural and Contextual Sensitivity
- Klara A. Csiszar
The essay examines women's increasing participation in the Catholic Church, focusing on cultural challenges, theological education, and Pope Francis’s reforms for inclusivity and leadership.
The Contribution of the Synod on Synodality Towards a Systematic Theology and Praxis of Leadership - Christina Kheng
A synodal church requires authority, participation, and leadership. The Synod on Synodality paves the way for the theology and praxis of leadership to be more systematically delineated and broadly applied.
Between Critical Feminist Theology and the New Feminism: Where to from Here?
- Renée Köhler-Ryan
Synodal debates on women’s dignity, authority, and participation expose fractures in understanding femininity. Complementarity must evolve, engaging feminist theology and experience, so the Church reflects humanity created male and female.
Catholic Social Teaching, Women, and the Synod - Sandie Cornish
This participant observer study reports the reflections of a female expert facilitator at the Synod on Synodality who brought expertise in Catholic social thought to her participation.
Living Vocation Despite the Obstacles: Catholic Women in Leadership - Avril Baigent
Catholic women around the world face obstacles in living their vocation. Barriers exist at multiple, mutually-reinforcing levels, and failing to overcome them diminishes the Church’s shared mission.
Afterword: Capturing Women’s Voices from the “Prophetic Edge” - Kristin Colberg
Today, the Catholic Church seeks a synodal transformation of its life on every level, and with it comes an invitation for the entire People of God to participate.
How a Synodal Church Learns to Listen
- Susan Pascoe
An invitational conference in Rome in March 2024 evaluated the elements of participation, power, and responsibility that emerged in the first two years of the Synod on Synodality.
Appendix: Synod on Synodality: Women Members of the Two Assemblies - Anna F. Rowlands
The names listed are listed under the category headings as issued by the Vatican. These have added a known sub-category in the case of expert-facilitators and expert-theologians.
