BBC Radio 4 2016-05-14

BBC Radio 4 2016-05-14

When Pope Francis announced on Thursday that he is going to set up a commission to look at whether women should be deacons in the Catholic Church, a lot of women said Wow! The Catholic Church, unlike the Church of England and other Christian denominations has continued to resist allowing women to become deacons or priests, so this was a surprising move.

But there was another reason that I thought wow! It was because the Pope made his decision after attending a meeting with 900 leaders of nuns and had been asked a question: why not set up a commission to study the issue of women deacons. And Pope Francis listened, and agreed there and then to do so.

Church leaders, like people in government, are not always known for listening and embracing suggestions from the floor. Nor are people in business. The form of leadership that we’re all most used to is shaped like a pyramid with decisions and ideas coming from the top and flowing downwards to people. And we’re also used to a type of leadership that is strong to the point of ruthlessness.

According to psychologist Dacher Keltner, whose newly published book The Power Paradox has been making waves this week, the most influential thinker on power is still Machiavelli. People who exercise power often think it means being adversarial and manipulative. Professor Keltner argues that leaders often forget the skills that got them to the top in the first place: an understanding of people. What’ll work best in future, he says, is not so much coercive power but having more empathy and listening.

This reminds me of the theology of servant-leadership which has developed in Christianity. Matthew’s Gospel recounts rivalry between the apostles and Jesus says to them: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants. It will not be so among you: whoever wishes to be first must be your servant”. And when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet – something considered a particularly humbling act – he told them he was setting an example. It was an example of service and a recognition that a leader should make those he leads a priority. In other words, servant leadership is about attitude as well as action, and consideration of others. What it doesn’t mean is weakness and indecisiveness and it still requires a leader to have authority. When Pope Francis heard a suggestion from the nuns about women deacons he listened. But he still had the authority to make a decision and act. Servant-leadership may not yet be the norm, but how Pope Francis responded to the nuns’ challenge on women deacons is a sign of how effective it can be.