Novelist and newly minted honorary Doctor of Theology Nora Bossong openly endorses central tenets of the Catholic Church while advocating for women in the clergy.
Bossong stated to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that she believes in Rome, the Pope, the Roman liturgy, the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist, and the Virgin Birth. The author, born in Bremen in 1982, who is a member of the Central Committee of the German Catholics (ZdK) and the PEN Berlin writers’ association, recently received an honorary doctoral degree in theology from the University of Frankfurt.
The recipient of the Thomas-Mann-Preis explained her belief in the Virgin Birth to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung in literary terms, citing the break from the patriarchal genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew: she pointed out that the male, patriarchal lineage suddenly stops and the focus shifts to Mary. She observed that she is pregnant but evidently not from Joseph. She described this as one of the most surprising twists in literary history.
Bossong ruled out a conversion to another denomination that admits women to ministry, stating that she remains Catholic. She added that while she believes in the Catholic Church, she sometimes encounters difficulties, but she believes it is still on the way to becoming what it could be. She firmly maintained that she is simply not a Protestant.
When asked about possibly joining a monastery, the author clarified that she sees herself, if at all, as a priest, not a nun. However, she emphasized that her concern is not primarily about her personal situation but about general participation within the Church. Bossong noted that she finds the roles of preaching, celebrating Mass, and administering sacraments to be beautiful and special tasks, but that her main desire is simply for women to have a place in the clergy.
Bossong grew up in Protestant Bremen. At the age of seven, she converted to Catholicism upon her own wish. She recounted that her father had once advised her against pursuing a theology degree, telling her that as a woman she would achieve nothing in the Catholic Church. The writer is now pursuing the field as a second degree and plans to begin work on a doctoral project in the near future.
