Pope Francis has identified clericalism as the root cause of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic priesthood, but without spelling out precisely what he means. This is typical of him – it is for the whole Church to discern the true nature of clericalism and what to do about it, and a diagnosis and solution imposed from the top would itself smell of clericalism.

This is the appropriate context in which to consider the impasse that has developed over the admission of women to the ordained diaconate. From one point of view it is a subset of a subset; from another, a wedge issue that could give Catholicism the shake-up it so urgently needs. The impasse is part of a much wider problem: the catastrophic failure of the Catholic Church to grant women the equal respect they deserve, the failure to give true weight to their abundant gifts, and the resulting failure to give the Church a more human face. “God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” The ordained ministry of bishops, priests and deacons is surely meant to be an authentic image of God. So where is its female component?