|
“The
Elephant Is Shrinking”
On the September 15,
2005 presentation of “Why Women Choose To Stay” sponsored by The Council
for Women of Boston College and The Church in the 21st Century Center at
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
This panel discussion
was jointly sponsored by the Council for Women at Boston College and BC’s
Church in the 21st Century Center and was a follow-up event to last year’s
equally packed “Envisioning the Church Women Want.” Author Alice McDermott
was the guest speaker and to her great credit chose to use bold language
rather than the nuances of fiction to call the failure of the Roman Catholic
Church to ordain women “what it is – it is bigotry.”
From there, the evening
introduced the question of why women choose to stay in a Church that sidelines “women
as women,” through the perspectives of a young Catholic woman, a theologian,
and a business executive.
The youngest speaker Meghan
Dougherty, a graduate student, provided welcome encouragement when she responded
to a question about women who have no problem with “the way things are” saying, “I
don’t know any women like that.”
In all, the panelists
brought needed perspectives to the discussion and several compelling observations.
From Alice McDermott: For a Church the size of the Catholic Church to demonstrate
bigotry toward any group is antithetical to the global message of Christianity,
inclusive of justice and equality for all, peace, and stewardship; and that
benign tolerance is not an option. From Shawn Copeland, Boston College Professor
of Theology: “Staying” in the Church is not as important as “being Church”;
we are called to “creative solidarity” in God’s work; and our sacramental
nature depends on working fully toward “the right of God” to fulfill
God’s vision for humanity.
Kathleen Power, class
of ‘72 and vice-president of services for Avid Technology brought her organizational
understanding to “how” women choose to stay. She noted the pivotal place
of continued dialogue, of finding a worship place “where all souls are equal,” and
making the decision to stay or to go.
The women who gathered
in 2004 and returned last week for this discussion would no more leave the
Catholic Church than they would leave their parents, their country or their
children. “The Church is in my weave” was heard over and over again but this
time the talk came from a spoken consensus – “The Church IS in crisis.” As
Power pointed out, “Crisis management means ALL on board.”
If I were to guess at “next
steps,” I would say that benign tolerance has had its day and is increasingly
on the wane as a working ethic for women in the Catholic Church. More Catholic
women and men, and not only the theologians and other scholars of Church
history, are joining this dialogue – enlightened and committed. As Catholics
internalize the statistics for lay leadership and all-but-one of needy Church
ministries in US parishes, and as more lay people ask the questions that
trouble all of us and challenge the answers that satisfy so few of us, the
elephant on the table will shrink – small enough to move into history. And “structural
change” will move ahead with all of its once-missing parts.
What do you think?
Whether or not you attended this discussion, please send along your thoughts
to pthorp.ed@votf.org.
|
