Pope calls for reflection on feminine dimension of Church

Pope Francis highlighted the feminine dimension of the Church on Thursday, emphasizing the need for women’s perspective in theology. “Women have a different capacity for theological reflection than we men do,” the Pope said.

His extemporaneous remarks came during an audience with members of the International Theological Commission (ITC), which, as the Pope noted, is composed primarily of men.

The Church is woman

“The Church is woman,” he said, continuing his reflection. “And if we do not understand what woman is or what the theology of womanhood is, we will never understand what the Church is.” He described the "masculinizing" of the Church as a “great sin,” which has yet to be resolved.

The Pope appealed to a distinction proposed by Jesuit theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, who described a “Petrine” or ministerial principle, and a “Marian” or mystical principle. “The Marian is more important than the Petrine,” Pope Francis said, “because there is the bride Church, the woman Church, without being masculine.”