Pope Leo XIV met publicly with Anglican leader Sarah Mullally, accepting her blessing and addressing her according to episcopal protocol. Anthony Stine argues the gesture was not merely ecumenical. It has potentially serious legal and ecclesial consequences.
Stine contends that by treating Mullally as a legitimate archbishop, the Vatican has unintentionally strengthened arguments from European activists who claim the Catholic Church’s all-male priesthood constitutes unlawful gender discrimination. American legal protections for religious autonomy do not exist in Europe, where equality laws are increasingly applied to religious institutions. France and the European Union present a particularly vulnerable legal environment.
Stine argues that debates over the SSPX, the Latin Mass, Marian doctrine, and recent Vatican documents are not about liturgical preferences, they are about preserving Catholic doctrine itself. He points to Cardinal Fernández’s published writings as evidence of a deeper theological problem.
