This article is a futuristic tale of an encounter imagined by the Spanish Jesuit theologian, José Ignacio González Faus. It is based on the the story of Jesus and the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7.24-30).

The relevance of this work in a journal of sustainable development may not be obvious to some. However, given that human development is the core of sustainable development, and given that human development must happen in a concrete cultural context, the enormous influence of religion on human culture and the "collective subconscious" cannot be ignored. It is hard to imagine that the persisting refusal of some religious institutions to have women in roles of religious authority is irrelevant to human culture and, therefore, irrelevant to human development, now and in the future.

The author is a Roman Catholic priest and reflects the Vatican's position that women cannot be ordained; thus the title The First Woman Priest. However, women are already being ordained in other Christian churches, and assuming leadership roles in other religious institutions.