Xiskya Valladares is a case to investigate. She is a nun, a woman and a tweeter. She is also dressed as a nun, speaks claiming space for women in the Catholic Church, and is successful. Much success. On TikTok she is followed by 700,000 people, on X (formerly known as Twitter) 77,000, and on Instagram, 43,000. With this background, this Nicaraguan nun living in Mallorca has been one of the 54 women who for the first time participated with voice and vote in the first phase of the meeting (the second will be in 2024) to adapt the Catholic Church to the 21st century, the so-called synod of synodality. “In the world they say ‘democratize’, in the Church it is called ‘synodality’,” he says in this also atypical interview, given that it was carried out through questions to which he responded with audios sent through WhatsApp, before the impossibility of a face-to-face meeting in short periods of time due to the busy agenda of the synod.
This synod… success or failure?
Definitely a success. All of us who have participated and have been able to imbibe what synodality really is and the power that synodality has for the future of the Church. What does it mean? That in the Church we seek to reach consensus through prayer and discernment. That is why the Pope said that [el sínodo] It is not a parliament.
You can name a specific measure that has been approved and that represents a turning point for the Church.
For the first time in History, the Church is clear that the digital environment is a culture in which we must be, also from a theological point of view. It is a historical fact. Another novelty is the whole issue of women. The document refers to the baptismal dignity of women and everything that that entails, with the recommendation to study the female diaconate of women.
However, the diaconate of women, which is the previous step to the female priesthood, has also been the issue on which there was the greatest disagreement in the votes, 277 votes in favor and 69 against. Why this resistance?
Because the Church is very large and there is a sector that has a hard time seeing this, I am referring to the sector of Africa and Asia.
Are they the only ones who have opposed it?
Yes, although that does not mean that there continues to be clericalism and machismo also in some sectors of the Western Church. But in the West there are fewer and fewer.
Do you see the possibility of women obtaining real spaces of power within the structures of the Church as realistic?
Totally yes. I already see it in the Vatican and I see it very close in the dioceses. There are already those advances in women holding positions, and in being present in all instances of the Church. [En el sínodo]it has been much insisted that [las mujeres] They are part of the seminary training and even serve as judges in canonical judicial processes. There is already a clear awareness of the value of women in the Church.
There is no way back.
There is no turning back.
On the same day that the final document of the synod was voted on, there was a demonstration by traditionalist sectors around the Vatican. Will the criticism continue?
If they were honest, I think that the summary document would have to leave them alone, because there is nothing contrary to the doctrine as they had been preaching. But this does not depend only on the document not saying anything contrary to doctrine, the will to communion with the Pope and with the synod on the part of these people is also necessary. I believe that if the Church wants to be synodal it also has to listen to them, but now transferring this listening to the synodal dioceses. Criticizing without putting on a face is not the same as sitting down to talk with a specific face.
But what consequences do you think this synod will have on the internal balance of the Church?
I don’t think we’re going to a schism at all. This synod has in no way gone against the traditional doctrine of the Church.
Related news
In Spain, a report has just been published that speaks of thousands of victims of abuse committed by clergy. Has the topic been talked about?
Yes, there has been talk in the synod about abuse, and about the need for zero tolerance for the abuser and that victims should not be re-victimized, that we must seek to make the Church a safe place for everyone. Apart from this, I think we must also wait for the study of the Episcopal Conference.