Disturbing Latest News
A news report shared via the Twitter account of renowned journalist Edward Pentin states the following:
“Pope Francis has appointed the first woman prefect of a Vatican dicastery: Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla, until now Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, is to become prefect of the same dicastery; Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, former Rector Major of the Salesians, has been appointed the dicastery's pro-prefect.”[i]
Reading such reports, I must confess that I have stopped being surprised. For years, we have been hearing all sorts of similar things, and the recent popes seem to be in a constant competition for originality—nothing is too insignificant to be at odds with Tradition (or even just “traditions”), and nothing is too extreme to show how “relevant” (or “aggiornato”) we are in relation to today’s world.
Feminist ideology also demands certain concessions, and the popes do not hesitate to grant them. Many have grown so accustomed to altar girls, introduced under Pope John Paul II, that we might not even be surprised if, who knows, one day soon we see female priests or female cardinals. In any case, it is clear that some members of the hierarchy are not unfamiliar with such ideas, as evidenced by decisions like the one in the news above.
The fact that today, a consecrated woman prefers to ignore all these teachings, clearly indicates which virtue is lacking in those who have abandoned the Church’s Tradition in their desire to conform to the spirit of the world.
Returning to Pentin’s report: it announces that a woman has been appointed to a leadership position within a Vatican dicastery. In other words, she will have subordinates—including men, some of whom are priests. What is the issue? Did Pope John Paul II not speak so enthusiastically about the “genius of women” and the necessity of establishing full, democratic equality?[ii] So why shouldn’t we have female cardinals or priests? If those involved took the teachings of Holy Scripture seriously, they should at least be more reserved.
For example, here is what we read in the First Epistle of Saint Paul to Timothy:
“Let the woman learn in silence, with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to use authority over the man: but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed; then Eve. And Adam was not seduced; but the woman being seduced, was in the transgression. Yet she shall be saved through childbearing; if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification, with sobriety” (I Timothy 2:11-15).”
There is no doubt about the interpretation of the above verses. Within the context of Christian Tradition, their meaning has never been controversial: namely, that women cannot hold leadership positions outside the family (or that motherhood is their primary vocation). Saint John Chrysostom states simply that “the divine law indeed has excluded women from the ministry.”[iii] The essence of this interpretation was clearly expressed by Bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia (c.350–428), who defines the spheres of authority:
“While Paul forbids women teaching in church, he very much wants them to exercise their authority in the home as the teachers of virtue.”
According to this teaching, a woman, in her role as a mother, has the extraordinary mission of guiding her own children on the path of Christian Faith. The exceptional value of such a role can never be emphasized enough. Where such a holy mother is absent, her absence will hardly ever be fully compensated. The essence of the Apostle Paul’s teaching lies in defining spheres of authority: if a woman’s domain is the domestic space, the Christian man is responsible for exercising authority (including) in the public sphere.
Based on both the teachings of Holy Scripture and those of the Saints and Doctors of the Church, the Roman Catechism (1566) fully summarizes the doctrine regarding the role of women. After a section dedicated to the duties of Christian husbands and fathers, the catechism addresses the duties of Christian wives and mothers as follows:
“To train their children in the practice of virtue and to pay particular attention to their domestic concerns should also be especial objects of their attention. The wife should love to remain at home, unless compelled by necessity to go out; and she should never presume to leave home without her husband’s consent.
Again, and in this the conjugal union chiefly consists, let wives never forget that next to God they are to love their husbands, to esteem them above all others, yielding to them in all things not inconsistent with Christian piety, a willing and ready obedience.”[iv]
The emphasis placed on the formative role of mothers in relation to their children is unmistakable. Likewise, fidelity and submission to their husbands are in perfect harmony with biblical teaching. To support this hierarchy of spouses and genders, valid both in the family and in society, Saint Paul invokes two biblical episodes: the first refers to the fact that Adam was created first (Genesis 2:20-24); the second to the fact that Eve sinned first (Genesis 3:6), subsequently becoming the one who led Adam into sin. What is the significance of these?
By ignoring this model of the Queen of the Universe, the Madame Prefect denies herself the chance to be perfect. And without this virtue—humility—a woman can never be perfect like the Holy Virgin Mary. She can be only a prefect of a Vatican dicastery.
Modern Chaos and the Supreme Model: The Holy Virgin Mary
There is no clearer sign of the immense crisis of modernity than the chaos of roles and abilities. No hierarchy is respected anymore, and no authority holds weight. For decades, if not centuries, we have been repeatedly told that everyone is free to choose what they can become—career, religion, ecclesiastical status. In recent decades, even gender has become optional. In short, we are our own creators, with no responsibility, no obligation toward Tradition, customs, or family heritage. The way we are encouraged to think is encapsulated in the famous phrase: “Follow your dream!” Things have gone so far that we now hear prelates (and even the pope) using the same vocabulary.
The family hierarchy is silenced, and neo-modernist pontiffs consider teachings like the ones above to be either obsolete or simply wrong. This is why they see a woman in a leadership position as something completely natural. Without exaggeration, we can expect to see female priests, or even bishops and cardinals. It seems that anything goes.
Beyond the teachings inspired by the Holy Scriptures, what is systematically ignored is the human model that represents the pinnacle of perfection. For the true model is not a female prefect, but a perfect woman—the Queen of the Universe, the Holy Virgin Mary. If we wish to understand the extraordinary authority of this perfect woman, we can turn to the exceptional Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin by Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort:
“Mary has authority over the angels and the blessed in heaven. As a reward for her great humility, God gave her the power and the mission of assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels who fell away through pride. Such is the will of almighty God who exalts the humble, that the powers of heaven, earth and hell, willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands of the humble Virgin Mary. For God has made her queen of heaven and earth, leader of his armies, keeper of his treasures, dispenser of his graces, worker of his wonders, restorer of the human race, mediatrix on behalf of men, destroyer of his enemies, and faithful associate in his great works and triumphs.”[v]
This quote from Saint Louis directly touches the heart of the matter, explaining the source of the exceptional authority of the Holy Virgin Mary: the virtue of humility. Combined with her perfect discretion, the humility of the Mother of God is clearly evident in the texts of the New Testament. Throughout these pages, the Virgin Mary is not only mentioned rarely, but she herself speaks only four times: in her dialogue with the Archangel Gabriel (the Annunciation); in the Magnificat prayer during her meeting with Saint Elizabeth; when she expresses concern to her child, Jesus, after finding him in the Temple following three days of searching; and finally, at the wedding in Cana of Galilee.
This minimal presence of the most perfect human being in history is a sign of the virtue that defines her exceptional character: humility. If Eve sinned out of pride, deceived by the idea that she could be like God (Genesis 3:5), the new Eve—the Virgin Mary—redeemed Eve’s pride through the most perfect humility.
By ignoring this model of the Queen of the Universe, the Madame Prefect denies herself the chance to be perfect. What is truly saddening is that, this time, the temptation comes not through the serpent but through the proposal of someone who should be a defender of the true Christian Faith and the Tradition of the Church. Violating the prohibition against granting such ecclesiastical positions to women contradicts not only the consistent practice of the Church but also the teachings of the Saints and Doctors—among whom Saint Thomas Aquinas holds a place of honor.
What is truly saddening is that, this time, the temptation comes not through the serpent but through the proposal of someone who should be a defender of the true Christian Faith and the Tradition of the Church.
The Angelic Doctor, Equality, and the Hierarchy of the Sexes
Commenting in Summa Theologica on the moment when Eve was created from Adam’s rib, Saint Thomas explains the two major meanings that can be drawn from this event:
“It was right for the woman to be made from a rib of man.
First, to signify the social union of man and woman, for the woman should neither ‘use authority over man,’ and so she was not made from his head; nor was it right for her to be subject to man’s contempt as his slave, and so she was not made from his feet.
Secondly, for the sacramental signification; for from the side of Christ sleeping on the Cross the Sacraments flowed—namely, blood and water—on which the Church was established.”[vi]
The fact that Eve was not made from Adam’s head indicates the prohibition against women holding positions of authority over men; while the fact that she was not made from his feet indicates the proper relationship between man and woman—one of respect, and in the case of spouses, the love that should define the relationship between the sexes. A woman should never be treated “from above,” as if she were inferior. The long tradition of Christian chivalry, and later, the gentlemanly ideal, clearly demonstrate the special esteem accorded to women—especially in virtue of their unique capacity to be mothers, to give birth, and to raise children.
However, let us not forget the deepest meaning of Eve’s creation from Adam’s rib: what Saint Thomas calls “the sacramental signification.” This symbolizes the relationship between God and His Church. If man is the image of God, then woman is always the image of the Church—the one who conceives and nurtures the saints of God within her maternal womb. As we see, there is nothing worldly or fashionable in Saint Thomas’s interpretation. And the fact that today, a consecrated woman prefers to ignore all these teachings, clearly indicates which virtue is lacking in those who have abandoned the Church’s Tradition in their desire to conform to the spirit of the world. And without this virtue—humility—a woman can never be perfect like the Holy Virgin Mary. She can be only a prefect of a Vatican dicastery.
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[i] It can be read online here: https://x.com/EdwardPentin/status/1876231435784225127 [Accessed: 12 February 2025].
[ii] Toate acestea au fost afirmate în Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women (1995): https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1995/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_29061995_women.html [Accessed: 12 February 2025].
[iii] The quotations from the Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church are taken from the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament IX: Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Edited by Peter Gorday, InterVarsity Press, 2000.
[iv] Catechism of the Council of Trent for Parish Priests, Issued by Order of Pope Pius V, Translated into English by John A. McHugh, O.P. and Charles J. Callan, O.P., New York: Joseph F. Wagner, 1923, p. 352. Online, this translation can be read here: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/romancat.asp [Accessed: 12 February 2025].
[v] The full text can be read on the EWTN website: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/treatise-on-true-devotion-to-the-blessed-virgin-6064 [Accessed: 12 February 2025].
[vi] Summa Theologica, Prima Pars, Questio 92, Art. 3: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1092.htm#article3 [Accessed: 12 February 2025].
