A synod on synodality has taken place in the Catholic Church, and early in 2025 we saw the appointment of the first woman prefect of a Vatican dicastery. There are calls for the church to be more participative or democratic, and the question of the ordination of women to the diaconate has been discussed in some quarters. In response, Martin Pinet has written a serious yet accessible handbook about power in the Church. Recent developments and ongoing discussions are placed in historical and theological context. Alongside an introduction and conclusion, each of ten chapters is devoted to answering a question posed in the chapter’s title.
The first three chapters are primarily scriptural. The first examines patriarchy in the Old Testament, and the second Jesus’ approach to power. The third chapter asks whether Jesus wanted a hierarchical Church. Studying the role of the apostles in the early church, primarily Peter and Paul, Pinet finds that an ecclesiastical hierarchy is necessary (including bishops in communion with the Pope), but much of it is historically contingent (such as the Vatican and the Curia) and is not therefore unchangeable. The next chapters turn to post-apostolic church history. Chapter 4 asks, ‘Are elections necessary for people to participate in power?’. A brief history of elections in the early church is combined with a discussion of the nature of ordination. While elections can be used in the church, legitimacy of power does not come from a vote, but from God through ordination.
The apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium (2022) provided, inter alia, for lay men and women to be appointed to head bodies in the Roman Curia. Pinet notes that heads of dicasteries have a vicarious character, that is, they do not exercise power in their own name but in the name of the Holy Father. Thus, chapter 5, ‘Must one be an ordained minister and a man to exercise power in the church?’ discusses whether this development could be generalised to the whole church. This chapter contains a fascinating and detailed historical discussion ranging from the Carolingian office of archdeacon to the Abbess of Las Huelgas as an example of an abbess with pastoral jurisdiction. The chapter explores the growing historical understanding of a distinction between sacramental and juridical power. Applying these developments to the contemporary situation, in places where priests are few, the pastor can appoint a lay catechist able to oversee community life when the priest is absent – like the lay head of a dicastery, this is an example of delegated power. The place where power is reserved to ordained ministers is the eucharistic community, a parish or diocese. Pinet gives examples of existing models of lay leadership in schools and religious communities, and suggests this could be developed further. Besides sacramental ordination, there are no places where power is open to men but not women. Scriptural, traditional and ecumenical arguments are cited against the ordination of women as priests and bishops – it is noted that the question of the diaconate is more open. Pinet does not spend much time on ecumenical considerations, except for noting the possible effects of proposed developments on relationships with Orthodoxy.
‘Is power exercised behind the scenes in the church?’ asks chapter 6. Vatican II emphasised the sacramental nature of episcopacy. Ordination gives the bishop his power, but the Pope gives to the new bishop the field of mission in which that power can be deployed. Pinet gives some examples of power being exercised ‘behind the scenes’ at the Council. Sometimes – as the baptised are also human – there are internal struggles, but the grace of Christ uses even these to advance his mission. Pinet has much to say on the tria munera in chapter 7, not least because his doctoral research was in this area.Footnote 1 While Vatican I focused on power in Rome, and the Church as a societas perfecta, Vatican II developed teaching on the sacramentality of the episcopate and the tria munera of teaching, sanctifying and governing. None of these three powers outranks the others, and in fact they cannot be exercised separately. The tria munera are the responsibility of all in the church, lay and ordained, ‘chacun selon son ordre’ (‘each according to his or her order’, p 164).
Chapter 8 draws interesting contrasts between political science and governance in the Church. For example, the important ecclesiological concepts of the sensus fidei and quod omnes tangit derive originally from the governance of Italian city states. The Church is built on scripture and tradition, and doctrine cannot be put to the vote. Ultimately, therefore, the Church is authoritarian – but it is not totalitarian. These themes continue in chapter 9, which asks whether the Church can be considered a populist monarchy. The ‘Pope-King’ has an important role in guaranteeing the independence of the Church. However, the Pope does not have the power of a French absolute monarch, but that of the final decision. Papal, episcopal and presbyteral power are monarchical, but they are subject to revelation, and serve the people of God.
The last chapter asks, what is the difference between synodality and democracy? The Church promotes democratic values in the cultural sense, e.g. respect for the other, equality, authority as service to the community. The Church differs from a democratic state in that, firstly, she is founded on principles outside of herself (she cannot give herself a constitution); secondly, she is not a collection of individuals each with an autonomous will, but is rather a body. Nevertheless, democratic elements are found in the church, such as apostolic collegiality, synodality and subsidiarity. Synodality was promoted by Vatican II, in which ‘all participate but some decide’ (p 205). Synods are a real source of participation, without the need for election or determinative voting.
Reading this book as an Anglican, the contrasts with the Church of England’s governance are stark. While the revival of Anglican synods was intended to follow patristic precedent (e.g. Bishop G A Selwyn in nineteenth century New Zealand), the constitution and procedure of the Church of England’s General Synod (and its precursor the Church Assembly) owe much to secular parliamentary procedure. Pinet’s book encourages other church traditions to question their own governance systems and to ask whether such a profound and historically rooted theological defence could be made of their own structures of power.
Pinet concludes by proposing that democratic forms are necessary in the church, and should be developed, but that this must be in a form sympathetic to theology, subservient to revelation, compatible with the Church’s nature as the Body of Christ, and under the surveillance of the consecrated ministers. Power in the church, he says, like the priest in the liturgy, embodies a double representation: speaking both for the people and for Christ, and serving both the community and the gospel.
The book is an excellent and very readable introduction for those new to the subject. Lawyers might look for more references to specific canons from the 1983 Code. The historical developments and theological debates discussed are treated with brevity, but this is necessary given the size and scope of the book. Laity and clergy, Catholics and non-Catholics, and all those interested in contemporary developments in canon law and church governance will find here a ready companion able to explain the theological and historical background both to the recent discussions about synodality, and also to many other contemporary debates around power in the Church.
