Women at the top: The Catholic Rhine-Lahn region is changing!

Women at the top: The Catholic Rhine-Lahn region is changing!

In an exciting turn of events, there is now a breath of fresh air in the Catholic Church in the Westerwald/Rhein-Lahn region. Catharina Buschmann-Kramm and Kerstin Hutya take the lead and have big plans. Their goal is to better network the parishes and thus strengthen the community. This is not only necessary, but also particularly relevant, as the number of believers in this area is continually falling, as rhein-zeitung.de reports.

The newly formed region, which consists of the former Catholic districts of Westerwald, Rhein-Lahn and Diezer Land, presented itself to the public at a meeting of around 140 young people in the Dernbach monastery garden. This gathering highlights the changes that are coming to the Catholic Church.

Women in leadership positions

Buschmann-Kramm and Hutya's commitment fits into a larger trend: more and more women are finding their place in the leadership structures of the Catholic Church. The proportion of women at the middle management level is currently 34.5 percent and at the upper management level 28 percent, as bistumlimburg.de shows. Bishop Dr. Peter Kohlgraf emphasizes that it is crucial to further increase the proportion of women in leadership positions.

New leadership models have already been introduced in eleven (arch)dioceses that include women as deputies of the diocesan bishop. The aim is to achieve greater gender equality in the Catholic Church. Mentoring programs, flexible working time models and increased attention to diversity promote change.

A historic step for women in the church

Another important step took place at the last synodal meeting of the German bishops: the delegates voted by a large majority in favor of women being granted ordination positions. This happened at a meeting in Frankfurt, where 92% of the delegates and 82% of the bishops voted for a corresponding document. Katholisch.de reports long-lasting applause and general relief after the vote.

The document calls on Pope Francis to consider reform ideas regarding the ordination of women at the world level. Such a project would be a powerful signal for gender equality and could address the existing structural injustices in the church. According to Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, this is a historic step that not only strengthens women in community leadership, but also reminds us of the need to review the magisterial document “Ordinatio sacerdotalis” from 1994.

The adoption of the basic text could be the beginning of a far-reaching change that is important for both church leadership and believers. It will be interesting to see how these developments will continue to unfold and whether the Church is actually prepared to grant women access to ordination.