The People Speak Out

Local voices connecting globally

This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good.  (Pope Francis)

Canon Law 212 calls upon the laity to speak up:

2 - The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3. - According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

Women in the Church articles

Down the ages men have been perceived to be the sole recipients and transmitters of divine messages. Women on the other hand, have been socialized by patriarchal religious structures and practices to passively accept religious teachings as interpreted by men.

These androcentric and patriarchal interpretations have defined and shaped the social and cultural contexts of women resulting in their disempowerment and second class status.  

The key of women’s involvement with religion is hidden in women’s bodies. Women in fundamental ways are locked in their bodies, and their exercise of power is at the pleasure of men, whether in the family or in the religious sphere. Thus, religion is not just about spirituality, beliefs and practices alone, but it is also political. These political practices however, belong to structures of the mind that are not inviolable. They can be broken by recovering the spiritual and humane. It is on this recovery that women’s survival and unfolding as humans hangs. (Extract from Statement of National Consultation, Hyderabad, 2016)

What is your experience of the Roman Catholic Church’s treatment of women?

If one is to consider the role of women in the Church, I believe, that one must admit that Mary Magdalene was the most constant and supportive disciple of Jesus that ever was on this Earth. Every male disciple deserted Him before and during His Crucifixion.

In the Passion Gospel of Mark the statement is made that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome were among the observers at the Crucifixion. No male disciples were anywhere to be seen.
In the Passion Gospel of John the statement is made that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene were standing near the Cross. Again, no male disciple to be seen.
In another Scripture presentation mention is made of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
Is the other Mary the wife of Clopas and the mother of James, Joses and Salome, or are their many Marys ?
In the Epistle of Paul on the celebration of the Ascension he mentions that there is one Body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling and one God in all. No mention of male or female.
It is also known that Jesus himself had the perfections of both the male and the female.
Again in Scripture Jesus makes the quote of two words on 97 different occasions, when he says ” Ben Adam ” meaning I am fully human and possessing of the Holy Spirit, just as all of you. No denial of the female gender in any role.
The Spirit has always been with all of us from the beginning and without ending to serve our God.
This is the mystery which we all enjoy in any service or role to which He has called each and every one of us.
The role of women in the Church must no longer be supplanted, or denied unless one is to deny the spoken Word of God.

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I feel grief over all the rejection I have experienced and that other women have experienced in the Church and the crippling effects rejection can have when internalized. It is not the rejection of being excluded from ministry. It is rather the daily rejection of the insult, the slap down, the slammed door, when I have tried to express an unconventional question. “Sit down and shut up” is the slap down message either verbal or non-verbal. “You don’t mean that!” or “You may be on to something, but we can’t talk about it now” are the patronizing responses that are almost as hurtful as the slap-down. I have found that Catholic women, well-formed in the Catholic male-dominated culture, can slap down and patronize as well as men. There will be people reading this who will say “This is not a heartfelt story. It is an opinion.” It is my story. I don’t know if the issues based conversation is helpful in cultural consciousness development or not. I guess we will see.

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Half the world’s population is female. Most congregations are composed of a high percentage of women, yet if you look at any photograph of the top hierarchy of the Church gathered for a meeting, synod or to bury a Pope, you would be hard pressed to find one woman. They are allowed to arrange the flowers, launder the linen and scrub and polish. What other group of people would welcome this discrimination? This is rejection on a major scale. Is there any man in the Church who realises just how extremely hurtful this rejection is?

With Mary Magdalene leading the Apostles to the tomb and being the first witness to the resurrection, why have women been pushed to the sidelines? They have proved themselves perfectly capable of being theologians, doctors, philosophers, lawyers and are often outstanding in their fields. I can remember when women weren’t even allowed on the altar during Mass, weren’t allowed to be Ministers of the Word, weren’t allowed to be Ministers of Communion, and still they are not being considered for ordination, not even as deacons.
We have come a long way since Vatican II, but there is still a very long way to go.
St Paul in Galatians 3:28 (New International Version (NIV)) says: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Why has the Church always ignored this?

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I am the mother of two intelligent, grown daughters. Both have doctorate degrees, are married, and are raising children. Neither of my daughters are Catholic anymore. They have found the highly patriarchal structure and mindset in the Catholic Church irrelevant and actually dishonoring of their womanhood. The Church has tried to define them and their gender in very limiting and short-sighted ways which leaves them no opportunity to bring forward all their individual charisms. One daughter has found another Christian church where she feels accepted as her full self and in which she can raise her children with integrity. My other daughter has left organized religion altogether.

By defining women with the “Complimentarity Feminism” model, many women who don’t hold that limiting view feel alienated. If the Catholic Church treated women as equals and allowed them to define themselves, and if women were welcomed into all areas of ministry including priesthood and Church governance, my daughters would still be Catholic to this day. As it now stands, not only have we lost my daughters but we have also lost their children…and their children. This deeply saddens me. Jesus treated women equally and accepted them in the fullness of who they are. Let our Church do the same as Jesus!

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